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From seashore to mountain
peaks, Dubai is a land of great natural beauty and variety.
The desert, that accounts for much of the emirate’s almost
4,000 sq km area, encompasses rocky plains, high dunes and,
between these two extremes, countless combinations of sand,
stone and sparse vegetation.
This seemingly barren expanse supports a surprising diversity
of wildlife, both plant and animal, though much of the former
is seasonal and the latter nocturnal. Once isolated and forbidding,
the desert now offers a fascinating and accessible experience
for visitors, with an array of recreational opportunities from
safaris by four-wheel-drive vehicle to sand-skiing.
A number of roads now cross the wilderness, joining settlements
and oases where, thanks to irrigation, ever-larger areas are
turning green under the cultivation of vegetables and fodder
crops. |
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Along
the flanks of the Hajar Mountains, naturally watered date gardens
flourish, their foliage a magnet for birds. In the mountain
enclave of Hatta, restoration work has preserved the old falaj
or irrigation canals. Nearby, water can be found year round
in wadis, steep-sided valleys gouged from the mountains by torrents
unleashed by winter rains. The wadis are popular with naturalists
and explorers, tranquil in contrast to the clamour of the city.
The starkly beautiful exposed rock formations of the mountainsides
provide a fascinating insight into the geological origins of
the area and the forces which sculpted the rugged landscape.
The Hajjar Mountains in northeastern Oman and also the eastern
United Arab Emirates are the highest mountain range in the eastern
Arabian peninsula. They separate the low coastal plain of Oman
from the high desert plateau, and lie 50 - 100 km inland from
the Gulf of Oman coast.
The mountains begin in the north, forming the Musandam peninsula.
From there the Northern Hajjar (Hajjar al Gharbi) runs southeast,
parallel to the coast but moving gradually further away as it
goes. The central section of the Hajjar is the Jebel Akhdar
(9,834 feet (2,980 m)), the highest and wildest terrain in the
country. Jebel Akhdar (and the smaller Jebel Nakhl range) are
bounded on the east by the low Samail Valley (which leads northeast
to Muscat). East of Samail are the Eastern Hajjar (Hajjar ash
Sharqi), which run east (much closer to the coast) to the fishing
town of Sur, almost at the eastern point of Oman. The mountains
extend for 500 km in total.
The low coastal land north and east of the Jebel Hajjar is named
Al Batinah Region (the belly), and the land inland of the mountains
is Ad Dhahirah (the back).
The mountains are an important ecoregion, the only habitat in
eastern Arabia above 2,000m elevation. The climate is cool and
wet from December to March and warmer but still with occasional
rain from April to September. |
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