Wadi Shawka | |
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Coordinates: 25°6′0″N56°2′0″E / 25.10000°N 56.03333°E | |
Country | United Arab Emirates |
Emirate | Ras Al Khaimah |
Elevation | 421 m (1,384 ft) |
Wadi Shawka (literally 'powerful wadi') is a seasonal watercourse in the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates. Famous locally for the Shawka Dam, a renowned beauty spot and destination for outdoor sports, the wadi has long been an agricultural area and alongside existing farms, and many abandoned settlements exist on the sides of the wadi. [1] The wadi enjoys unusually high rainfall of some 120mm per annum. [2]
Wadi Shawka is a popular destination for hikers [3] as well as families attracted to the Shawka Dam, a developed rest area and picnic spot. [2] The wadi runs from the village of Khari, north of the village of Shawka, to join the Wadi Esfai and the Wadi Ejili. A number of tourism companies and hiking groups offer hikes in and around the upper reaches of the Wadi Shawka. [4]
The Shawka Dam was originally constructed in 2001, on the orders of Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, and overlooks a developed recreational area with a children's play area, washrooms, a family barbecue area and a number of pools. [2] The dam has a 275,000 cubic metre capacity and, with a height of 13 metres and a length of 107 metres, is considered one of the largest dams in the Emirates. [5]
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The city of Ras Al Khaimah, abbreviated to RAK or RAK City, is the capital of the emirate and home to most of the emirate's residents. It is linked to the Islamic trading port of Julfar. Its name in English means "headland of the tent". The emirate borders Oman's exclave of Musandam, and occupies part of the same peninsula. It covers an area of 2,486 km2 (960 sq mi) and has 64 km (40 mi) of beach coastline. As of 2015, the emirate had a population of about 345,000.
Jabal Al-Mebraḥ, also commonly mistakenly referred to by the name of the nearby peak Jabal Yibir, is a 1,505 m (4,938 ft) tall mountain in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Hatta is an inland exclave of the emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Formerly an Omani territory, its ownership was transferred to Dubai in or around 1850.
Masfout is a village that forms part of the eponymous exclave of Masfout in Ajman, one of the seven emirates forming the United Arab Emirates. It is surrounded by Ras Al Khaimah, the Dubai exclave of Hatta and Oman. It is only accessible from Ajman itself by crossing territories of Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Oman.
Wadi Modaynah is the name of a seasonal watercourse and dam to the south of Shawka in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Shawka is a village in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is a popular hiking destination, noted for the popular hiking areas around the wadi Shawka and the Shawka Dam. The dam, originally constructed in 2001, was part of a $33.4m 2020 reconstruction project that aimed to shore up and protect dams and waterways in the region. In an area noted for its high levels of rainfall and fertility in the Winter and Spring, Shawka enjoyed record levels of rainfall in 2020 - according to local residents rainfall in 2020 was the heaviest in 30 years.
Jebel Jais is a mountain of the North-Western Hajar range in the Musandam Governorate of Oman and also in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The summit has an elevation of 1,934 m (6,345 ft). The summit is located on the Omani side, but a high point west of this peak is considered the highest point in the United Arab Emirates, at 1,892 m (6,207 ft) above sea level, and with around 10m of prominence. Since the summit is on the Omani side, Jabal ar Raḩraḩ, at, is the highest peak in the UAE, with significant prominence.
Wadi Bih, alternatively Wādī Al-Bayḥ, is a river/wadi that crosses the North-Western Hajar Mountains from the United Arab Emirates, and traversing Oman before returning to the UAE. From the West to the East, it originates in Ras Al Khaimah on the Gulf, before crossing the Omani exclave at the tip of the Musandam Peninsula, past the village of Zighi and into Fujairah at Dibba Al-Hisn, on the Gulf of Oman. The wadi is a popular location for birdwatchers.
Tourism in the United Arab Emirates is an important component of the Emirati economy, and consists of domestic and international components. In 2018, tourist industry composed over 164.7 billion dirham to country's GDP.
Wadi Siji is a seasonal watercourse in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates. The wadi runs from the Sharjah city of Dhaid to the mountain town of Masafi, where it meets the Wadi Ham and Wadi Abadila. It has long been a strategic route connecting the interior and East Coast of the UAE.
Wadi Maydaq is a seasonal watercourse in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. The wadi runs from the village of Marbad, through the village of Maydaq, and down to the Ajman exclave of Manama.
Wadi Ejili is a wadi, or seasonal watercourse, in the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It runs down from the confluence of the Wadi Shawka and Wadi Esfai to run into the Wadi Helo at the village of Fayyad, on the Sharjah-Kalba Highway (E102).
Wadi Tuwa is a wadi, a seasonal waterway, in the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The wadi is dammed by the Wadi Tuwa Dam.
Tayyibah is a large village in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. It is notable for its hiking trails, its Heritage Museum and the Al Qalaa Lodge, an Emirati heritage themed guest house.
Wadi Tayyibah is a seasonal watercourse, or wadi, in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. It runs from the village of Tayyibah to join the Seih Dibba or Dibba Plain, where it fans out into the plain. Prior to 1960, Wadi Tayyibah provided the main route from Masafi to Dibba and sections of tarmac are still visible, particularly on the lower reaches of the wadi as it approaches the village of Al Hala.
Wadi Sidr is a seasonal watercourse, or wadi, in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. It runs in a south-westerly direction from the village of Wadi Sidr, where it is dammed by the Wadi Sidr Dam, constructed in 2001, to the confluence of the Wadi Asimah with the Wadi Fara.
Wadi Naqab is a seasonal watercourse, or wadi, in the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.
Wadi Sal is a seasonal watercourse, or wadi, in the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Wadi Shie is a seasonal watercourse located in the Eastern Hajar Mountains of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates.
The Wadi Litibah is a valley or dry river, with intermittent flow, flowing almost exclusively during the rainy season, located northeast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Emirate of Ras al Khaimah.