The Musandam Peninsula ( ar, جَزِيْرَة مُسَنْدَم \ رَأْس مُسَنْدَم, Jazīrat Musandam / Raʾs Musandam), locally known as Ruus Al Jibal ( ar, رُؤُوْس ٱلْجِبَال, ''Ruʾūs al-Jibāl'' Heads of the Mountains), is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

that forms the northeastern point of the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

. It is located to the south of the

Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz ( fa, تنگه هرمز ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' ar, مَضيق هُرمُز ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the ...

between the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

and

Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ar, خليج عمان ''khalīj ʿumān''; fa, دریای عمان ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ar, خلیج مکران ''khalīj makrān''; fa, دریای مکرا� ...

. It is inhabited by the

Shihuh The Shihuh ( ar, الشحوح, ') is an Arab tribe living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. In the singular, the name is Al Shehhi, a common family name in the UAE and Oman today. Inhabiting the northern part of the Hajar Mountain rang ...

tribe and is mainly governed by

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

as the

Musandam Governorate The Musandam Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة مُسَنْدَم, Muḥāfaẓat Musandam) is a governorate of Oman. With the exception of the exclave of Madha, it is located on the Musandam Peninsula, which juts into the Strait of Hormu ...

with certain parts governed by the

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 ...

, including

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain ...

and parts of

Dibba Dibbā ( ar, دِبَّا) is a coastal area at the northern tip of the eastern Arabian peninsula on the Gulf of Oman. Political administration Dibba is politically divided into three segments: * Dibba Al-Fujairah, ruled by the Emirate of Fu ...

Climate, geology and geography

Land features include the

Western 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 Arabia ...

. Since these are the northernmost of the Hajar range, they and the peninsula are referred to as Ruʾūs al-Jibāl ( ar, رُؤُوْس ٱلْجِبَال, Heads of the Mountains). The largest

Wadi 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 ...

in Mussandam is

Wadi Bih Wadi Bih, alternatively Wādī Al-Bayḥ ( ar, وَادِي ٱلْبَيْح), is a river/wadi that crosses the North-Western Hajar Mountains from the United Arab Emirates, and traversing Oman before returning to the UAE. From the West to the East ...

, which forms the central

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

. The highest Mountain in Mussandam, and Ru'us al Jibal, i
Jebel Harim
which measures from sea level. The highest point in Mussandam and the UAE, and the highest point in UAE generally, is

Jebel Jais Jebel Jais ( ar, جَبَل جَيْس, Jabal Jays) is a mountain of the North- Western Hajar range in the Musandam Governorate of Oman and also in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The summit has an elevation of . The summit is located on the ...

, in

, which measures from sea level, however since the parent peak, Jebel Bil Ays, is located in Oman,

Jebel Al Mebrah Jabal Al-Mebraḥ (), also commonly mistakenly referred to by the name of the nearby peak ''Jabal Yibir'' ( ar, جَبَل يِبِر, links=no), is a tall mountain in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Description Located in the Western Hajar Moun ...

at is the highest mountain in the UAE with a prominence of or greater. During winter, the region can be fairly cool, particularly the mountains of Jais, Yanas ( ar, يَنَس; ) and Mebrah. File:04CP View of Musandam.tif, View of the mountains of Musandam, December 1971 File:Jebel Qiwhi (16755252461).jpg, View of the ''Ru'us al-Jibal'' from Jabal Qiwhi File:Kumzar ca 1908.png, The mountainous area of

Kumzar Kumzār ( ar, كُمْزَار), also written as Kumza, is a village located in Musandam, the northernmost province of Oman. It is the second most northerly inhabited part of the country, and the most northerly inhabited part on its mainland, loc ...

, File:Sedimentary Rock Layers near Khasab in Musandam Oman.jpg, Sedimentary rock layers near

Khasab Khasab ( ar, خَصَب, Ḫaṣab) is a city and local capital of the Musandam Governorate which is an exclave of Oman bordering the United Arab Emirates at the tip of the Musandam Peninsula by the Strait of Hormuz. It has been dubbed the "Norw ...

, Oman File:Jebel Jais, Tallest Mountain of UAE 02.jpg,

, the

UAE 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 ...

's highest point, near

Fauna and flora

Fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

include the

Ruus al Jibal fan-footed gecko The Ruus al Jibal fan-footed gecko (''Ptyodactylus ruusaljibalicus'') is a species of gecko. It is endemic to the ''Ru'us al-Jibal'', the northernmost of the Hajar Mountains in the Musandam Peninsula shared by Oman and United Arab Emirates. Se ...

Arabian tahr The Arabian tahr (''Arabitragus jayakari'') is a species of tahr native to eastern Arabia. Until recently, it was placed in the genus ''Hemitragus'', but genetic evidence supports its removal to a separate monotypic genus, ''Arabitragus''. T ...

and

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

. It is unknown if the

Arabian leopard The Arabian leopard (''Panthera pardus nimr'') is a leopard subspecies native to the Arabian Peninsula. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1996 as fewer than 200 wild individuals were estimated to be alive i ...

is still present. File:African monarch (danaus chrysippus).jpg, African monarch butterfly (''

Danaus chrysippus ''Danaus chrysippus'', also known as the plain tiger, African queen, or African monarch, is a medium-sized butterfly widespread in Asia, Australia and Africa. It belongs to the Danainae subfamily of the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. ...

'') in Zhighy Bay, Musandam Governorate File:Blue basker dragonfly (urothemis edwardsii).jpg, Blue basker dragonfly ('' Urothemis edwardsii'') File:Common mynah acridotheres tristis 2 (12801242063).jpg, Common mynah (''Acridotheres tristis'') File:House sparrow (passer domesticus).JPG,

House sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, a ...

(''Passer domesticus'') File:Rock semaphore gecko (pristurus rupestris) (12801641984).jpg, Rock semaphore gecko (''Pristurus rupestris'')

References

{{reflist

External links

Hiking: The Highest Points in the UAE

Climate, geology and geography

Fauna and flora

See also

References

External links