Rub al Khali

E42398

Rub al Khali, also known as the Empty Quarter, is one of the world’s largest continuous sand deserts, covering much of the southern Arabian Peninsula with vast dunes and extreme arid conditions.

All labels observed (9)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (53)

Predicate Object
instanceOf desert
erg
geographical region
sand desert
alsoKnownAs Rub al Khali
surface form: Empty Quarter
annualRainfall less than 50 millimeters
often less than 35 millimeters
area approximately 250000 square miles
approximately 650000 square kilometers
biome desert biome
borderedBy Hadhramaut
surface form: Hadhramaut region

Najd
surface form: Najd region

Oman Mountains
surface form: Oman Mountains (to the east, at some distance)
climate hot desert climate
hyper-arid
contains natural gas fields
oil fields
continent Asia
country Oman
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
economicActivity hydrocarbon extraction
limited pastoralism at margins
exploredBy Bertram Thomas
St. John Philby
Wilfred Thesiger
fauna desert-adapted reptiles
insects adapted to desert environment
small mammals adapted to arid conditions
feature interdune sabkhas
large sand seas
very high sand dunes
hasAlternativeName Rub al Khali
surface form: Ar-Rubʿ al-Khālī
hasLanguageRegion Arabic
highestDunesHeight over 250 meters
locatedIn Arabian Peninsula
southern Arabian Peninsula
maximumTemperature above 50 degrees Celsius
minimumTemperature can fall near freezing in winter nights
nameMeaning the empty quarter in Arabic
notableFor extreme aridity
harsh living conditions
one of the world’s largest continuous sand deserts
sparse vegetation
partOf Arabian Desert
terrain gravel plains
salt flats
sand dunes
traditionalInhabitants Al Murrah tribe
Bedouin communities
surface form: Bedouin tribes

Al Murrah tribe
surface form: Mahnā tribe
vegetation very sparse xerophytic shrubs

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (28)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Arabian Peninsula contains Rub al Khali
Arabian Peninsula contains Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Empty Quarter
Arabian Desert hasPart Rub al Khali
Arabian Desert hasPart Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: An Nafud Desert
Rub al Khali alsoKnownAs Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Empty Quarter
Rub al Khali hasAlternativeName Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Ar-Rubʿ al-Khālī
Southern Arabia borderedBy Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Rub al Khali Desert
Najd borders Rub al Khali
Ad Dahna Desert links Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Rub' al Khali
Ad Dahna Desert linkedDesertToSouth Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Empty Quarter
Ad Dahna Desert linkedDesertToSouth Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Rub' al Khali
Al-Ahsa Oasis locatedNear Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Rub' al Khali Desert
Shaybah oil field locatedIn Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Rub’ al Khali
Shaybah oil field locatedInDesert Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Empty Quarter
Wadi ad-Dawasir Governorate borderingFeature Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Rub al Khali Desert
Al Murrah tribe historicalTerritory Rub al Khali
Al Murrah tribe historicalTerritory Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Empty Quarter
Al Murrah tribe associatedDesert Rub al Khali
St. John Philby notableWork Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: The Empty Quarter
Wilfred Thesiger traveledTo Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Rub' al Khali
Wilfred Thesiger traveledTo Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Empty Quarter
Najran nearbyGeographicFeature Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Rub al Khali Desert
Sharurah locatedInDesert Rub al Khali
Bertram Thomas traveledThrough Rub al Khali
this entity surface form: Rub' al Khali
Nefud Desert separatedFrom Rub al Khali
Nefud Desert isNorthOf Rub al Khali
An Nafud separatedFrom Rub al Khali
An Nafud formsWith Rub al Khali