The ''Ḥarrat al-Shām'' (), also known as the ''Harrat al-Harra'' or ''Harrat al-Shaba'', and sometimes the Black Desert in English, is a region of rocky,

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic desert straddling southern Syrian region and the northern

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. It covers an area of some in the modern-day

Syrian Arab Republic Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Vegetation is characteristically open acacia shrubland with patches of juniper at higher altitudes. The ''Harrat'' has been occupied by humans since at least the Late Epipalaeolithic (). One of the earliest known sites is Shubayqa 1 (occupied ), a Natufian site where archaeologists have discovered the remains of the oldest known

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

Geology

The ''Harrat'' is part of a system of

volcanic field A volcanic field is an area of Earth's Earth's crust, crust that is prone to localized volcano, volcanic activity. The type and number of volcanoes required to be called a "field" is not well-defined. Volcanic fields usually consist of clusters ...

s formed by tectonic activity from the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

through to the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

. This system, which geologists refer to as the 'Harrat Ash Shamah Volcanic Field', is the largest of several volcanic fields on the Arabian Plate, containing more than 800

volcanic cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...

s and around 140

dikes Dyke or dike may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), formations of magma or sediment that cut through and across the layering of adjacent rocks * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess ...

. Activity began during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

; an earlier eruptive stage at the southeastern end of the volcanic field, occurred during the late

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

and the

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

. It is known to have erupted in historic times. The

Jabal al-Druze Jabal al-Druze (), is an elevated volcanic region in the Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria. Most of the inhabitants of this region are Druze, and there are also significant Christian communities. Safaitic inscriptions were first found in ...

, al-Safa and Dirat al-Tulul volcanic fields, among others, form the northern and Syrian part of this system. The Saudi Arabian portion of the Harrat Ash Shamah volcanic field extends across a -long, roughly -wide northwest-southeast-trending area on the northeastern flanks of the

Wadi Sirhan Wadi Sirhan (; translation: "Valley of Sirhan") is a wide depression in the northwestern Arabian Peninsula. It runs from the Aljouf Oasis in Saudi Arabia northwestward into Jordan. It historically served as a major trade and transportation rou ...

and reaches its high point at Jabal al-Amud. It is in the

Tabuk Province Tabuk Province, also known as Tabuk Region ( '), is a province in Saudi Arabia, located along the northwestern coast of the country, facing Egypt across the Red Sea. It also borders Jordan to the north. History The history of Tabuk province ...

of northwest

. and is one of a series of Quaternary volcanic fields paralleling the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

coast.

History and economy

The ''Harrat'' has traditionally been occupied by nomadic

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

of the

Anizah Anizah or Anazah (, Najdi pronunciation: ) is an Arabian tribe in the Arabian Peninsula, Upper Mesopotamia, and the Levant. Genealogy and origins Anizah's existence as an autonomous tribal group, like many prominent modern tribes, predates t ...

confedaration. It It is primarily associated with the Ahl al-Jabal tribe, who graze sheep, goats, donkeys and camels there, but the

Rwala The Ruwallah (, Rwala Arabic ''ir-Rwāle'', singular Ruweili/Ruwaili) are a large Arab tribe of the northern Arabian Peninsula and Syrian Desert, including Jordan. History Until the demarcation of borders in the Middle East in the early 20th centu ...

, Zbaid, Ghayyath, Sardiyya and other tribes also use the area at times. Although the region as a whole is too dry for

rainfed agriculture Rainfed agriculture is a type of farming that relies on rainfall for water. It provides much of the food consumed by poor communities in developing countries. E.g., rainfed agriculture accounts for more than 95% of farmed land in sub-Saharan Afric ...

, seasonal wetlands such as the Qa' Shubayqa are used for growing

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

s after they are flooded by winter rains. In the second half of the 20th century, many Bedouin settled in the village of Safawi, which grew up around a

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses, are public utility buildings containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are critical in a variety of infrastructure systems, such as water supply, Land reclamation, ...

on the

Kirkuk–Haifa oil pipeline The Kirkuk-Mediterranean pipeline was a mixed 10/12-inch twin crude oil pipeline from the oil fields in Kirkuk, located in the former Ottoman vilayet of Mosul in northern Iraq, through Transjordan to Haifa in mandatory Palestine (now in the te ...

(H5).

Archaeological sites

Desert kite Desert kites () are dry stone wall structures found in Southwest Asia (Middle East, but also North Africa, Central Asia and Arabia), which were first discovered from the air during the 1920s. There are over 6,000 known desert kites, with sizes r ...

Jordan

Jawa, Jordan Jawa is the site of the oldest proto-urban development in Jordan, dating from the late 4th millennium BC (Early Bronze Age). It is located in one of the driest areas of the Black Desert (Harrat al-Shamah) of Eastern Jordan. Remains of dams hav ...

, Early Bronze Age proto-urban settlement * Qasr al-Azraq and Qasr 'Ain es-Sil, ancient

desert castles The desert castles or ''qasrs'' are often called Umayyad desert castles, since the vast majority of these fortified palaces or castles were built by the Umayyad dynasty in their province of Bilad ash-Sham, with a few Abbasid exceptions. The des ...

in the

Azraq oasis Azraq ( meaning "blue") is a small town in Zarqa Governorate in central-eastern Jordan, east of Amman. The population of Azraq was 9,021 in 2004. The Muwaffaq Salti Air Base is located in Azraq. History Prehistory Archaeological evidence i ...

Qasr Burqu' Qasr Burqu' is a set of ruins and an archaeological site in the Badia (region), ''badia'' of eastern Jordan and is the site of one of the earliest of the Umayyad desert castles. Background Under the Umayyad Caliphate, nobles and wealthy familie ...

, ancient "desert castle" * Qasr Usaykhim, an ancient fort northeast of Azraq * Shubayqa 1, Natufian hunter-gatherer site with the oldest bread-making find in the world

Notes

References

External links

* *

{{Mountains in the Arabian Peninsula Volcanic fields Volcanoes of Saudi Arabia Volcanoes of Jordan Volcanoes of Syria Midian