Geography and Geology of the United Arab Emirates: A Naturalist’s Introduction

Abstract

AbstractThe main geographical divisions of the UAE include many sub-environments that nurture the country’s diverse plant and animal life. The UAE’s biogeographical position enhances its potential natural biodiversity. The beaches and sabkha of the Coastal Plains are punctuated by lagoons, mangroves, and even rocky headlands. The Sand Deserts grade from quartz sand megadunes inland to white carbonate sands along the Gulf. To the northeast, where they merge with the Alluvial Plain, they are increasingly well-vegetated. The Mountain Regions feature great diversity along many parameters. The Hajar Mountains are composed primarily of a suite of rocks, collectively called ‘ophiolite’, that once formed part of the ocean crust and upper mantle. Ophiolite rocks are associated elsewhere with low botanical diversity and high endemism. Hajar Mountain wadis sustain discrete freshwater habitats with a diverse array of life. The carbonate mountains of the Ru’us Al Jibal range (the Musandam mountains) and Jebel Hafeet differ significantly—physiographically, geochemically, hydrologically and floristically—from the Hajar Mountains. The tectonic collision of Arabia with Eurasia, commencing ca. 30 mya, enabled the extensive exchange of terrestrial and freshwater organisms. The Arabian Gulf is a shallow continental depression that has been emergent repeatedly during glacially lowered sea stands.