Lanayru Sand Sea

The Lanayru Sand Sea is a sea of sand that is featured in Skyward Sword. It is located in the Lanayru Desert.

Overview
The Lanayru Sand Sea used to be home to a great sea; however, due to the irresponsible actions of the citizens of the region, the natural resources were depleted. The water completely dried up and only the Sand Sea was left. Link must navigate the sea with a motorboat equipped with a Timeshift Stone. The Sandship, with its robotic crew, once sailed the sea, and Link must board it as the fifth dungeon of the game.

The ship Link sails is equipped with a cannon which can be used to fire upon Bokoblin Archers that appear on the small isles that littered the past world. The Sand Sea is home to a number of locations including Skipper's Retreat, where Skipper's House which holds the Ancient Sea Chart is located. The Shipyard, which holds a vast minecart track known as the Rickety Coaster which is run by a Goron named Gortram, and eventually becomes the minigame known as the Rickety Coaster. Then, finally Pirate Stronghold, the base of the pirate who stole Skipper's Sandship which holds Nayru's Sacred Flame.

The Sandship is the fifth dungeon in the game which holds the Bow and Nayru's Sacred Flame. The single Timeshift Stone that is found on the ship has to be activated many times by Link in order to navigate around the ship. The Boss of the Sandship is the "Abbysal Leviathan Tentalus", a large squid-like monster of the past that attacked and destroyed the Sandship during a storm.

Trivia

 * The location of Lanayru Sand Sea on the map is very similar to the location of Gerudo Desert in Twilight Princess.