Asir Mountains

Mountain range in Saudi Arabia
Asir Mountains is located in Saudi Arabia
Asir Mountains
Asir Mountains
Location in Saudi Arabia
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Asir Mountains is located in Middle East
Asir Mountains
Asir Mountains
Asir Mountains (Middle East)
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Asir Mountains is located in West and Central Asia
Asir Mountains
Asir Mountains
Asir Mountains (West and Central Asia)
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Country Saudi ArabiaRegionArabian PeninsulaRange coordinates21°36′N 39°48′E / 21.6°N 39.8°E / 21.6; 39.8

The Asir Mountains[1] (Arabic: جِبَال عَسِيْر, jibāl ʿasīr; Arabic pronunciation: [d͡ʒɪbaːl ʕasiːr] ('Difficult')) is a mountainous region in southwestern Saudi Arabia running parallel to the Red Sea. It comprises areas in the Region of 'Asir, but generally, it also includes areas near the border with Yemen. The mountains cover approximately 100,000 square kilometres (40,000 sq mi) and consists of mountains, plains, and valleys of the Arabian highlands.[2] Sensu lato, they are part of the Sarawat Mountains,[3] defining the latter as the mountain range which runs parallel to the Tihamah throughout the western portion of the Arabian Peninsula, particularly the western parts of Saudi Arabia and Yemen.[4][5][6]

Geology

The mountains consist primarily of sedimentary rock, limestone, sandstone and shale, of Jurassic, Cretaceous and Paleogene origin on a Precambrian granitic basement.[2]

Climate and agriculture

The region has the highest average rainfall of Saudi Arabia[citation needed] due to largely seasonal rain. Average rainfall can range from 600 millimetres (24 in) to over 1,000 millimetres (39 in) per year, in wet regions. The eastern plains and plateaus receive much lower amounts, from 500 millimetres (20 in) to below 100 millimetres (3.9 in) per year.[2]

The region's crops, most of which are cultivated on steeply terraced mountainsides, include wheat, coffee, cotton, indigo, ginger, vegetables, and palms. The region also supports cattle, sheep, goats, and camels.[citation needed]

Biodiversity

The region's difficult terrain has helped preserve the region's unique biodiversity. Several new Myxomycetes fungi species have been discovered in the region, as have a variety of previously undiscovered plants.[7] Asir is also thought to be one of the last natural habitats of the Arabian leopard.[2][5][6] and also the Asir magpie, believed to be down to its last 135 pairs.[8]

Gallery

See also

  • flagSaudi Arabia portal

References

  1. ^ "Library of Congress Country Study: Saudi Arabia", The Library of Congress, archived from the original on 2008-09-23
  2. ^ a b c d "Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  3. ^ Overstreet, William Courtney (1977). Tertiary laterite of the As Sarat Mountains, Asir Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Vol. 2. Directorate General of Mineral Resources. pp. iii–2.
  4. ^ Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2013). "1: The Holiest Cities of Islam". Mecca the Blessed, Medina the Radiant: The Holiest Cities of Islam. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4629-1365-7.
  5. ^ a b Judas, J.; Paillat, P.; Khoja, A.; Boug, A. (2006). "Status of the Arabian leopard in Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Cat News. Special Issue 1: 11–19.
  6. ^ a b Spalton, J. A. & Al-Hikmani, H. M. (2006). "The Leopard in the Arabian Peninsula – Distribution and Subspecies Status" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 1): 4–8.
  7. ^ Boulos, L. (1985), "Myxomycetes from the Asir Mountains, Saudi Arabia (abstract)", A contribution of the flora of the Asir Mountains, Saudi Arabia, vol. 3, Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, pp. 67–94, archived from the original on February 29, 2012
  8. ^ "Protecting the Asir Magpie".

Further reading

  • v
  • t
  • e
 Oman
Hajar range[a]
Central Hajar
Eastern Hajar
  • Jabal Aswad
  • Jabal Bani Jabar
Western Hajar[d]
Ru'us al-Jibal[e]
  • Jabal Harim
  • Jabal Qiwhi
Jebel Shams of the Western-Central Hajar range, Oman
Dhofar range
 Saudi Arabia
Sarat range[f]
'Asir range[h]
Al-Bahah
  • Jabal Shada [ar]
Jizan
Najran
  • Jabal Abu Hamdan
  • Jabal Raum
Hijaz range[i]
Midian range
Sarat Mountains in the area of Al-Bahah, Saudi Arabia
Shammar range
Aja range
Tuwayr range
 United Arab Emirates
Western Hajar[j]
Ru'us al-Jibal[k]
Shumayliyyah range[n]
Outliers, outcrops or anticlines
Jebel Jais of the Western Hajar in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
 Yemen
Hadhramaut range
  • Jabal Ar-Rays?
  • Jabal Husn Ghuraf
  • Jebel Shaqb?
Sarat Mountains near Ma'rib, Yemen
Sarat range[p]
Haraz range
Note: Mountains are sorted in alphabetical order, unless where it concerns ranges. The highest confirmed mountains in each country are indicated with 'HP', and those with the highest peak are indicated with 'HP', bearing in mind that in the UAE, the highest mountain and the mountain with the highest peak are different. Outcrops are indicated with 'OC', and outliers with 'OL', and anticlines with 'AC'. Volcanoes are indicated with 'V', volcanic craters with 'VC', lava fields with 'LF', and volcanic fields with 'VF'.

Other notes:

  1. ^ Shared with the UAE
  2. ^ Also regarded as being of the Western Hajar
  3. ^ Also regarded as being of the Western Hajar
  4. ^ Shared with the UAE
  5. ^ Shared with the UAE
  6. ^ Sensu lato, shared with Yemen
  7. ^ Shared with Yemen
  8. ^ Sensu lato
  9. ^ Sensu lato
  10. ^ Shared with Oman
  11. ^ Shared with Oman
  12. ^ Highest mountain in the UAE, but the peak is in Oman
  13. ^ Due to the peak of Jebel Jais being in Oman, this mountain has the highest confirmed peak in the UAE
  14. ^ Shared with Oman
  15. ^ Shared with Oman
  16. ^ Shared with Saudi Arabia
  17. ^ Highest confirmed peak in the Arabian Peninsula