The Hajar Mountains run parallel to the UAE’s east coast. Their highest pont in the North is in the Musandam Peninsula, reaching a height of 2,000 metres, where the mountain slope drops directly into the sea. This area is known locally as the Ru’us Al Jibal, heads of the mountains.
The Hajar Mountains act as a rain catchment area and run-off from the range replenishes groundwater.
The mountain systems nurture several freshwater habitats including pools, springs and riverline beds or wadis.
Wildlife that have adapted to these habitats include dragonflies, toads and fish. The rugged mountains also make a perfect refuge for discrete wildlife such as the Arabian Leopard and the endemic Arabian Tahr.
Wadi Wuraya
The first UAE mountain habitat to be declared a protected zone in 2007, has also been designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. Spread over an area of 130sq Km between the towns of Masafi, Khor Fakkan and Bidiya, it is one of only three areas in the world where the Arabian Tahr still exist, and where authorities have recorded 860 species, including 96 birds, 19 mammals, 17 reptiles and 3 fishes.
The Hajar mountains are a complex of igneous and sedimentary rocks which represent the upper mantle, oceanic crust and deep ocean sediments, collectively called ophiolites. With the largest surface of ophiolites in the world, this area is of great interest to geologists.
Some Birds found in the Hajar Mountains:
Yellow vented bulbul
Scrub Warbler
White Spectacled Bulbul
