'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎79r] (162/180)

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Beyond Abu Dhabi, as far as Khor-al-'Odaid, the coast is almost unknown- it is
barren and generally low, but has some bluff headlands.
The only eminence and conspicuous landmark on the coast of Trucial 'Oman
Dhafrah being excluded,_ is Jabal-al-'Ali in Dibai territory. '
t ^ e Se A a ^ S deep at no great d'^ance from shore In the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , from Sha am to Abu Dhabi it is open and free from dangers but
rather shallow, heic the coast lies open to the full fury of the Shamal there are
no harbours or sheltered anchorages except for boats, and landing is often difficult
From Abu Dhabi to Khor-al -'Odaid the coast is adjoined by a labyrinth of islands'
shoals and reefs, imperfectly surveyed and so intricate that even Arab vessels if
larger than pearl boats, avoid these waters. In this direction most of the space
between the coast and the 20 fathom line,—which runs approximatelv from
opposite Sharjah Town to the tip of the Qatar peninsula,—is occupied by pearl
banks. Full details of these banks are given in the Appendix on the Pearl
Fisheries.
A number of islands are associated with the coast of Trucial 'Oman, the most
important being BQ Musa, Tunb, Sir BQ Na'air, Yas and Dalmah; the last of
these is adjoined by a number of others which are enumerated in the article on
the Abu Dhabi Principality, and by Shura'awah.
Inland plain of Trucial 'Oman. —The interior of a country so extensive
naturally varies in character from one part to another, but, attention being for
the moment confined to the non-mountainous portions, the variations are found
to be less considerable than might have been expected. Almost the whole consists
of sandy desert; uncultivable but not altogether destitute of natural vegetation or
even of wood; the principal exceptions to the general infertility are the Jiri plain,
the plain of Dhaid and the Liwah division of the Dhafrah tract, in all of which
some cultivation, at least of dates, is carried on. These relatively small districts
are fully described in the articles under the names indicated, and it is unnecessary
to enter here upon the exceptional features which they present. Another tract of
a different nature, which has no general name and which it is consequently
impossible to make the subject of an article, is described below in the paragraph
on the topography of Trucial 'Oman. The only remaining portion of the country
is that which lies between the sea and an imaginary line joining Ras-al -Khaimah
Town to the Baraimi Oasis: it ends southwards in the district of Khatam which
is elsewhere described under its own name. So far as can be ascertained this
portion, from Ras-al -Khaimah as far south as Dibai Town, is not entirely composed
of sand dunes, but contains also level shingly plains with sparse acacia vegetation;
southwards from Dibai the whole surface appears to be sandy and undulating,
but desert vegetation and wells and water holes are still sufficiently plentiful to
support a scanty Bedouin population. In the whole of this region no running
water is found except in one subterranean aqueduct which irrigates the settlement
of Falai; but there are numerous wells, sunk generally on the banks or in the
beds of dry watercourses, and sometimes in spots which from their elevated position
might have been supposed unsuitable for the purpose. On the Ras-al -Khaimah-
Baraimi route these wells are generally from 40 to 60 feet deep and are lined tor
8 or 10 feet near the surface with timber or rough-hewn stones brought from the
hills.
Acacias, which are the commonest kind of tree, are of the Ghaf and Samr
varieties; the Ashkar shrub, the Markh bush, and grass of the kind called Arta
are frequently met with; and the dwarf tamarisk, the wild castor oil plant, and a
bulbous grass called Qufa are also found. Other sorts of vegetation which afiord
grazing are Rimth, a species of Salsola which, when green, is eaten by camels;
Halam, a small sand plant; Thamam, a coarse grass which eventually dries up
into twigs and becomes inedible; and Qasad, a small vivid green shrub ol the
caper tribe: the last three are eaten by livestock of all kinds. There is also a
bright green edible weed, somewhat resembling mignonette, which is called Haram.
Hills of Trucial 'Oman. —The only mountainous part of the country is in the
east, where a section of the spinal range of the 'Oman Promontory is included,
this section is the part between a line joining Dibah to Sha'am on the north, and
another, on the south, which runs inland from Khor Kalba, first westwards then
southwards, so as to curve round the northern and western sides of the Mahadhah
tract and the hills connected with it. The hill tract of Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. is thus about
50 miles in extent from north to south, and its average breadth seems to be about
20 miles. It is still almost entirely unexplored, the only part of it as yet traverse