Sand Seas

Sand seas (great deserts, sea of dunes) are vast expanses of sandy desert, often found in fantasy and science fiction worlds, that function more like seas or oceans. There may be boat-like vessels that transit these desert seas, either relying on wind power to push them through the sand or hovering above it using some form of magic or future technology. Sand seas usually also have there own ‘islands,’ though these typically come in the form of rocky mesas, high plateaus, walled cities, or oases. Sand seas are a similar element to grass seas. They may be subject to massive sandstorms. They may have their own leviathans, often in the form of sandworms. Their ‘coasts’ may be mountain ranges, or high plateaus.
When designing sand seas, worldbuilders often adapt oceanic and suboceanic elements to a desert environment. This involves taking elements such as whirlpools and shipwrecks and reimagining them in the context of the desert.
Desert Elements
Element | Icon | Description | Sub-Elements | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abandoned Town | ![]() | b | Why was it abandoned? | Explore | |
Ancient Ruins | ![]() | b | Simplified | From what civilization and how long have they stood? | Explore |
Ancient Tomb | ![]() | b | Simplified | Who does this belong to? | Explore |
Archaeological Dig Site | ![]() | b | Simplified | What do they search for? | Explore |
Arroyo | ![]() | a | Simplified | A dry streambed that will fill during rains or floods | |
Badlands | ![]() | a | Simplified | An area of dry eroded land with little vegetation | Explore |
Bazaar | ![]() | b | A street market | Explore | |
Bedesten | ![]() | b | A covered market building | Explore | |
Boulder | ![]() | a | A large rock | ||
Cacti | ![]() | s | Simplified | A single cactus | |
Caravanserai | ![]() | b | Simplified | A roadside inn where caravans may stop and rest | |
Cave | ![]() | a | Simplified | How extensive are the caverns? | Explore |
Cliff | ![]() | a | A steep rock face | Explore | |
Desert Flowers | ![]() | s | Simplified | What color? | |
Desert Shrub | ![]() | s | They scratch at the skin | ||
Desert Town | ![]() | b | How large is this town? | Explore | |
Dry Lake | ![]() | a | A basin formerly containing a body of water | ||
Dry Thunder | ![]() | e | It rumbles in the distance | ||
Dunes | ![]() | a, s | Simplified | Hills composed of loose sand | |
Dust Devil | ![]() | e | A small vortex of dust | ||
Endorheic Basin | ![]() | a | A large drainage basin with no river inflow or outflow | ||
Erg | ![]() | a | A vast sea of sand dunes | ||
Flash Flood | ![]() | e | Simplified | A flood that arises unusually quickly | |
Fossils | ![]() | a, s | Of what type of creature? | ||
Guelta | ![]() | a | A pocket of water in the desert formed in basins or wadis during floods | ||
Hamada | ![]() | a | A rocky desert with little sand | ||
High Winds | ![]() | e | How strong? | ||
Hoodoo | ![]() | a | A thin spire of rock rising vertically from the landscape and capped by a hard stone to resemble a slender mushroom | ||
Mesa | ![]() | a | Simplified | An isolated flat topped hill with steep sides, larger than a butte but smaller than a plateau | Explore |
Mine | ![]() | b | Is it still in use? | Explore | |
Needle | ![]() | a | A tall, thin, spire of rock | ||
Oasis | ![]() | a | Simplified | A fertile area with water amidst the sands | Explore |
Oil Well | ![]() | b | Is it producing? | ||
Playa | ![]() | a | The flat of a desert basin that may flood during rainfall | ||
Pyramid | ![]() | b | How many chambers are hidden in its' depths? | ||
River | ![]() | a | Simplified | A source of life in the desert | |
Sand Sea | ![]() | a | See 'Erg' | ||
Sandstorm | ![]() | e | Simplified | How intense is the storm? | Explore |
Trade Route | ![]() | b, a | Does it cross the desert seas? | Explore | |
Wadi | ![]() | a | A dry gully that floods during rain | ||
Walled City | ![]() | b | Simplified | What do these walls protect from? | |
Well | ![]() | b | Is it full or dry | Explore |
Oceanic & Suboceanic Elements
Element | Icon | Description | Sub-Elements | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abyssal Plain | ![]() | s | a | Simplified | A flat area on the ocean floor | |
Abyssal Zone | ![]() | s | a | The oceanic region from 4,000 to 6,000 meters below the surface | ||
Archipelago | ![]() | o | a | Simplified | A group of islands | |
Atoll | ![]() | o | a | A ring-shaped reef of coral | ||
Bathyal Zone | ![]() | s | a | The oceanic region laying below the surface between 1,000 and 4,000 meters | ||
Brine Pool | ![]() | s | a, s | An underwater pool or lake on the seafloor composed of high salt content | ||
Continental Shelf | ![]() | s | a | A relatively shallow submerged area of continent | ||
Coral Reef | ![]() | s, o | a | Simplified | Growth and deposit of coral skeleton | Explore |
Crater Sea | ![]() | o | a | A sea within a crater | Explore | |
Dead Zone | ![]() | s | a | An area of ocean with such low oxygen content that sealife cannot survive | ||
Deep Sea Coral | ![]() | s | a, s | Coral inhabiting deep areas of the ocean | ||
Deep Sea Habitation Unit | ![]() | s | b | Cozy or cramped depending on your disposition | Explore | |
Flotsam | ![]() | o | s | Simplified | Debris in the water unintentionally lost from a ship | Explore |
Flourescent Coral | ![]() | s | s | Brightly colored coral | ||
Hadal Zone | ![]() | s | a | The deepest zone of the ocean from 6,000 to 11,000 meters below the surface | ||
High Waves | ![]() | o | a, e | Dangerous or good for surfing? | ||
Hurricane | ![]() | o | e | Simplified | How strong are the winds? | |
Hydrothermal Vent (Deep Sea Vent) | ![]() | s | a | Simplified | A fissure or chimney structure that releases geothermally heated water | Explore |
Island | ![]() | o | a | Simplified | An area of land surrounded by water | Explore |
Jetsam | ![]() | o | s | Debris in the water intentionally thrown overboard to lighten a ship | Explore | |
Kelp Farm | ![]() | s | a, b | A location where seaweed is grown and harvested | Explore | |
Kelp Forest | ![]() | s | a | Simplified | An underwater forest of seaweed | Explore |
Leviathan Territories | ![]() | s, o | a | An area of ocean home to a sea monster | Explore | |
Marine Snow | ![]() | s | e | The continuous shower of debris falling from upper to lower oceanic levels | ||
Ocean Current | ![]() | s, o | a | How strong and does it bring cool or warm water? | ||
Oceanic Basin | ![]() | s | a | A large underwater basin | ||
Oceanic Plateau | ![]() | s | a | A flat region that rises above the level of the surrounding seabed | ||
Oceanic Ridge | ![]() | s | a | An underwater mountain system | ||
Oceanic Trench | ![]() | s | a | Simplified | A long and narrow depression in the seabed | Explore |
Offshore Oil Rig | ![]() | s, o | b | How many work here? | Explore | |
Oyster Reef | ![]() | s | a | A bed of oysters near the shore | ||
Photic Zone | ![]() | s | a | The upper level of ocean that receives sunlight | ||
Raft Towns | ![]() | o | b | A town floating on the sea | Explore | |
Rogue Wave | ![]() | o | e | Simplified | A large, unpredictable wave | |
Sea Animal Carcass | ![]() | s, o | s | Rotting on the beach, or rotting on the seafloor. What caused its' demise? | ||
Sandbar | ![]() | o | a | A ridge of sand along the coast | Explore | |
Seagrass | ![]() | s | s | Underwater grass | ||
Seagrass Meadows | ![]() | s | a | An expanse of seagreass | ||
Seamount | ![]() | s | a | An underwater mountain that does not reach the surface | ||
Shipwreck Towns | ![]() | o | b | A settlement made from the remains of seawrecks | Explore | |
Sponge Ground | ![]() | s | a | A deep sea habitat composed of sponges | ||
Storm | ![]() | o | e | Simplified | How strong? | |
Submarine Canyon | ![]() | s | a | A steep valley in the seabed | ||
Submarine Communication Cable | ![]() | s | b, s | For internet or something else? | ||
Submarine Dock | ![]() | s | b | Is it secret? | ||
Submarine Volcano | ![]() | s | a | Simplified | An underwater volcano which does not reach the surface | |
Sunken City | ![]() | s | b | What caused this? | Explore | |
Sunken Statue | ![]() | s | s | A statue or monument now standing beneath the waves | Explore | |
Sunken Treasure | ![]() | s | s | What kind of treasure is it? | Explore | |
Sunken Wreck | ![]() | s | b | Simplified | What caused this? | Explore |
Tidal Flats | ![]() | s, o | a | Covered and uncovered by the tides | Explore | |
Toxic Algae Bloom | ![]() | s, o | e | Do not swim | ||
Trade Route | ![]() | o | a | Simplified | What goods? | Explore |
Treacherous Waters | ![]() | s, o | a | Simplified | An area that wise sailors avoid | Explore |
Tsunami | ![]() | o | e | A series of large waves caused by displacement | ||
Tube Worm | ![]() | s | s | A deep sea worm that lives near hydrothermal vents | ||
Underwater Cave | ![]() | s | a | Simplified | A cavern beneath the surface of the sea | Explore |
Volcanic Island | ![]() | o | a | An island formed by volcanic activity | Explore | |
Waterspout | ![]() | o | e | A tornado-like vortx that occurs over water | ||
Whale Fall | ![]() | s | e, s | When the corpse of a whale falls to the seafloor | ||
Whirlpool | ![]() | s, o | a, e | Swirling death | Explore |