Editing Geography of Egypt (section)

===Western Desert===
{{Main|Western Desert (Egypt)}}
The Western Desert covers an area of some 700,000&nbsp; km<sup>2</sup>, thereby accounting for around two-thirds of Egypt's total land area. This immense desert to the west of the Nile spans the area from the Mediterranean Sea southwards to the Sudanese border. The desert's [[Jilf al Kabir Plateau]], at a mean altitude of some 1000 m, constitutes an exception to the uninterrupted territory of basement rocks covered by layers of horizontally bedded sediments forming a massive plain or low plateau. The [[Great Sand Sea]] lies within the desert's plain and extends from the [[Siwa Oasis]] to [[Jilf al Kabir]]. [[Escarpment]]s (ridges) and deep depressions (basins) exist in several parts of the Western Desert, and no rivers or streams drain into or out of the area.

The government has considered the Western Desert a frontier region and has divided it into two governorates at about the twenty-eighth parallel: [[Matruh Governorate|Matruh]] to the north and New Valley (Al Wadi al Jadid) to the south. There are seven important depressions in the Western Desert, and all are considered oases except the largest, [[Qattara]], the water of which is salty.  The [[Qattara Depression]], which includes the country's lowest point, encompasses {{convert|19605|km2|mi2|0|sp=us}}, which is similar to the size of [[Lake Ontario]].  It is largely below sea level and is {{convert|133|m|ft|0|sp=us}} below sea level at the lowest. [[Badlands]], salt marshes and salt lakes cover the sparsely inhabited Qattara Depression.

Limited [[agricultural]] production, the presence of some natural resources, and permanent [[Community|settlements]] are found in the other six depressions, all of which have fresh water provided by the Nile or by local [[groundwater]]. The Siwah Oasis, close to the Libyan border and west of Qattara, is isolated from the rest of Egypt but has sustained life since ancient times. The Siwa's cliff-hung Temple of Amun was renowned for its oracles for more than 1,000 years. [[Herodotus]] and [[Alexander the Great]] were among the many illustrious people who visited the temple in the pre-Christian era.

The other major [[oases]] form a [[topographic]] chain of [[Depression (geology)|basin]]s extending from the [[Faiyum Oasis]] (sometimes called the Fayyum Depression) which lies {{convert|60|km|mi|0|sp=us}} southwest of [[Cairo]], south to the [[Bahariya]], [[Farafra|Farafirah]], and [[Dakhla Oasis|Dakhilah]] oases before reaching the country's largest oasis, [[Kharga|Kharijah]]. A brackish lake, [[Birket Qarun]], at the northern reaches of Al Fayyum Oasis, drained into the Nile in ancient times. For centuries sweet water [[artesian wells]] in the Fayyum Oasis have permitted extensive [[Tillage|cultivation]] in an irrigated area that extends over {{convert|1800|km2|mi2|0|sp=us}}.