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Jebel Hafeet
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Jebel Hafeet
Jabal Hafeet (Arabic: جَبَل حَفِيْت, romanized: Jabal Ḥafīt, "Mount Hafeet"; variously transcribed Jabel or Jebal and Hafit – literally "empty mountain") is a mountain in the region of Tawam, on the border of the United Arab Emirates and Oman. It is often considered an outlier of the Hajar Mountains in Eastern Arabia due to its proximity to the main range. To the north is the UAE city of Al Ain, in the Eastern Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the adjacent Omani town of Al-Buraimi.
The sole mountain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and one of the highest mountains in the country, it has given its name to a period in UAE history, the Hafit Period of the Bronze Age (3200 to 2600 BCE), because of the discovery of a cluster of important beehive tombs at its foothills. As of 2017, the mountain is recognised as being part of a national park, and was incorporated into the Sheikh Zayed Network of Protected Areas in 2018.
Jebel Hafeet has a hot desert climate (BWh) according to the Köppen climate classification. On average, 77 mm (3.0 in) of rain falls annually. The temperature is relatively cool from October to March, usually remaining below 25 °C (77 °F). The average overall temperature is 27.1 °C (80.8 °F).
The Jabal Hafit mountain trends NNW–SSE over about 26 km (16 mi) and is 4–5 km (2.5–3.1 mi) wide. It protrudes 900 m (3,000 ft) above the surrounding plains. The mountain consists of shallow marine sedimentary rocks, which includes limestone, marl, and evaporites. These layers contain many fossils which includes corals, foraminifera, and bryozoa. Fossils indicate that the sedimentary rocks exposed at the surface range from early Eocene to early Miocene in age, younging from the mountains core to its flanks. This structure is an anticline, or more specifically an east-verging pericline. The west limb has a dip of around 30° and the east limb has overturned bedding at 70° in the central area. This results in an inclined axial plane, creating an asymmetric fold. This is unexpected because the structure is folding towards the Hajar Mountains in the east. If the structure is related to the formation of the Hajar range, the anticline would typically be west verging. This indicates that the Jabal Hafit anticline formed due to a backthrust (antithetic fault), and is a fault-propagation fold.
Within the eroded core of the anticline, at the Green Mubazzarah Park, are hot springs with temperatures of around 40 °C (104 °F). There is no volcanic activity in the area, therefore the water is being heated geothermally. Meteoric water is percolating from the surface to about 2 km (1.2 mi) depth and then returning to the surface. This provides evidence for faults below the anticline, as faulting fractures the rock and provides fluid pathways.
The limestone layers were deposited laterally within a basin, and then horizontal shortening folded the layers into an anticline. The timing of when this folding occurred is debated, and the driving force is not fully understood. Some geologists relate the deformation of the Jabal Hafit anticline to the early Miocene Zagros Collision, which is currently active and is caused by the Arabian Plate colliding with the Eurasian Plate. However, the Jabal Hafit Anticline is not actively deforming, and undeformed Miocene sedimentary rocks around the anticline indicate that no deformation has occurred recently. Sedimentary evidence indicates that the Hafit structure developed during the late Oligocene to early–middle Miocene.
The mountain rises 1,100–1,400 m (3,600–4,600 ft), and offers a view over Al-Ain. Jebel Hafeet was a well-known landmark throughout the area's history, and is a contemporary tourist attraction. An extensive natural cave system winds through Jabal Hafeet. Jebel Hafeet is crossed by a system of caves, some of which have been explored to a depth of no more than 150 m (490 ft). In the caves there are well-preserved stalagmites and stalactites. Access to the caves is partly natural, while in other parts of the city of Al Ain, the entrance is blocked. At the foot of Jebel Hafeet lies a tourist attraction with hot springs and a lake. To the northeast is the mountain's largest wadi, Wadi Tarabat.
The mountain has ridges which stretch northwards to the inner part of Al-Ain City, two of which have been named and given prominence in literature. One is Al Naqfa Ridge or the Nagfa Ridge (Arabic: جَبَل ٱلنَّقْفَة, romanized: Jabal An-Naqfah), which stretches to Al Ain Oasis in the north, and has a historical fort of the same name nearby. The other is the "Western Ridge" or "West Ridge".
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Jebel Hafeet
Jabal Hafeet (Arabic: جَبَل حَفِيْت, romanized: Jabal Ḥafīt, "Mount Hafeet"; variously transcribed Jabel or Jebal and Hafit – literally "empty mountain") is a mountain in the region of Tawam, on the border of the United Arab Emirates and Oman. It is often considered an outlier of the Hajar Mountains in Eastern Arabia due to its proximity to the main range. To the north is the UAE city of Al Ain, in the Eastern Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the adjacent Omani town of Al-Buraimi.
The sole mountain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and one of the highest mountains in the country, it has given its name to a period in UAE history, the Hafit Period of the Bronze Age (3200 to 2600 BCE), because of the discovery of a cluster of important beehive tombs at its foothills. As of 2017, the mountain is recognised as being part of a national park, and was incorporated into the Sheikh Zayed Network of Protected Areas in 2018.
Jebel Hafeet has a hot desert climate (BWh) according to the Köppen climate classification. On average, 77 mm (3.0 in) of rain falls annually. The temperature is relatively cool from October to March, usually remaining below 25 °C (77 °F). The average overall temperature is 27.1 °C (80.8 °F).
The Jabal Hafit mountain trends NNW–SSE over about 26 km (16 mi) and is 4–5 km (2.5–3.1 mi) wide. It protrudes 900 m (3,000 ft) above the surrounding plains. The mountain consists of shallow marine sedimentary rocks, which includes limestone, marl, and evaporites. These layers contain many fossils which includes corals, foraminifera, and bryozoa. Fossils indicate that the sedimentary rocks exposed at the surface range from early Eocene to early Miocene in age, younging from the mountains core to its flanks. This structure is an anticline, or more specifically an east-verging pericline. The west limb has a dip of around 30° and the east limb has overturned bedding at 70° in the central area. This results in an inclined axial plane, creating an asymmetric fold. This is unexpected because the structure is folding towards the Hajar Mountains in the east. If the structure is related to the formation of the Hajar range, the anticline would typically be west verging. This indicates that the Jabal Hafit anticline formed due to a backthrust (antithetic fault), and is a fault-propagation fold.
Within the eroded core of the anticline, at the Green Mubazzarah Park, are hot springs with temperatures of around 40 °C (104 °F). There is no volcanic activity in the area, therefore the water is being heated geothermally. Meteoric water is percolating from the surface to about 2 km (1.2 mi) depth and then returning to the surface. This provides evidence for faults below the anticline, as faulting fractures the rock and provides fluid pathways.
The limestone layers were deposited laterally within a basin, and then horizontal shortening folded the layers into an anticline. The timing of when this folding occurred is debated, and the driving force is not fully understood. Some geologists relate the deformation of the Jabal Hafit anticline to the early Miocene Zagros Collision, which is currently active and is caused by the Arabian Plate colliding with the Eurasian Plate. However, the Jabal Hafit Anticline is not actively deforming, and undeformed Miocene sedimentary rocks around the anticline indicate that no deformation has occurred recently. Sedimentary evidence indicates that the Hafit structure developed during the late Oligocene to early–middle Miocene.
The mountain rises 1,100–1,400 m (3,600–4,600 ft), and offers a view over Al-Ain. Jebel Hafeet was a well-known landmark throughout the area's history, and is a contemporary tourist attraction. An extensive natural cave system winds through Jabal Hafeet. Jebel Hafeet is crossed by a system of caves, some of which have been explored to a depth of no more than 150 m (490 ft). In the caves there are well-preserved stalagmites and stalactites. Access to the caves is partly natural, while in other parts of the city of Al Ain, the entrance is blocked. At the foot of Jebel Hafeet lies a tourist attraction with hot springs and a lake. To the northeast is the mountain's largest wadi, Wadi Tarabat.
The mountain has ridges which stretch northwards to the inner part of Al-Ain City, two of which have been named and given prominence in literature. One is Al Naqfa Ridge or the Nagfa Ridge (Arabic: جَبَل ٱلنَّقْفَة, romanized: Jabal An-Naqfah), which stretches to Al Ain Oasis in the north, and has a historical fort of the same name nearby. The other is the "Western Ridge" or "West Ridge".
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