Abstract
Saudi Arabia is an arid, barren land of about 2 million km2, covering most of the Arabian Peninsula. The western border, flanking the Red Sea, is made up of low mountains rising southwards from about 1,500 m to double that height. The southern end comprises the Asir region, which is relatively fertile thanks to a higher rainfall. To the east, follows an extensive plateau dipping eastwards towards the Persian Gulf, which is however cut by some ranges, including the Tuwayq Mountains, rising to over 1,000 m. The southern part of the country is made up of the so-called Empty Quarter (or Rub’ al-khali), the world’s largest desert covering an area of 650,000 km2. It in turn gives way to mountainous country, bordering the Oman. Most of the borders have been subject to dispute in the past.
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© 2013 Colin J. Campbell and Alexander Wöstmann
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Campbell, C.J. (2013). Saudi Arabia. In: Campbell's Atlas of Oil and Gas Depletion. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3576-1_66
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3576-1_66
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