Al Rafisah Dam ( ar, سدّ اٱرَّفِيْصَة, Sudd Ar-Rafīṣah) is a dam in

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital o ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. It dams the

Wadi Shie Wadi Shie is a seasonal watercourse located in the Eastern Hajar Mountains of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. The wadi runs from the mountains down to meet the coastal city of Khor Fakkan on the Gulf of Oman and is dammed above the restore ...

, a seasonal waterway in the

Hajar Mountains The Hajar Mountains ( ar, جِبَال ٱلْحَجَر, Jibāl al-Ḥajar, ''The Rocky Mountains'' or ''The Stone Mountains'') in northeastern Oman and also the eastern United Arab Emirates are the highest mountain range in the eastern Arabian ...

that runs down to the city of

Khor Fakkan Khor Fakkan ( ar, خَوْر فَكَّان, Khawr Fakkān) is a city and exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), facing the Gulf of Oman, and geographically surrounded by the Emirate of Fuja ...

on the east coast of Sharjah.

History

The dam was built in the 1980s at the same time as the Khor Fakkan Dam under a $63 million contract. The recreational area was built decades later as part of the

highway project.All You Need To Know About Al Rafisah Dam
''Arabiahorizons.com'', 18 March 2021

Description

The development of Al Rafisah spans an area of 10,684 square metres, and includes prayer facilities, outdoor seating area for 300 people, car parking for 45 vehicles, walkways, and three play areas over some 410 sqm. The rest area and tourist facilities were built alongside the dam as part of the

highway (S 142) project, a 14-year project to connect the interior of Sharjah with the UAE's east coast. The project included the restoration of the Heritage village of Najd Al Miqsar. The dam is an area rich in local flora and fauna, including the

Little Grebe The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ...

and other migrating and wintering birds, as well as being home to problematic introduced and invasive species, such as

Tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

and the

red-eared slider turtle The red-eared slider or red-eared terrapin (''Trachemys scripta elegans'') is a subspecies of the pond slider (''Trachemys scripta''), a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States, ...

. During summer, submerged ruins are partially visible.

Gallery

File:Al Rafisah Dam.jpg, The Al Rafisah Dam at the head of Wadi Rafisah in the Hajar Mountains above Khor Fakkan. File:Panoramic view of Al Rafisah Dam.jpg, Panoramic view of the Dam

References

{{UAE-struct-stub Dams in the United Arab Emirates Buildings and structures in the Emirate of Sharjah