Wadi Litibah

Wadi Litibah
Wadi Litibah
	Wadi Litibah - Tributary of Wadi Ghalilah. Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (UAE)
Native name	وادي ليتيبة (Arabic)
Location
Country	United Arab Emirates
Emirate	Ras Al Khaimah
Physical characteristics
Source	North slope of Jabal Bil Ays (1,911 m) Hajar Mountains
• elevation	1,650 m (5,410 ft)
Mouth	Confluence with the Wadi Barut into the Wadi Ghalilah, at the Wadi Ghalilah Dam
• coordinates	25°58′35″N 56°09′02″E / 25.97639°N 56.15056°E
• elevation	140 m (460 ft)
Length	7 km (4.3 mi)
Basin size	76.32 km2 (29.47 sq mi)
Basin features
River system	Wadi Ghalilah

The Wadi Litibah (Arabic: وادي ليتيبة, romanized: Wādī Litibah)^[2] is a valley or dry river, with intermittent flow, flowing almost exclusively during the rainy season, located northeast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

It is a tributary of the Wadi Ghalilah, from its confluence with the Wadi Barut, and is mainly formed by the ravines and torrents which flow downstream north of Jabal Bil Ays / Jebel Jais (1,911 m^[3]), divided into two main branches; and by the deep cliffs situated to the west and at the foot of the Jabal as Sayh (1,746 m^[4]), on the border between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman.^{[citation needed]}

Course

In its course, from south to north, and later turning towards the west in its middle course, the Wadi Litibah passes through some terraced cultivation areas, and small widely scattered farms, built on elevated areas in respect to the bed of the ravines, most of them abandoned or semi abandoned, which are accessed by a steep donkey path, with stone steps in some sections, which continues to be used at present for the transit of goods on the backs of donkeys, and which has become very popular as a hiking route, known as the Stairway to Heaven (Righ Bank), which runs between the lower part of the wadi and the Jabal Ar Rahrah Ridge.^{[citation needed]}

One of those villages, located at 1,450 m altitude, is Ras Ash, also known as Ras al Ghash,^[5]^{[user-generated source]} which has a single inhabitant.

Another popular itinerary, but one of climbing, the Stairway to Heaven (Left Bank), also starts from the lower area of Wadi Litibah ^[6] and climbs to the top of the vertical cliff that borders it on the east, where the Omani village of Ra's al Waḩḩ is located,^[7] continuing on to the south, towards the top of Jebel Jais, to finally reach the Jabal Ar Rahrah Ridge.^[8]

In the aforementioned lower area of Wadi Litibah, already located below 260 m altitude, there are two small groups of farms, which can be accessed through a stone and gravel road that follows the same dry bed of the wadi, and leads to its confluence with the Wadi Barut, next to the Wadi Ghalilah Dam, built in 2001.^[9]

Toponymy

Alternative Names for the Wadi include Wadi Litibah and Wādī Litibah.^{[citation needed]}

The name Wadi Litibah was recorded in the documentation and maps produced between 1950 and 1960 by the British Arabist, cartographer, military officer, and diplomat Julian F. Walker^[10] during the work carried out to establish borders between what was then called Trucial States, later completed by the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), on 1:100,000 scale maps published in 1971.^[11]

In the political and administrative organization of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, the name of the main wadi is frequently used as an identifying element of the entire territory covered by its drainage basin.^{[citation needed]}

In the case of Wadi Ghalilah, this drainage basin is very large (76.32 km²),^[12] comprising numerous towns, villages and farms widely scattered throughout its valleys and mountains. Naturally, it also includes all the ravines and tributaries of the main wadi.

The same denomination is also used for postal purposes.^{[citation needed]}

For this reason, the mistake of considering that this is the only name that corresponds to all the different wadis, and even to some population centers in this region, is widespread, frequently ignoring the true name of each of these places.^{[citation needed]}

This has contributed to Wadi Litibah being incorrectly referred to as Wadi Ghalilah on a few occasions.^[13]

Population

The geographical area of Wadi Litibah was historically populated by the semi-nomadic Shihuh tribe, sections of Bani Hadiyah (Arabic: بني هدية) and Bani Shatair (Arabic: بني شطير), which occupied, among others territories, the tribal areas of Ahl Sayḩ and Hammad,^[14] respectively.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

A farm at the bottom of the Wadi Litibah, a tributary of the Wadi Ghalilah. Starting point for the Stairway to Heaven trail
Deep ravine on the left branch of Wadi Litibah, a tributary of Wadi Ghalilah. Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (UAE)
Some small farms and terraces in the upper areas of Wadi Litibah, a tributary of Wadi Ghalilah. Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (UAE)
Very steep and rocky path, partly stepped with stone. Some sections are protected with safety railings. Wadi Litibah.

References

^ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture
^ Mindat.org - Wādī Litibah
^ Peakbagger - Jabal Bil Ays
^ Geoview.info Jabal as Sayḩ
^ GeoNames - Ras al Ghash
^ Fiche topo - Randonnée Stairway to Heaven, Ras Al Khaimah
^ Mindat.org Ra's al Waḩḩ
^ GeoNames Jabal Ar Rahrah Ridge
^ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture
^ FCO 18/1932 - 1958- Sketch map drawn by Julian Walker for boundary delimitation: Ras Al Khaimah - The National Archives, London, England
^ https://www.agda.ae/en/catalogue/tna/fco/18/1863 Map of Trucial States, Muscat and Oman - Rams - Scale 1:100 000 - Published by D Survey, Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom (1971) - Edition 3-GSGS - The National Archives, London, England
^ United Arab Emirates - Water conservation strategy - Eng Salim Akram. Director of Dams Department. Dr Abdelazim Ebraheem. Water Resources Evaluation Consultant - Natural Disaster Science and Mitigation Engineering: Ministry of Environment and Water UAE - 2021
^ Searle, Mike. Geology of the Oman Mountains, Eastern Arabia. ISBN 978-3-030-18453-7 - Germany: Springer International Publishing, 2019
^ Geoview.info Hammad

External links

Media related to Wadi Litibah at Wikimedia Commons

[1] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture

[2] Mindat.org - Wādī Litibah

[3] Peakbagger - Jabal Bil Ays

[4] Geoview.info Jabal as Sayḩ

[5] GeoNames - Ras al Ghash

[6] Fiche topo - Randonnée Stairway to Heaven, Ras Al Khaimah

[7] Mindat.org Ra's al Waḩḩ

[8] GeoNames Jabal Ar Rahrah Ridge

[9] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture

[10] FCO 18/1932 - 1958- Sketch map drawn by Julian Walker for boundary delimitation: Ras Al Khaimah - The National Archives, London, England

[11] ttps://www.agda.ae/en/catalogue/tna/fco/18/1863 Map of Trucial States, Muscat and Oman - Rams - Scale 1:100 000 - Published by D Survey, Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom (1971) - Edition 3-GSGS - The National Archives, London, England

[12] United Arab Emirates - Water conservation strategy - Eng Salim Akram. Director of Dams Department. Dr Abdelazim Ebraheem. Water Resources Evaluation Consultant - Natural Disaster Science and Mitigation Engineering: Ministry of Environment and Water UAE - 2021

[13] Searle, Mike. Geology of the Oman Mountains, Eastern Arabia. ISBN 978-3-030-18453-7 - Germany: Springer International Publishing, 2019

[14] Geoview.info Hammad

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