Grand Erg Occidental The mean elevation of the Grand Erg Occidental is about 500 m, on average higher than the elevation of the Grand Erg Oriental, but not as high as the neighboring Tademaït to the southwest. This desolate region is a practically uninhabited area; there are no permanent villages and there are no roads crossing it. Grand Erg Occidental The Grand Erg Occidental (, al-ʿIrq al-Gharbī al-Kabīr), (also known as the Western Sand Sea) is the second largest erg in northern Algeria after the Grand Erg Oriental. It covers an area of approximately . The sand dunes in the erg are formed
Erg (tug) of Canada, which kept records of the activity in the harbour, advised that from 1940 to 1943, there were at least 12 vessels involved in accidents within Halifax Harbour. Vessels such as "Camperdown", "Claire Lilley" and "Nueva Indalucia" ran aground, whereas others such as "Otter", and "Trongate" caught fire and sank (or, in the case of "Trongate", was made to sink as the flames were completely out of control). In 1940, "Herbidean" was sunk by the British ship "Esmond"; a forerunner to the fate of "Erg". On June 6, 1943, "Erg" was carrying workers and equipment (air compressors and electric