The Eastern Desert is the part of the Sahara Desert that is located east of the Nile River. It spans 223,000 square kilometres of northeastern Africa and is bordered by the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea to the east, and the Nile River to the west. It extends through Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and the Sudan. The Eastern Desert consists of a mountain range which runs parallel to the coast, wide sedimentary plateaus extending from either side of the mountains and the Red Sea coast.