MIDDLE EAST [part one]

GEOGRAPHY OF UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE)

map of UAE

• The United Arab Emirates is situated in Southwest Asia, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia; it is in a strategic location along northern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil.

• The UAE lies between 22°50′ and 26° north latitude and between 51° and 56°25′ east longitude.

• It shares a 19-kilometer border with Qatar on the northwest (according to the UAE), a 530-kilometer border with Saudi Arabia on the west, south, and southeast, and a 450-kilometer border with Oman on the southeast and northeast.

• . The land border with Qatar in the Khawr al Udayd area is a source of ongoing dispute (in fact, whether it even shares a land border with Qatar is in dispute). 

• The total area of the UAE is approximately 83,600 square kilometers.

• 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. 

• The largest emirate, Abu Dhabi, accounts for 87 percent of the UAE's total area (67,340 square kilometers). 

• The smallest emirate, Ajman, encompasses only 259 square kilometers (see figure).
  
  
  
  
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  Climate

  > The climate of the UAE generally is hot and dry. 

  
  

  > The hottest months are July and August, when average maximum temperatures reach above 40 °C (104.0 °F) on the coastal plain.

  
  

  > In the Al Hajar al Gharbi Mountains, temperatures are considerably cooler, a result of increased altitude. 

  
  

  > Average minimum temperatures in January and February are between 10 and 14 °C (50 and 57.2 °F). 

  
  

  > During the late summer months, a humid southeastern wind known as the sharqi makes the coastal region especially unpleasant. 

  
  

  > The average annual rainfall in the coastal area is fewer than 120 mm (4.7 in), but in some mountainous areas annual rainfall often reaches 350 mm (13.8 in). 

  
  

  > Rain in the coastal region falls in short, torrential bursts during the summer months, sometimes resulting in floods in ordinarily dry wadi beds. 

  
  

  > The region is prone to occasional, violent dust storms, which can severely reduce visibility.

  
  

   > The Jebel Jais mountain cluster in Ras al Khaimah has experienced snow only twice since records began.

  
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  Flora and fauna

  
  

  > In the oases grow date palms, acacia and eucalyptus trees.

  
  
  
  

  > In the desert the flora is very sparse and consists of grasses and thornbushes. 

  
  
  
  

  > The indigenous fauna had come close to extinction because of intensive hunting, which has led to a conservation program on Bani Yas island initiated by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in the 1970s, resulting in the survival of, for example, Arabian oryx and leopards. 

  
  
  
  

  > Coastal fish consist mainly of mackerel, perch and tuna, as well as sharks and whales. 

  
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  Area and land boundaries

  Area:
  total: 83,600 km²
  land: 83,600 km²
  water: 0 km²
  
  
  Land boundaries:
  total: 867 km
  border countries: Oman 410 km, Saudi Arabia 457 km
  
  
  Coastline: 1,318 km
  Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 nmi (27.6 mi; 44.4 km)
  continental shelf: 200 nmi (230.2 mi; 370.4 km) or to the edge of the continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (230.2 mi; 370.4 km)
  territorial sea: 12 nmi (13.8 mi; 22.2 km)
  
  
  Elevation extremes:
  lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
  
  highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 m 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Resources and land use

  Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas
  Land use:
  arable land: 0.77%
  permanent crops: 2.27%
  other: 96.96% (2005)
  Irrigated land: 2,300 km² (2003)
  Total renewable water resources: 0.2 km²
  
  
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  Environmental concerns

  Natural hazards: frequent sand and dust storms
  Environment - current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources being overcome by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from oil spills
  
  
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