Hijaz Mountains

The range runs north and south along the eastern coast of the Red Sea, and can thus be treated as including the Midian Mountains, and being part of the Sarawat Mountains, broadly speaking.

Hijaz Mountains
A road in the mountains from Mecca to Ta'if
Highest point
Peak	Jabal Werqaan
Elevation	2,393 m (7,851 ft)
Coordinates	23°0′N 41°0′E / 23.000°N 41.000°E / 23.000; 41.000
Naming
Native name	جِبَال ٱلْحِجَاز (Arabic)
Geography
Hijaz Mountains Show map of Saudi Arabia Hijaz Mountains Show map of Middle East Hijaz Mountains Show map of Asia
Country	Saudi Arabia
Region	Hejaz, Arabian Peninsula

The western coastal escarpment of the Arabian Peninsula is composed of two mountain ranges, the Hijaz Mountain to the north and the Asir Mountains farther south, with a gap between them near the middle of the peninsula's coastline. From an elevation of 2,100 metres (6,900 ft), the range declines towards the vicinity of the gap about 600 metres (2,000 ft).

The mountain wall drops abruptly on the western side toward the Red Sea, leaving the narrow coastal plain of Tihamah. The eastern slopes are not as steep, allowing rare rainfall to help create oasis around the springs and wells of the few wadis.^{[citation needed]}

River or wadi

The Hijaz Mountains have been conjectured as the source of the ancient Pishon River, that was described as one of the four rivers associated with the Garden of Eden. This is a component in the research of Juris Zarins that locates the Garden of Eden at the northern tip of the Persian Gulf near Kuwait. The course of the now dried up river, the modern-day Wadi al-Rummah and its extension Wadi al-Batin, was identified by Farouk El-Baz of Boston University and named the 'Kuwait River.' This tracks northeast across the Saudi desert for 600 miles (970 km), following Wadi al-Batin to the coast of the Persian Gulf. The 'Pishon' or 'Kuwait River,' and the Hejazi region's ecology, is estimated to have dried up 2,500–3000 years ago.

 

The Arabian leopard had been sighted here. In ancient times, it was reported that Musa al-Kadhim, a descendant of Muhammad, encountered a lion in the wilderness north of Medina. Hamadryas baboons can be seen near settlements, like those of Al Hada and Al-Shafa near Ta'if.

This region includes the district of Mahd adh-Dhahab ("Cradle of the Gold"), between Mecca and Medina. It is the principal gold-silver mine of Saudi Arabia but was only productive in c.a. 950 B.C. and 750-1258 A.D. and c.a. 1939-54.

•  
  Dhu 'Ain in the area of Al-Bahah
•  
  A road in the mountains between Al Bahah and Al-Mikhwah
•  
  Pilgrims supplicating on the Mount of Mercy in Arafat during Ḥajj (the Greater Islamic Pilgrimage)
•  
  Jabal al-Nour ("Mount of Light") near Makkah, associated with Muhammad
•  
  Mount Uhud in the area of Medinah
•  
  Structures carved into rock at Mada'in Saleh ("Cities of Saleh") near Al-'Ula

 

Wiki Commons has media related to Hijaz Mountains.

• Al Harrah, Saudi Arabia
• Biblical Mount Sinai
• Geology of Saudi Arabia
• List of mountains in Saudi Arabia

• A Journey Through the Tihama, the 'Asir, and the Hijaz Mountains, by Wilfred Thesiger

• Hijaz Mountains (YouTube)
• Lightning Clouds on Makkah-Madinah Al Hijaz Mountains Highway.10.04.2012
• Hijaz mountains – Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering