Timimoun Basin

North of Timimoun, the sands of the Grand Erg Occidental spread across the Algerian Sahara. The Gourara oases lie along the edge of this great sea of dunes and around a long salt depression. Palm gardens are watered by underground foggaras, which draw on the water beneath the desert. The contrast between cultivated groves, the salt basin and the surrounding sand gives the region its distinctive appearance.