Erg Aoukar

The Erg Aoukar is a broad depression of dunes and salt flats south of the Tagant escarpment. Its sand and dry basins occupy a part of the western Sahara where water is scarce and settlements gather around wells and oases. Along the northern edge, ancient communities built stone settlements on the escarpments above former lakes. Caravan routes later crossed the surrounding country, linking oasis towns such as Tichit and Walata with the markets of the western Sudan.