The Rocky Mountains or the Stone Mountains in northeastern Oman and also the eastern United Arab Emirates are the highest mountain range in the eastern Arabian peninsula. Also known as “Oman Mountains”, they separate the low coastal plain of Oman from the high desert plateau, and lie 50-100 km (31-62 mi) inland from the Gulf of Oman.
Al means “the”, and Hajar means “stone” or “rock”. So al-Hajar is named as “the stone” or “the rock”.
Al Hajar Mountains extend for 700 Kilometres (430 miles) through the UAE and Oman. They are located on the north-east corner of the Arabian Plate, reaching from the Musandam Peninsula through to the east coast of Oman. The range is about 100 km (62 mi) wide, with Jabal Shams being the highest peak at 3,009 m (9,872 ft) in the central region of the mountains.
Flora and Fauna
The mountains are rich in plant life compared to most of Arabia, including a number of endemic species. The vegetation changes with altitude, the mountains are covered with shrubland at lower elevations, growing richer and then becoming woodland, including wild olive and fig trees between 3,630 and 8,250 ft (1,110 and 2,510 metres), and then higher still there are junipers.
Fruit trees such as pomegranate and apricot are grown in the cooler valleys and in places there are rocky outcrops with little vegetation. The flora shows similarities with mountain areas nearby Iran, as well as with areas along the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa. For example, the tree Ceratonia oreothauma is found here and also in Somalia.
A number of birds are found in the mountains including Egyptian and Iappet-faced vultures (Torgos tracheliotus). Mammals include mountain gazelles (Gazella gazella) and the Arabian tahr (Arabitragus jayakari).
Other endemic species include a number of geckos and lizards: Asaccus montanus, Asaccus platyrhynchus and a subspecies of Wadi Kharrar rock gecko (Pristurus gallagheri) are found only in Oman while Musandam leaf-toed gecko (Asaccus caudivolvulus), Gallagher’s leaf-toed gecko (Asaccus Gallagheri) Oman rock gecko (Pristurus celerrimus), Jayakar lizard (Omanosaura jayakari) and Oman blue-tailed lizard (Omanosaura cyanura) are found in the Hajar.
The endangered Arabian Leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) had been recorded here, particularly in the area of Khasab in the northern part of the Musandam.
The area of Jebel Hafeet is noted for hosting rare flora and fauna.
Reference: Wikipedia
