Saudi Arabia, country profile part 1

As the latest edition of my fancy for exploring the history and geography of different countries or regions of the world, I decided to study up on Saudi Arabia. I’m not sure why I chose this one. Sometimes it’s current events, sometimes just a country I’ve always wanted to know more about. This time I’ll just say it occurred to me after the King passed away and so much of the terror war is related to it, that I should know more about the country where Islam got it’s roots.

The Arabian peninsula is about one quarter the size of the continental US, and includes what today is the countries of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emerates. It is surrounded by the Red Sea, the Gulf of Arabia, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf, and to the north the countries of Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait.

The natural history of the peninsula is one of changing climates and sea conditions. At several points in ancient history, the peninsula was under the sea, causing the sedimentation and collection of plant and animal life, leading to the vast oil reserves the country exports today. It was also at one time connected to Africa, but the same rift valley that cuts into Africa splits the Red Sea, and Arabia is slowly turning away from the African continent.

There are several distinct physical regions on the peninsula. From the Red Sea the land rises dramatically to the Al Hijaz and Asir mountain ranges. The ranges in some places rise above 10,000 feet. To the east, the landform gradually loses elevation on a plateau called the Najd, and then falls to the Persian Gulf coastal lowlands which are flat, sandy and end in irregular marshes and salt flats where it meets the gulf.To the north and south of the Najd are two of the great deserts of the world. The Great Nufud which stretches to Syria and Jordan and into Iraq is to the north, and the Rub al-Khali lies to the south. The Rub al-Khali is more that 212,000 square miles and is one of the largest sand deserts in the world.