Geography

Because of its large area, the Kingdom has a varied topographical structure. Along the Red Sea lies the Tihama coastal plain. It is 1100 kilometers long, 60 kilometers wide in the south, and gradually narrows to the north until it reaches the Aqaba Gulf. To the east of this plain lies a chain of mountains called Sarawat. These mountains rise to 9000 feet in the south and gradually fall to 3000 feet in the north. Several large valleys slope eastward and westward from Sarawat such as Najran Valley, Tathleeth Valley, Bisha Valley, Himdh Valley, Rumah Valley, Yanbu Valley and Fatima Valley. To the east of the chain stands the Najd Plateau which extends eastward to Samman Quarter. The Plateau stretches northward to Najd Plains, passing through Hael until combining with the Great Nefud Desert, then to the borders of Iraq and Jordan. There are also some mountains in this Plateau such as Tawabek Mountains, Al Aradh, Aja and Salmah. The Empty Quarter, the southeastern part of the Kingdom, occupies on estimated area of 640 000 square kilometers composed of sandhills and lava fields. The eastern costal plain is 610 kilometers long and consists of large sand areas.

	Green Land in a Desert