The Nubian desert is totally different from the close Bayuda Desert, even though they are separated only by the Nile valley. Mainly sandy and formed by dune areas, sandy level grounds and isolated Nubian sandstone brown formations, often eroded in curious shapes by the wind. 

It is a very dry desert, in which places where water can be found are almost absent and, as a consequence, nomads are absent as well. It is interesting to notice the presence of several places where fossil trunks, ancient forest rests can be found and that once clearly covered the territory before the desertification process began.