Hijaz Mountains

The Hijaz Mountains[1] (Arabic: جِبَال ٱلْحِجَاز, romanized: Jibāl al-Ḥijāz (Hejazi Arabic pronunciation: [d͡ʒɪˈbaːl alħɪˈdʒaːz])) or "Hejaz Range" is a mountain range located in the Hejazi region of western Saudi Arabia. The range runs north and south along the eastern coast of the Red Sea, and can thus be treated as including the Midian Mountains,[2] and being part of the Sarawat Mountains,[3][4][5] broadly speaking.

This article is about the mountain range in western Arabia. For the geographical and historical region, see Hejaz.
Hijaz Mountains
A road in the mountains from Mecca to Ta'if
Highest point
PeakJabal Werqaan
Elevation2,393 m (7,851 ft)
Coordinates23°0′N 41°0′E
Naming
Native nameجِبَال ٱلْحِجَاز (Arabic)
Geography
Hijaz Mountains is located in Saudi Arabia
Hijaz Mountains
Hijaz Mountains
Hijaz Mountains is located in Middle East
Hijaz Mountains
Hijaz Mountains
Hijaz Mountains is located in Asia
Hijaz Mountains
Hijaz Mountains
Country Saudi Arabia
RegionHejaz, Arabian Peninsula

Geography
See also: Geography of Saudi Arabia

The western coastal escarpment of the Arabian Peninsula is composed of two mountain ranges, the Hijaz Mountain to the north and the Asir Mountains farther south, with a gap between them near the middle of the peninsula's coastline. From an elevation of 2,100 metres (6,900 ft), the range declines towards the vicinity of the gap about 600 metres (2,000 ft).

The mountain wall drops abruptly on the western side toward the Red Sea, leaving the narrow coastal plain of Tihamah. The eastern slopes are not as steep, allowing rare rainfall to help create oasis around the springs and wells of the few wadis.

River or wadi

The Hijaz Mountains have been conjectured as the source of the ancient Pishon River, that was described as one of the four rivers associated with the Garden of Eden. This is a component in the research of Juris Zarins that locates the Garden of Eden at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf near Kuwait. The course of the now dried up river, the modern-day Wadi al-Rummah and its extension Wadi al-Batin, was identified by Farouk El-Baz of Boston University and named the 'Kuwait River.' This tracks northeast across the Saudi desert for 600 miles (970 km), following Wadi al-Batin to the coast of the Persian Gulf. The 'Pishon' or 'Kuwait River,' and the Hejazi region's ecology, is estimated to have dried up 2,500–3000 years ago.[6]

Wildlife
See also: Wildlife of Saudi Arabia
Hamadryas baboons near Al Hada in Makkah Province

The Arabian leopard had been sighted here.[3][4] In ancient times, it was reported that Musa al-Kadhim, a descendant of Muhammad, encountered a lion in the wilderness north of Medina.[7] Hamadryas baboons can be seen near settlements, like those of Al Hada and Al-Shafa near Ta'if.[8]

Mining

This region includes the district of Mahd adh-Dhahab ("Cradle of the Gold"), between Mecca and Medina. It is the principal gold-silver mine of Saudi Arabia but was only productive in c.a. 950 B.C. and 750-1258 A.D. and c.a. 1939-54.[9]

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hijaz Mountains.

References
  1. "Library of Congress Country Study: Saudi Arabia", The Library of Congress, archived from the original on 2008-09-23
  2. Scoville, Sheila A. (2006). "3". Gazetteer of Arabia: a geographical and tribal history of the Arabian Peninsula. Vol. 2. Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt. p. 288. ISBN 0-7614-7571-0.
  3. Judas, J.; Paillat, P.; Khoja, A.; Boug, A. (2006). "Status of the Arabian leopard in Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 1): 11–19.
  4. Spalton, J. A. & Al-Hikmani, H. M. (2006). "The Leopard in the Arabian Peninsula – Distribution and Subspecies Status" (PDF). Cat News (Special Issue 1): 4–8.
  5. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2013). "1: The Holiest Cities of Islam". Mecca the Blessed, Medina the Radiant: The Holiest Cities of Islam. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4629-1365-7.
  6. C. A. Salabach. "THE PISHON RIVER--FOUND!". Focus Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-06-25.
  7. "The Infallibles Taken from Kitab al Irshad By Sheikh al Mufid". Al-Islam.org. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  8. Teller, Matthew (1 November 2012). "The Happy Ones". Saudi Aramco World. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  9. W. Luce, Robert; Bagdady, Abdulaziz; Jackson Roberts, Ralph (1976). "Geology and ore deposits of the Mahd Adh Dhahab District, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". USGS Publications Warehouse.

Further reading
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