The Sarawat Mountains (
Arabic: جِبَالُ ٱلسَّرَوَاتِ,
romanized: Jibāl as-Sarawāt), also known as the Sarat in singular case,[1] is a part of the
Hijaz Mountains in the western part of the
Arabian Peninsula. In a broad sense, it runs parallel to the
eastern coast of the
Red Sea, and thus encompasses the mountains of
Fifa',[2]'Asir[3] and
Taif[4][5] (which can be seen as including the
Midian Mountains).[6] In a narrow sense, the Sarawat start in
Taif city in
Saudi Arabia, and extend to the
Gulf of Aden in the south, running along the entire western coast of
Yemen, in what used to be
North Yemen, and extend eastwards into part of what used to be
South Yemen, thus running parallel to the Gulf of Aden.[1][7]
These mountains are mainly rocky though some contain vegetation. Many of the peaks are fairly young and jagged, but some are smoother from weathering. Nearing the
Yemeni border, the Sarawat begin to spread into individual peaks, and the
Hejaz turns from a cliff to a gradual ascent up to the Yemeni Plateau. In Yemen, the Sarawat are divided into the western and central highlands, where the western highlands receive plenty of precipitation, more than anywhere else in the peninsula, and the central highlands have the highest mountains in the peninsula. A very dramatic part of the Yemeni Sarawat are the
Haraz Mountains,[8] where a few peaks top 3,000 metres (9,800 feet), but the descents and views from the mountains are staggering; some foots of mountains are only at 500 metres (1,600 feet) above sea level yet their peaks are at 2,800–3,300 metres (9,200–10,800 feet). All of the mountains over 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) are located in Yemen, the highest of which is
Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb near the capital
Sana'a. At 3,666 metres (12,028 feet), Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb is also the highest peak in Arabia.[1][7]
Geologically, the Sarawat is part of the
Arabian Shield, and are made up mostly of
volcanic rock. The western slopes end abruptly near the
Red Sea coast, while the eastern side of the mountain range slopes downward more gently and is intersected by
wadis that support
agriculture, especially in the southern reaches of the Sarawat, where the mountains face the
monsoons. Among the cities located within the Sarawat is the Yemeni capital,
San'a, located near some of the Sarawat's highest peaks.[1][7]
Mountains to the west of southern
Sana'a, Yemen. Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb is behind the mountain in the background.
Jabal Nuqm or Jabal Nuqum in the area of Sana'a. Local legend has it that after the death of
Noah, his son
Shem built the city at the base of this mountain.[12]
Note: Mountains are sorted in alphabetical order, unless where it concerns ranges. The highest confirmed mountains in each country are indicated with 'HP', and those with the highest peak are indicated with 'HP', bearing in mind that in the UAE, the highest mountain and the mountain with the highest peak are different.
Outcrops are indicated with 'OC', and
outliers with 'OL', and
anticlines with 'AC'.
Volcanoes are indicated with 'V',
volcanic craters with 'VC',
lava fields with 'LF', and
volcanic fields with 'VF'.