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Oman Oman -- Geography and Population
Geography
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Figure 13. Oman, 1993
Oman is located in the southeastern quarter of the
Arabian
Peninsula and, according to official estimates, covers a
total
land area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers;
foreign
observer estimates, however, are about 212,000 square
kilometers,
roughly the size of the state of Kansas. The land area is
composed of varying topographic features: valleys and
desert
account for 82 percent of the land mass; mountain ranges,
15
percent; and the coastal plain, 3 percent.
The sultanate is flanked by the Gulf of Oman, the
Arabian
Sea, and the Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter) of Saudi Arabia,
all of
which contributed to Oman's isolation. Historically, the
country's contacts with the rest of the world were by sea,
which
not only provided access to foreign lands but also linked
the
coastal towns of Oman. The Rub al Khali, difficult to
cross even
with modern desert transport, formed a barrier between the
sultanate and the Arabian interior. The Al Hajar
Mountains, which
form a belt between the coast and the desert from the
Musandam
Peninsula (Ras Musandam) to the city of Sur at Oman's
easternmost
point, formed another barrier. These geographic barriers
kept the
interior of Oman free from foreign military encroachments
(see
fig. 13).
Natural features divide the country into seven distinct
areas: Ruus al Jibal, including the northern Musandam
Peninsula;
the Al Batinah coastal plain; the Muscat-Matrah coastal
area; the
Oman interior, comprising Al Jabal al Akhdar (Green
Mountain),
its foothills, and desert fringes; the barren coastline
south to
Dhofar; Dhofar region in the south; and the offshore
island of
Masirah.
The northernmost area, Ruus al Jibal, extends from the
Musandam Peninsula to the boundary with the United Arab
Emirates
(UAE) at Hisn al Diba. It borders the Strait of Hormuz,
which
links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and is
separated
from the rest of the sultanate by a strip of territory
belonging
to the UAE. This area consists of low mountains forming
the
northernmost extremity of the Al Hajar al Gharbi (Western
Al
Hajar) Mountains. Two inlets, Elphinstone (Khawr ash
Shamm) and
Malcom (Ghubbat al Ghazirah), cleave the coastline about
onethird the distance from the Strait of Hormuz and at one
point are
separated by only a few hundred meters of land. The
coastline is
extremely rugged, and the Elphinstone Inlet, sixteen
kilometers
long and surrounded by cliffs 1,000 to 1,250 meters high,
has
frequently been compared with fjords in Norway.
The UAE territory separating Ruus al Jibal from the
rest of
Oman extends almost as far south as the coastal town of
Shinas. A
narrow, well-populated coastal plain known as Al Batinah
runs
from the point at which the sultanate is reentered to the
town of
As Sib, about 140 kilometers to the southeast. Across the
plains,
a number of wadis, heavily populated in their upper
courses,
descend from the Al Hajar al Gharbi Mountains to the
south. A
ribbon of oases, watered by wells and underground channels
(falaj), extends the length of the plain, about ten
kilometers inland.
South of As Sib, the coast changes character. For about
175
kilometers, from As Sib to Ras al Hadd, it is barren and
bounded
by cliffs almost its entire length; there is no
cultivation and
little habitation. Although the deep water off this coast
renders
navigation relatively easy, there are few natural harbors
or safe
anchorages. The two best are at Muscat and Matrah, where
natural
harbors facilitated the growth of cities centuries ago.
West of the coastal areas lies the tableland of central
Oman.
The Al Hajar Mountains form two ranges: the Al Hajar al
Gharbi
Mountains and the Al Hajar ash Sharqi (Eastern Al Hajar)
Mountains. They are divided by the Wadi Samail (the
largest wadi
in the mountain zone), a valley that forms the traditional
route
between Muscat and the interior. The general elevation is
about
1,200 meters, but the peaks of the high ridge known as Al
Jabal
al Akhdar (Green Mountain)--which is considered a separate
area
but is actually part of the Al Hajar al Gharbi
Mountains--rise to
more than 3,000 meters in some places. Al Jabal al Akhdar
is the
only home of the Arabian tahr, a unique species of
wild
goat. In the hope of saving this rare animal, Sultan Qabus
ibn
Said has declared part of Al Jabal al Akhdar a national
park.
Behind the Al Hajar al Gharbi Mountains are two inland
regions,
Az Zahirah and inner Oman, separated by the lateral range
of the
Rub al Khali. Adjoining the Al Hajar ash Sharqi Mountains
are the
sandy regions of Ash Sharqiyah and Jalan, which also
border the
desert.
The desolate coastal tract from Jalan to Ras Naws has
no
specific name. Low hills and wastelands meet the sea for
long
distances. Midway along this coast and about fifteen
kilometers
offshore is the barren island of Masirah. Stretching about
seventy kilometers, the island occupies a strategic
location near
the entry point to the Gulf of Oman from the Arabian Sea.
Because
of its location, it became the site of military facilities
used
first by the British and then by the United States,
following an
access agreement signed in 1980 by the United States and
Oman.
Dhofar region extends from Ras ash Sharbatat to the
border of
Yemen. Its exact northern limit has never been defined,
but the
territory claimed by the sultan includes the Wadi
Mughshin, about
240 kilometers inland. The southwestern portion of the
coastal
plain of Dhofar is regarded as one of the most beautiful
in
Arabia, and its capital, Salalah, was the permanent
residence of
Sultan Said ibn Taimur Al Said and the birthplace of the
present
sultan, Qabus ibn Said. The highest peaks are about 1,000
meters.
At their base lies a narrow, pebbly desert adjoining the
Rub al
Khali to the north.
Data as of January 1993
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