Location
The Arabian desert is in Southwest Asia, and it takes up almost the entire Arabian Peninsula. It is the largest desert area in the continent, the second largest on earth, covering an area of 2,300,000 square km. It is bordered by the Syrian Desert from the north, by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to the northeast and east, to the southeast and south by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and to the west by the Red Sea. Most of the Arabian Desert lies within the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Climate
The Arabian Desert is considered a tropical desert, and in intense heat conditions, it can reach up to 55 degrees Celsius. In the interior of the desert, the heat is dry but as you move further out into coastal regions and highlands, it gets humid with some dew and fog in the early mornings. The average rainfall throughout the year is about 10cm. Skies are usually clear except for winter rains, spring hazes or dust storms. Cool winters occur in the northern part of the Arabian Desert. The minimum temperature recorder in the wintertime was -12 degrees Celsius and was accompanied by snowfall and about 2.6cm of ice on ponds. The great winds (48km/h) blow from the Mediterranean during the windy seasons between December to January, and May to June. Blown sand doesn’t rise above a meter or two, unless it is picked up by whirlwinds, or sandstorms.
Climatograph
Climate in the Arabian Desert has it's affect on the cities located there, and the people who live there. The two most thriving cities in the Arabian Desert are Jeddah and Riyadh. People living in the heart of the desert are in constant search of water, and constantly move locations to find a supply of drinking water. For the people who live in the cities, they always have water available in the stores, or at home from the tap, but it is more expensive there than for example in Canada. They wear white robes, and turbans to protect themselves from the direct sunlight, that can cause sunburns, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and mirages.
Physical Features
The northern part of the Arabian Desert merges into Arab Asia through the Syrian Steppe. the bulge of Oman consists of mountain ranges. that formed when oceanic crust accumulated on the Arabian plate as it moved northeastward. The peninsula is 2,100 km in length from northwest to southeast, and 1,100 km in width. The Arabian desert consists of two regions: The Ancient Arabian Platform which consists of Precambrian gneiss, and the second region in the east composed of sedimentary rock layers. A large amount of petroleum formed in between the these rock layers, which made the Arabian Desert the number one petroleum producing area in the world. At one point Arabia and Africa were attached. When Arabia and Africa began to split up, rising magma flowed to the surface, and lava produced flood basalts as thick as 3,000 meters. They now form large parts of the high mountains along the Red Sea margin in Yemen. Quartz sands cover one third of the desert’s surface, granular debris from the Precambrian crystalline forms pebbly fans at the bases of the hills, sands and silts are washed down to lower levels and are then carried away by the winds. Fine materials grade down to silt. Fine and smaller particles such as clay, rarely forms in the Arabian Desert. Limestone when pulverized forms silt-sized dusts. Waterborne silts are eventually deposited in silt flats. The soils in the Arabian Desert have been proven to be fertile. Therefore, silt flats are farmed. Th valleys and lower slopes of Yemen highlands, are terraced for soil and water, and produce many crops throughout the year. The soil in these highlands is derived from crystalline rocks of high mineral content. Salt flats, are too salty to maintain crops, but if irrigated and drained properly, can be cultivated into farmland. Desert dune sands are generally dry, and can withstand holding over a meter of rainfall, thus nourishing plants.
Symbiosis
Mutualistic Relationship- Bees pollinate the cactus, therefore bees get food from the cactus. Commensalistic Relationship- A hawk builds a nest on the cactus. The hawk has a home, and does not affect the cactus. Predator/prey Relationship- Fox eating snake, hawk eating lizard. Parasitic Relationship- A flea feeds off of the coyote’s and fox’s blood.