Oman’s environment

  Northern mountains
Parallel to Oman’s northern coastline runs a great mountain chain, folded and thrust up over millions of years as Arabia collided with Eurasia. At its heart lies the Jabal al-Akhdar, the ‘green mountain’, which rises over 3,000 m above sea level at its highest point. In the winter months the summit can occasionally be dusted with light snowfall.

  Wadis
Cutting deep into the mountains are hundreds of wadis, or valleys. Being a desert country, water usually only flows along the river beds for a few hours every year, directly following rainfall. When rainfall is heavy or a wadi very narrow, flash floods can occur. For several weeks or even months after rain, pools remain.

  Musandam
Separated from rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates, the Musandam Peninsula juts north towards Iran, only 45km away, creating the Strait of Hormuz. The peninsula has a spectacular coastline of drowned river valleys. These are being created as Musandam is slowly forced under Iran, causing it to be tilted down to the north.

  Dhofar – a natural wonder of the world
In the south of Oman lie the Dhofar mountains, scene of one of the natural wonders of the world. During the monsoon months of June to September cool moist air from the Arabian Sea is drawn inland until it meets the mountains. A thick blanket of fog develops, transforming the south-facing slopes into a lush green parkland.

  Sand desert
Along Oman’s western border lies the edge of the Rub al-Khali, or Empty Quarter. This enormous sand desert covers nearly 600,000 sq km (over 225,000 sq mi), roughly the area of France. Oman also has the Sharqiyah, or Eastern, Sands, of just 9,400 sq km.

  Coast
Oman has over 2,100 km (1,300 miles) of beautiful and varied coastline, much of which is uninhabited.

  Water
Oman is in one of the driest regions of the world, receiving an average of just 100 mm of rainfall each year. Availability of water was the overriding factor in the location of settlements. The Omanis developed the falaj system : a network of channels for transporting water from its source, sometimes over several kilometres, either above or below ground to land suitable for agriculture.

  Conservation

  Arabian leopard
A cousin of the larger African leopard, the Arabian leopard is one of the most endangered animals in the world: there may be fewer than 100 left in the wild. In the mid-1990s Oman began a survey of its leopard and created the Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve as a safe haven for these magnificent creatures.

  Turtle nesting beaches
Oman has some of the world’s most important turtle nesting beaches, particularly for the endangered loggerhead and green turtles. Over 20,000 female green turtles nests on the beaches around Ras al-Hadd. Oman is tackling the tricky issue of developing the beaches as a tourist attraction whilst attempting to ensure that the turtles remain undisturbed as far as possible.
 
  Oman Botanic Garden
Oman’s latest environmental project is the creation of the Oman Botanic Garden on a 425 ha site near Muscat. A range of natural habitats are being recreated to showcase the plants and the varied ecology of the Sultanate. Two large conservatories will display the very different flora and conditions of the northern and southern mountains. The garden is expected to become an important conservation and research project, and a significant tourist attraction.

  Arabian tahr
One of Oman’s first formal conservation projects in the early 1970s was selection of Wadi Sareen, 45 km south of Muscat, as the best site for protection of the endangered Arabian tahr. The tahr is a wild goat, found only in northern Oman and the United Arab Emirates. There are believed to be a total of 2,000 tahr living high on steep, north-facing cliffs.

  Arabian Oryx Sanctuary
The Arabian oryx’s fortunes have fluctuated considerably. Oman can claim the credit for successfully reintroducing these elegant creatures in the 1980s and 90s they were hunted to extinction in the wild by the early 1970s. Sadly since the mid-1990s over 400 oryx roamed free but numbers have since declined significantly owing to persistent problems with poaching.