Erg (landform) Erg (landform) An erg (also sand sea or dune sea, or sand sheet if it lacks dunes) is a broad, flat area of desert covered with wind-swept sand with little or no vegetative cover. The term takes its name from the Arabic word "ʿarq" (), meaning "dune field". Strictly speaking, an erg is defined as a desert area that contains more than of aeolian or wind-blown sand and where sand covers more than 20% of the surface. Smaller areas are known as "dune fields". The largest hot desert in the world, the Sahara, covers and contains several ergs, such as
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