The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has lots of major landforms such as mountains and peaks to rivers and deserts. They take great pride and honor in these many landforms.
Desert Dahna in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Deserts
Approximately 30 percent of all the land in Saudi Arabia is covered by sandy deserts. The Nafud in the north is one of the largest deserts among all. The Great Nafud is made up of transverse sand dunes that often reach up to a height of nearly 120 meters. The sand of this desert is reddish in color due to all of the iron oxide coating while the sands of other deserts are yellowish in color. Rub-al-Khali is another great desert in Saudi Arabia, in which it occupies an area of about 650,000 square km. In fact, Rub-al-Khali is believed to be the biggest desert in the world. Sand dunes in this desert often reach a height of 250 meters, more so on the eastern side of the country. There are other sand bodies in Saudi Arabia, such as the Crescent-shaped Dahna in the Najd area and Al-Jafurah on the Eastern region are smaller in size.
Mountains
In Saudi Arabia, there are many mountains and peaks in which the Saudis take great honor and respect in. Below is a list of only a few of the many mountains all over Saudi Arabia. Jabal Sawda' :9,826 ft / 2,995 m Jabal Mana' : 8,489 ft / 2,588 m Jabal Baydan : 8,377 ft / 2,554 m Qa'am al Hadar : 8,198 ft / 2,499 m Jabal al Lawz : 7,919 ft / 2,414 m Miswarah : 7,773 ft / 2,369 m Qa'mat Abu ash Shaykh : 7,638 ft / 2,328 m Tadhkar : 7,515 ft / 2,291 m Jabal Sihlil :7,405 ft / 2,257 m Idin : 7,188 ft / 2,191 m Jabal Jawf : 7,051 ft / 2,149 m Jabal Damadim :6,871 ft / 2,094 m Jabal 'Umayd :6,542 ft / 1,994 m Jabal Umm al Qisas :6,470 ft / 1,972
Jabal Sawda' - the highest elevation mountain in Saudi Arabia.
Red Sea from the West Side in Saudi Arabia.
Bodies of Water
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there are two major bodies of water. The first, The Red Sea; and the second, The Persian Gulf. The Red Sea is on the west side of Saudi Arabia, while the Persian Gulf is on the east side. Several cities line the Red Sea coast, including Jeddah, which provides direct access to a breathtaking coral reef. Traveling back in history, Jacques Yves Cousteau once lauded this region, and he once said, "I once lauded this region as being alive with deep clarity, blazing color, and active fauna living under the most arid and least populated coasts." Along the salty Persian Gulf, the Saudi city of Jubail is the launching point for a long boat ride to see Harqus, Kurayn, Jana, and Jurayd, which are populated with the tiny coral islands with stingrays, octopi, and turtles.
There are no rivers or lakes in the country of Saudi Arabia, because it is such a hot and dry country with all of the desert land. However, there are a few dry riverbeds, which are called wadis in Saudi Arabia. There is very little rainfall either, leaving water very scarce and extremely valuable.
Valleys
Throughout Saudi Arabia, there are six different valleys. According to many people who have traveled to all valleys and different landforms in Saudi Arabia as well, the Adayra valley, the Wadi Hanifa, and the Sirhan valley are the best of six valleys. Also popular are the WAdi al-Rummah valley, the Wadi Faran, and the Wadi Najran.