Physical geography of Arabian Peninsula

Arabian Peninsula is located in the southwest of Asia, bordering Gulf and Gulf of Oman in the east, Red Sea in the west, Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden in the south, Syrian desert in the northwest and Mesopotamia Plain in the north, covering an area of more than 3.2 million square kilometers, making it the largest peninsula in the world. Arabian Peninsula, Indian Peninsula and Indochina Peninsula are also called the three major peninsulas in Asia. It is bordered by Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in the east, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea in the south and African continent across the Red Sea in the west. The dividing line between the north and the Asian continent is roughly from the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba in the northeast of the Red Sea in the west to the Arabian estuary in the Persian Gulf in the east. It is 2240 kilometers long from north to south, 200-1, 900 kilometers wide from east to west, with an area of 3.22 million square kilometers and an altitude of 1, 200-2500 meters. This is an ancient platform plateau. The terrain slopes from southwest to northeast. There are only a few mountains in the southwest and southeast, except the Yemeni highlands with an altitude of 2700-3200m in the southwest. Among them, the Hijaz Mountain in the southern section of the west coast is at an altitude of 1 500m, and the peaks are mostly extinct volcanic cones, with the highest peak Hadur Shuaib at an altitude of 3,760m. The central part is a vast desert with an area of about 6.5438+0.2 million square kilometers, accounting for about 40% of the peninsula area. From north to south, the larger deserts are the Great Neve Desert, the Daihna Desert and the Rubhari Desert. Among them, the Rubhari Desert is the largest, covering an area of 650,000 square kilometers. Arabian Peninsula is a vast plateau, surrounded by steep mountains and surrounded by deep ditches on three sides. It gradually descended from the Red Sea to the northeast until it reached the eastern lowlands along the Persian Gulf coast. The highest peak, An-Nabi Shuayb, is 3760 meters above sea level and located about 32 kilometers northwest of Sana 'a, Yemen.

The western part of the Arabian Peninsula has a high terrain, which inclines from west to east and is stepped. The west is the Hijaz (Han Zhi)-asir Plateau; Hijaz mountain range in the southern section is about 3000 meters above sea level; The central part is Najid (Neizhi) Plateau; To the east is a plain. The southwest corner of the peninsula is fertile and suitable for farming. Yemen has a pleasant climate, rich products and developed agriculture, and is known as the "Arabian Paradise". The plains and some plateaus on the peninsula are covered with gravel, and the desert accounts for about 1/3 of the total area. In uncertain years, when rivers, rainy seasons and flash floods break out, the valleys will be flooded into rivers, and dry up without water on sunny days. The peninsula is located in the tropical and subtropical zone, the western plateau belongs to the subtropical Mediterranean climate, and some highlands along the southeast coast belong to the tropical savanna climate (tropical sparse grassland climate). Other vast areas have a tropical desert climate, which is usually hot and dry. The climate of the four seasons and the temperature difference between day and night are remarkable. In summer, the highest temperature during the day is about 60℃, the sun is like fire, the heat wave is rolling and the heat is unbearable. There is little precipitation, and the average annual precipitation in the western coastal and mountainous areas is 500- 1000 mm, 25-400 mm in the northwest, below 100 mm in the Arabian Plateau and 10 in the coastal areas to May of the following year. In winter, dry and hot air blows in most areas. The wind comes from the tropical air mass in southern West Asia and North Africa, which often causes the temperature to rise by more than 20℃ in a few hours, which brings serious harm to crop growth and residents' life. Farmland irrigation and drinking water for residents mainly depend on groundwater.

The Arabian Peninsula is close to Asia and Africa, and its strategic position is very important. Yemen, located in the southwest of the peninsula, was once the hub of east-west maritime trade. The Red Sea and bays on both sides of the peninsula connect Egypt and the fertile land of Crescent Moon, forming an important natural corridor for east-west traffic. About 10 million years ago, the continents between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean were connected. After that, the crust changed greatly, forming the Great Rift Valley in East Africa, and the central land fell into the Red Sea. The Red Sea separates Asia from Africa. A piece of land on the east side of the Red Sea has become a slightly rectangular peninsula-Arabian Peninsula.

The Arabian Peninsula is mainly composed of two landforms: the Arab shield in the west and the sedimentary area in the east of the shield. The sedimentary area sinks from the shield to the northeast, east and southeast, and enters great basin, including southern Iraq, Persian Gulf and eastern Rubar-Tali. The eastern edge of the shield bends eastward from the top of the Gulf of Aqaba, extends northward from the Red Sea, and turns to the southwest and south at half of the peninsula until it reaches the Yemeni highlands.

The sedimentary area was formed later than the earth shield, and it is an ancient sea deposit, which is mainly composed of limestone and a large number of sandstone and shale. The earliest sediments were formed in the Early Paleozoic (395-570 million years ago). In the eastern Arabian Peninsula, the sediments were nearly 10 km below the surface. There are natural gas and oil in Jurassic and Cretaceous limestone (aged between 65 million and 654.38+0.9 billion years) within 3 kilometers from the surface.

Yemen highland and shield are very different in topography. It is not a mountain, but the edge of the Arabian Plateau cut by deep valleys. Geologically speaking, Oman Highland is more closely related to zagros mountains in western Iran than to other mountains in Arabian Peninsula (the sea surface of the Strait of Hormuz is only about 80km wide).

Han Zhi and asir.

An almost complete cliff runs through the Arabian Peninsula in the Red Sea. The part extending from the Gulf of Aqaba to about 322 kilometers south of Mecca is called Hezaz. It continues southward to a higher part of Najran near the Yemeni border, which is called asir. In the Midian area in the northernmost part of the Han Dynasty, the highest elevation of the mountain was nearly 2896 meters. In asir, the mountain is over 2743 meters high, and the mountain road is particularly rugged and difficult to walk. The lava area extends down from the hillside to the seaside near Harry, forming a long-standing natural border in the south of the Han Dynasty. The asir Plateau is irrigated by the rain brought by the Indian Ocean monsoon, and the soil is more fertile than agricultural sinology.

The plains along the Red Sea are extremely narrow, only 64-80 kilometers south of Medina and Mecca. The whole plain is called Tihama Plain, sometimes divided into Tihama Hanzhi and Tihama asir. There are no natural ports for large ships to berth along the coast, but there are many inlets suitable for navigation.

Northwest inland, the elevation of Yi Sima sandstone plateau is about1219m. There are some huge lava areas in the south, such as Uwayrid lava area, and other lava areas are located around Medina. The lava point above the mountains in the south of Medina slopes downward and extends to the offshore. Rakbah sandstone plain is distributed in the south of Kishb lava area in the southeast of Medina. In the lava area east of Mecca, there is a lava area around the 〔Hidn〕 Mountains, which is a traditional border area that divides the Han nationality and the inner branch.

Neizhi

The western part of Nejd is called Shangnei, which is located in the Arabian Shield, with an average elevation of 1, more than 300 meters. The eastern part belongs to alluvial area, and Ar-Riyad city is located near the eastern edge, with an altitude of about 594 meters. The main water system of the chronicle includes several seasonal valleys from west to east.

Northern Arabia peninsula

As-Sirhan River is actually a deep valley, not a real dry river, about 322 kilometers long, and its riverbed is 305 meters lower than the adjacent plateau. The northeast of Sirhan River is a vast lava area and flint plain, which belongs to the south of Hamad Desert in Syria. The northern edge of the basin, including the Nefud Desert, is a cliff, and under the northern slope of the cliff is the Anizah Wadis, which flows into the Euphrates River basin. The largest rivers are Arar River and Al-Khurr River. Nefd desert

It is the second largest desert in Arabian Peninsula, located in the northernmost part of Inner Mongolia, just outside the shield, with an area of about 64,750 square kilometers. Its scope almost reaches the oasis city of Taima in the west, Haier-Jaf and Sakah in the north, and Wheeler in the south.

Dena desert

The Ad-Dahna Desert, which separates Inner Mongolia from the eastern Arabian Peninsula, is a quicksand river that flows slowly from the Nefud Desert to the Rubhari Desert, with a total length of more than 1.287km and a width of less than 80 km. Sandy land is often reddish, and its appearance varies greatly. Especially in the middle section, the parallel arrangement of Changsha ridges is about 46 meters high, while the height of some sand dunes is three times that of sand ridges. Dehna desert can be used for grazing in spring and winter. 1957, Hutton oilfield was discovered under sand accumulation.

Rube Artari Desert

The largest pure sand desert in the world, with an estimated area of about 647,500 square kilometers. The few Bedouin nomads in the area are usually called Raismes (meaning "sand") instead of Rubhari Desert. Since 1950, oil companies have made a thorough exploration of the desert.

In some areas of the Ruhali Desert, drought can last for more than 10 years, while in other areas, thunderstorms or intense heat sometimes occur. The largest sand dune is in the easternmost part of the desert, with a height of more than 244 meters and a sand ridge of more than 48 kilometers. The low-lying places between them are usually salt marshes.

Most of the Rubhari Desert is in Saudi Arabia. However, the borders between Oman in the south and Yemen in the southeast are still controversial. 1974 Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reached an agreement on the disputed border in the east. Yemen

Yemen has Nabi Chouaib, the highest peak in Arabian Peninsula, which is located in the northwest of Shana. There are several cities in the Tihamai Plain in Yemen, which are wider and more suitable for living than the Tihamai Plain in northern Saudi Arabia. Monsoon rains make Yemen's mountains and plateaus the most fertile areas in the Arabian Peninsula. At the southern tip of Yemen, the coast of Al-Kawr Mountains is a steep hillside.

The port of Aden in Yemen is formed by two volcanic peninsulas located in the lowlands at the southern foot of the mountain. The coastal plain behind Aden is about 48 kilometers wide, which is narrower than almost anywhere else. The Hajir River may be the only river in Arabian Peninsula that keeps flowing all the year round. It flows along the coast for about 97 kilometers before entering the sea.

The Kaur Mountains disappeared eastward in the Hadramao Plateau, known as jawl. Accurately speaking, Hadramao is an inland valley that splits the "plateau", and the lower part of the valley directly reaches the seaside, which is called Al-Masilah River. On the inland side, Ramlat As-Sabatayn is located on the slope from Kaur Mountain to Rubkhali Desert, and the terrain below the desert and "plateau" is gentle.

Zufar

Mount Kara in the southern Sultanate of Oman is about 9 14 meters high, with a peak exceeding 1.524 meters. Monsoon keeps the land and coastal plains on the sea side (south) of the mountain range fertile.

Oman

The Hal Mountains are divided into East Hal and West Hal. Some peaks are over 2743 meters. Different from other coastal highlands in the Arabian Peninsula, the Hassel Mountains are very steep on both sides, and the plains at the foot of the mountains are almost imperceptible from many cities in Oman to the Luhali Basin. There are no mountains in the south that block Oman's export to the Sea of Aber. The average elevation of the coastal plateau is about 152 meters. The Tropic of Cancer runs right through the south of Medina and divides the Arabian Peninsula into almost equal parts. Summer is full of hot summer heat, and the temperature in some places is as high as 54℃. Most inland areas are dry, but coastal areas and some highlands and deserts in the south are very humid in summer. There is fog and dew in wet areas, and dew often replaces rain. In arid areas, the sun is scorching all summer; Except for high altitude and northern areas, the climate is pleasant in spring and autumn, and it seldom snows in winter.

It seldom rains in areas where the Indian Ocean monsoon can't reach, and the average annual rainfall is only 77- 102mm. Occasionally, it rains cats and dogs in the desert, which causes the flood in the dry valley to skyrocket, and the rainstorm sometimes turns into hail. It is common for droughts to last for several years. In the southwest and south, monsoon can increase rainfall by at least three times. In mid-winter and early summer, the monsoon in the Persian Gulf, like the Egyptian khamsin, blows up dust all over the sky. This wind is called "Chamarre" in Arabian Peninsula, but the actual wind direction is mainly north-northwest, and the direction opposite to the "north wind" is the less frequent "qaws". The wind direction in Neizhi and Lubali Desert is complicated, especially in spring, the wind direction can be blown from 360 to any direction, and the wind force can range from breeze to gale.

The peninsula is located at north latitude 13-20, and the Tropic of Cancer runs through it. It belongs to tropical desert climate, with dry and hot climate and strong continental nature. The annual average temperature is above 20℃, and the absolute maximum temperature can reach 50-55℃, making it one of the hottest areas in the world. The average temperature in Leng Yue is mostly between 15-24℃. The average annual precipitation in most areas is less than 100 mm, and the annual precipitation in northern areas affected by the Mediterranean climate can reach about 200 mm in winter and 500- 1000 mm in summer affected by the Indian Ocean airflow and topography. Therefore, the desert in the middle of the peninsula is widely distributed, and the savanna is distributed around the desert. Only in the piedmont coastal plain and inland low-lying areas with high groundwater level can there be narrow or sporadic oases, irrigated agriculture and animal husbandry are relatively developed, and the population is relatively concentrated. The larger oases are narrow plains along the Yemeni highlands, Al Ahsa Oasis centered on Khufu and Harji Oasis centered on Riyadh. Oasis is rich in date palms. The southern coastal plain is rich in tropical crops, such as coffee, rubber and mango. Animal husbandry is mainly about raising camels.

The Arabian Peninsula is located in the tropics, with strong solar radiation, which is controlled by tropical continental air masses all the year round. The plateau peninsula is surrounded by high mountains, plateaus and hot areas, which are rarely affected.

Due to the influence of moist air mass in the ocean, the tropical arid climate here is continental, extremely hot and dry, with little rain.

This is one of the hottest areas in the world. The annual average temperature of the whole peninsula is above 20℃, the average temperature of July in the hottest month is above 30℃, and the average temperature of Leng Yue in 65438+ 10℃ is also higher than 10℃, mostly between 15-24℃. It is hotter in the south, such as Aden at the southern tip of the peninsula, where the annual average temperature is 28.9℃, July 32.5℃, 65438+1October 25.4℃, and the monthly average temperature exceeds 30℃ for four or five months. The absolute maximum temperature on the peninsula is often 50-55℃. The temperature in the peninsula varies greatly every year, generally above 15℃, and in some places it can reach about 20℃.

The Arabian Peninsula is dry with little rain. There is little precipitation on the peninsula, and the annual precipitation in most areas is below 100 mm, such as Aden 4 1 mm, Riyadh 97 mm, Manama 84 mm and Jeddah 64 mm. The main reason for the lack of rainfall is that winter is controlled by the subtropical high belt and the dry northeast trade wind blows. Although the air pressure is low in summer (there is an Indian low pressure in the east), the southwest wind comes from the arid area of North Africa and seldom rains. For example, Riyadh and Manama in Arabian Peninsula basically do not rain from June to September. The monthly precipitation in winter and spring is only below 20 mm, which is mainly influenced by the airflow from the west. The relative humidity is very low, and the annual average relative humidity in many areas of the peninsula is below 40%. For example, the annual average relative humidity in Riyadh and other places is only 32%, and it is less than 30% from June to September. The northern part of the peninsula can be affected by the Mediterranean cyclone in winter, and the precipitation increases slightly, with the annual precipitation reaching 200 mm. The Yemeni highlands with an altitude of 2,700-3,200 m can be affected by the Indian Ocean airflow and topographic precipitation, with more precipitation, even reaching 1000mm, which is called "Happy Arabia". Precipitation concentration is another obvious sign of strong continental climate in Arabian Peninsula. For example, the average annual precipitation in Jeddah is only 64 mm, but the precipitation days are only 5 days. In the peninsula with scarce rain, sometimes sudden heavy rain will cause floods. Camels have always been the main livestock of Arabs engaged in nomadic life. Without camels, Bedouins can't stay away from human drinking water sources, and drinking camel milk can go deep into the desert for months. Camels can provide people with meat, clothes, fuel (feces), transportation and animal power to carry water and pull plows. Camel, as a means of transportation, has been largely replaced by four-wheel drive vehicles, mainly as livestock.

There are many sheep and goats, but most of them are raised in small groups, not in large-scale grazing. Arabian horse is an extinct animal in Arabian Peninsula, but other countries are cultivating it. Many Bedouins have fast Saluki dogs, and falcons are also used for hunting. Overhunting drastically reduced the number of antelopes. There are only a few antelopes left in the last habitat of Lubuhari Desert, and highland goats are also rare. Other large wild animals are hyenas, wolves and jackals, while smaller animals are foxes, honey badgers, rabbits, hedgehogs and jerboa.

Deadly desert snakes include horned snakes and a cobra that is very different from the Indian cobra. Lizards include desert dragons and small stone dragons that haunt the desert.

Ostriches have begun to disappear, eagles, vultures and owls are still common, and a small number of bustards are often hunted by falcons. Red storks, pelicans, egrets and other seabirds often haunt coastal areas. Pigeons, cuckoos, swallows, Dai Sheng and other birds can be seen in cities and oases in the desert, while sand chickens, honey and pedestrians live in the desert.

It is a disaster that swarms of locusts often come and all the places where green plants pass are swallowed up. Other common insects are mosquitoes, ticks, beetles, scorpions and ants, and flies that appear even in the depths of the desert. In some places, people keep bees to make honey.

The waters around Arabian Peninsula produce mackerel, grouper, tuna, mackerel and other edible fish as well as shrimp. There are many sharks and sardines in the offshore area along the southern coast. Whales occasionally enter the Persian Gulf.

Dates grow almost everywhere except in high altitude areas and Zufar, while coconut trees grow in the coastal areas of Zufar. The main cereals are wheat, sorghum, barley and millet. Rice supplements wheat as a food ration, but it is rarely cultivated locally. A few places, such as Abyan near Aden, are suitable for growing cotton. Compared with vegetables, Arabs generally prefer fruits, especially watermelons, pomegranates and dates. Al-Buraymi is famous for producing mangoes, and Arabs also produce figs, grapes, bananas, fairy fruits and other fruits. Oasis is also rich in citron and Java almonds.

There are few trees on the peninsula. The clumps of juniper trees in the southwest highlands are a bit like real forests. Drought-tolerant tamarisk is usually planted in rows to prevent quicksand erosion. The leaves of various trees called "hamd" contain enough salt to meet the needs of camels. Perennial tough plants are as important to human survival as annual tender plants are moistened by rain in spring and winter. Oil is a mineral resource with great economic value. The Arabian Peninsula has the largest oil reserves in the world. The Persian Gulf coast is rich in oil and is known as the sea of oil in the world.

Except for the oil fields in Yemen, the oil fields in Arabia are located in the same huge alluvial basin as those in Iran and Iraq. Although Iran discovered oil in 1908, it was not until 1932 that the first oil field was discovered in Bahrain on the Arabian side of the basin. Since then, extensive exploration has been started in the eastern part of Arabian Peninsula, and it soon went deep into inland areas. Saudi Arabia 1938, Kuwait and Qatar 1940, Saudi Arabia and the interior of Kuwait's neutral zone 1953, Abu Dhabi 1960, Oman 1964 and Oman 1983. 195 1 Oil was discovered in the Persian Gulf of Saudi Arabia, 1958 in Abu Dhabi and 1960 in the neutral zone of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

There are a lot of associated natural gas in the oil field. The commercial application of these natural gases requires huge investment. Part of liquefied natural gas is used for domestic consumption and export, and part of it is reinjected into the reservoir for storage to maintain the oil production pressure.

Arab countries are trying to diversify their economies, although abundant oil is unfavorable to the process of economic diversification. Iron ore has been found in the northern and inner branches of Han Dynasty. Other resources include barite, gypsum, salt, lime used to make cement, clay used to make bricks and pottery, quartz sand and shale used to make glass, marble and building stones, some of which are already under development.

For centuries, oyster farms in the Persian Gulf have produced some of the best pearls in the world, and pearl picking was once a rich and profitable occupation. Bahrain is the main center of pearl mining industry. About 193 1 year later, due to the depression of the world economy, the competition of Japanese pearl farming, the labor force flowed to high-paying and low-paying jobs, and the pearl trade has collapsed.

Even in the southwest with abundant rainfall, the river flow may not meet the needs of power generation. Water shortage and poor soil hinder the development of agricultural export trade. Some countries have made progress in improving irrigation systems and expanding arable land. Fruits from some countries, such as date palms, are being exported.