Bahrain
is low lying. Typically the limestone bedrock slopes very gently towards the
roughly central peak of Jebel Dukhan (meaning "Mountain of Smoke" as
on hot humid days it becomes surrounded by a misty haze). Its top is only 137
metres above sea level, but seems higher due to the flatness of the surrounding
plain. 
Land
use varies greatly, from extensive urban development and diligently cultivated
areas in the north, to sandy wastes spreading south, east and west from Jebel
Dukhan. Here true desert conditions exist with only sparse tough desert plants
growing among the barren limestone rimrock and varying depth of sands.
Horticulture
and agriculture flourishes in the north, limited only by limitations of fresh
water supplies from artesian wells or de-salination plants. Gardens grow dates,
almonds, pomegranates, figs, citrus fruit, and a wide range of vegetables.
Another
noticeable feature of the Bahrain landscape is the immense quantity of man-made
stony tumuli or burial mounds.
Bahrain has not always been an island. Up until around 6000 BC, Bahrain was part
of the Arabian Peninsula before it began drifting away, deawn by the forces of
nature. It would not be until 1986 that modern technology would rejoin the
island with the mainland by way of the 25-kilometre King Fahad Causeway link to
Saudi Arabia but that, as they say, is another story.
