With a surface of 83.600 km2, the United Arab Emirates
are located at the east of the Arabic peninsula giving on the Arabo-Persian
Gulf to north and the Gulf of Oman to the east. They are frontier Saudi
Arabia in the south and the west and Sultanate of Oman in the east.
The relief is flat except for the frontier part with the Sultanate of
Oman which is mountainous (mountains of Hajar). The coast along the
Arabo-Persian Gulf is strewn with islands. The climate is desertic everywhere
and there is only little natural vegetation, especially in the emirates
of north. On the other hand, the agricultural development and the rural
development undertaken since the exploitation of oil transformed the
landscape of the emirates. The vegetation is concentrated in the cities
and oasis primarily, and along some road axes.