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| | Saudi Aramco World : Oman: The Terrain (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-29) |
 | | Dominated by mountains, flanked by oceans and deserts, Oman is a tapestry of constantly changing terrain: from the sandy edge of the Rub'al-Khali (the Empty Quarter) to the lush Salalah plain; from the fertile terraces of Jabalal-Akhdar to the barren majesty of the mountainous Musandam Peninsula (See page 38). |
 | | Although Oman, in fact, is five-sixths desert—sand dunes and stony plateaus — it is the mountains that strike you; they rise right out of the sea or straight up from the flat plains. |
 | | These mountains, called simply al-Hajar, (the Rocks), form the backbone of northern Oman, running southeastwards from the tip of the Musandam Peninsula to Ra's al-Hadad, Oman's easternmost point, and include fascinating geological structures, called ophiolites— masses of volcanic rock, thrust up from an ancient ocean bed— that have recently been the subject of much research. |
| www.saudiaramcoworld.com /issue/198303/oman-the.terrain.htm (688 words) |
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