What are some facts about the Arabian Desert?


Quick Answer

The Arabian Desert is located in western Asia and covers an area of approximately 900,000 square miles. A substantial portion of the desert lies within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It also occupies a majority of the Arabian peninsula.

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What are some facts about the Arabian Desert?
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Full Answer

The Arabian Desert is a vast desert wilderness bordering Yemen, the Persian Gulf, Oman, Jordan and Iraq. It is bordered on the north by the Syrian Desert, on the northeast and east by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the southeast and south by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden and on the west by the Red Sea. At its center is the Rub'al-Khali, one of the most extensive continuous bodies of sand in the world. The highest point in the Arabian Desert is located at Mount Al-Nab? Shu?ayb, reaching 12,336 feet.

Summer heat in the Arabian Desert is extreme, reaching temperatures as high as 129 degrees Fahrenheit in some places. The climate is usually dry. However, coastal regions and some highlands are subject to high summer humidity, with dew and fog at night or early morning. Rainfall throughout the desert averages less than 4 inches a year, but can range from 0 to 20 inches.

Some natural resources available in the Arabian Desert are oil, natural gas, phosphates and sulfur.

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