Wadi Al Kharas

Wadi Al Kharas
Wādī Likhras
Wadi Al Kharas, tributary of Wadi Khabb
Location and course of Wadi Al Kharas
Native nameوادي لخرس (Arabic)
Location
Country United Arab Emirates
Emirate Ras al-Khaimah
Fujairah
Physical characteristics
SourceOn the northeastern slope of Jabal Al Kharas (1,477 m (4,846 ft)).
 • elevation1,328 m (4,357 ft), approximately
MouthWadi Khabb (Fujairah)
 • coordinates
25°36′59″N 56°09′10″E / 25.61639°N 56.15278°E / 25.61639; 56.15278
 • elevation
279 m (915 ft)
Length8.5 km (5.3 mi)
Basin size208 km2 (80 sq mi) (Wadi Tawiyean basin).[1]
Basin features
ProgressionWadi. Intermittent flow
River systemWadi Tawiyean
Tributaries 
 • leftWadi Salmadan
 • rightWadi Al Masirek, Wadi Nikid

Wadi Al Kharas, also known as Wadi Lakharas (Arabic: وادي لخرس, romanized: Wādī Likhras) [2][3][4] is a valley or dry river with ephemeral or intermittent flow, which flows almost exclusively during the rainy season, located in the emirates of Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah, in the east of the United Arab Emirates.

It is a tributary of the Wadi Khabb and a sub-tributary of Wadi Tawiyean, to whose 208 km2 (80 sq mi) hydrographic basin it belongs.[1][5][6]

Course

The total approximate length of Wadi Al Kharas is 8.5 km (5.3 mi).[7]

It flows from north to south, and its main source is located at an altitude of approximately 1,328 m (4,357 ft), on the northeastern slope of Jabal Al Kharas (1,477 m (4,846 ft)),[8][9] next to the mountain pass of Al Kharas (Al Kharas Col, 1,335 m (4,380 ft)),[10] which defines the drainage divide between the Wadi Naqab and Wadi Tawiyean basins.

Although the Wadi Al Kharas runs with a gentle gradient in its initial course, its middle and lower sections follow a steep path, forming rock gorges that is highly polished by erosion. These sections feature multiple dry waterfalls and pools, which make access difficult and prevent the use of its channel as a means of communication, requiring rock climbing or canyoning equipment and techniques.[11]

Along its course, the Wadi Al Kharas borders to the west the mountain villages of Maserayn[12] and Difan,[13][14] and receives water from smaller tributary wadis and ravines, including Wadi Salmadan, Wadi Al Masirek, and Wadi Nikid.[2]

The Wadi Al Kharas flows into the Wadi Khabb between the villages of Al Baqil and Al Sharyah.[2][15]

Toponymy

Alternative names: Wadi al Kharas, Wādī al Kharas, Wadi Lakharas, Wādī Likhras, Wadi Kharras,[16][17] Wadi Kharas.

The name of Wadi Al Kharas (with the spelling Wadi Lakharas and Wādī al Kharas), its tributaries, mountains, and nearby settlements, was recorded in the documentation and maps prepared between 1950 and 1960 by the British Arabist, cartographer, military, and diplomat Julian F. Walker, during the work carried out to establish borders among the then-named Trucial States.[18] These were subsequently completed by the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) on 1:100,000 scale maps published in 1971.[3]

For several years, the village of Difan, through which the wadi passes, was wrongly identified in some geographic databases as Sidaqah / Şidfah, which in fact corresponds to a village located two kilometers away, in the territory of the Sultanate of Oman.[2][15][16][19] As a result of this confusion, for some time Wadi Al Kharas was also mistakenly known by some hikers and climbers as Wadi Sidaqah.[11]

In the National Atlas of the United Arab Emirates it appears with the spelling Wādī Likhras (Arabic: وادي لخرس).[2]

Population

The area of Wadi Al Kharas was mainly populated by the Sharqiyin tribe, specifically sections or tribal areas of Hafaitat / Ḩufaitāt and Yammahi / Yamāmaḩah.[15][20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Alsharhan, Abdulrahman S.; Rizk, Zeinelabidin E. (March 17, 2020). Water Resources and Integrated Management of the United Arab Emirates. World Water Resources. Vol. 3. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-030-31684-6 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c d e Jāmiʿat al-Imārāt al-ʿArabīyah al-Muttaḥidah (1993). The national atlas of the United Arab Emirates. Al Ain, United Arab Emirates: United Arab Emirates University with GEOprojects (U.K.) Ltd. ISBN 9780863511004.
  3. ^ a b Map FCO 18/1787 - 1972 - Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE): Dibba, with handwritten annotations - Scale 1:100 000 - Published by D Survey, Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom (1971) - Edition 3-GSGS - The National Archives, London, England <https://www.agda.ae/en/catalogue/tna/fco/18/1787>
  4. ^ Mindat.org - Wādī al Kharīs, Al Fujayrah, United Arab Emirates <https://www.mindat.org/feature-291726.html>
  5. ^ OpenStreetMap.org - Way: Wadi Tawiyean Drainage Basin (1286229718) <https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1286229718>
  6. ^ Application of a hydrological model in a data poverty arid region catchment: a case study of Wadi Ham - pg.48 - Mohamed Mustafa Al Mulla PhD Thesis Academic Year 2005-2006 - Supervisor: Dr Ian P. Holman - December 1, 2005 - Cranfield University at Silsoe - Institute of Water and Environment <https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/items/c116d8d5-f80b-4c8b-b754-7507d3abec27>
  7. ^ OpenStreetMap.org - Way: Wadi Al Kharas (1154276659) <https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1154276659#map=14/25.64641/56.14973&layers=P>
  8. ^ Jabal Al Kharas (1,490 m) - PeakVisor <https://peakvisor.com/peak/jabal-al-kharas.html?yaw=-0.40&pitch=-0.76&hfov=15.34>
  9. ^ Jabal Al Kharas (1,477 m) - PeakFinder <https://www.peakfinder.com/es/?lat=25.66780&lng=56.13500&ele=1477&azi=3.05&alt=-2.05&fov=16.99&cfg=s&name=Jabal%20Al%20Kharas>
  10. ^ Al Kharas Col - Pass (1,335 m) - PeakVisor <https://peakvisor.com/poi/al-kharas-col.html?yaw=-65.71&pitch=-5.46&hfov=82.38>
  11. ^ a b "Wadi Sidaqah to Difan Village Loop Fujairah with Shan = 'Rainbow Hiker' Patrick Vijay D'Silva". www.wikiloc.com. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  12. ^ Mindat.org - Maserayn, Musandam, Oman <https://www.mindat.org/feature-390014.html>
  13. ^ "Emirates (UAE) - Wadi Khabb (Fujairah) وادي الخب - Al Baqil البقيل - Dirat Ad Difan ديفـان - Maserayn = P.D.G." www.wikiloc.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  14. ^ Mindat.org - Difān, Musandam, Oman <https://www.mindat.org/feature-396362.html>
  15. ^ a b c Lancaster, William; Lancaster, Fidelity (July 2011). Honour is in Contentment: Life Before Oil in Ras Al-Khaimah (UAE) and Some Neighbouring Regions. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. p. 191. ISBN 9783110223408. OCLC 763160662.
  16. ^ a b Peter L. Cunningham and Gary R. Feulner (2001). "Tribulus: Notes on the distribution and ecology of the Dhofar toad, Bufo dhufarensis Parker 1931, in the Musandam Peninsula" (PDF). Tribulus. Vol. 11, no. 2. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Emirates Natural History Group. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  17. ^ Gary R. Feulner (2011). "Tribulus: The Flora of the Ru'us al-Jibal -the Mountains of the Musandam Peninsula: An Annotated Checklist and Selected Observations" (PDF). Tribulus. Vol. 19. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Emirates Natural History Group. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  18. ^ FCO 18/1896 1959 Oman: Dibba - The National Archives, London, England <https://www.agda.ae/en/catalogue/tna/fco/18/1896/n/1>
  19. ^ "Difan Village to Wadi Baghel, Fujairah. (Descent) = 'Rainbow Hiker' Patrick Vijay D'Silva". www.wikiloc.com. Retrieved 2025-05-31.
  20. ^ Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol. II. Geographical and Statistical. J. G. Lorimer. 1908, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C91/4, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023515720.0x00005d>

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