'ARBITRATION CONCERNING BURAIMI AND THE COMMON FRONTIER BETWEEN ABU DHABI AND SA'ŪDI ARABIA' [With maps] [‎17r] (38/541)

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a> Batin Liwa: “ the hinterland of Liwa
Batin
16. Batin—sometimes called Batin Liwa" 1 —is a stretch of desert south
of Liwa, which runs east and west the whole length of Liwa, either side of latitude
23° N., to a depth from north to south of some 30 miles. It is bounded by Liwa on
the north, Ramlat al-Hamra’ on the east, the western Dhafrah on the west, and
Kidan on the south. Batin consists of ridges of sand dunes golden yellow in
colour, running roughly west-south-west, and rising substantially higher than
the dunes of Liwa—sometimes to 300 or 400 feet from the white, salt flats which
separate them by distances varying from half a mile to two miles. The northern
slopes of these ridges are gentle and usually broken, the southern almost vertical.
The vegetation is richer, and more varied, than Liwa’s, but the water is much worse.
There are many wells in Batin, and a few small groves of stunted palms round the
wells on its northern fringe. The greater part of the vegetation consists of salt
bushes {harm and shinan), on which camel graze. Most of the wells are salt, those
in the south so much so as to be undrinkable. For this reason, the area is sparsely
inhabited and without permanent settlements. Date-palms in Batin are owned by
inhabitants of Liwa: so, too, are the wells which lie within 10 or 12 miles to the
south of Liwa. In short, Batin is generally, and correctly, regarded as part of Liwa.
Kidan
17. Kidan is the desert area south of Batin, roughly between latitude 23° N.
and latitude 22° N. It is bounded on the north by Batin, on the east by Ramlat
al-Hamra’, on the west by the western Dhafrah, and on the south by Rub‘ al-Khali.
18. The sands of Kidan—like those of Liwa and Batin—are light in colour,
thus clearly marking off the area from Ramlat al-Hamra’ and the Rub‘ al-Khali,
where the sands are varying shades of red. The vegetation consists of salt bushes
(hadh, shinan and harm), on which camels can graze; but the well water is too salt
for human consumption, with two exceptions—at Khabbah and Khaur ’Aqsa. Even
thirsty camels shrink from drinking from some of them until their nostrils be
covered. The area has no permanent settlements, and is almost uninhabited.
Western Dhafrah
19. Between Liwa and the Sabkhat Matti is an area of open country, with
broad gently sloping sand ridges running mainly north-east to south-west at
intervals of between one and four miles. About fifteen miles south-east of
Markhiyah these large dunes give way to occasional belts of wave-like hillocks,
with a maximum height of 10 feet. As is common in these deserts, all the wells
are free; but they are deep and—unlike those of Liwa—very brackish. For that
reason, there are no settlements in this area.
The Bainunah
20. The Bainunah is the strip of territory, about 40 miles wide, lying inland of
Taff-Bainunah, and extending from the Sabkhat Matti, in the west, to about the
Umm ad-Dasis well, in the east. It consists of undulating sand dunes; but a
certain amount of grazing for camels is to be found. The wells, like all those in the
Dhafrah, are free. The area is used for grazing in the winter by the Badawin, and
especially by those tribes who go to Liwa for the summer. Their choice of winter
grazing grounds varies winter by winter to some extent—principally in accordance
with the rains: where there is a good rainfall, there there will be good grazing
for their camels.
Bitdnah, Qufa, and Saruq
21. These districts comprise the region which lies between Liwa and the Taff.
It is a region of sandy ridges, with fresh water wells and small palm-groves, which
are owned, in the main, by the inhabitants of Liwa. There are no permanent
settlements in the region.
Ramlat al-Hamrd’
22. Ramlat al-Hamra’ which lies to the east of Liwa, is a desert area with
numerous wells of sweet water, extending south to Qasaiwarah and the edge of
the Rub‘ al-Khali. The Ramlat al-Hamra’ is mostly pale pink sand in contra
distinction to the red of the Rub‘ al-Khali. In appearance, the Ramlat al-Hamra
resembles Khatam, but is more open, and consists mainly of broad undulating
sandy plains, broken occasionally by salt flats or wide valleys, and low, domed
hills. The ridges of dunes are sometimes as much as 10 miles or more apart. Like