Survey of United Arab Emirates
Studies
UAES 200
Week 2
The Geographical and Climatic Conditions
Map of
the UAE
The Physical
Geography of the
UAE
• Geographical factors which determine a
country’s position in relations to the rest of the
world are fundamentally responsible for the
quality of life led by the inhabitants.
• The way in which certain geographical factors
influence and condition the life of the
inhabitants can differ a great deal from one
century to another.
• To show for the UAE the mutual influence of
the geographical and the historical factors, and
to evaluate how they condition each other’s
relevance at this very point in time, provide
the frame in which the present-day society in
the UAE to be seen.
Some Implications of the
UAE’s Geographical Setting
• A Country in the “Middle East”
• Where does the term Middle East come
from?
• The UAE forms a part of the Middle East.
• The rising demand for oil the greater
economic strength and economic weight
for Gulf countries.
Some Implications of the UAE’s
Geographical Setting
• Oil
• Oil was first discovered in the United Arab
Emirates in 1958.
• Oil reserves in the United Arab Emirates
are about 98.63 billion barrels
• Of the emirates, Abu Dhabi has most of
the oil with 92 billion barrels while Dubai
has 4 billion barrels and Sharjah has 1.5
billion barrels.
• The UAE produces about 2.9 million
barrels per day of total oil liquids.
• Underground
Water
Geographical Features of
the UAE
• General
• The United Arab Emirates is situated in the Middle East
and southwest Asia.
• It is at a strategic location along the northern approaches to
the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil.
• It shares a border with Saudi Arabia (530 km), and Oman (450 km).
• The total area of the UAE is approximately 83,600 square
kilometers (32,300 square miles).
• The largest emirate, Abu Dhabi accounts for 87 percent of the
UAE's total area (72,732 km2 (28,082 sq mi)). The smallest
emirate, Ajman encompasses only 259 km2 (100 sq mi).
• The UAE stretches for more than 650 km (400 mi) along the
southern shore of the Arabian Gulf.
Geographical Features of the UAE
• Mountains:
• The Hajar Range
• Vertical cliffs
• Almost devoid of topsoil.
The Hajar Mountain Range
Geographical Features of
the UAE
• The Desert
• Mostly sandy desert constitutes more than two
thirds of the UAE’s territory.
• This mostly sandy desert has varying amounts of
sparse seasonal vegetation.
• The desert in the UAE forms part of the 800,000
square kilometers of desert called the empty
quarter (Rub’ al Khali).
• This sea of sand and gravel plains has always
separated the Gulf Coast from the nearest areas of
settled habitation such as Hadhramut, Yemen or
Najd.
Geographical Features of
the UAE
• The Sea
• The contact of the country with outside world has
mostly been by way of the sea.
• Characterized by a great number of coral reefs and
sandbanks, which together with the numerous low-
lying islands make navigation extremely difficult and
hazardous.
• The whole of the Gulf is very shallow, creating
conditions for the growth of pearl oysters.
• Shallow water led to comparatively little long-distance
shipping during the last few centuries.
• Thus, overseas trade has not been a very important
feature of its economy until recently.
Climate
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a desert climate: characterized by
pleasantly mild winters and very hot, sunny summers, with the humidity of the
Arabian Gulf that makes the heat unbearable.
• Annual precipitation is almost everywhere below 100 millimeters (4 inches) and
is concentrated in the winter months.
• In the northeast, in the Hajar Mountains, which separate the coast of the
Arabian Gulf from that of the Gulf of Oman, the climate is still desert, although,
in the winter months, it rains a bit more often than it does at sea level.
• Winter, from December to February, is very mild or pleasantly warm: the
maximum temperatures range from 24 °C to 26 °C (76 °F to 80 °F).
• Summer is very hot and sunny, with daytime temperatures ranging from 38 °C to
42 °C (101 °F to 108 °F) between May and September,
