Hamada
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2008-07-11T01:23:53Z
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[[Image:Erg_chebbi_cyclists.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Cyclists crossing hamada, approaching [[Erg Chebbi]] sand dunes, Morocco]]
A '''hamada''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]], حمادة <!-- Please bring up any changes to the Arabic script on the talk page before changing it on this page-->''ḥammāda'') is a type of [[desert]] landscape consisting of largely barren, hard, rocky plateaus, with very little [[sand]].<ref>[http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/geo/earth2/glossary/h.htm#8 Geological dictionary], definition of a ''hamada''.</ref> A hamada may sometimes also be called a '''reg (Pronounced ''rej)''''', though this more properly refers to a stony plain rather than a highland.<ref>[http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/geo/earth2/glossary/r.htm#21 Geological dictionary], definition of ''reg''.</ref>
Hamadas exist in contrast to [[Erg (landform)|ergs]], which are large areas of shifting [[sand dune]]s.<ref>[http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/geo/earth2/glossary/e.htm#34 Geological dictionary], definition of ''erg''.</ref>
The world's largest hamada is the ''Hamada du [[Draa river|Draa]]''{{Fact|date=March 2007}}, in the north-west [[Sahara desert]], between [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]] and [[Western Sahara]]. Hamada areas forms 70% of the [[Sahara desert]].{{Fact|date=March 2007}}
==References==
McKnight, Tom L. and Darrel Hess. ''Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation'', 8th ed., pp. 495-6. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 2005. (ISBN 0-13-145139-1)
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[[Category:Deserts and xeric shrublands]]
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