The Nubian Desert is in the eastern region of the Sahara Desert, spanning approximately 400,000 km² of northeastern Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

 between the Nile

Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...

 and the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

. The arid region, a largely sandstone plateau, has lots of wadi

Wadi

Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...

s flowing towards the Nile. There is virtually no rainfall in the Nubian, and there are no oases

Oasis

In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...

. The traditional inhabitants of the area are the Nubians

Nubians

The Nubians are an ethnic group originally from northern Sudan, and southern Egypt now inhabiting North Africa and some parts of East Africa....

.

The world's earliest known archaeoastronomical

Archaeoastronomy

Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky how they used phenomena in the sky and what role the sky played in their cultures." Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern...

 megalith

Megalith

A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient...

 was erected in Nabta Playa

Nabta Playa

Nabta Playa was once a large basin in the Nubian Desert, located approximately 800 kilometers south of modern day Cairo or about 100 kilometers west of Abu Simbel in southern Egypt, 22° 32' north, 30° 42' east...

 in the Nubian Desert in southern Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

. The Nubian Desert is known for turtles crossing its path.

The town of Abidiya

Abidiya

Abidiya is a town near the Nubian Desert of north-east Sudan....

 is located nearby.

This desert is the only habitat for the critically endangered palm Medemia argun

Medemia argun

Medemia argun is a rare palm tree species of flowering plant, in the Arecaceae family native to Africa.The palm's dried dates have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs.-Distribution:...

, which only appears rarely in some oases in the desert.

On October 7, 2008 the meteoroid 2008 TC3

2008 TC3

thumb|right|300px|Ground path of the meteoroid; red line is the path, terminating where it would have hit the ground; green line is the infrasound detection of the explosion; orange crosshairs show METEOSAT IR fireball location; predicted altitudes are listed; exact path and fireball altitude not...

exploded above the Nubian Desert.