Jebel Hafeet

Jebel Hafeet has a hot desert climate (BWh) according to the Köppen climate classification. On average, of rain falls annually. The temperature is relatively cool from October to March, usually remaining below . The average overall temperature is . == Orography and geology ==

Geology The Jabal Hafit mountain trends NNW–SSE over about and is wide. It protrudes above the surrounding plains. The mountain consists of shallow marine sedimentary rocks, which includes limestone, marl, and evaporites. These layers contain many fossils which includes corals, foraminifera, and bryozoa. Fossils indicate that the sedimentary rocks exposed at the surface range from early Eocene to early Miocene in age, younging from the mountains core to its flanks. This structure is an anticline, or more specifically an east-verging pericline. The west limb has a dip of around 30° and the east limb has overturned bedding at 70° in the central area. Within the eroded core of the anticline, at the Green Mubazzarah Park, are hot springs with temperatures of around . There is no volcanic activity in the area, therefore the water is being heated geothermally. Meteoric water is percolating from the surface to about depth and then returning to the surface. This provides evidence for faults below the anticline, as faulting fractures the rock and provides fluid pathways. The limestone layers were deposited laterally within a basin, and then horizontal shortening folded the layers into an anticline. The timing of when this folding occurred is debated, and the driving force is not fully understood. Some geologists relate the deformation of the Jabal Hafit anticline to the early Miocene Zagros Collision, which is currently active and is caused by the Arabian Plate colliding with the Eurasian Plate. However, the Jabal Hafit Anticline is not actively deforming, and undeformed Miocene sedimentary rocks around the anticline indicate that no deformation has occurred recently. Sedimentary evidence indicates that the Hafit structure developed during the late Oligocene to early–middle Miocene. and offers a view over Al-Ain. Jebel Hafeet was a well-known landmark throughout the area's history, and is a contemporary tourist attraction. An extensive natural cave system winds through Jabal Hafeet. Jebel Hafeet is crossed by a system of caves, some of which have been explored to a depth of no more than . In the caves there are well-preserved stalagmites and stalactites. Access to the caves is partly natural, while in other parts of the city of Al Ain, the entrance is blocked. At the foot of Jebel Hafeet lies a tourist attraction with hot springs and a lake. To the northeast is the mountain's largest wadi, Wadi Tarabat. Ridges The mountain has ridges which stretch northwards to the inner part of Al-Ain City, two of which have been named and given prominence in literature. One is Al Naqfa Ridge or the Nagfa Ridge (), which stretches to Al Ain Oasis in the north, and has a historical fort of the same name nearby. The other is the "Western Ridge" or "West Ridge". File:Al Nakfa Hotel Al-Ain - panoramio.jpg|View of the Naqfa Ridge from Al-Ain, 2007 File:Alain UAE 46 - panoramio.jpg|View of the ridge from the industrial zone of Al-Ain, 2012 == Hafeet Mountain Road ==

The Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road, The road scales the mountain and ends at a parking lot with a hotel and a palace belonging to the country's rulers. The road was built by Strabag International of Cologne, Germany. Hafeet Mountain Road is a challenge for cyclists who frequently use the route to train. The Jabal Hafeet Mercure Challenge is an annual road cycling competition taking place in January. National and international riders take part in climbing the 8% average ascent of the mountain. In 2015 it hosted the arrival of the third stage of first edition of Abu Dhabi Tour, won by Colombian Esteban Chaves. Since 2019, the road to the top of Jebel Hafeet is a fixed location of the UAE Tour. For the 2020 edition the mountain was visited twice. The first ascent was won by eventual Tour winner Adam Yates, and during stage 5, which wound up being the final stage of the race due to concerns about the coronavirus, Team UAE's promising young rider Tadej Pogačar won the stage. File:Road to Jebel Hafeed.jpg|Road leading to the mountain File:Road to Jabel Hafeeth in Al Ain.jpg|Another road leading to the mountain == Desert / National Park ==

with the mountain in the background The mountain is part of a national or desert park, which can be called "Jebel Hafeet National Park", or "Mezyad Desert Park". It includes the Hafit Graves, Mezyad Fort, and related oases. particularly at Wadi Tarabat. On the mountain has been observed the yellow bloom of Acridocarpus orientalis. including bats, foxes, snakes, rodents, and hyraxes. The lizard Acanthodactylus opheodurus, which until 1982 was considered extinct in the UAE, has been observed in the area. Among the birds, there is the greatest biodiversity of the whole country: a study counted 119 species of birds. Finally, they have been cataloged, with about 200 different insects, and 23 species of butterflies. Recently, seven species of lacewing insects were discovered here. They were previously thought not to have been in this country, but in Saudi Arabia. In 1949, an Arabian leopard was spotted here by Wilfred Thesiger. In 1976, one was shot and wounded, as reported by Hellyer, who claimed another sighting in 1993. The leopard is now possibly extinct in the country's wilderness. In addition, rock hyrax were recently introduced here, and could serve as prey for the leopard, if the latter had to be re-introduced. Archeological findings beehive tombs at its eastern base, dating to the Hafit period, approximately 5,000 years ago At the foothills of the mountain, near Mezyad, 500 beehive tombs were excavated that dated to an area named after the mountain, the Hafit period of the early Bronze Age, between 3200 and 2600 BC. Also nearby is the historic Mezyad Fort. Tourism Jebel Hafeet is a popular tourist center with a broad view over the whole area from the summit. The touristic attraction at the foot of the mountain is Green Mubazzarah a well-developed tourist attraction featuring a geyser, a children's play park and a number of chalets for hire, several hot-water springs gushing forth in little streams and forming a lake, and swimming pools and Jacuzzis scattered all over the area. On top of the mountain, there is a military communications outpost and a hotel operated by French hospitality company Mercure, as well as a palace. File:Jabal hafeet shahin.jpg|Green Mubazzarah, as viewed from the mountain File:Green Mubazzarah 002.JPG| File:Jabel hafeeth.jpg| File:Hafeetnight.JPG|The area of the mountain at night == See also ==