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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Established on 2 December
1971, the UAE is a federation of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi,
Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and
Fujairah. Comprising an area of 83,600 square kilometers
(including an archipelago which extends over approximately
5,900 square kilometers), the country lies between latitudes
22°-26.5°N and longitudes 51°-56.5°E. It is bordered to the
north by the Arabian Gulf, to the east by the Gulf of Oman and
the Sultanate of Oman, to the south by the Sultanate of Oman
and Saudi Arabia and to the west by Qatar and Saudi
Arabia.
The UAE has some 700 kilometers of coastline,
including 100 kilometers on the Gulf of Oman. Along the
Arabian Gulf coast are offshore islands, coral reefs and salt
marshes. Stretches of gravel plain and barren desert
characterise the inland region. To the east lie the Hajar
mountains, close to the Gulf of Oman, which reach north into
the Musandam peninsula, at the mouth of the Arabian Gulf. The
western interior of the Federation, most of which is Abu Dhabi
territory, consists mainly of desert interspersed with oases.
One of the largest oases is Al Liwa, beyond which is the vast
Rub al-Khali desert, or Empty
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