The Environmental Atlas of Abu Dhabi Emirate

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Tu r k i sh P l a t e

Casp i an Sea

R EGIONAL L ANDFORMS T ECTONIC P LATE B OUNDARIES & F AULTLINES

Tectonic forces have shaped the Arabian Peninsula over hundreds of millions of years and continue to influence the landscape of the region today. Fault zones, rifts, and ridges are all areas of tectonic movement that are associated with different landforms or phenomenon such as earthquakes. The Arabian Peninsula lies on the Arabian Plate. The Arabian Plate is bordered to the south by the African Plate, to the east by the Indian Plate, and to the west both by a lateral fault known as the Dead Sea Transform Fault and a

divergent boundary known as the Red Sea Rift, which runs the length of the Red Sea. To the north lies the Eurasian Plate. The Arabian, African and Indian plates are all moving northward, colliding with the massive Eurasian Plate and causing the uplift of mountain ranges, including the Zagros Mountains of Iran. The tremendous forces and energy that are unleashed as a result of tectonic activity in the region will continue to shape the landscape of the Arabian Peninsula into the future.

M a

i n

De a d Se a T r a n s f o r m F a u l t

Medi t erranean Sea

Z a g r

o s

L e v a n t P l a t e

F a u l t

Dead Sea

Nile Delta

Shatt al-Arab Tigris & Euphrates Delta

Sinai Peninsula

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A r a b i a n P l a t f o r m

Z a g

Eu r a s i an P l a t e

r o

s

F o

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d B

Z e

e l t

n

d a n

F

a u l t

Q a t a r

A r c h

Arab i an Gu l f

Dibba Fault

A l H a j a r

M a k r am Accr e t i

o n a r y

P r

i

s

m

A r a b i a n S h i e l d

Ma k r

a m S u b d u

M o u

c

t

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n

Z

o n

n t ai

n s

Sabkha Matti

d g e

Liwa

i

R

M urray

Wahiba Sands

Umm as-Samim Sabkha

h a l i

R

K

e

R e d S e a

R u b ' a l -

R i d g e

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R

i f

e n

t

O w

S e

a

E a

s

t

S h e

b a R

i d g e

A r a b i a n

Fault Fault (location approximate) Strike Slip Fault

A f r i c a n P l a t e

S e a

A f a r

Thrust Fault Anticlines

West Sheba Ridge

G u l f o f A d e n

t

R i f

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0

200

400 Kilometres

c a n

North Somal i Bas in

f r i

E a s t A

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