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Location: Middle East, archipelago in the Persian Gulf,
east of Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 26 00 N, 50 33 E
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total: 620 sq km
land: 620 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 161 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: extending to boundaries to be determined
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers
Terrain: mostly low desert plain rising gently to low central
escarpment
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Jabal ad Dukhan 122 m
Natural resources: oil, associated and nonassociated natural
gas, fish
Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 6%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 92% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts; dust storms
Environment - current issues: desertification resulting
from the degradation of limited arable land, periods of drought,
and dust storms; coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral
reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges
from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations; no
natural fresh water resources so that groundwater and sea water
are the only sources for all water needs
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: close to primary Middle Eastern petroleum
sources; strategic location in Persian Gulf which much of Western
world's petroleum must transit to reach open ocean
Background: Bahrain's small size and central location among
Persian Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act
in foreign affairs among its larger neighbors.
Possessing minimal oil reserves, Bahrain has turned to petroleum
processing and refining, and has transformed itself into an international
banking center.
The new amir is pushing economic and political reforms, and has
worked to improve relations with the Shi'a community.
Bahrain
COUNTRY
Formal Name: State of Bahrain.
Short Form: Bahrain.
Term for Citizens: Bahraini(s); adjectival form,
Bahraini.
Capital: Manama.
Date of Independence: August 15, 1971.
GEOGRAPHY
Size: About 691 square kilometers.
Topography: Archipelago of low desert islands,
of which largest is Bahrain.
Climate: Hot and humid, little rainfall.
Data as of January 1993
Bahrain
Bahrain -- Geography and Population
Geography
Bahrain (from the Arabic word for "two seas") comprises an archipelago
of thirty-three islands situated midway in the Persian Gulf close
to the shore of the Arabian Peninsula. The islands are about twenty-four
kilometers from the east coast of Saudi Arabia and twenty-eight
kilometers from Qatar. The total area of the islands is about 691
square kilometers, or about four times the size of the District
of Columbia. The largest island, accounting for 83 percent of the
area, is Bahrain (also seen as Al Bahrayn), which has an extent
of 572 square kilometers. From north to south, Bahrain is forty-eight
kilometers long; at its widest point in the north, it is sixteen
kilometers from east to west .
Around most of Bahrain is a relatively shallow inlet of the Persian
Gulf known as the Gulf of Bahrain. The seabed adjacent to Bahrain
is rocky and, mainly off the northern part of the island, covered
by extensive coral reefs. Most of the island is low-lying and barren
desert. Outcroppings of limestone form low rolling hills, stubby
cliffs, and shallow ravines. The limestone is covered by various
densities of saline sand, capable of supporting only the hardiest
desert vegetation--chiefly thorn trees and scrub. There is a fertile
strip five kilometers wide along the northern coast on which date,
almond, fig, and pomegranate trees grow. The interior contains an
escarpment that rises to 134 meters, the highest point on the island,
to form Jabal ad Dukhan (Mountain of Smoke), named for the mists
that often wreathe the summit. Most of the country's oil wells are
situated in the vicinity of Jabal ad Dukhan.
Manama (Al Manamah), the capital, is located on the northeastern
tip of the island of Bahrain. The main port, Mina Salman, also is
located on the island, as are the major petroleum refining facilities
and commercial centers. Causeways and bridges connect Bahrain to
adjacent islands and the mainland of Saudi Arabia. The oldest causeway,
originally constructed in 1929, links Bahrain to Al Muharraq, the
second largest island. Although the island is only six kilometers
long, the country's second largest city, Al Muharraq, and the international
airport are located there. A causeway also connects Al Muharraq
to the tiny island of Jazirat al Azl, the site of a major ship-repair
and dry-dock center. South of Jazirat al Azl, the island of Sitrah,
site of the oil export terminal, is linked to Bahrain by a bridge
that spans the narrow channel separating the two islands. The causeway
to the island of Umm an Nasan, off the west coast of Bahrain, continues
on to the Saudi mainland town of Al Khubar. Umm an Nasan is the
private property of the amir and the site of his personal game preserve.
The other islands of significance include Nabi Salah, which is
northwest of Sitrah; Jiddah, to the north of Umm an Nasan; and a
group of islands, the largest of which is Hawar, near the coast
of Qatar (see Geography;
Foreign Relations,
ch. 4). Nabi Salah contains several freshwater springs that are
used to irrigate the island's extensive date palm groves. The rocky
islet of Jiddah houses the state prison. Hawar and the fifteen small
islands near it are the subject of a territorial dispute between
Bahrain and Qatar. Hawar is nineteen kilometers long and about oneand
onehalf kilometers wide. The other islands are uninhabited and are
nesting sites for a variety of migratory birds.
Data as of January 1993
Bahrain
Climate
Bahrain has two seasons: an extremely hot summer and a relatively
mild winter. During the summer months, from April to October, afternoon
temperatures average 40° C and can reach 48° C during June
and July. The combination of intense heat and high humidity makes
this season uncomfortable. In addition, a hot, dry southwest wind,
known locally as the qaws, periodically blows sand clouds
across the barren southern end of Bahrain toward Manama in the summer.
Temperatures moderate in the winter months, from November to March,
when the range is between 10° C and 20° C. However, humidity
often rises above 90 percent in the winter. From December to March,
prevailing winds from the southeast, known as the shammal,
bring damp air over the islands. Regardless of the season, daily
temperatures are fairly uniform throughout the archipelago.
Bahrain receives little precipitation. The average annual rainfall
is seventy-two millimeters, usually confined to the winter months.
No permanent rivers or streams exist on any of the islands. The
winter rains tend to fall in brief, torrential bursts, flooding
the shallow wadis that are dry the rest of the year and impeding
transportation. Little of the rainwater is saved for irrigation
or drinking. However, there are numerous natural springs in the
northern part of Bahrain and on adjacent islands. Underground freshwater
deposits also extend beneath the Gulf of Bahrain to the Saudi Arabian
coast. Since ancient times, these springs have attracted settlers
to the archipelago. Despite increasing salinization, the springs
remain an important source of drinking water for Bahrain. Since
the early 1980s, however, desalination plants, which render seawater
suitable for domestic and industrial use, have provided about 60
percent of daily water consumption needs.
Data as of January 1993
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