Following the separation of the landmasses, mountain ranges appeared from the oceanic debris and cliffs from faulting. A breathtaking cliff, formed from faulting and erosion, extends for miles km from Yemen to Saudi Arabia, where the elevation drops suddenly from 3, to feet to The majority of the desert, including the entire north-eastern portion of the Peninsula, is relatively level, featuring broad plains, and covered by sand in at least a third of the total area.
Summer temperatures can reach degrees F 54 degrees C of dry heat in the interior and high humidity near the coasts and highlands. The driest environment is northwest of the center and deep south, capable of producing mirages through air distortion. The Arabian Desert is well-known for Shamals: the windy seasons that occur twice a year and last for about 40 days during the first two months of the winter season, and on the cusp of spring transitioning into summer.
Shamals can be as powerful as 30 miles 50 km per hour, transporting millions tons of sand and dust. Blowing from all directions, the desert winds constantly alter the patterns of the sand dunes. The natural location and the relief contribute most to the desert-like conditions, unsuitable for many plants and animals to thrive.
Since weather changes suddenly in the Arabian Desert day to night, as well as seasonally, only those adapted to such conditions, do well. Acacia, with long sharp roots that hold in the water and absorb nutrients from deep within, is the one fauna that thrives in the dry desert environment of the Arabia. Date palms with edible fruit are the most common sight, growing around small scattered ponds with a fibrous root system that absorbs nutrients.
Desert roses bloom only when the sun has been out for many consecutive days in the summer. Strong-wooded Ghaf trees, Caper Plants with beautiful flowers, Juniper trees that feed birds and animals on their fruit, as well as the quickly-regenerating alfalfa, all survive on very little water.
Aside from camels dominating the arid and semi-bush areas of the desert, Cape Hares, Sand cats, Striped Hyenas, red foxes, caracals wild cat specie , as well as Arabian wolves can be sighted. Perhaps scarier than sighting a wolf or a caracal from the distance, would be coming across the Egyptian giant sopulgid, also known as the huge camel spider Galeodes arabs , that grows up to 6 inches long and can move with human speed. Aside from chance scorpions, other common insects are pretty harmless.
Speaking of danger, cobras and horned vipers are the most threatening reptiles to come across, although a chance of sighting a representative is quite low. Other reptiles include geckos and over one hundred lizard species of the region.
While geckos compose the largest population, it is the 2 feet long and 10 pound hefty lizard, the Egyptian uromastyx that one will see from far. As harmless herbivores, they are prayed on by the larger animals. Although not from the area, vultures, buzzards and falcons, fly over the desert, with the fast and agile Lanner falcon Falco biarmicus , being one of the oldest members of the specie.
For the bird-watchers, the light grey-bodied Namaqua dove Oena capensis with a black face, neck, and chest is easily identifiable in the skies. Ground and polished stone weapons and other artifacts of early tool usage found mainly on the territories of Dubai, Qatar, and the south-western Rub al-Khali, confirm early human presence in the Arabian Desert, dating back to Pleistocene times, around 2. The Saudi government also sponsored archaeological research that uncovered various cultures living in the region for the past 3, years.
In the last few centuries, the most known residents of the Arabian Desert have been the Bedouins, traversing the sands or living in established settlements. They breed camels, sheep, and horses, as well as grow date palms and other crops for commerce, usually through hired labor.
On top of joint long-distance commercial activities, the nomads and the settled populations engage with each other through cultural rituals, including poetry exchange and religious observations. In the past, the tribal Bedouins would claim certain region as their own dirah , but these became less common with the establishment of new international borders.
Assaults during territorial disputes have also been outlawed in , with the government encouraging each tribe to find permanent oases. How does reality compare with the myth and magic? The geographical location of the Arabian Desert is quite simple as it occupies almost all of the Arabian peninsular bounded by the Syrian Desert to the north, the Red Sea to the west, Arabian Sea to the south and The Gulf also controversially known as the Persian Gulf or Arabian Gulf to the east.
On a geological time-scale, the Arabian peninsular is fairly young, having broken away from the main African continent about five or six million years ago. It is no surprise therefore that this desert has much in common with the Sahara desert and its sands have the same orange colouration due to the presence of iron oxides. The Arabian Desert covers an area of approximately , sq. It will come as no surprise to hear that this desert is hot and dry but some people are surprised at the extreme range of temperatures.
Daytime temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius are common but the area also has very low night-time temperatures sometimes leading to frosts and dew, especially in the relatively moist areas. With an annual precipitation of less than 33 mm, the area is classified as being hyper-arid and a true desert in every sense of the word.
The dry powdery nature of the sands means that sand-storms frequently occur, sometimes in the form of frontal systems with gale force winds and at other times due to the seasonal desert winds, known as Shamals which occur from December to January and May to June.
During these storms, the sand is normally only lifted a little way above ground level making visibility and travel difficult. Occasionally the sands may be lifted to a higher level by the action of Dust Devils which are whirlwinds of a long duration.
If you want to visit the Arabian desert you can get an air arabia flight into Riyadh which is the capital of Saudi Arabia. You can then access the desert through one of the many dedicated Arabian desert tour and safari companies that are in operation. Some plants do however thrive, particularly around the oases and less arid areas. The adenium, or desert rose is one of the most famous and date palms are abundant and a useful source of food. Other commonly found plants include acacia trees, ghaf tree, orache salt-bush , capers, juniper and alfalfa.
With such sparse vegetation, there are few grazing animals but in the past there were substantial numbers of gazelle species including the Arabian Oryx. The famous Arabian horses also hailed from this region. Striped hyenas and Arabian wolves also roamed this area but hunting has resulted in virtual extinction. Cape hares, caracals and red foxes can be found but probably the most instantly recognisable desert animal is the Arabian camel, or dromedary.
The conditions are ideal for many species of snakes, lizards and geckos including the dhub Egyptian uromastyx , horned vipers, cobras and monitor lizards. Insects abound in the form of ants, bees, wasps, moths and beetles, including the famous scarab beetles. Many spider species are present including the fearsome camel spider which grows to a size of 6 inches or more and often feeds on the blood of camels.
It is notoriously aggressive and extremely fast-moving. Many bird species can be observed but few are permanent residents. These include vultures, buzzards, falcons, swallows and doves. The Saudi capital city of Riyadh is sited within this desert as are various other townships and modern transportation makes the whole area much more accessible than in the past but surprisingly, this area has been inhabited for an amazingly long time and recent excavations have found evidence of human habitation as long ago as 2.
The Bedouin people are perhaps the best known of the desert-dwellers and for thousands of years followed a nomadic existence relying on the rearing of camels, horses and sheep along with some more permanent raising of crops at oases.
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