Desert of Mystery

The Desert of Mystery is located in the southwest corner of Hyrule in A Link to the Past.

Features
The desert is the location of the second dungeon in the game, the Desert Palace, which contains the Pendant of Wisdom.

The Desert of Mystery is a wide open area filled with cacti. The only other features are the Desert Palace, a few cliffs, and caves. The area is swarming with Vultures and Geldmans, as well as bombs that explode at close range, making it somewhat of a nuisance to traverse.

On a cliff in the Desert of Mystery, only reachable with the Flute, there is a portal to the Dark World hidden by a rock. This is the only way to enter the Dark World equivalent of the Desert of Mystery, Swamp of Evil.

Trivia

 * While many other games have desert areas, A Link to the Past is the only one the Desert of Mystery appears in. In other games, the deserts are often replaced with the Gerudo Desert.
 * The only moment in the game where the Book of Mudora is required to complete the game is in the Desert of Mystery, when entering the Desert Palace.
 * The Desert of Mystery is the only location in A Link to the Past where the Book of Mudora is used twice. Once to enter the Desert Palace, and a second time to get the Bombos Medallion atop a cliff after Link's gone to the Dark World.