Hijaz Mountains

Hijaz Mountains
Arabic: جِـبَـال الْـحِـجَـاز‎; Jibāl al-Ḥijāz
A road in the Hijaz Mountains
Highest point
Peak Jabal Werqaan
Elevation 2,393 m (7,851 ft)
Coordinates 23°0′N 41°0′E / 23.000°N 41.000°E / 23.000; 41.000Coordinates: 23°0′N 41°0′E / 23.000°N 41.000°E / 23.000; 41.000 
Geography
Hijaz Mountains
State/Province Hejaz

The Hijaz Mountains (Arabic: جِـبَـال الْـحِـجَـاز‎, translit. Jibāl al-Ḥijāz), or Hejaz Range, is a mountain range located in the Hejazi region of western Saudi Arabia. The range runs north and south along the eastern coast of the Red Sea.

Geography

The western coastal escarpment of the Arabian Peninsula is composed of two mountain ranges, the Hijaz Mountain to the north and the Asir Mountains farther south, with a gap between them near the middle of the peninsula's coastline. From an elevation of 2,100 metres (6,900 ft), the range declines towards the vicinity of the gap about 600 metres (2,000 ft).

The mountain wall drops abruptly on the western side toward the Red Sea, leaving the narrow coastal plain of Tihamah. The eastern slopes are not as steep, allowing rare rainfall to help create oases around the springs and wells of the few wadis.

River or wadi

The Hijaz Mountains have been conjectured as the source of the ancient Pishon River, that was described as one of the four rivers associated with the Garden of Eden. This is a component in the research of Juris Zarins that locates the Garden of Eden at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf near Kuwait.

The course of the now dried up river, the modern-day Wadi Al-Rummah and its extension Wadi Al-Batin, was identified by Farouk El-Baz of Boston University and named the 'Kuwait River.' This tracks northeast across the Saudi desert for 600 miles (970 km), following Wadi Al-Batin to the coast of the Persian Gulf. The 'Pishon' or 'Kuwait River,' and the Hejaz region ecology, is estimated to have dried up 2,500–3000 years ago.[1]

Wildlife

The nimr (Arabic: نِـمْـر‎, leopard) had been sighted here.[2][3] In ancient times, it was reported that Musa al-Kadhim, a descendant of Muhammad, encountered an asad (Arabic: أَسَـد‎, lion) in the wilderness north of Medina.[4]

Mining

This region includes the district of Mahd adh-Dhahab (Arabic: مَـهْـد الـذَّهَـب‎, "Cradle of Gold"), between Mecca and Medina. It is the only known Arabian source for workable quantities of gold.

See also

References

  1. ↑ C.A. Salabach at Focus Magazine Archived 2012-06-25 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Judas, J.; Paillat, P.; Khoja, A.; Boug, A. (2006). "Status of the Arabian leopard in Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Cat News. Special Issue 1: 11–19.
  3. ↑ Spalton, J. A. & Al-Hikmani, H. M. (2006). "The Leopard in the Arabian Peninsula – Distribution and Subspecies Status" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 1): 4–8.
  4. ↑ "The Infallibles Taken from Kitab al Irshad By Sheikh al Mufid". Al-Islam.org. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
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