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Arabian Desert, great desert region occupying almost the entire Arabian Peninsula. Covering an area of about 900,000 square miles (2,300,000 square km), it is bordered on the north by the Syrian Desert, on the northeast and east by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the southeast and south by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and on the west by the Red Sea.
A large part of the Arabian Desert lies within the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Yemen, on the coast of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, borders the desert to the southwest. Oman, bulging out into the Gulf of Oman, lies at the eastern edge of the desert. The sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to the west stretch along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf at the desert’s northern limit. The emirate of Kuwait abuts the northern Persian Gulf between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. In the northwest the desert extends into Jordan.
Western Arabia formed part of the African landmass before a rift occurred in the Earth’s crust, as a result of which the Red Sea was formed and Africa and the Arabian Peninsula finally became separated some five to six million years ago. Thus, the southern half of the peninsula has a greater affinity with the regions of Somalia and Ethiopia in Africa than with northern Arabia or the rest of Asia. The northern Arabian Desert merges imperceptibly into Arab Asia through the Syrian steppe (treeless plain). The bulge of Oman contains mountain ranges that formed when oceanic crust accumulated on the Arabian plate as it moved northeastward. The peninsula measures about 1,300 miles (2,100 km) in length, from northwest to southeast; its width, from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Oman or Persian Gulf, ranges from about 700 miles (1,100 km) across central Saudi Arabia to some 1,250 miles (2,000 km) in the south between Yemen and Oman.
Three corners have high elevations: the southwestern corner in Yemen, where Mount Al-Nabī Shu?ayb reaches the desert’s highest elevation, 12,336 feet (3,760 metres); the northwestern corner in Hejaz (a part of Saudi Arabia), where Mount Al-Lawz rises to 8,464 feet (2,580 metres); and the southeastern corner in Oman, where Mount Al-Shām attains an elevation of 9,957 feet (3,035 metres). Much of the Yemen Plateau is at an elevation above 7,000 feet (2,100 metres).
To the north and east elevations decrease. Steep cliffs and steep canyons descend from the highlands into adjacent seas to the south and west. The peninsula is bounded on its western margin by a great escarpment, stretching more than 600 miles (1,000 km) from Yemen into Saudi Arabia. It is the most striking feature of the Red Sea margin, rising abruptly from an elevation of roughly 600 feet (200 metres) to greater than 3,300 feet (1,000 metres). South of Al-?ā?if, near Mecca, the escarpment is rugged and dissected into short, steep canyons and ridges. At the foot of the scarp, the Tihāmah plain slopes to the sea; at Mount Sawdā?, near Abhā in the Asir region, the drop is about 9,000 feet (2,700 metres) in six miles. In Oman, northeastern slopes are short and steep, but on the southwest flanks the slopes grade gently to the Rub? al-Khali desert basin. The southern plateau is cut by great steep-walled canyons into rugged limestone masses that have kept the peoples of that region isolated for centuries.
The desert lies mostly in Saudi Arabia, extending into the surrounding countries of Egypt (Sinai), southern Iraq and southern Jordan. The Arabian desert is bordered by 5 countries. Bordering the Persian Gulf, there is an extension into Qatar and, further east, the region covers almost all of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Rub'al-Khali crosses over from Saudi Arabia into western Oman and eastern Yemen.
One of the special features of eastern Arabia is the sabkhah (or sebkha; saline flat), which usually is a gently sloping sandy plain located along the coast on which salt brine has been concentrated at or just below the surface. It is formed by the filling of embayments with sand—a process that continues as the sea level retreats—while the high rate of evaporation concentrates the trapped seawater to strong brine. Scouring of the sandy surface by shamal (north to northwest) winds exposes the salty crust, which may then be dissolved into brine by winter rains. High tides may spread the saline surface waters inland. The salt crust does not usually attain a thickness of more than three feet (one metre). It may be interbedded with sand, silt, mud, or other deposits formed by evaporation, such as gypsum.
A large part of the Arabian Desert lies within the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Yemen, on the coast of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, borders the desert to the southwest. Oman, bulging out into the Gulf of Oman, lies at the eastern edge of the desert. The sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to the west stretch along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf at the desert’s northern limit. The emirate of Kuwait abuts the northern Persian Gulf between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. In the northwest the desert extends into Jordan.
Western Arabia formed part of the African landmass before a rift occurred in the Earth’s crust, as a result of which the Red Sea was formed and Africa and the Arabian Peninsula finally became separated some five to six million years ago. Thus, the southern half of the peninsula has a greater affinity with the regions of Somalia and Ethiopia in Africa than with northern Arabia or the rest of Asia. The northern Arabian Desert merges imperceptibly into Arab Asia through the Syrian steppe (treeless plain). The bulge of Oman contains mountain ranges that formed when oceanic crust accumulated on the Arabian plate as it moved northeastward. The peninsula measures about 1,300 miles (2,100 km) in length, from northwest to southeast; its width, from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Oman or Persian Gulf, ranges from about 700 miles (1,100 km) across central Saudi Arabia to some 1,250 miles (2,000 km) in the south between Yemen and Oman.
Three corners have high elevations: the southwestern corner in Yemen, where Mount Al-Nabī Shu?ayb reaches the desert’s highest elevation, 12,336 feet (3,760 metres); the northwestern corner in Hejaz (a part of Saudi Arabia), where Mount Al-Lawz rises to 8,464 feet (2,580 metres); and the southeastern corner in Oman, where Mount Al-Shām attains an elevation of 9,957 feet (3,035 metres). Much of the Yemen Plateau is at an elevation above 7,000 feet (2,100 metres).
To the north and east elevations decrease. Steep cliffs and steep canyons descend from the highlands into adjacent seas to the south and west. The peninsula is bounded on its western margin by a great escarpment, stretching more than 600 miles (1,000 km) from Yemen into Saudi Arabia. It is the most striking feature of the Red Sea margin, rising abruptly from an elevation of roughly 600 feet (200 metres) to greater than 3,300 feet (1,000 metres). South of Al-?ā?if, near Mecca, the escarpment is rugged and dissected into short, steep canyons and ridges. At the foot of the scarp, the Tihāmah plain slopes to the sea; at Mount Sawdā?, near Abhā in the Asir region, the drop is about 9,000 feet (2,700 metres) in six miles. In Oman, northeastern slopes are short and steep, but on the southwest flanks the slopes grade gently to the Rub? al-Khali desert basin. The southern plateau is cut by great steep-walled canyons into rugged limestone masses that have kept the peoples of that region isolated for centuries.
The desert lies mostly in Saudi Arabia, extending into the surrounding countries of Egypt (Sinai), southern Iraq and southern Jordan. The Arabian desert is bordered by 5 countries. Bordering the Persian Gulf, there is an extension into Qatar and, further east, the region covers almost all of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Rub'al-Khali crosses over from Saudi Arabia into western Oman and eastern Yemen.
One of the special features of eastern Arabia is the sabkhah (or sebkha; saline flat), which usually is a gently sloping sandy plain located along the coast on which salt brine has been concentrated at or just below the surface. It is formed by the filling of embayments with sand—a process that continues as the sea level retreats—while the high rate of evaporation concentrates the trapped seawater to strong brine. Scouring of the sandy surface by shamal (north to northwest) winds exposes the salty crust, which may then be dissolved into brine by winter rains. High tides may spread the saline surface waters inland. The salt crust does not usually attain a thickness of more than three feet (one metre). It may be interbedded with sand, silt, mud, or other deposits formed by evaporation, such as gypsum.
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