Template:Short description Template:Infobox valley The Rub' al Khali<ref group="note">Other standardized transliterations include: Template:Transliteration/Template:Transliteration. The Template:Transliteration is the assimilated Arabic definite article, Template:Transliteration, which can also be transliterated as Template:Transliteration.</ref> (Template:IPAc-en;<ref>"Rub' al Khali". Collins English Dictionary.</ref> Template:Langx, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) or Empty Quarter is a desert<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula. The desert covers some Template:Convert (the area of long. 44.5°−56.5°E, and lat. 16.5°−23.0°N), including parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.<ref name="Lakes">Template:Cite journal</ref> It is part of the larger Arabian Desert.
DescriptionEdit
TerrainEdit
The desert is Template:Convert long, and Template:Convert wide.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its surface elevation varies from Template:Convert in the southwest to around sea level in the northeast.<ref name = Desert>Template:WWF ecoregion</ref> Most of the terrain is ergs, with sand dunes up to Template:Convert high, interspersed with gravel and gypsum plains.<ref name = Lakes /><ref name = Desert /> The sand is reddish-orange due to the presence of feldspar.<ref name = Desert />
There are also brackish salt flats in some areas, such as the Umm al Samim area on the desert's eastern edge.<ref name = Desert /> Ali Al-Naimi reports that the sand dunes do not drift. He goes on to say,
Sand blows off the surface, of course, but the essential shape of the dunes remains intact, probably due to the moisture leaching up into the base of the dunes from the surrounding sabkhas.<ref name=Ali/>Template:Rp
Lake bedsEdit
Along the middle length of the desert, there are several raised, hardened areas of calcium carbonate, gypsum, marl, or clay that were once the site of shallow lakes. These lakes existed during periods from 6,000 to 5,000 years ago and 3,000 to 2,000 years ago. The lakes are thought to have formed as a result of "cataclysmic rainfall" similar to present-day monsoon rains and most probably lasted for only a few years. However, lakes in the Mundafen area in the southwest of the Rub' al Khali show evidence of such lakes lasting longer, up to 800 years, from increased runoff from the Tuwaiq Escarpment.<ref name = Lakes />
Evidence suggests that the lakes were home to a variety of flora and fauna. Fossil remains indicate the presence of several animal species, such as hippopotamus, water buffalo, and long-horned cattle. The lakes also contained small snails, ostracods, and when conditions were suitable, freshwater clams. Deposits of calcium carbonate and opal phytoliths indicate the presence of plants and algae. There is also evidence of human activity dating from 3,000 to 2,000 years ago, including chipped flint tools, but no actual human remains have been found.<ref name = Lakes />
ClimateEdit
The region is classified as "hyper-arid", with annual precipitation generally less than Template:Convert, and daily mean relative humidity of about 52% in January and 15% in June–July.<ref name=":1" />Template:Failed verification
BiodiversityEdit
Fauna includes arachnids (e.g. scorpions) and rodents, while plants live throughout the Empty Quarter. As an ecoregion, the Rub' al Khali falls within the Arabian Desert and East Saharo-Arabian xeric shrublands.<ref name = Desert /> The Asiatic cheetah, once widespread in Saudi Arabia, is extirpated.<ref>Durant, S.; Mitchell, N.; Ipavec, A. & Groom, R. (2015). "Acinonyx jubatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T219A50649567. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T219A50649567.en.</ref>
OilEdit
The Shaybah oil field was discovered in 1968. South Ghawar, discovered in 1948, is the largest oil field in the world and extends southward into the northernmost parts of the Empty Quarter.<ref name=Ali/>Template:Rp
TransportEdit
A road between Oman and Saudi Arabia,<ref name="TheNational 07-2021">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="GulfNews 07-2021">Template:Cite news</ref> through the Empty Quarter, was completed in September 2021.<ref name="TheNational 09-2021">Template:Cite news</ref> Measuring between Template:Convert, it extends from Ibri in Oman to Al-Ahsa in eastern Saudi Arabia. A Template:Convert stretch of the road is on the Omani side and Template:Convert is on the Saudi side.<ref name="TheNational 07-2021" /><ref name="GulfNews 07-2021" /> The road also goes through the archaeological sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn in Oman.<ref name="TheNational 09-2021" />
PeopleEdit
The inhabitants of the Empty Quarter are members of various local tribes: for example, the Al Murrah tribe has the largest area, mainly based between Al-Ahsa and Najran. The Banu Yam and Banu Hamdan are in Yemen and the Najran region of southern Saudi Arabia) and the Bani Yas are in the United Arab Emirates. A few road links connect these tribal settlements to the area's water resources and oil production centers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
_sand_dunes_imaged_by_Terra_(EOS_AM-1).jpg){kind=link}
Desertification has increased through recent millennia. Before desertification made the caravan trails leading across the Rub' al Khali difficult, the caravans of the frankincense trade crossed now virtually impassable stretches of land, until about 300 AD.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It has been suggested that Ubar or Iram, a lost city, region, or people,<ref>Interview with Dr J. Zarins, Nova Online, Sept. 1996</ref> depended on such trade.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The archaeological remains of Iram include a fortification/administration building, walls, and bases of circular pillars. The traces of camel tracks, unidentifiable on the ground,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> appear in satellite images.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
ExpeditionsEdit
The first documented journeys by non-resident explorers were made by British explorers Bertram Thomas and St John Philby in the early 1930s. Between 1946 and 1950, Wilfred Thesiger crossed the area several times and mapped large parts of the Empty Quarter including the mountains of Oman, as described in his 1959 book Arabian Sands.<ref name=Morton>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Ali">Template:Cite book</ref>
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In June 1950, a US Air Force expedition crossed the Rub' al Khali from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to central Yemen and back<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in trucks to collect specimens for the Smithsonian Institution and to test desert survival procedures.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1999, Jamie Clarke became the first Westerner to cross the Empty Quarter of Arabia in fifty years. His team of six, guided by three Bedouins, spent 40 days crossing the desert with a caravan of 13 camels.<ref>Everest to Arabia. Clarke J. Azimuth Inc. 2000</ref>
On 25 February 2006, a scientific excursion organized by the Saudi Geological Survey began to explore the Empty Quarter. The expedition consisted of 89 environmentalists, geologists, and scientists from Saudi Arabia and abroad. Various types of fossilized creatures as well as meteorites were discovered in the desert. The expedition discovered 31 new plant species and plant varieties, as well as 24 species of birds that inhabit the region, which fascinated scientists as to how they have survived under the harsh conditions of the Empty Quarter.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In February 2013, a South African team including Alex Harris, Marco Broccardo, and David Joyce became the first people to cross the border close to Oman of the Empty Quarter unsupported and on foot,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in a journey which started in Salalah and lasted 40 days, ending in Dubai. The team only made use of three water stops along the journey and pulled a specially designed cart that housed all the supplies necessary for the entire expedition.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2013, British adventurer Alistair Humphreys released his first documentary film, Into the Empty Quarter, documenting his walk through the Empty Quarter desert with Leon McCarron.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
In 2013, from 18 February to 28 March, South Korean explorer Young-Ho Nam led a team (Agustin Arroyo Bezanilla, Si-Woo Lee) on a crossing through the Empty Quarter on foot from Salalah, Oman, to Liwa Oasis in the UAE Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The crossing was performed with permission from the governments of Oman and the UAE. Dewan Ruler's Representative for Western Region, Emirate of Abu Dhabi recognized it as the world's first on-foot crossing of the Empty Quarter following the border of Oman and ending in UAE.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2018, the first all-female walking expedition, named "Her Faces of Change", led by Briton Janey McGill, who was accompanied by the first Omani women in modern times to walk the Oman Empty Quarter, Baida Al Zadjali and Atheer Al Sabri, set off on 22 December 2018 after receiving formal approval from the government of Oman.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The team was supported by two cars for supplies driven by Tariq Al Zadjali (Omani) and Mark Vause-Jones (British) and filmmaker Matthew Milan from the United States. The expedition started from Al Hashman in the Dohafar Governate of Oman crossing through Burkana, Maqshin, and Al Sahma in Al Wusta Region, continued through Abu Al Tabool and Um Al Sameem, and ended at Ibri fort in the Al Dhahira region of Oman. The total distance walked by the team was Template:Convert in 28 days, ending the expedition on 18 January 2019.<ref name=":0" />
In 2018, Deidre O'Leary and Kyle Knight crossed the Rub' al Khali from the South (the Saudi-Omani border) to the North (the Saudi-UAE border) on foot.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This was the first known crossing within Saudi Arabia from south to north on foot through the highest sand dunes of the Rub Al' Khali. The pair crossed Template:Convert in 9 days, 12 hours, and 59 minutes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2020, Italian extreme desert explorer Max Calderan completed a Rub' al Khali exploration on foot for the first time ever from west to east. He crossed Template:Convert in 18 days, crossing the widest area of Rub' al Khali.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2023, an Austrian-German expedition completed a southwest-to-northeast crossing of the Rub-al-Khali region on the Saudi Arabian side. The route was planned by Austrian Thomas Brandl-Ruttner, leading a team of eight experts in navigation, expedition logistics, and engineering. The team included geo-archaeologist Rudolf Dellmour, who was responsible for scientific documentation. Covering a Template:Convert route through largely unexplored terrain, the team gathered and documented new geological and archaeological findings. Locations that had previously only been studied via satellite imagery were explored on-site for the first time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2024, Richard Midwinter walked alone from Salalah, aiming to cross via Muqshin to Al Ain and on to Dubai, to raise awareness for women missed by the NHS breast cancer screening programme. He was carrying a rucksack and had no supply caches or support team. He was detained by Royal Oman Police at Abutubul, south of the Umm al Samim and interrogated under suspicion of espionage by the Internal Security Service, removed from the Rub al Khali, and left to continue his journey from Qarn al Alam. He walked under observation for two more days before deciding to hitchhike out, having walked about Template:Convert in 29 days.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Better source needed
In 2025, Gavin Booth MBE and Adam Wilton MBE completed the first self-sufficient foot crossing of the Rub' al Khali, travelling circa Template:Convert from As Sulayyil to Haradh via Ash Shalfa in 22 days. They hauled all their food, supplies, and water necessary for the journey in self-built carts, without any support or resupply caches.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
GalleryEdit
- Ar Rub’ al Khali Sand Sea, Arabian Peninsula.JPG
Astronaut photograph highlighting a part of Ar-Rub' al-Khali near its south-eastern margin, in the Wusta Governorate of Oman
- Rub al khali sunset Nov 2007.jpg
Sunset in Saudi Arabia
See alsoEdit
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Rub' al-Khali in Encyclopædia Britannica
- Lost city under the Rub' Al-Khali, Saudi Life (archived)
- Empty Quarter: Exploring Arabia's Sea of Sand, National Geographic (archived)