Wadi Siji is a seasonal watercourse 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 ...

Fujairah Fujairah City ( ar, الفجيرة) is the capital of the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. It is the seventh-largest city in UAE, located on the Gulf of Oman (part of the Indian Ocean). It is the only Emirati capital city on the ...

, in 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 ...

. The

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 ...

runs from the

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 ...

city of

Dhaid Dhaid, or Al Dhaid ( ar, ٱلذَّيْد, Adh-Dhayd), is the capital of the Central Region of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. An oasis town, it has extensive irrigated date palm plantations with water channelled from the near ...

to the mountain town of

Masafi Masafi ( ar, مسافي) is a village located on the edge of the Hajar Mountains in the United Arab Emirates. It sits at the inland entrance of the Wadi Ham, which runs down to Fujairah City. The border between the emirates of Fujairah and Ras Al ...

, where it meets the

Wadi Ham Wadi Ham is a wadi, a seasonal watercourse, in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The wadi runs from Masafi towards Fujairah City, until it reaches the Wadi Ham Dam and the Gulf of Oman. The wadi is crossed ...

and Wadi Abadila. It has long been a strategic route connecting the interior and East Coast of the UAE.

Extent

The wadi is dammed at the village of Siji, where the Wadi Siji 'Old Dam' has a water storage capacity of 1.2 million cubic metres. The dam, constructed in the 1970s, is 10m high and 500m wide. Like many wadis in the Hajar Mountains, Wadi Siji is prone to seasonal flash floods and high water levels with at times tragic consequences. In 2001, UAE President Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan ordered the construction of a further three dams at Siji, providing water resources for 312 homes and 210 farms in the area as part of a Dhs250 million national water infrastructure development project. The area is a popular ecotourism destination. The village is the location of the Siji Societal Majlis, opened in 2017 by the Crown Prince of Fujairah, one of a number of government investments in rural infrastructure that have improved communications, access and facilities. The planned Etihad Rail Network is scheduled to pass through Wadi Siji and a freight facility at Siji is due to be constructed as part of the second phase of the network rollout. A number of quarries and crushers are located throughout Wadi Siji and the surrounding mountains. Finds of petroglyphs and gravesites have been made in the Wadi Siji, with petroglyphs found notably depicting horses and riders. The remains of old copper workings are also to be found in the area, particularly in the tributary Wadi Ashwani.

References

{{Fujairah Rivers of the United Arab Emirates Geography of the Emirate of Fujairah

Extent

See also

References