A worker, wearing a face mask to protect against dust particles, pauses while arranging freshly cut stones at a quarry in the desert of Minya, southern Egypt on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

In a part of Egypt where , the landscape looks like a winter wonderland.

But the photos above, taken by photographer Mosa'ab Elshamy for The Associated Press, aren't of snow. They're of limestone quarries in the Minya province of Egypt, about 180 miles south of Cairo.

In this region, the summer heat is extreme, but it can also get uncomfortably chilly during winter. Average low temperatures dip into the upper 30s and low 40s from December through February. Precipitation is low throughout the year, with average annual rainfall under a quarter inch.

About 45,000 people, including children, brave the conditions to work in the estimated 1,500 quarries in the Minya province to earn $7 to $13 a day, the AP reports.

The summer heat adds to what is already a dangerous job for those working in the limestone pits. Workers in these quarries have suffered amputations, electrocutions and even death.

Deaths and injuries largely go undocumented, says Hossam Wasfy, the executive director of Wadi El Nil, a charity that focuses on child labor. In one village called Nazlet Abeed, there were 18 quarry deaths alone in 2009, he says.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.