Extent and name
The Rub al Khali is the Kingdom's largest sand body and the world's largest continuous sand sea, about 430,000 km² within Saudi Arabia, covering the south-east across the Eastern Province, Riyadh and Najran. [1]
It is called the Empty Quarter because it forms roughly a quarter of the Arabian Peninsula and has no permanent settlement beyond a few nomads; it is the hottest and driest part of the Kingdom. Some sources call its southern part al-Ahqaf. [1]
Reserves and landmarks
Two protected areas lie within it: the Shaybah reserve and Uruq Bani Maarid in the south-west. The Shaybah oil field, discovered in 1968, lies on its south-eastern edge, and the Rub al Khali border crossing is the only land crossing with Oman. [1]
Tourism and nature
Related people
Related topics
- RegionEastern ProvinceA large eastern Saudi region administered from Dammam, combining Gulf cities, the oases of Al Ahsa and Qatif, desert areas, energy industries and maritime commerce.
- RegionRiyadh RegionA central Saudi administrative region encompassing the national capital and varied Najdi governorates, with connections to Diriyah, oasis settlement, government and modern economic activity.
- RegionNajran RegionA southern Saudi region administered from Najran, extending from settled wadis towards the Empty Quarter and containing Al Ukhdud, Hima and traditions of local architecture and crafts.
- Reserves and biodiversityUruq Bani Maarid: Conserving Life in the Empty QuarterExplore the dunes and habitats of Uruq Bani Maarid, its wildlife reintroduction programmes, and the significance of its inscription as a natural World Heritage property in 2023.
- HistoricThe Great Nafud DesertThe Great Nafud Desert is a vast sand sea in the north of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, covering about 65,000 km², or nearly 3.2% of the Kingdom's land area, with wide parts lying within the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Reserve. It contains a diversity of dune forms and notable landmarks such as Jabal Al-Ulaym and Nafud Al-Ashyakh.
- EventQaryat al-FawQaryat al-Faw is an archaeological site in Wadi ad-Dawasir Governorate, south of the Riyadh Region, also known as Dhat Kahil, and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Kindah from the fourth century BCE until the early fourth century CE. The Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2024.
- HistoricArabian OryxThe Arabian Oryx, also known as the wadhi oryx, is a species of wild mammal and the largest wild mammal in the Arabian Peninsula. It was absent from its natural habitat in northern Saudi Arabia for about ninety years, then was resettled in protected reserves and released in Uruq Bani Ma'arid Reserve and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve.
- HistoricWildlife of Saudi ArabiaWildlife in Saudi Arabia is a system of desert, sandy, valley, and plateau environments that shelter hundreds of species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and wild plants.[1][2] Nature reserves work to protect and develop it and to reintroduce endangered species into their habitats.[1][3]
- HistoricVegetation Cover in Saudi ArabiaVegetation Cover in Saudi Arabia is the total of the native plant species and the varied ecological regions across the Kingdom, whose sites are developed, protected and monitored and whose degraded parts are rehabilitated through national programmes for afforestation, combating desertification and land rehabilitation.
- EventKingdom of KindaThe Kingdom of Kinda was an ancient Arabian entity built on a federal organisation of Arabian desert tribes, with the archaeological city of Qaryat al-Faw in Wadi ad-Dawasir Governorate as its capital. The Cultural Landscape of the Al-Faw Archaeological Area was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2024 CE, and it is managed by the Heritage Commission of the Ministry of Culture and the National Centre for Wildlife.
- RegionAl-Ahsa GovernorateAl-Ahsa Governorate is a governorate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Within it lies the Al-Ahsa Oasis, the largest self-contained palm oasis in the world, with more than 2.5 million palm trees; it was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2018 CE.