Qattara Depression

The Qattara Depression (Arabic:منخفض القطارة‎ Munḫafaḍ al-Qaṭṭārah) is a depression in the north west of Egypt in the Matruh Governorate and is part of the Libyan Desert. It lies below sea level and is covered with salt pans, sand dunes and salt marshes. The region extends between latitudes of 28°35' and 30°25' north and longitudes of 26°20' and 29°02' east. The region was created by the interplay of salt weathering and wind erosion. Some 20 kilometres west of the depression lie the oases of Siwa and Jaghbub in smaller but similar depressions.