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Syrian Desert

(Encyclopedia)Syrian Desert, Arabic Badiyat Ash Sham, arid wasteland, SW Asia, between the cultivated lands along the E Mediterranean coast and the fertile Euphrates River valley. It extends N from the Nafud Desert...

desert

(Encyclopedia)desert, arid region, usually partly covered by sand, having scanty vegetation or sometimes almost none, and capable of supporting only a limited and specially adapted animal population. The so-called ...

Aetius, Syrian theologian

(Encyclopedia)Aetius āēˈshēəs [key], d. 367, Syrian theologian. He became prominent (c.350) as an exponent of the extreme Arianism developed mainly by his secretary Eunomius. Members of his party were called A...

Adonis, Syrian poet

(Encyclopedia)Adonis or Adunis, pen name of Ali Ahmad Said Esber, 1930–, Syrian poet and essayist, generally considered the Arab world's greatest living poet. He began writing poetry in the 1950s. After being jai...

Eastern Desert

(Encyclopedia)Eastern Desert, Egypt: see Arabian Desert. ...

desert lily

(Encyclopedia)desert lily, common name for the species Hesperocallis undulata, a member of the family Liliaceae (lily family), found in the SW United States. ...

desert trumpet

(Encyclopedia)desert trumpet: see buckwheat.

Arabian Desert

(Encyclopedia)Arabian Desert or Eastern Desert, c.86,000 sq mi (222,740 sq km), E Egypt, bordered by the Nile valley in the west and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez in the east. It extends along most of Egypt's ea...

Atacama Desert

(Encyclopedia)Atacama Desert ätäkäˈmä [key], arid region, c.600 mi (970 km) long, N Chile, extending south from the border of Peru. The desert itself, c.2,000 ft (610 m) above sea level, is a series of dry sal...

Mojave Desert

(Encyclopedia)Mojave or Mohave Desert, c.15,000 sq mi (38,850 sq km), region of low, barren mountains and flat valleys, 2,000 to 5,000 ft (610–1,524 m) high, S Calif.; part of the Great Basin of the United States...