(1) The Empty Quarter is the largest sand desert in the world. It is largely unexplored and virtually uninhabited. Even the Bedouins only skirt its edges. The first documented journeys made by Westerners to the Empty Quarter were those made by Bertram Thomas in 1931 and St. John Philby in 1932. (2) Summer temperature range from below freezing at night to over 60 degrees Celsius at noon. It may well be the most forbidding environment on Earth. However, life still flourishes there. Many forms of both animal and plant life can be found throughout the Empty Quarter. (3) team of mostly Saudi scientists, as well as some experts from abroad, explored the Empty Quarter in February of 2006. The expedition led to the discovery of 31 new plants varieties as well as 24 species of birds that inhabit the desert. Scientists were fascinated as to how they manage to survive in the harsh conditions of the Empty Quarter. Such findings led the geologists to nickname the area the Valuable Quarter. (4) Probably the Empty Quarter is most famous for its vast oil fields. Sheyba Field, in the very middle of the Empty Quarter, is a major oil-producing site. Ghawwar Field is the largest oil field in the world. Although it is not entirely in the Empty Quarter. Concerning the Empty Quarter, what was Bertram Thomas the first Westerner to
Concerning the Empty Quarter, what was Bertram Thomas the first Westerner to do?