As its name implies, the Batn-El-Hajar is “characterized by ‘bare granite ridges and gullies’, a narrowed Nile run, and heavy deposits of wind-blown sand".[9][10] Semna is situated above a geological formation known as the Basement Complex; this complex is a deposit of Precambrian sedimentary rock and later igneous rock. There is only a thin layer of fertile alluvial soil overlying this complex which results in poor agricultural potential.[9]