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Saudi Arabia Cities with Hotels
 Saudi Arabia, monarchy in southwestern
Asia, occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia is bounded on the
north by Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait; on the east by the Persian Gulf and Qatar; on
the southeast by the United Arab Emirates and Oman; on the south by the Republic
of Yemen; and on the west by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. Boundaries in
the southeast and south are not precisely defined. Saudi Arabia has an area of
about 2,240,000 sq km (about 865,000 sq mi). The capital and largest city is
Riyadh.
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Saudi Arabia
Land and Resources
Considerably more than half the area of Saudi Arabia is
desert. Rub' al Khali, known in English as the Great Sandy Desert and as the
Empty Quarter, extends over much of the southeast and beyond the southern
frontier. Partially unexplored, Rub' al Khali has an estimated area of about
650,000 sq km (about 250,000 sq mi). An extension of the Syrian Desert
projects into northern Saudi Arabia, and extending southeast from this
region is An Nafud, an upland desert of red sand covering an area of about
57,000 sq km (about 22,000 sq mi). Ad Dhana', a narrow extension of this
desert, links An Nafud and Rub' al Khali. A central plateau region, broken
in the east by a series of uplifts, extends south from An Nafud. Several
wadis (watercourses), dry except in the rainy season, traverse the plateau
region. Its western limits are delineated by a mountain range extending
generally northwest and southeast along the eastern edge of the regions of
Al Hijaz (Hejaz) and 'Asìr. The highest point in Saudi Arabia, Jabal Sawda'
(3133 m/10,279 ft), is located in the southwestern portion of the country.
Between the range, which has an average elevation of about 1200 m (about
4000 ft), and the Red Sea is a narrow coastal plain. In the east, along the
Persian Gulf, is a low-lying region known as Al Ahsa'. It is underlain by
great petroleum deposits.
Climate
Extreme heat and aridity are characteristic of most of Saudi
Arabia. The average temperature range in January is 8° to 21° C (46° to 70°
F) in Riyadh and 19° to 29° C (66° to 84° F) in Jiddah. The average range in
July is 26° to 42° C (78° to 107° F) in Riyadh and 26° to 37° C (79° to 99°
F) in Jiddah. The Arabian Peninsula is one of the few places in the world
where summer temperatures above 48° C (120° F) are common, while in winter
frost or snow can occur in the interior and the higher mountains.
Precipitation is sparse throughout the country. Annual rainfall in Riyadh
averages 81 mm (3.2 in) and falls almost exclusively between January and
May; the average in Jiddah is 61 mm (2.4 in) and occurs between November and
January. Because of the general aridity, Saudi Arabia has no permanent
rivers or lakes.
"Saudi Arabia," Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia.
© 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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December 03, 2008 01:01 PM. |
