Saudi Arabia The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Saʻūdiyya) is the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula.

The Kingdom is sometimes called "The Land of The Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Mecca and Medina, considered by Islam's to be the world's two holiest cities.
Saudi Arabia is the world's leading petroleum producer and exporter, and petroleum exports fuel the Saudi economy. Oil accounts for more than 90 percent of exports and nearly 75 percent of government revenues, facilitating the creation of a welfare state, which the government has found difficult to fund during periods of low oil prices.
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The Saudi government requires all citizens to be Muslim, and most of the population adheres to a fundamentalist theological interpretation within Islam most commonly known as Wahhabism. Vast oil revenues gave an immense impetus to the spread of this austere variety of Islamic theology around the world.
Geography

Map of Saudi Arabia

Referred to as “Saudi Arabia” by many English-speaking expatriates, citizens use the Arabic short form of as-Saʻūdiyya (السعودية), but often just refer to the nation as al-Mamlaka (the Kingdom).
Saudi Arabia is bounded by seven countries and three bodies of water. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south, with the Persian Gulf to its northeast and the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba to its west. Bahrain is an island off the east coast.
The kingdom occupies about 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula. A significant length of the country's southern borders with the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen are not precisely defined or marked, so the exact size of the country remains unknown. The Saudi government's estimate is 829,996 square miles (2,149,690 square kilometers). The kingdom is commonly listed as the world's 14th largest nation, or slightly more than one-fifth the size of the United States.
Saudi Arabia's geography is varied. From the western coastal region (Tihamah), the land rises from sea level to a peninsula-long mountain range (Jabal al-Hejaz) beyond which lies the plateau of Nejd in the center. The southwestern 'Asir region has mountains as high as 9840 feet (3000 meters) and is known for having the greenest and freshest climate that attracts many Saudis to resorts such as Abha in the summer months. The east is primarily rocky or sandy lowland continuing to the shores of the Persian Gulf. The geographically hostile Rub' al Khali ("Empty Quarter") desert along the country's imprecisely defined southern borders contains almost no life.
The highest point is claimed to be Jabal Sawda at 10,278 feet (3133 meters), but this elevation is disputed by space shuttle radar data, which also questions the high-point location.

Desert view in middle/western Saudi Arabia.

Mostly uninhabited, much of the nation's landmass consists of desert and semi-arid regions, with a dwindling traditional Bedouin population. Desert vegetation is limited to weeds, xerophytic herbs and shrubs. Less than two percent of the kingdom is arable land.
Saudi Arabia has no permanent year-round rivers or lakes. Its coastline extends for 1640 miles (2640km) and, on the Red Sea side, offers world-class coral reefs, including those in the Gulf of Aqaba.
Native animals include the ibex, wildcats, baboons, wolves, and hyenas in the mountainous highlands. Small birds are found in the oases. The coastal area on the Red Sea with its coral reefs has a rich marine life.
Extreme heat and aridity are characteristic of most of Saudi Arabia. Summer temperatures above 120°F (50°C) are common, while in winter frost or snow can fall in the interior and the higher mountains. The average winter temperature range is 47°F to 68°F in January in interior cities such as Riyadh (8°C to 20°C), and 66°F to 83°F (19°C to 29°C) in Jeddah on the Red Sea coast. The average summer range in July is 81°F to 109°F (27°C to 43°C) in Riyadh and 80°F to 100°F (27°C to 38°C) in Jeddah. Night-time temperatures in the mid desert can be famously chilly even in summer, as sand gives up daytime heat rapidly once the sun has set.
Annual precipitation is usually sparse (up to four inches or 100mm or in most regions) between January and May, although sudden downpours can lead to violent flash floods in wadis. Plants can still survive in Saudi Arabia, mostly in the south-east mountains and lowlands. They bloom mid-March through mid-May. The plants provide food for birds and insects. Rainfall is adequate for the nomadic herding of sheep, goats, and camels, but crop production depends on irrigation from underground aquifers.

Downtown Riyadh.
Natural hazards include frequent sand and dust storms. Environmental issues include coastal pollution from oil spills, desertification, and the depletion of underground water resources. The lack of perennial rivers or permanent water bodies has prompted the development of extensive seawater desalination plants.
Population centers are mainly located along the eastern and western coasts and densely populated interior oases such as Hofuf and Buraidah. In some extended areas, primarily the Rub' al-Khali and the Arabian Desert and East Sahero-Arabian xeric shrub lands, there is no population whatsoever, although the petroleum industry is constructing a few planned communities there.
Riyadh is the capital; Jeddah, is the second largest city, is the main Red Sea port, and is a pilgrimage gateway to Mecca; Dammam is the eastern province capital, and third largest metropolitan area; Mecca is the holiest city in Islam; Medina is the second holiest city; and Ta'if is a mountain resort above Mecca.
History
People of various cultures have lived in the peninsula over a span of more than 5000 years. The Dilmun culture, along the Persian Gulf coast (c. 3000 – 1600 B.C.E.), was contemporaneous with the Sumerians and ancient Egyptians, and the empires of the ancient world traded with peninsula states. Except for a few cities and oasis, the harsh climate prevented much settlement on the Arabian Peninsula.
The earliest known events in Arabian history are migrations from the peninsula into neighboring areas. About 3500 B.C.E., semitic-speaking peoples of Arabian origin migrated into the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia and became the Assyro-Babylonians. Some archaeologists argue that another group of Semites left Arabia about 2500 B.C.E., during the Early Bronze Age, and settled along the Levant. Mixing with the local populations there, some of these migrants became the Amorites and Canaanites. Some archaeologists argue that the migration, instead, came from the northern Levant.
Significant between 3000 and 2500 B.C.E. was the domestication of the one-humped camel, or dromedary, in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. By 1000 B.C.E., such camels were important in the caravan trade. The camel saddle was invented between about 500 and 100 B.C.E.
Islam