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Wadis

Wadi Hanifah

A seasonal watercourse in central Saudi Arabia about 160 km long, rising west of Al-Uyaynah and ending in the Al-Sahba sands, on whose banks Diriyah and Riyadh grew.

Approved for publicationAvailable in Arabic and English
A lake formed in Wadi Hanifah after rain, with a bridge above it, 2010
Image credits
Image attribution: Lake at Wadi Hanifah (5218227168) — Peter Dowley from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALake_at_Wadi_Hanifah_(5218227168).jpg ; license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 . CMS derivative: converted to WebP at quality 85; proportionally resized within 2400 × 2400 without enlargement where needed. / نسخة CMS: تحويل إلى WebP بجودة 85 وتصغير تناسبي عند الحاجة ضمن 2400 × 2400 دون تكبير. · License: CC BY 2.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
A lake formed in Wadi Hanifah after rain, with a bridge above it, 2010

Course

Wadi Hanifah is a seasonal watercourse in Diriyah, about 160 km long. It rises west of Al-Uyaynah and runs south-east to the sands of Al-Sahba in Al-Kharj, fed by many tributaries, notably Wadi Laha and Wadi Laban. [1]

The wadi in history

Its water and farmland made it a historic lifeline; towns grew along its banks, including the capitals of the first and second Saudi states, Diriyah and then Riyadh. [1]

Rehabilitation and parks

The wadi is Riyadh's largest natural drainage channel and the Kingdom's largest open park. The Royal Commission for Riyadh City has overseen its rehabilitation since 1406 AH/1986 CE, and parks shaded by tamarisk and acacia line its banks. [1]

Tourism and nature

Related topics

Sources & references

  1. Saudipedia: Wadi Hanifah (Arabic)