Arabian Peninsula, in southwestern Asia, is a vast land that is largely desert. Saudi Arabia occupies most of the peninsula. The other countries on the peninsula are Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait. Bahrain, an island country, lies just east of the peninsula. The Arabian Peninsula has an area of about 1,000,000 square miles (2,600,000 square kilometers). Most of it is dry wasteland. Rain seldom falls in some parts, and temperatures in the interior may rise to 130 °F (54 °C). But in parts of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, rainfall and irrigation support farming. The peninsula is an area of great economic importance because it has large deposits of petroleum.
For detailed information on the Arabian Peninsula, see Saudi Arabia and the articles on the region’s other countries. See also Arabs.
