Last updated: April 16th, 2025 at 2:11 pm · Est. Reading Time: < 1 minute
The northern part of the mountainous region, sandwiched between the Tihamah coastal plain and the Najd plateau, is Hejaz (Hijāz حجاز).
It comprises the main mountain range of Arabia, which stretches from the northern end of the peninsula down to the south, becoming wider and higher while reaching the south. Around Mecca, about midway down its length, this mountain chain has a break. This break separates Hejaz in the north from Asir (Asīr عسير) in the south.
Ancient volcanic activity has created many volcanic fields in the northern part of Arabia called ḥarrah (حره). The largest of them is Harrat ash Shaam (الشام حرۃ) that spreads from the northwestern Saudi Arabia into Jordan and Southern Syria.
The Tropic of Cancer passes through the center of Hejaz, though there is nothing tropical. Summer is hot in Hejaz. Temperature averages around 45 °c and may reach up to 54 °c on a hot summer day. Sandstorms and dust storms are natural hazards in Hejaz. The worst sandstorms are associated with shamāl (شمال), the north-westerly wind that is strongest in summer.
December and January are the coolest months. Though the temperature averages around 14 °c in winter, the high wind produces biting cold. Rarely does the temperature fall below freezing.
Further reading
Alois Musil, The Northern Ḥeijāz: A Topographical Itinerary, New York: Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts, 1926.
Paul Sanlaville, “Geographic Introduction” in Roads of Arabia, ed. ‘Ali ibn Ibrāhīm Ghabbān, Beatrice Andre-Salvini Francoise Demange, Carine Juvin and Marianne Cotty, (Paris: Louvre, 2010), 55 – 68.
Peter Vincent, Saudi Arabia: An Environmental Overview, London: Taylor & Francis, 2007.
William Bayne Fisher, The Middle East. A Physical, Social and Regional Geography, London: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1952.
History of Islam, Geography & Climate of Pre-Islam, https://historyofislam.org/geography-and-climate/