Page 40 - UAE Truncal States

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Geographical Conditions

Dubai is only some 3,900 square kilometres of desert, but it includes
the small mountainous enclave of Halta at the border with Oman,
and the relatively green desert surrounding the twin city of Dubai
and Dairah, which extends inland along the border with Abu Dhabi.
This city, however, straddles both sides of a creek which affords one
of the few natural harbours on the shallow coast. Like the
neighbouring creeks at Sharjah, Umm al Qaiwain, and several other
coastal villages, the access route to this harbour is in jeopardy
because the prevailing south-north current along the coast causes
sandbars to build up across the mouth of the creek. In Dubai steps
have been taken to counteract this natural process by dredging the
approaches and stabilising the shores of the creek. These measures
have proved beneficial to the fast-expanding maritime trade of this
port. Further efforts were made to encourage this growing trade by
building nearby a deep-water harbour which, with a dredged depth
of 30 feet (10 metres) at low water, can take ocean-going vessels. By
April 1980, 35 berths were in operation and more may be built. A new
harbour with 74 berths is being constructed at Jabal 'Ali, 20
kilometres west of the town, to serve the new industries which are
being set up there. The population of the State of Dubai has grown
rapidly, as trade through its harbour expanded and more recently
since the start of oil exports. It had reached 278,000 at the recent
population census of December 1980. It is only 14 kilometres by road
from the town-centre of Dubai to that of the neighbouring Emirate of
Sharjah. Dubai enjoys a pre-eminent position in the Northern States.
There is a convenient road-link with the three other Emirates to the f
north, 'Ajman, Umm al Qaiwain, and Ra’s al Khaimah, and across the
mountains to Fujairah on the east coast. This position is further
underlined by the fact that its commercial connections and skills
make it a convenient centre for the supply of goods and services to all
these States.

Sharjah
Sharjah, which enjoys a similar geographical situation, might have
grown into this same function but for the fact that its creek has been i
silting up faster, and a remedy came later to meet the challenge of the
already advanced neighbour. In the late 1930s, at a time when the
other Emirates were looking to the sea for a livelihood, Sharjah’s
population benefited from the establishment of a staging-post for
Imperial Airways’ flying boats en route to India. The 2,600 square
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