World Sand Areas is a polygon theme representing desertified regions world wide. Features in this layer have FACC (Feature and Attribute Coding Catalogue) Codes of BH150, "Salt Pan; A flat area of natural surface salt deposits," BH160, "Sebkha; A natural depression in arid or semi-arid regions whose bed is covered with salt encrusted clay soil," and DB170, "Sand Dunes or Sand Hills; Ridges or hills of sand."
This dataset is part of the Vector Map Level 0 database. The Vector Map (VMap) Level 0 database represents the third edition of the Digital Chart of the World. VMap Level 0 is a comprehensive 1:1,000,000 scale vector of the world. It consists of cartographic, attribute, and textual data stored on compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM). The primary source for the database is the National Imagery and Mapping Agency's (NIMA) Operational Navigation Chart (ONC) series. This is the largest scale unclassified map series in existence that provides consistent, continuous global coverage of essential basemap features. The data includes major road and rail networks, major hydrologic drainage systems, major utility networks (cross-country pipelines and communication lines), all major airports, elevation contours (1000 foot(ft), with 500ft and 250ft supplemental contours), coastlines, international boundaries and populated places.