The al-Bawn plain, or Qā‘ al-Bawn, is a plain located in north-central

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

, in

'Amran Governorate ʽAmran ( ar, عمران, ʽAmrān) is one of the governorates of Yemen. Districts 'Amran Governorate is divided into the following 20 districts. These districts are further divided into sub-districts, and then further subdivided into villag ...

. It is located just to the north of the

Sanaa Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...

plain, with the two being separated by a rocky area formed by volcanic activity, and the high point between them being

Jabal Din Jabal Ḍin, or Jabal Ẓin, is a distinct cone-shaped mountain in Yemen. It is located at the northern end of the Sanaa plain, just east of the road from Sanaa to 'Amran. Of volcanic origin, it marks the high point between the Sanaa plain and the ...

. Al-Bawn stretches from southwest to northeast, with the southwestern part being higher (''al-Bawn al-A‘la'') and the northeastern part being lower (''al-Bawn al-Asfal''). The main part of al-Bawn is mostly flat and under extensive cultivation. It is relatively dry, receiving on average 300-400 mm of rainfall annually. The plain is drained toward the northeast, passing through a narrow volcanic gorge toward

Wadi al-Kharid Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

and ultimately al-Jawf. The main settlements in al-Bawn are

Raydah Raydah (sometimes transliterated Raidah or al-Raidah) is a large market town located north of Sana'a, and north of Amran, in northwestern Yemen.Sharp, Jeremy MYemen: Background and U.S. Relations(RL34170, PDF). Congressional Research Service ...

in the central part and

'Amran ʿAmrān ( ar, عمران; Old South Arabian: 𐩲𐩣𐩧𐩬 ''ʿmrn'') is a small city in western central Yemen. It is the capital of the 'Amran Governorate, and was formerly in the Sana'a Governorate. It is located by road northwest of the Ye ...

in the south. The Qa‘ al-Bawn is traditionally divided into two parts: the greater Bawn, or ''al-Bawn al-Kabir'', forms most of it, while the lesser Bawn, or ''al-Bawn al-Saghir'', is the smaller area at the southern end of the plain, west of 'Amran. To the northwest, the plain around Hamidah (''Qa‘ Hamidah'') is also sometimes counted as part of the Qa‘ al-Bawn, under the name ''al-Bawn al-Dakhili''. The southwestern part of the Qa‘ al-Bawn rises gradually towards the foot of Masani‘, a plateau with steep sides. On the north, the plain borders the

al-Zahir Abū Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Nāsir ( ar, أبو نصر محمد بن الناصر; 1175 – 11 July 1226), better known with his regnal name al-Zāhir bi-Amr Allāh ( ar, الظاهر بأمر الله, , He Who Appears Openly by the Order of God) ...

plateau, and to the west is the plateau of Jabal Iyal Yazid, which is part of the same formation as al-Zahir. To the east is the upland tribal area of Arhab.

References

Geography of Yemen 'Amran Governorate category:Regions of Yemen {{Yemen-geo-stub Amran Governorate