Characteristics
- High volume and wide expanses of desert sands (white and fine sands) near coastline and center of the region
- High density of sand (dark and reddish in colour) dunes in east of region
- Flat coastline
- Hot and arid climate with the average temperature at 33.4 degrees due to its location in close proximity to the equator and the Tropic of Cancer
- Majority of the year is spent in summer conditions with high winds and sand storms
- Winters are mild and short and last from December to March
- Very low levels of rain fall with rain falling on average of only 5 days a year
- Dubai's geographical location in relation to the rest of the world is central to it's importance as major shipping and trading ports (and increasingly in air transport services with the emergence of Emirates as one of the world's leading airlines)
- From the early 3rd century to the modern era, the city's unique central position allowed it to connect east and west which allowed trading companies to offer quick and expansive connections not available anywhere else in the world
Geographic Features That Influenced Dubai's Development
- The high density of desert sands and sand dunes in the Dubai region hampered initial growth as settlers found agricultural practices extremely difficult with the lack of fertile or nutrient rich soils
- This is a key reason as to why Dubai was settled within and established so late in comparison to other large modern cities
- The lack of solidity within the desert sands of Dubai also hindered the city's growth with construction costs for new infrastructure such as residential housing and commercial buildings being significantly higher than other major metropolitan cities
Geographical Preface
Dubai
- Extremely low density of natural in-land water sources
- Low density of wadis (dry river beds)
- High mountain ranges in the west of the region such as the Hajar mountains which are surrounded by small desert shrubbery
- The desert accommodates an array of plant life such as wild grasses, date palms and acacia and ghaf trees
Location
By Asanga Seneviratne
Dubai is a Middle Eastern city located directly 225 km south of Iran, directly 420 km west of Qatar, directly 267 km north of Oman and directly 1,212 km east of India.
- The flat coastline surrounding Dubai also enhanced the city's development with ships being able to enter ports relatively easily in comparison to other ports
- This attracted traders from other regions increasing incomes and therefore boosting the economy
- Dubai's proximity to oil reserves is central to city's success with income generated through the sale of oil allowing the Dubai royal family to expand infrastructure within the city so rapidly
Historical Timeline
- Nomadic cattle hurders were the first known inhabitants of the Dubai area
- The earliest evidence of their inhabitance dates back to 2500 BC
- This was the first use of land in Dubai for agricultural purposes
- The land is believed to have been unihabitated for the next 2700 years until the 3rd century
Dubai's Change In Appearance Over Time
How Dubai's Culture Has Been Affected By Geography
- Dubai was relatively stagnant in terms of infrastructure development until the past 30 years in which the region has undergone a rapidly process of urbanisation due to the recent focus on tourism
- The city's architecture was heavily influenced by Islam, Turkey and the Persian empire in ancient times with many mosques bearing Islamic architecture still in place after thousands of years
- In modern times however architecture within the city has moved into a significantly more western style with the advents of high rise buildings, sprawling motorways, luxury hotels etc.
- Dubai's deep and intricate Islamic culture has been largely derived form its proximity to other Islamic nations in the gulf region which have allowed the religion to flow onto Dubai
- Dubai's economy is also based heavily on its trading operations (both sea and air) which thrive off its unique central location that connects east and west
- Architecture has been influenced by neighbouring countries and regions such as Turkey and the Persian empire in ancient times
- The increasingly multicultural population within Dubai has also been a direct result of the city's proximity to countries such as India and Bangladesh from where many citizens have immigrated from
- Dubai's climate has also influenced traditional dress with garments designed to suit the hot and arid weather
- Dubai's traditional sporting culture has also been effected by its desert surrounds with the sport of falconing remaining popular among residents
Bibiliography
- The desertification of this land is likely due to the lack of natural resources in the area at that time and the poor soil which makes agricultural cultivation difficult
- From the beginning of the 3rd century, the Sassanian or Persian Empire ruled over the region
- In the mid 7th century the Sassanian Empire collapsed and Islam spread into the area with the Ummayad Caliph tribe taking control of power
- However the empire collapsed in just under 100 years and the area descended into tribal rule
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Dubai
- http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1945354,00.html
- http://dubai.ae/en/aboutdubai/Pages/DubaiHistory.aspx
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_Creek
- http://geography.about.com/od/unitedarabemiratesmaps/a/dubai-geography.htm
- http://www.dubai.com/v/history/
- http://splendidasia.com/dubai/culture.html
- http://www.adevia.com/Dubai/dubai-geography.html
- http://www.juicygeography.co.uk/dubai.htm
- https://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com/english/discover/weather.aspx
- http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/01/dubai/molavi-text
- http://www.uaetourism.ae/en/27/travel-information/climate-and-geography
- Since Dubai's first inhabitants, the city's culture has been steeped heavily in Islamic traditions
- Alcohol is forbidden in public places and appropriate conservative clothing must be worn in public locations other than the beach
- Unfortunately there is still a drastic lack of gender equality which is common in Islamic states like the UAE
- Despite the influx of western elements to the region in recent decades, the traditional dress still remains popular among the bulk of the population
- Port facilities have also evolved dramatically with the advent of modern technologies
- The city itself, under the name of Dubai, was believed to be first established in 1095
- At this point in the time, Dubai began to develop a booming pearl industry which was an integral contributing factor to the town's expansion
- In the early 19th century the Al Abu Falasa clan became the sole ruler of the area and reunited the region
- The city wasn't self sustaining until the 1883 with the city relying heavily on support from Abu Dhabi
- Following tribal feuding in 1833 the Al Makotum dynasty, that still remains in power today, came to preside over the region
- Major tourist attractions and luxury facilities such as the Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, Palm Jumeriah, 'World Islands', Ski Dubai and Dubai mall have been created to attract tourists to the region
- The growth of Emirates airline which benefits from basing operations in Dubai with its central location allowing the airline to offer passengers a one stop transit hub to all corners of the globe
- This rapid expansion has led to increased development of supporting infrastructure such as Dubai airport and the Dubai metro railway
- Many other projects and tourist attractions are planned such as the Dubai city tower or already in construction with Dubai but the city's rapid expansion is likely to be slowed with oil reserves drying up and the city already facing 80 billion dollars worth of debt
- In 1841, a smallpox epidemic broke out in west Dubai forcing droves of citizens to relocate to Deira
- A fire then swept through Deira in 1894 burning down many homes but the town's location continued to attract foreign traders and merchants
- Trade tax charges were lowered in the early 20th century by the emir of Dubai to lure traders from nearby ports
- This caused many traders to migrate to Dubai and base their businesses out of the city
- Dubai came under the protection of the United Kingdom in 1892 to protect the city from the burgeoning interests of France, Germany and Russia
- Dubai relied heavily on pearl exports but the outbreak of World War 1 reduced demand to a minimum destroying the entire industry
- The collapse of the pearl industry sent the city into a deep depression with many residents starving or migrating to other areas in the Gulf
- In 1947 hostility between Dubai and Abu Dhabi reached boiling point with a border skirmish erupting between the two cities
- Electricity, telephone services and an airport were first established in 1950
- Oil was first discovered in Dubai in 1966 leading to an unprecedented expansion of the city
- The discovery of oil led to large influx of foreign workers that would take up jobs at the rapidly expanding oil sites
- The city's population grew by 300% between 1968 and 1975
- Dubai along with five other emirates including Abu Dhabi formed the United Arab Emirates on the 2nd of December 1971 but Qatar and Bahrain decided to remain independent nations
- The UAE adopted a uniform currency, the dirham, that greatly benefited the town's economic growth and trade expansion
- In 1970, the city saw an influx of immigrants from those fleeing the Lebanese civil war
- The Gulf War in 1990 had negative financial effect on the city as traders and investors left the region
- In the early 20th century the city shifted its focus to tourism, in preparation for the imminent exhaustion of oil reserves, with the creation of Emirates airline.
- The city also stages major sporting events such as the Dubai Desert Classic, Dubai Open and Dubai World cup (the world's richest horse race) and major tourist attraction such as the Dubai Mall, Ski Dubai, Burj Khalifa, Burj, Palm Islands and Burj Al Arab
- No natural disasters have been recorded to have occurred in Dubai with the city's location away from fault lines reducing the risk of earthquakes and the low depths of the neighboring Persian gulf waters significantly reducing the chance of a tsunami
Region
- Dubai is a formal region as Dubai is the city's official name and is recognised by governments and political organisations around the world
- Dubai could also be considered a functional region as it was established due to it's proximity to the coastline and Dubai creek which is the main features in which the city has expanded outwards from