• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / World / Why Is The Rub al Khali Desert Known as The Empty Place?

Why Is The Rub al Khali Desert Known as The Empty Place?

February 20, 2020 by Karen Hill

Saudi Arabia is a land of many deserts, but none of them is larger and more desolate than the desert known as the Rub al Khali, which
means “the Empty Place.” The Bedouin tribes men who live nearby call it simply “the Sand.”

This desert covers some 250,000 square miles, an area about the size of Texas! It’s a region of fierce winds, scorching heat, dust storms, and sand dunes 500 feet high. Few plants or animals can survive there, and there is almost no water at all in most of the desert.

The Rub al Khali is so desolate that parts of it weren’t explored until the 1940s. The region wasn’t fully mapped until 1965, and even today there are parts that have been seen only from the air!

Related Facts

  • How Much of the Middle East Is Desert and What Does the Name Rub' al Khali Mean In Arabic?
  • How Much of the Earth Is Covered By Desert and What Does the Word Desert Mean In Latin?
  • Where Is the Largest Desert In the World and How Big Is the Sahara Desert In Northern Africa?
  • Where Is the Driest Desert In the World and How Often Does It Rain In the Atacama Desert?
  • What Is the Oldest Desert In the World and What Makes the Namib Desert In Namibia So Unusual?
  • Why Does Glass Squeak When You Rub It and How Does Friction From Your Finger On a Window Create a Sound?
  • Why Do Cashiers Sometimes Rub the Magnetic Strip of a Malfunctioning Debit or Credit Card With Their Clothes?
  • Is Outer Space Completely Empty?
  • Where Is There Always One Empty Seat on Christmas in Poland?
  • Do Birds Become Dependent On Bird Feeders and Will the Birds Starve If the Bird Feeder Is Empty?
  • How did Ernest Rutherford discover that the atom is mostly empty space?
  • Why is Latin American culture so different from place to place depending on location?

Filed Under: World

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Which Is the Largest Peninsula on Earth?
Next Post: Why Does Saudi Arabia Import Sand From England? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy