Last updated: April 16th, 2025 at 2:11 pm · Est. Reading Time: 2 minutes
The central plateau of Arabian Peninsula is Najd (نَجَد Najd). Located to the west of main mountain range of Arabia, which stretches from north to south, this highland has an average elevation of nine hundred meters. It slopes down gently from west to east.
The eastern end of the Najd Plateau merges into the low and flat plains of Hasa (الاحساء).
Najd plateau is interspersed by small mountain systems here and there, like Jabl Tuwayq (طوىق جبل).
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 northwestern Saudi Arabia into Jordan and Southern Syria.
Climate
Tropic of Cancer passes through the center of Najad, though there is nothing tropical. Summer is hot in Najd. The temperature averages around 45 °c and may reach up to 54 °c on a hot summer day. December and January are the coolest months. Though the temperature averages around 14 °c in winter, high wind produces biting cold. Rarely does the temperature fall to a freezing point.
Extremely dry climate and hot temperatures have converted many parts of the Najad Plateau into true sand deserts. The most renowned of them is Ruba al Khali (Ruba ul Khāli الخالى ربع). Located over the Lower third of the Najd plateau, Ruba al Khali is so called because it is devoid of any life. It does not receive any rain. It has a reputation for being the largest contiguous sand desert on the planet and the most desolate region of the world. Its sand is estimated to be one hundred and eighty meters deep. Nobody has ever dwelled here, but ancient Arabs used to cross it on camels.
Najd’s northern part rarely receives any rain. It has converted into a barren, stony and sandy desert called Nefud (Nefūd نفود). The sand of Nefud has a reddish tinge due to the presence of iron ores. Nefud merges into the Syrian Desert towards the north.
Along the side of Jabl Tuwayq and towards its east is the long and narrow Dahna (Dahna’ الدهناء) desert. It is a narrow strip of sand that connects Ruba al Khali with Nefud.
Further reading
Alois Musil, The Northern Nejd, New York: Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts, 1928.
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 Arabia, https://historyofislam.org/geography-and-climate/