The Arabian Plateau is one of the largest plateaus in Eurasia. In the article we will tell about it in detail.
Location
The Arabian Plateau occupies almost the entire Arabian Peninsula, namely its central part. This peninsula is the largest in Asia. From the south, the territory where the Arabian Plateau is located is limited by the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, from the west by the Red Sea, which separates Asia from Africa, the eastern shores are washed by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
Relief
This area is located on the ancient African-Arabian platform. The Arabian Plateau is almost completely desert. The landscape is monotonous, devoid of significant fluctuations above sea level. The highest point is 1300 m, the lowest is 500 m high. The total area is 2.3 million square kilometers. It is the fourth largest plain in the world. The Arabian Plateau has a slight slope from southwest to northeast.
The western part is covered by lava fields called "harra" with scatteredcinder and tuff cones and frozen lava flows. The highest in the volcanic fields is Mount At-Tabab, which has a height of 233 m and a 1.5 km crater.
Tuwaik and Nejd are plateaus located in the inner part of the plateau.
As already mentioned, the desert area is a complex of deserts that have their own names - Big Nefud, Rub al-Khali, Nefud-Dakhi, Dehna, Wahiba, El-Khasa, Tihama, Jafur. It is curious that in foreign geography all these deserts are one large Arabian desert. Although in domestic science, everything is completely different. The Arabian Desert is a place on the African continent. It is located in Egypt, between the Red Sea and the Nile.
This entire area, covered in sand, is the second largest desert in the world after the Sahara.
Climate
Continental tropical climate prevails over a large part of Arabia, resulting in very rare rainfall and extreme temperature fluctuations. Rains are occasional, torrential and occur in winter. Sometimes there are years of drought when there is not even such a small amount of rainfall. The air temperature is high throughout the year. This is due to the receipt of the maximum total solar radiation on Earth. In winter, the temperature varies between 14 - 24.8 °C, in summer it reaches 33.4 °C, and the maximum was recorded in Riyadh - 55 °C.
Due to the low humidity of the air, this temperature creates very difficult conditions for life. That is why the inhabitants of these places prefer to wrap themselves in clothes (most often white)completely, escaping from the scorching constant heat. Thus, Arabia is one of the hottest places on the planet.
Flora and fauna
The area is deserted, covered with sands and primitive soils, which are also blown away by the wind. It grows mainly succulent plants, which can grow in arid and hot places. These include: spurge, aloe, herbs and shrubs with a developed root system: astragalus, aristida, wormwood.
Date trees grow in oases, bringing life to the population. Coconut palms are very rare. But most of the space is covered with lifeless sand, dunes and dunes.
The animals of the plateau are also represented by a limited number of species. Among which there is only diversity among reptiles: cobras, vipers, gyurza, chameleons and agamas. Dune cats, goitered gazelles, oryx are large animals. Jackals, hyenas and honey badgers were almost completely exterminated by man.
Countries and economy
On the lands where the Arabian Plateau is located, countries are currently located: Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, the largest of them is Saudi Arabia and others.
Saudi Arabia has a rich history and original flavor. It occupies most of the plateau. Mecca and Medina are located here, attracting Muslim pilgrims from all over the world. This gave the country the name "Land of the Two Mosques."
The Arabian Peninsula is mentioned many times in the Bible. Historically, the development of culture can be divided into Muslim andpre-Muslim periods.
The population here is the richest, despite the poverty of the plateau for minerals.
The reason for this is oil, the main we alth of the plateau. Now the country is in second place in the production and processing of oil. The task of oil workers is simplified by the shallow location of wells - from 300 m.
Finishing the description of the Arabian Plateau, we can say that it is a controversial place, both deserted and poor, and at the same time filled with the luxury of cities.
