Positive euphemisms for desert?

Question

Looking on thesaurus.com I can find only synonyms for "desert" with negative connotations. Are there any synonyms with positive connotations? Specifically, something that invokes the sense of clean desolation and unspoiled nature.

John Lawler · Accepted Answer

The Etymology tells the story:

The Classical Latin word deserta (abandoned, deserted wife) is 
  derived from the Latin word desertus (deserted, uninhabited, without people), which is
  derived from the Latin verb deserere (to cease to be concerned with; to fail, fall short; to leave, depart, quit), which is derived from negative or past de- plus the verb serere (to plant, sow).

Hence, a desert is unused or unusable land. Arabia Deserta is the classical Latin name for guess which country? And guess what it means?

There really aren't many positive connotations available for the word desert; perhaps that's one reason why we often spell it dessert and vice versa. There's rarely any confusion about which word is meant.

James Waldby - jwpat7 · Answer

Following your link shows a tremendous number of synonyms with negative connotations!  Here are some relatively neutral, albeit not quite synonomous, words:

solitude, with sense "A lonely or deserted place."
sere, "Without moisture."
unpeopled, "Not inhabited by people."
The Outback in Australia  is a vast, remote, arid area, and you might compare an area to it.
You could talk about horny toad country; that's pretty neutral, isn't it?

Gnawme · Answer

Rather than look for a word with positive connotations (even National Geographic wasn't able to put their usual positive gloss on an article about the Atacama), you can use a word that gives an exotic flavor to the defining feature of a desert:

xeric, adj.: (of an environment or habitat) containing little moisture; very dry [OED]

So you can write about crossing the xeric landscape of the Mojave, for example.

Monica Cellio · Answer

Untouched, undeveloped, uninhabited.  Perhaps wilderness.

ThinkingStiff · Answer

Expanse, as in wide expanse or open expanse, is fairly positive. It evokes a sense of opportunity and possibility, to me: Riding off into the open expanse.

expanse A wide and open extent, as of surface, land, or sky.

Kris · Answer

'Arid' region(s) is used in a neutral/ technical sense. An expressly positive connotation may not be possible without specific context.

Nigel Holt · Answer

One positive synonym I can think of is 'The Sands'. This might be a useful version for you.

Elian · Answer

Thebaid

The Thebaid or Thebais (Greek: Θηβαΐς, Thēbaïs) is the region of ancient Egypt containing the thirteen southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. It acquired its name from its proximity to the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes. During the Ancient Egyptian dynasties this region was dominated by Thebes and its priesthood at the temple of Amun at Karnak. [...]
Around the 5th century, since it was a desert, the Thebaid became a place of retreat of a number of Christian hermits, and was the birthplace of Pachomius. In Christian art, the Thebaid was represented as a place with numerous monks.
Social Vocabulary
The subjects range from the pleasures of courtly life to the spiritual rewards of religious retirement from the world in a Thebaid, to the degradations and miseries of the poor [...]
The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art and Architecture

Positive euphemisms for desert?

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