Asir Mountains
{{Short description|Mountain range in Saudi Arabia}}
{{Other uses|Asir (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Asir Mountains
| native_name = {{native name|ar|جِبَال عَسِيْر}}
| other_name =
| photo = File:AsirRockyMountain.jpg
| photo_caption = A rocky mountain in the range
| country = {{KSA}}
| region_type =
| region = Arabian Peninsula
| border =
| highest =
| elevation_m =
| highest_location =
| range_coordinates = {{coord|21.6|N|39.8|E|source:kolossus-dewiki|display=inline,title}}
| length_km =
| geology =
| period =
| orogeny =
| map = Saudi Arabia#Middle East#West Asia
| map_image =
| map_caption = Location in Saudi Arabia
}}
The Asir Mountains{{citation |work=The Library of Congress |title=Library of Congress Country Study: Saudi Arabia |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+sa0028) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923203531/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy%3A%40field%28DOCID+sa0028%29 |archive-date=2008-09-23 }} ({{langx|ar|جِبَال عَسِيْر}}, {{transliteration|ar|ALA|jibāl ʿasīr}}; {{IPA|ar|d͡ʒɪbaːl ʕasiːr}} ('Difficult')) is a mountainous region in southwestern Saudi Arabia running parallel to the Red Sea. It comprises areas in the Region of 'Asir, but generally, it also includes areas near the border with Yemen. The mountains cover approximately {{convert|40,000|mi2|km2|order=flip}} and consists of mountains, plains, and valleys of the Arabian highlands.{{WWF ecoregion|name=Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands|id=at1321}} Sensu lato, they are part of the Sarawat Mountains,{{cite book |last=Overstreet |first=William Courtney |title=Tertiary laterite of the As Sarat Mountains, Asir Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |publisher=Directorate General of Mineral Resources |volume=2 |pages=iii–2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KmxPAQAAIAAJ&q=sarat+mountains |year=1977}} defining the latter as the mountain range which runs parallel to the Tihamah throughout the western portion of the Arabian Peninsula, particularly the western parts of Saudi Arabia and Yemen.{{cite book |last=Nasr |first=Seyyed Hossein |author-link=Hossein Nasr |title=Mecca the Blessed, Medina the Radiant: The Holiest Cities of Islam |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |chapter=1: The Holiest Cities of Islam |isbn=978-1-4629-1365-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4RvQAgAAQBAJ&q=sarat+mountains |year=2013}}{{cite journal |author1=Judas, J. |author2=Paillat, P. |author3=Khoja, A.|author4=Boug, A. |year=2006 |title=Status of the Arabian leopard in Saudi Arabia |url=http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/3.Conservation_Center/3.2._Status_Reports/leopard/Judas_et_al_2006_Status_of_the_Arabian_Leopard_in_Saudi_Arabia.pdf |journal=Cat News |volume=Special Issue 1 |pages=11–19}}{{cite journal |author1=Spalton, J. A. |author2=Al-Hikmani, H. M. |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |title=The Leopard in the Arabian Peninsula – Distribution and Subspecies Status |journal=Cat News |issue=Special Issue 1 |pages=4–8 |url=http://www.yemenileopard.org/files/cms/reports/Cat_News_Special_Issue_1_-_Arabian_leopard.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523213753/http://www.yemenileopard.org/files/cms/reports/Cat_News_Special_Issue_1_-_Arabian_leopard.pdf|url-status=usurped|archive-date=May 23, 2011}}
Geology
{{See also|Geology of Saudi Arabia}}
The mountains consist primarily of sedimentary rock, limestone, sandstone and shale, of Jurassic, Cretaceous and Paleogene origin on a Precambrian granitic basement.
Climate and agriculture
The region has the highest average rainfall of Saudi Arabia{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} due to largely seasonal rain. Average rainfall can range from {{convert|600|mm|in}} to over {{convert|1000|mm|in}} per year, in wet regions. The eastern plains and plateaus receive much lower amounts, from {{convert|500|mm|in}} to below {{convert|100|mm|in}} per year.
The region's crops, most of which are cultivated on steeply terraced mountainsides, include wheat, coffee, cotton, indigo, ginger, vegetables, and palms. The region also supports cattle, sheep, goats, and camels.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}
Biodiversity
{{See also|Hamadryas baboon|Wildlife of Saudi Arabia}}
The region's difficult terrain has helped preserve the region's unique biodiversity. Several new Myxomycetes fungi species have been discovered in the region, as have a variety of previously undiscovered plants.{{citation |chapter-url=http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200318/000020031803A0489358.php |chapter=Myxomycetes from the Asir Mountains, Saudi Arabia (abstract) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229032735/http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200318/000020031803A0489358.php |archive-date=February 29, 2012 |first=L. |last=Boulos |title=A contribution of the flora of the Asir Mountains, Saudi Arabia |publisher=Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=67–94 |year=1985}} Asir is also thought to be one of the last natural habitats of the Arabian leopard. and also the Asir magpie, believed to be down to its last 135 pairs.{{cite web | url=https://www.aramco.com/en/sustainability/minimizing-environmental-impact/biodiversity-and-land-use/promoting-biodiversity/protecting-the-asir-magpie | title=Protecting the Asir Magpie }}
Gallery
File:Al Sawda peak.jpg|Jabal Sawdah ("Mount Sawdah")
File:Abha1.jpg|Abha City, located {{convert|2,270|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level in the 'Asir Region
File:Living on the verge of Habala Valley.jpg|Habalah Valley near Abha
File:Alsooda0002.jpg|Al Soudah
File:منظر من بلاد قبيلة حوالة4.jpeg|Jabal Atherb, as seen from Ḥawālah in Bareq
See also
{{Portal|Saudi Arabia}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1789949?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents A Journey Through the Tihama, the 'Asir, and the] Hijaz Mountains, by Wilfred Thesiger
{{Mountains in the Arabian Peninsula}}
{{Authority control}}