Saudi Arabia

I

Introduction

Saudi Arabia, monarchy of the Middle East, occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula, and bordered on the north by Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait; on the east by the Persian Gulf and Qatar; on the south-east by the United Arab Emirates and Oman; on the south by the Republic of Yemen and on the west by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. Boundaries in the south-east are not precisely defined. Saudi Arabia has an area of about 2,240,000 sq km (864,900 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Riyadh.

II

Land and Resources

Considerably more than half the area of Saudi Arabia is desert. Rub‘ al Khali, known in English as the Great Sandy Desert and as the 'Empty Quarter', extends over much of the south-east and beyond the southern frontier. Largely unexplored, Rub‘ al Khali has an estimated area of about 777,000 sq km (300,000 sq mi). An extension of the Syrian Desert projects into northern Saudi Arabia, and extending south-east from this region is An Nafūd, an upland desert of red sand covering an area of about 56,980 sq km (22,000 sq mi). Ad Dahnā’, a narrow extension of this desert, links An Nafūd and Rub‘ al Khali. A central plateau region, broken in the east by a series of uplifts, extends south from An Nafūd. Several wadis (watercourses), dry except in the rainy season, traverse the plateau region. The western limits of the latter are delineated by a mountain range extending generally north-west and south-east along the eastern edge of Al Ḩijāz and Asir regions.

The highest point in Saudi Arabia, Jabal Sawdā’ 3,133 m (10,279 ft), is located in the south-western portion of the country. Between the range, which has an average elevation of about 1,220 m (4,000 ft), and the Red Sea is a narrow coastal plain. In the east, along the Persian Gulf, is a low-lying region known as Al Hasa. It is underlain by great petroleum deposits.

A

Climate

Extreme heat and aridity are characteristic of most of Saudi Arabia. The average temperatures for the months of January and July in Riyadh are 14.4° C (58° F) and 42° C (108° F). The average temperatures in Jiddah for the same months are 22.8° C (73° F) and 30.6° C (87° F). Average annual precipitation in Riyadh and Jiddah is 81 mm (3 in) and 61 mm (2 in), respectively. Because of the overall aridity, Saudi Arabia has no permanent rivers or lakes.

B

Natural Resources

Fertile oases, many of which are the sites of towns and villages, are scattered through the Saudi Arabian deserts north of Rub‘ al Khali, and larger tracts of pasturage are in Ad Dahnā’ and the plateau region. The great Saudi Arabian oilfields are located in the coastal area adjoining the Persian Gulf.