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Dubai
Geography
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Dubai is situated on the northeast
coast of the United Arab Emirates and is roughly at sea level
(16 m above). The emirate of Dubai shares borders with Abu Dhabi
in the south, Sharjah in the northeast, and the Sultanate of
Oman in the southeast. Hatta, a minor exclave of the emirate,
is surrounded on three sides by Oman and by the emirates of
Ajman (in the west) and Ras Al Khaimah (in the north). The Persian
Gulf borders the western coast of the emirate. Dubai is positioned
at 25.2697° N 55.3095° E and covers an
area of 4,114 km² (1,588 mi²).
Dubai lies directly within the Arabian Desert. However, the
topography of Dubai is significantly different from that of
the southern portion of the UAE in that much of Dubai's landscape
is highlighted by sandy desert patterns, while gravel deserts
dominate much of the southern region of the country. The sand
consists mostly of crushed shell and coral and is fine, clean
and white. East of the city, the salt-crusted coastal plans,
known as sabkha, give way to a north-south running line of dunes.
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Further east, the dunes grow larger
and are tinged red with iron oxide. The flat sandy desert gives
way to the Western Hajar Mountains, which run alongside Dubai's
border with Oman at Hatta. The Western Hajar chain has an arid,
jagged and shattered landscape, whose mountains rise to about
1,300 meters in some places. Dubai has no natural river bodies
or oases; however multiple gorges and waterholes dot the base
of the Western Al Hajar mountains. A vast sea of sand dunes
cover much of southern Dubai, which eventually lead into the
desert known as The Empty Quarter. Seismically, Dubai is in
a very stable zone the nearest seismic fault line, the Zargos
Fault, is 120 km from the UAE and is unlikely to have any seismic
impact on Dubai. Experts also predict that the possibility of
a tsunami in the region is also minimal because the Persian
Gulf waters are not deep enough to trigger a tsunami.
The sandy desert surrounding the city supports wild grasses and occasional date palm trees. Desert hyacinths grow in the sabkha plans east of the city, while acacia and ghaf trees grow in the flat plains within the proximity of the Western Al Hajar mountains. Several indigenous trees such as the date palm and neem as well as imported trees like the eucalypts grow in Dubai's natural parks.
The houbara bustard, striped hyena, caracal, desert fox, falcon
and Arabian oryx are common in Dubai's desert. Dubai is on the
migration path between Europe, Asia and Africa, and more than
320 migratory birds pass through the emirate in spring and autumn.
The waters of Dubai are home to more than 300 species of fish,
including the hammour. Dubai Creek runs northeast-southwest
through the city. The eastern section of the city forms the
locality of Deira and is flanked by the emirate of Sharjah in
the east and the town of Al Aweer in the south. The Dubai International
Airport is located south of Deira, while the Palm Deira is located
north of Deira in the Persian Gulf. The western section forms
the locality of Bur Dubai and is bordered almost entirely by
the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Much of Dubai's real estate boom has
been concentrated to the west of this region, on the Jumeirah
coastal belt and along Sheikh Zayed Road (E11). Port Rashid,
Jebel Ali, Burj Al Arab, the Palm Jumeirah and theme based free
zone clusters such as Business Bay are all located in this section.
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Sheikh Zayed Road and
Emirates Road (E311) are the main arteries of Dubai; and run
roughly parallel to each other in the western section of the
city, before eventually diverging sharply near Jumeirah. The
eastern and western sections of the city are connected by Al
Maktoum Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge, Al Shindagha Tunnel, Business
Bay Crossing and Floating Bridge.
Dubai has a hot and, at times, humid climate with many months recording temperatures of over 40°C (104°F) (refer to accompanying table for recorded mean minimum and maximum temperatures during the year). Rainfall is generally light, with a mean of about 100 mm per year; precipitation is usually centered around January, February and March, The mean humidity in Dubai is approximately 60% and is higher during the cooler winter months.
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