Sand dunes in the context of "Driftwood"

A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the Earth is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar regions, where little precipitation occurs, and which are sometimes called polar deserts or "cold deserts". Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation that falls, by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by their geographical location.

Deserts are formed by weathering processes as large variations in temperature between day and night strain the rocks, which consequently break into pieces. Although rain seldom occurs in deserts, there are occasional downpours that can result in flash floods. Rain falling on hot rocks can cause them to shatter, and the resulting fragments and rubble strewn over the desert floor are further eroded by the wind. This picks up particles of sand and dust, which can remain airborne for extended periods – sometimes causing the formation of sand storms or dust storms. Wind-blown sand grains striking any solid object in their path can abrade the surface. Rocks are smoothed down, and the wind sorts sand into uniform deposits. The grains end up as level sheets of sand or are piled high in billowing dunes. Other deserts are flat, stony plains where all the fine material has been blown away and the surface consists of a mosaic of smooth stones, often forming desert pavements, and little further erosion occurs. Other desert features include rock outcrops, exposed bedrock and clays once deposited by flowing water. Temporary lakes may form and salt pans may be left when waters evaporate. There may be underground water sources in the form of springs and seepages from aquifers. Where these are found, oases can occur.

Qatar is a peninsula in the east of Arabia, bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia in a strategic location near major petroleum and natural gas deposits. The State of Qatar occupies 11,571 km (4,468 sq mi) on a peninsula that extends about 160 km (99 mi) north into the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Peninsula.

Varying in width between 55 and 90 km (34 and 56 mi), the land is mainly flat (the highest point is 103 m (338 ft)) and rocky. Notable features include coastal salt pans, elevated limestone formations (the Dukhan anticline) along the west coast under which lies the Dukhan oil field, and massive sand dunes surrounding Khor Al Adaid, an inlet of the Persian Gulf in the southeast known to local English speakers as the Inland Sea.

Tottori Prefecture (鳥取県, Tottori-ken; Japanese pronunciation: [tot.to.ɾʲi, tot.to.ɾʲiꜜ.keɴ]) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the least populous prefecture of Japan at 538,525 (2023) and has a geographic area of 3,507.13 square kilometres (1,354.11 sq mi). Tottori Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the west, Hiroshima Prefecture to the southwest, Okayama Prefecture to the south, and Hyōgo Prefecture to the east.

Tottori is the capital and largest city of Tottori Prefecture, with other major cities including Yonago, Kurayoshi, and Sakaiminato. Tottori Prefecture is home to the Tottori Sand Dunes, the largest sand dunes system in Japan, and Mount Daisen, the highest peak in the Chūgoku Mountains.

Padre Island is the largest of the Texas barrier islands and the world's longest barrier island. The island is located along Texas's southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is noted for its white sandy beaches. Meaning father in Spanish, it was named after Father José Nicolás Ballí (c.1770-1829), who owned the island and served as a missionary priest and collector of finances for all the churches in the Rio Grande Valley. He also founded the first mission in present-day Cameron County.

Padre Island is the second-largest island by area in the contiguous United States, after Long Island in New York on the Atlantic Coast. It is about 113 miles (182 km) long and 1.8 miles (3 km) wide, stretching from the city of Corpus Christi, in the north, to the resort community of South Padre Island in the south. The island is oriented north-south, bordered by the Gulf of Mexico on the east and Laguna Madre on the west. The island's northern end connects to Mustang Island by roadway. The southern end of the island is separated from Brazos Island by the Brazos Santiago Pass.

The Qattara Depression (Arabic: منخفض القطارة, romanized: Munḫafaḍ al-Qaṭṭārah) is a depression in northwestern Egypt, specifically in the Matruh Governorate. The depression is part of the Western Desert of Egypt.

The Qattara Depression lies below sea level, and its bottom is covered with salt pans, sand dunes, and salt marshes. The depression extends between the latitudes of 28°35' and 30°25' north and the longitudes of 26°20' and 29°02' east.

35°32′24″N 134°13′39″E / 35.54000°N 134.22750°E / 35.54000; 134.22750

The Tottori Sand Dunes (鳥取砂丘, Tottori sakyū) are sand dunes located outside the city center of Tottori in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. With a length of 9 miles (14 km) and a width of less than 1.5 miles (2.4 km), it is the largest sand dune in Japan. The sand dunes are part of the San'in Kaigan Geopark, which is part of the UNESCO Global Geoparks.

The Singing Sand Dunes (Chinese: 鳴沙山 Pinyin: míng shā shān) in Dunhuang, China, are the sand dunes that, when the wind blows, give out a singing or drumming sound. They are part of the Kumtag Desert.

The Singing Sand Dunes were originally known as the "Gods' Sand Dunes" (Chinese: 神沙山). In the Records of the Grand Historian, Sima Qian described the sound "as if listening to music when the weather is fine." During the Ming Dynasty, they came to be called by the current name. The dunes are also where a crescent-shaped lake called Yueyaquan or Crescent Lake is located.