The Grand Erg Occidental (Arabic: العرق الغربي الكبير, al-ʿIrq al-Gharbī al-Kabīr), (also known as the Western Sand Sea) is the second largest erg in northern Algeria, behind the Grand Erg Oriental. This true desert region receives less than 25 cm (10 in) of rainfall per year. It contains no human villages and there are no roads through it.
Famous quotes containing the words grand and/or occidental:
“Man, in the ideal, is so noble and so sparkling, such a grand and glowing creature, that over any ignominious blemish in him all his fellows should run to throw their costliest robes.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“There is a struggle between the Oriental and the Occidental in every nation; some who would be forever contemplating the sun, and some who are hastening toward the sunset. The former class says to the latter, When you have reached the sunset, you will be no nearer to the sun. To which the latter replies, But we so prolong the day.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)