Jump to content

Geography of the United Arab Emirates

From Niidae Wiki

Template:Short description Template:Country geography

The United Arab Emirates is situated in the Middle East and West Asia, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia; it is at a strategic location along the northern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web Template:PD-notice</ref> The UAE lies between 22°50′ and 26° north latitude and between 51° and 56°25′ east longitude.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> It shares a Template:Convert border with Qatar on the northwest, a Template:Convert border with Saudi Arabia on the west, south, and southeast, and a Template:Convert border with Oman on the southeast and northeast.<ref name=":0" />

The land border with Qatar in the Khor Al Adaid area is a source of long-running dispute<ref name=":0" /> (in fact, whether it even shares a land border with Qatar is in dispute). The total area of the UAE is approximately Template:Convert.<ref name=":1" /> The country's exact size is unknown because of disputed claims to several islands in the Persian Gulf, because of the lack of precise information on the size of many of these islands, and because most of its land boundaries, especially with Saudi Arabia, remain undemarcated.<ref name=":0" /> The largest emirate, Abu Dhabi, accounts for 87 percent of the UAE's total area (Template:Cvt).<ref name=":0" /> The smallest emirate, Ajman, encompasses only Template:Cvt.<ref name=":0" />

Boundaries

[edit]
File:United Arab Emirates Topography.png
Topography of the UAE

The UAE stretches for more than Template:Convert along the southern shore of the Persian Gulf.<ref name=":0" /> Most of the coast consists of salt pans that extend far inland.<ref name=":0" /> A recent global remote sensing analysis suggested that there were 637 km2 of tidal flats in the United Arab Emirates, making it the 40th ranked country in terms of tidal flat extent.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The largest natural harbor is at Dubai, although other ports have been dredged at Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and elsewhere.<ref name=":0" /> Numerous islands are found in the Persian Gulf, and the ownership of some of them has been the subject of international disputes with both Iran and Qatar.<ref name=":0" /> The smaller islands, as well as many coral reefs and shifting sandbars, are a menace to navigation.<ref name=":0" /> Strong tides and occasional windstorms further complicate ship movements near the shore.<ref name=":0" />

These northern emirates on the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman are part of the Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert ecoregion.<ref>Template:WWF ecoregion</ref>

South and west of Abu Dhabi, vast, rolling sand dunes merge into the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) of Saudi Arabia.<ref name=":0" /> The desert area of Abu Dhabi includes two important oases with adequate underground water for permanent settlements and cultivation.<ref name=":0" /> The extensive Liwa Oasis is in the south near the undefined border with Saudi Arabia, and about Template:Convert to the northeast is Al Buraymi Oasis, which extends on both sides of the Abu Dhabi-Oman border.<ref name=":0" />

Prior to withdrawing from the area in 1971, Britain delineated the internal borders among the seven emirates in order to pre-empt territorial disputes that might hamper formation of the federation.<ref name=":0" /> In general, the rulers of the emirates accepted the British intervention, but in the case of boundary disputes between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and also between Dubai and Sharjah, conflicting claims were not resolved until after the UAE became independent.<ref name=":0" /> The most complicated borders were in the Western Mountains, where five of the emirates contested jurisdiction over more than a dozen enclaves.<ref name=":0" />

Mountains

[edit]

Template:Main

The UAE also extends for about Template:Convert along the Gulf of Oman, an area known as Al-Batinah coast.<ref name=":0" /> The Western Hajar Mountains (Jibāl Al-Ḥajar Al-Gharbī), rising in places to Template:Convert, separate Al-Batinah coast from the rest of the UAE.<ref name=":0" /> Beginning at the UAE-Oman border on the Persian Gulf coast of the Ras Musandam (Musandam Peninsula), the Western Mountains extend southeastward for about Template:Convert to the southernmost UAE-Oman frontier on the Gulf of Oman.<ref name=":0" /> The range continues as the Eastern Hajar Mountains (Jibāl Al-Ḥajar Ash-Sharqī) for more than Template:Convert into Oman.<ref name=":0" /> The steep mountain slopes run directly to the shore in many places.<ref name=":0" /> Nevertheless, there are small harbors at Dibba Al-Hisn, Kalba, and Khor Fakkan on the Gulf of Oman.<ref name=":0" /> In the vicinity of Fujairah, where the mountains do not approach the coast, there are sandy beaches.<ref name=":0" />

Climate

[edit]

Template:See also

File:Water Stress, Top Countries (2020).svg
United Arab Emirates is the second most water stressed country in the world.

The climate of the UAE generally is very hot and sunny.<ref name=":0" /> The hottest months are July and August, when average maximum temperatures reach above Template:Convert on the coastal plain.<ref name=":0" /> In the Western Hajar Mountains, temperatures are considerably cooler, a result of increased altitude.<ref name=":0" /> Average minimum temperatures in January and February are between Template:Convert.<ref name=":0" /> During the late summer months, a humid southeastern wind known as the sharqi makes the coastal region especially unpleasant.<ref name=":0" /> The average annual rainfall in the coastal area is less than Template:Convert, but in some mountainous areas annual rainfall often reaches Template:Convert.<ref name=":0" /> Rain in the coastal region falls in short, torrential bursts during the summer months, sometimes resulting in floods in ordinarily dry wadi beds.<ref name=":0" /> The region is prone to occasional, violent dust storms, which can severely reduce visibility.<ref name=":0" /> The Jebel Jais mountain cluster in Ras Al Khaimah has experienced snow only four times (2004, 2009, 2017 and 2020) since records began.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Template:Weather box

Template:Weather box

Flora and fauna

[edit]

Template:Main Date palms, as well as acacia and eucalyptus trees, are commonly found growing at the region's oases. Within the desert itself, the flora is much more sparse and primarily consists of grasses and thornbushes.

The region's indigenous fauna had previously come close to extinction due to intensive hunting, which led to a 1970s conservation program on the Bani Yas island by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan; this resulted in the survival of Arabian oryxes and leopards, among others.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The region's coastal fish consist mainly of mackerel, perch and tuna, as well as sharks and whales.

Area and land boundaries

[edit]
File:Rolling Sand Dunes of Abu Dhabi.jpg
Sand Dunes on the outskirts of Liwa Oasis in the western region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Area:

Land boundaries:

Coastline: Template:Convert<ref name=":1" />

Maritime claims:

Elevation extremes:

Resources and land use

[edit]

Environmental concerns

[edit]

Template:Main

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

Template:Notelist

References

[edit]

Template:Reflist Template:United Arab Emirates topics Template:Geography of Asia Template:Asia topic

Retrieved from "https://wiki.niidae.com/index.php?title=Geography_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates&oldid=26685"