Desert |
|
|
The UAE is located at the edge of the Rub Al Khali Desert, which translates as ‘Empty Quarter’. It is a part of the much bigger desert named the Arabian Desert. The sands of the desert cover by far the largest portion of the UAE.
Aeolian processes formed deserts. These activities of wind eroded, carried around and deposited small rocks and particles, thus created sand dunes. The sands in the UAE vary in colour as they are made up of various particles. The reddish colour of the Ras Al Khaimah’s desert is owed to iron ore grains.
When visiting the desert, you will see sand dunes with small clumps of ghaf trees, but they are not the only flora there. Especially in the winter, after the rains, a surprising amount of vegetation emerges; you may see senna plants, desert sqashes, eyelash plants, blepharis and more. The plants have developed ways to survive in the arid conditions. Some of them store the water in succulent leaves, or absorb water from the humid air, a few have seeds that can survive long dry periods, while others release seeds only after the rainfall. |
 |