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Bahrain Bahrain -- Geography and Population
Geography
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Figure 6. Bahrain, 1993
Bahrain (from the Arabic word for "two seas") comprises
an
archipelago of thirty-three islands situated midway in the
Persian Gulf close to the shore of the Arabian Peninsula.
The
islands are about twenty-four kilometers from the east
coast of
Saudi Arabia and twenty-eight kilometers from Qatar. The
total
area of the islands is about 691 square kilometers, or
about four
times the size of the District of Columbia. The largest
island,
accounting for 83 percent of the area, is Bahrain (also
seen as
Al Bahrayn), which has an extent of 572 square kilometers.
From
north to south, Bahrain is forty-eight kilometers long; at
its
widest point in the north, it is sixteen kilometers from
east to
west
(see
fig. 6).
Around most of Bahrain is a relatively shallow inlet of
the
Persian Gulf known as the Gulf of Bahrain. The seabed
adjacent to
Bahrain is rocky and, mainly off the northern part of the
island,
covered by extensive coral reefs. Most of the island is
low-lying
and barren desert. Outcroppings of limestone form low
rolling
hills, stubby cliffs, and shallow ravines. The limestone
is
covered by various densities of saline sand, capable of
supporting only the hardiest desert vegetation--chiefly
thorn
trees and scrub. There is a fertile strip five kilometers
wide
along the northern coast on which date, almond, fig, and
pomegranate trees grow. The interior contains an
escarpment that
rises to 134 meters, the highest point on the island, to
form
Jabal ad Dukhan (Mountain of Smoke), named for the mists
that
often wreathe the summit. Most of the country's oil wells
are
situated in the vicinity of Jabal ad Dukhan.
Manama (Al Manamah), the capital, is located on the
northeastern tip of the island of Bahrain. The main port,
Mina
Salman, also is located on the island, as are the major
petroleum
refining facilities and commercial centers. Causeways and
bridges
connect Bahrain to adjacent islands and the mainland of
Saudi
Arabia. The oldest causeway, originally constructed in
1929,
links Bahrain to Al Muharraq, the second largest island.
Although
the island is only six kilometers long, the country's
second
largest city, Al Muharraq, and the international airport
are
located there. A causeway also connects Al Muharraq to the
tiny
island of Jazirat al Azl, the site of a major ship-repair
and
dry-dock center. South of Jazirat al Azl, the island of
Sitrah,
site of the oil export terminal, is linked to Bahrain by a
bridge
that spans the narrow channel separating the two islands.
The
causeway to the island of Umm an Nasan, off the west coast
of
Bahrain, continues on to the Saudi mainland town of Al
Khubar.
Umm an Nasan is the private property of the amir and the
site of
his personal game preserve.
The other islands of significance include Nabi Salah,
which
is northwest of Sitrah; Jiddah, to the north of Umm an
Nasan; and
a group of islands, the largest of which is Hawar, near
the coast
of Qatar
(see Geography;
Foreign Relations, ch. 4). Nabi
Salah
contains several freshwater springs that are used to
irrigate the
island's extensive date palm groves. The rocky islet of
Jiddah
houses the state prison. Hawar and the fifteen small
islands near
it are the subject of a territorial dispute between
Bahrain and
Qatar. Hawar is nineteen kilometers long and about oneand onehalf kilometers wide. The other islands are uninhabited
and are
nesting sites for a variety of migratory birds.
Data as of January 1993
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