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GEOGRAPHY
Qatar occupies 11,437 square kilometers on a peninsula that extends approximately
160 kilometers north into the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Peninsula. Varying
in width between fifty-five and ninety kilometers, the land is mainly flat (the
highest point is 103 meters) and rocky covered with sand flats and dunes. There
are some exceptional low-rising outcrops in the north and northwest of the country.
The surface of Qatar is characterized by a variety of geographical phenomena
and there are many coves and inlets scattered along the Qatari coastline.
Notable features include coastal salt pans,
elevated limestone formations (the Dukhan
anticline) along the west coast under which
lies the Dukhan oil field, and massive sand
dunes surrounding Khor al Udaid, an inlet
of the gulf in the southeast known to local
English speakers as the Inland Sea.
The territory of the State is comprised of a number of Islands including: Halul,
Sharaauh, the Hawar Archipelago, Ishat Island, Palm Tree Island and Al-Bashiriya,
Al-Safiliya and Al-Aliya islands.
Palm Tree Island is situated about a 10-minute
boat ride from the Corniche, Palm Tree Island
has children and family amenities, restaurants
and cafés, and water sports facilities
along with beaches for swimming in the warm
waters of the Gulf. Ishat Island is located
on the southeastern portion of the country,
Ishat Island has a total area of about 20
square kilometers. It consists of three flat-topped
islets bordered with light coloured cliffs
and two detached rocks lying northeast of
Khor Al-Udaid. Of the islands belonging to
Qatar, Halul is the most important. Lying
about ninety kilometers east of Doha, it serves
as a storage area and loading terminal for
oil from the surrounding offshore fields.
Qatar shares its land border with Saudi Arabia, which was settled in 1965 but
never demarcated. Qatar's northwest coast is fewer than thirty kilometers from
Bahrain. The country is centrally placed among the states of the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC), which groups it with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE & Oman.
The capital, Doha, is located on the central east coast on a sweeping (if shallow)
harbor. Other ports include Umm Said, Al Khor, and Al Wakrah. Only Doha and Umm
Said are capable of handling commercial shipping, although a large port and a
terminal for loading natural gas are planned at Ras Laffan, north of Al Khor.
Coral reefs and shallow coastal waters make navigation difficult in areas where
channels have not been dredged.
Doha is the capital of the country and the
major administrative, commercial, and population
center.
Some of the nation's other major cities include:
Mesaieed and Al-Wakrah in the southern part
of the country, Ras Laffan and Al-Khor in
the north and Dukhan on the west coast of
the peninsula. |
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