White Desert National Park, Egypt

© Anton Petrus/Getty Image

White Desert National Park, Egypt

Snow, in the desert? Not quite. Today we're in Egypt's White Desert, which gets its name from the abundance of chalk, limestone and quartz rock formations in the area that give the sand its special hue. Tourists visit this place in large numbers to see these naturally occurring structures, honed over thousands of years into unique shapes through a process known as differential weathering. Located about five hours to the southwest of Cairo, White Desert National Park is a lot more than just deteriorating rocks – it's also a protected refuge for several endangered animal species.