Grand Erg Oriental follow the wind's direction. There are other types of dunes, as well as "complex" dunes. Saharan winds are also known to clear an area of sand altogether, leaving bare rock (hamada) or gravel (reg). The "Grand Erg Oriental" is accessible overland by an Algerian road, which goes south from Constantine. It passes through the Aurès mountains, then salt lakes by the city of Biskra. Next the road skirts the western edge of the erg. After about 500 km. in all, it reaches the ancient oasis of Ourgla [Wargla]. Since late antiquity Wargla was a stop for the Saharan trade, being
Erg (tug) generators) through the fog and rain, when she was run down by a Norwegian freighter – a steamship named "Norelg" (See Convoy SC 94 for more information on this ship). The tug immediately began sinking and as a result, 19 men lost their lives. On July 19, the Royal Canadian Navy utilized the floating crane "Lord Kitchener" to raise the wreck of "Erg" so the bodies of the deceased could be recovered. Only 10 bodies were discovered and removed from the wreck. "Erg"s sinking was and still is considered one of the worst accidents to have taken place in the