Definition of Topographic Map at Salalah City - Term Paper Example

DHОFАR РRОVINСЕ TОРОGRАРHIС (SАLАLАH СITY) SОUTH ОF ОMАN [Student’s Name] [Professor’s Name] [Institutional Affiliation] Salalah is one of the eleven cities found in the Dhofar Governorate of the Sultanate of Oman. Of the six cities along the coast that borders the Arabian Sea, Salalah city serves as the country's capital during summer. Salalah city is surrounded by four cities together with the Arabian Sea. To the east of Salalah is Taqah while Thamarit lies to the north east. Muddayy forms the north, west and south west precincts while the Arabian Sea lies to the south of Salalah city. With regard to the surface extent covered by Salalah, the city is relatively small, but relative to Taqah, Dalkut and Mirbal (the other cities along the coastline of Dhofar) Salalah covers a larger surface extent. The coordinates of Salalah City are 17°01′ N 54°05′ E. Distances from Salalah to Neighboring Cities (Roads and Highways) For one to travel from Salalah to nearby cities, there are at least three alternatives: traveling by air, land or sea. Whereas air travel would be most convenient, traveling on land would be comparably more treacherous than the other options. However, as Salalah lies within the coastal plain region, traveling to cities like Taqah, Mirbal and Raysut may easily be done by land. Raysut and Taqah lie within fifty kilometers from Salalah while Mirbal does not exceed one hundred kilometers from Salalah. The inland cities closest to Salalah, i.e. Thamarit/Thumrayt and Mudayy, also lie within one hundred kilometers from Salalah. Three major highways join Salalah to other cities. Towards the north is the highway number 31 (Salalah to Thumrayt); to the east is highway number 49 (Salalah to Taqah, Mirbat and Sadah) while highway number 47 runs towards the west (Salalah to Rakhyut and Dalkut). Airports There is only one airport in Salalah that links the city to other cities within the Arabian Peninsula. It is considered as a military airport as well as a civilian airport. According to IATA conventions, the airport is designated the code SLL, while the ICAO assigns it the code OOSA. The airport lies within the coordinates 17° 2' 19N 54° 5' 29E. Direct flights to and from Salalah airport connect to eight cities which are: Muscat, Dubai, Sharjah, Doha and Jeddah, Kerala, Cochin, and Trivandrum (FRG, 2015). Apart from the Muscat and Salalah airports, Bahja, Mukhaizna, Marmul, Manston and Thumrayt airports also serve air travelers in Oman. The Thumrayt airport lies 37 nautical miles towards the north of Salalah on a bearing of 354° from Salalah. Bahja airport, on a bearing of 33°, lies 203 nautical miles from Salalah. Travelers going from Salalah to Yemen may opt for either the Al Ghaidah International airport or the Qishn airport as their drop off points (FRG, 2015). Three of the air companies that ply the Omani route include Oman Air, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways. Traveling by road is ill advised if one is inclined to travel at daytime because it may turn out to be quite uncomfortable. If it is a must that one travels by road, it would be preferably done at night when the temperatures are much cooler than daytime. The journey from Salalah to Muscat, for example, can take up to half a day by road, hence it is necessary to take precautions regarding what time of day to set off. Bus travel is also possible at moderately fair traveling fees. Water Features Generally, Oman is an arid country with a few areas in the northern and southern regions receiving relatively more rainfall than the other regions. Some of the water features one would expect to come across while in Oman include wadis, sabkha, aquifers and aflaj. Salalah lies within the areas where there is relatively less aridity. This region usually receives onshore monsoon currents between June and September, and is among the areas most affected by tropical cyclones. Some of the notable cyclones known to have affected this region in the past include Cyclone Ashooba, Cyclone Phet and Cyclone Keila. These cyclones usually cause flash floods in their wake, and the areas known to be affected by the flash floods include the road that joins Raysut to Salalah, and the road between Salalah and Masirah; the latter of which was damaged during the Masirah cyclone of 1977. Oman is generally renowned for the presence of wadis. Wadis may be likened to seasonal watering points replenished by the onset of rains. They have been described as dry gulleys, ephemeral riverbeds and intermittent streams; even dry channels or ravines that only become watered during the rainy seasons. However, in Salalah, wells and boreholes are the main sources of water used for agricultural purposes (mrmwr). In addition, there is a natural cold spring in Ain Razat, which is important for the irrigation of crops. Salalah is among the areas in Oman where there is more demand for water than is available. This demand necessitates encroachment into aquifer storage, with the result being that the levels of groundwater decline. Consequently, saline intrusion also occurs locally. Salalah City has a number of wadis that include the following: Wadi Jarsis/Zarsis, Wadi Nahiz, Wadi Nar, Wadi Sahalnaut and Wadi Sumr. It is quite unusual to find aflaj (plural of falaj) in the region south of the Dhohar mountain ranges, but Salalah is fed by aflaj whose sources of water are four springs found at the foot of the Jabal Al Qara. Of all natural phenomena, floods cause the greatest havoc worldwide. The number of human lives lost due to floods alone exceeds the number lost through tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes all inclusive. In Oman, flooded wadis have invariably been the causes of death of many an errant Omani who, against all cautionary measures taken by the government to advise them otherwise, insist on crossing these dangerous areas during downpours (Ghadani, 2015). Since wadis carry most of the water from the highland regions into the Arabian Sea via the coastal plain, the areas most prone to flooding during heavy showers sometimes brought about by cyclones must fall within the paths of the wadis. Tracking the courses of the four or so wadis that run through Salalah city ought to give a good picture of areas that would be worst hit by flash floods during cyclonic events. Throughout the Sultanate of Oman, dams of three different kinds have been constructed to serve three different purposes. Groundwater recharge dams prevent sea water from intruding into underground reservoirs while also replenishing the water in aquifers through its retention of part of the rainwater that might come from time to time. The importance of surface storage dams lies in their retention of water collected from wadis as well as water that flows between mountains. The construction of such dams (surface storage dams) ensures the equitable distribution of piped water to people who would otherwise depend on wadis even in regions that have poor access routes. The third type of dam found in the Sultanate of Oman is the flood protection dam whose aim is to protect property and lives from the damages wrought by flash floods, and to facilitate the exploitation of the water so collected for the improvement of the extant water situation (MRMWR, 2015). The Salalah city has no groundwater recharge dams. There are no surface storage dams either, but the flood protection dam (also called an interceptor guard dam) has been built along the upper reaches of Salalah Airport effectively shielding the airport from flash floods emanating from such places as the Wadi Zarsis. The crescent-shaped dam is about six kilometers long and up to twenty meters high, offering protection to the coastal town from sporadic rainwater flowing from the mountains (Züblin Spezialtiefbau GmbH, n.d.). The construction of a dam such as the interceptor guard dam of Salalah has its pros and cons. On the one hand, the dam protects the airport against flash floods, making the airport an ideal point of contact when people are to be evacuated from flood prone regions. On the other hand, the dam holds many litres of water that when released through unforeseeable means would still be a problem to the people living in the lowlands and plain regions of Salalah, and wreak greater havoc than the wadi waters given the pressure with which the water shall burst forth relative to the lower potential energy of the wadi waters. Therefore, the damage to infrastructure and possibly the accompanying loss of human lives would be considerably more devastating than when only the wadi waters are the primary cause of such damage. Salalah is also a port city that is served by one port, the Port of Salalah. It is suggested to be the best port in the Arabian Peninsula that links the Arab world to East Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Middle East. The port lies fifteen kilometers south of the city and its coordinates are 16° 56” N and 054° 00”E. Places of Interest (Landmarks) Historical landmarks found in Salalah include the Tomb of Nabi Imran, the Salalah Museum, and Sultan Qaboos’ Palace. The tomb of Nabi Imran is thought to hold the remains of Joseph, the father of Jesus, or Moses’ father, both of whom are regarded by some as prophets. Apart from this point of difference, the sarcophagus is popular for celebrations of the monsoon rains, which are also known as the Khareef. The tomb is situated near the Salalah Airport and the Hafa House. It is said that the real measurement of the height of Imran has never been known because any attempt to get it result in his height being altered (Ashraf, 2010). In addition to these bits of information regarding the tomb are the following facts: no man is allowed to enter its confines without having removed his shoes while outside the tomb; women are allowed into the tomb, but they must have their hijab properly adorned at all times; the tomb measures thirty three meters in length. Along Al Bahri Street there was once a fortress in which the present day sultan was born. The fortress has since been demolished, and in its place a modern palace was built. Nobody is allowed to be within the confines of the new palace, but admirers are allowed to take pictures while outside (Kekek, 2015). Salalah city has many more attractions for tourists from all over the globe. In addition to the above attractions is the fact that the world knows Salalah for its specialization in the sale of frankincense and distribution of the same to various destinations around the world. Indeed, while other regions experience the dry spells of the Monsoon, Salalah city attracts tourists because of the tropical atmosphere she boasts. During this season, Salalah is not as hot and dry as other regions, but rather exceptionally cool as it experiences showers brought by winds that cause precipitation through convectional currents that impact upon the Dhofari mountain ranges to cause convectional rains. The Salalah Museum is situated along the As Sultan Qaboos Street at a place known as Al Balid. The noteworthy thing about this museum is its collection of tablets of stone inscribed with ancient writings. Most of the unearthed writings are said to have originated from Khor Rori, the place in which Sumharam, an ancient port city was excavated. Before the entry of Islam into Yemen and Dhofar, these inscriptions were the mainstay of the region. Similar inscriptions have also been dug out of many caves in Dhofar region (Oman Information Centre, n.d.). The following maps show how Dhofar and Salalah are placed relative to other places in Oman. Fig.1 The Position of Salalah/Dhofar in Oman Fig. 2. Salalah Places of Interest (Roads and Landmarks) Physiographic features Salalah city lies at the mid point of the hypotenuse of the triangular Salalah plain. This plain extends from Raysut to Taqah along the coastline, and from the Arabian Sea to the foot of Jabal Al Qara. Along the coastline, Salalah plain spans forty kilometers and at its widest point, it goes twelve kilometers inland. The total surface extent covered by the plain is two hundred and forty square kilometers. As has been mentioned before, north of Salalah city are the Dhofar mountain ranges, which play a crucial role in the rain patterns that affect Salalah city and the plain regions in general. The Taqah Formation produces limestone that underlies the plain, which also has a thin covering of calcarenite and alluvium. With regard to flooding and vulnerability to cyclones, the coastal plain region is most at risk given the flatness of the terrain and its close vicinity to the Arabian Sea. As rainwater races downward from the mountain ranges, it follows the channels (wadis) leading towards the sea. However, the coastal plain region is an impediment to its progress towards its destination, and the region remains awash with the water. Therefore, the areas most likely to be affected by flash floods lie along a more or less straight line between the Jabal and the sea. On the other hand, the pathway of a cyclone would not be easily charted to know where it is most likely to hit as each new cyclone charts a path unique to itself. References Ashraf, A. (2010, Oct 21). Tomb of Nabi Imran in Salalah, Sultanate of Oman . Retrieved Oct 4, 2015, from Chutti.pk: http://chutti.pk/travel-pictures/tomb-of-nabi-imran-in-salalahsultanate-of-oman-145.html FRG. (2015). Airport SALALAH. Retrieved Oct 3, 2015, from Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.: http://www.fallingrain.com/icao/OOSA.html Ghadani, R. (2015, Sep 8). People in Oman learning no lessons from past rain-related accidents. Times of Oman , p. n.p. Kekek, I. (2015, Aug 1). Travel Guide at Wikivoyage. Retrieved Oct 4, 2015, from wikivoyage: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Salalah MRMWR. (2015). Dams. Retrieved Oct 3, 2015, from Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources: http://mrmwr.gov.om/new/en/page.aspx?id=73&li=10&type=w_sec&slide=false Oman Information Centre. (n.d.). Salalah Museum - Salalah the Stunning Jewel of the Sultanate of Oman. Retrieved Oct 4, 2015, from Oman Information Centre: http://www.omaninfo.com/tourism-and-travel-experiences/salalah-museum.asp Züblin Spezialtiefbau GmbH. (n.d.). Interceptor Guard Dam, Salalah (Oman). Retrieved Oct 3, 2015, from Züblin Spezialtiefbau GmbH: http://www.zueblin-groundengineering.com/databases/internet/_public/content.nsf/web/EN-ZUEBLIN.SPTN-REFERENCES-DIAPHRAGM%20WALLS-Interceptor%20Guard%20Dam,%20Salalah%20%28Oman%29 Read More