Wadi Sha'am

Wadi Sha'am (Wādī Sha‘am) is a valley or dry river with ephemeral or intermittent flow, flowing almost exclusively during the rainy season, located in the eastern United Arab Emirates, in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. It is the northernmost of the wadis in the United Arab Emirates, and forms its own drainage basin of 35 km2 (14 mi2), bordered to the north and east by the Sultanate of Oman; to the south by the Wadi Ghalilah catchment basin, and to the west by the Persian Gulf. This small valley, located on the edge and almost at sea level, is surrounded by mountains with high and vertical cliffs, in which spectacular waterfalls form when it rains torrentially. Among the surrounding mountains, with a maximum height of 1,490 m (4, 890 ft), the Jabal Khabb (1,145 m (3, 757 ft)), the Aqabat Tibat (1,085 m (3, 560 ft)), the Jabal Hudayd (1,035 m (3, 396 ft)), the Jabal Qandus (954 m (3, 130 ft)), the Jabal Saddariyyah (795 m (2, 608 ft)) and the Jabal Al Jir (572 m (1, 877 ft)), which, despite its modest height, constitutes an iconic landmark for the valley, due to its proximity to the two main population centers: the coastal cities of Sha'am and Al Jeer/Al Jir. The entire Wadi Sha'am drainage basin contains approximately 30 independent streams, most of which are unnamed. The main tributaries of Wadi Sha'am are Wadi Al Gabbah, Wadi Al Maryalen, and Wadi Qaf'a.

Flows through: United Arab Emirates.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.