Page 38 - SST Class 05

on the west and the Persian Gulf on the east. It shares its boundaries with Jordan, Iraq,
Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman and Yemen.

Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 regions (provinces), further subdivided into 118
governorates (districts).

Saudi Arabia

National name : Al-Mamlakah al-
LEBANON SYRIA
LEBANON
’Arabiyah as-Sa’udiya
IRAQ
ISRAEL
ISRAEL
Capital : Riyadh
IRAN
JORDAN
Currency : Riyal JORDAN
KUWAITAIT
KUW
Official language : English, Arabic Tabuk
Ras al Khafji
Ras al Khafji
Area : about 21.49 lakh sq km Duba Hail Al Qatif
Population : About 33 million Burayadah Ad Damman PERSIAN GULF
Al Hufuf
QATARTAR
EGYPT Medina QA
National flag : RIYADH
Y Yanbual Bahranbual Bahr UAE
Mecca
Jeddah
Jeddah
SAUDI ARABIA
At Taif
RED
SEA Jabal
SUDAN OMAN
Sawda
The Republic
Not to scale ERITREA of Yemen ARABIAN SEA
Physical Features
Saudi Arabia is mainly a sandy desert with some plateaus, hills and low lands. The
narrow coastal plains are located along the eastern and western coasts. There are some
lakes, but there are no permanent rivers. There are
several deep and dry valleys, called wadis . These are
filled up with rainwater, but they are dried up sooner
than later due to extreme heat. There are some oases
where the groundwater comes to the surface. At such
places, agriculture and animal herding are undertaken
by people.

The sandy desert forms a large part of Saudi Arabia.
Sand forms into small hills, called sand dunes . These
Western highland in Saudi Arabia
dunes keep shifting with the wind, so they can be very
dangerous for people and animals. Normally, the wind is strong as there is no
vegetation to check its speed. Due to this, sand storms often occur.
Climate

Owing to scanty rainfall, which is less than 10 cm yearly, the climate in Saudi Arabia is

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