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Deserts constitute around 80% of the UAE’s land area. Deserts consist of sand dunes, mountains, rocks, and sand flats or salt flats. One of the UAE’s most notable sand dunes is the 300 metres high Tal Moreeb in Liwa.
The desert is a harsh environment for people, animals and plants because of the extreme heat, and little food and water. Despite the harsh environment, Emirati ancestors, called the Bedouin, were able to survive, making them among the most resilient people on earth. They moved from place to place across North Africa to the Middle East in search of grazing areas. The deserts get less than 25 cm of rain in a year, this us not enough to support vegetation. Yet some species of plants, animals and other organisms have evolved to survive the harsh conditions, scarce water and arid landscapes.
Adventure in UAE’s Desert Landscapes
Contrary to the belief that desert is deserted, there is an unbelievably diverse ecosystem consisting of plants, animals and other organisms that have evolved to survive the harsh conditions, scarce water and arid landscapes. Desert plants and animals have evolved to minimize water loss, and are very effective at absorbing, storing and managing the little water they do get, enabling them to survive long periods of drought. For example, the Ghaf tree has roots up to 30 metres long to access water deep underground.
The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the United Arab Emirates, once said “I do love the desert. Whenever I feel a little tired, I go there to restore my strength,”
Adventure seekers will enjoy the 4WD trips across the desert dunes to camel trekking, sandboarding, and dune buggy trips. Popular desert day trips from Dubai or Abu Dhabi usually include dinner at a desert camp and offer time at camp for other activities such as sandboarding or short camel rides.
Other tours include wildlife spotting and specialized desert operations and also offer overnight camping amid the dunes.
There are a number of luxury desert resorts, where stays are all about soaking up the dune scenery and heading out on desert activities.
Water Resources in the UAE
There are two sources of water in UAE: Desalinated seawater and groundwater. Desalinated water contributed 24% of the water consumed in the country. Ground water contributed 71% of the water needs primarily for agriculture.
Abut 90% of groundwater in Abu Dhabi Emirate is saline, in some cases up to eight times as much as seawater. There are only two freshwater aquifers. Brackish groundwater is mostly used for the irrigation of date palms which are relatively salt-tolerant. Recharge dams have been built on wadis in order to prevent flood water to flow into the sea.
