DUBAI
Geography and landscape
Geography
Dubai is an emirate and belongs to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The capital city is Dubai. The emirate of Dubai borders Abu Dhabi to the south, Sharjah to the north-east and the Sultanate of Oman to the south-east. The Persian Gulf lies on the emirate's western coast. Dubai covers an area of 4,114 km² and a lot of land area has been added through land reclamation from the sea.
Dubai Satellite PhotoPhoto: Public domain
Landscape
Dubai CreekPhoto: Senemm, CC-BY-SA-3.0 no changes made
Dubai has some of the most spectacular man-made sights in the world. A skyline of skyscrapers and the palm-shaped islands are spectacular. The landscape of Dubai is further shaped by the desert. Gravel deserts dominate a large part of the southern region of the country. The sand consists mostly of compressed shell and coral and is clean and white.
The western Hajar chain has a dry landscape, with mountains up to about 1,300 metres. Dubai has no natural rivers or oases. Dubai has a natural inlet, Dubai Creek, which is dredged deep enough for large ships to pass through. Dubai is in a very stable zone, the nearest seismic fault line, the Zargos Fault, is 120 km away. Experts predict that the possibility of a tsunami in the region is not high either, as the waters of the Persian Gulf are not deep enough to cause a tsunami.
Sources
Elmar Landeninformatie
www.landenweb.nl/verenigde-arabische-emiraten
CIA - World Factbook
BBC - Country Profiles
Copyright: Team Landenweb