Geography of United Arab Emirates

Where is the country of United Arab Emirates located on world map? According to COUNTRYAAH.COM, United Arab Emirates is an independent nation located in Western Asia. The United Arab Emirates celebrates its independence day on December 2nd of each year. This day marks the official declaration of independence from the United Kingdom in 1971. The formal name of the United Arab Emirates is Al-Imarat al-‘Arabiya al-Muttahida, which translates to “United Arab Emirates” in English. The country’s symbols include the flag, which features three equal horizontal bands of green, white, and black; the national emblem, which consists of a falcon clutching a red disc; and the national anthem, entitled “Ishy Bilady” (Long Live My Nation). See historyaah for United Arab Emirates history.

United Arab Emirates is a state of Asia extending to the south-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula; it overlooks the Persian Gulf to the north and the Gulf of Oman for a short distance to the NE; it borders to the West and S with Saudi Arabia, to the East with Oman and at the NW end with Qaṭar. The E. are a Confederation of hereditary monarchies (emirates), in each of which the emir is absolute sovereign in his state.

The territory is flat, made up of sedimentary formations (from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic) with a tabular structure, covered almost everywhere by a sandy blanket that makes the landscape even more monotonous. From the coastal strip, low and fronted by numerous islands, the gradual passage towards the desert environment of internal Arabia begins; the climate, therefore, is arid, with strong temperature variations, especially during the day. Due to the extreme scarcity of precipitation, surface hydrography is absent; the waters of the groundwater feed the vegetation of the oases.

The demographic dynamic is characterized by a high annual growth, due to the progressive improvement of the average living conditions, to the massive immigration of workers, coming from the whole Middle East area and from various Asian countries (especially India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), to politics expansion implemented above all by the smaller emirates and in part to the natural increase. The high share of foreign workers means that the male population constitutes 2/3 of the total. The population is strongly concentrated in the most important cities (Abū Dhābi and Dubai, capitals of the emirates of the same name), which have developed with modern executive and residential districts, according to oil activities, equipped with commercial, public and social services of a good quality level. In the rest of the country, permanent settlement is limited to small towns, in oases or along the coast, while nomadism is still widespread.

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Nature

Terrain shapes and bedrock

The coast towards the Persian Gulf is a smoothed tidal coast with coral reefs and wide, flat and vegetation-free deposits with the character of salt deserts, so-called sabkha. The tidal currents are constantly changing the appearance of the coast and the islands. The coastal area has a bedrock of oil-rich, sedimentary rocks that towards the Hormuz Strait are getting older. Along the eastern coast of the Musandam Peninsula south of the Hormuz Strait, the Hajar mountain range with peaks around 2,000 m asl extends.

Most of the United Arab Emirates is made up of the huge sand desert Rub al-Khali with elongated dunes with northeast-southwest extension. Occasional wadis and oases, e.g. The Liwao oasis, interrupts the desert landscape.

Climate

United Arab Emirates has a dry desert climate. The rainfall is usually between 75-100 mm per year, but fogs from the coast can somewhat alleviate the drought. A sandy wind, shamal, blows from the north and northwest, especially at the turn of the year and early summer. The average temperature in January is around 18 ° C and in July around 33 ° C, but can reach as high as 46 ° C.

Plant-and animal life

United Arab Emirates Wildlife

The plant life is sparse and consists mostly of shrub-covered amaranth plants, euphorbios and Zygophyʹllum species as well as small populations of acacias and the Mesquite family Prosoʹpis cineraʹria. In the oases, date palms and the blue louse are cultivated. Along the east coast is the oldest mangrove forest in the Arabian Peninsula.

Of the approximately 25 species of mammals, desert rats dominate, but there are also predators such as red fox and fennel. About 70 species of birds nest, and on the north coast around Dubai, large numbers of waders, or antlers, desert whip and heron whistle, rest or winter. In the hinterland several species of larch breed, and in winter desert scrub and desert singers are common.

Of the approximately 40 species of reptiles, there are hornworms and dabbagams. Three species of sea turtles visit the beaches to lay eggs, and in coastal waters there are dugong. Outside the rich coral reefs there are plenty of Spanish mackerel (Scoʹmber japoʹnicus) and temporary tuna and whales.

Nature conservation

In 2010, the United Arab Emirates had a national park and two areas with a lower degree of nature protection.