For those who find themselves awed by arid landscapes, there’s no place like Africa. The continent boasts nine separate deserts, including a vast Sahara that sprawls across much of the north ...

This story appears in the November 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine. I got my first lesson in the physics of sand dunes in 1998 on an expedition into the Sahara. In order to take aerial ...

Gearing up: For a project to photograph the world’s extreme deserts, I wanted to visit the giant sand dunes in China’s Inner Mongolia. The only way into the Gobi is on foot or by camel.

Erin Argyilan was wrapping up a scientific study of wind speeds on Mount Baldy last year when she saw a circle of beachgoers on their knees halfway up the hulking sand dune. They appeared to be ...

THERE'S a little-known beach in Italy that looks like the Sahara Desert. With huge golden sands, dunes and beautiful blue waters, it's one of the most beautiful places to go on holiday, and you'll ...

Sossusvlei is part of the Namib Desert, which is considered the world's oldest desert, dating back at least 55 million years.