The Evolution of the Landscape of the United Arab Emirates

The buildings, roadways and cities of the UAE are built on a landscape that has changed greatly over the period of time. The mountains and the wadi's are great examples of this change. Before these mountains were formed, today's UAE was part of a much larger landmass called .............................. It was seperated from Asia by an enourmous ancient ocean called ...............................

• Andaman and Nicobar Island, Pacific Ocean

• Marettimo, Salar de Uyuni

• Gondwana, Tethys

• Quilalea, Manicouagan Reservoir

What caused the Al Hajar-mountain to be formed?

• The moving of the plate eventually resulting in it coming in contact with the ocean floor.

• The sinking of the plate

• The collision of the plate resulting in the ocean floor being pushed under the land surface

• None of the above

The Miocene Epoch lasted from ............... to ......................... ago. During this time, the cilmate warmed and a new landscaoe evolved. Grasslands like the savannahs seen today in eastern Africa became common in the Emirates.

• 23 million years, 5.3 million years

• 22 million years, 5.3 million years

• 23 million years, 5.2 million years

• 23 million years, 5.4 million years

The Baynunah formation is a geological area created by lands and rivers that once flowed through the region. Some of the rivers seem to have been quite large and had many channels. One river, near the coastal town of Mirfa, is thought to have been over 100 meters wide. How do archaeologists and palaeontologists have knowledge about this?

• The remains of plants and animals, now turned into fossils, have been discovered.

• The rivers have been discovered

• They discovered the coastal town of Mirfa

• Some literary sources have been found

Check whether the following statement is true or false. Scientisits call the time from 2.5 million years ago to the present day the ' QUATERNARY PERIOD '.

• True

• False

Who are Palaeoclimatologists and what have they shown?

• A person who is qualified to treat diseases and other conditions that affect the teeth and gums. They also repair and extract teeth and insert artificial ones.

• People who study ancient climates. They have shown that from around 750,000 years ago, there have been regular changes in the climate every 100,000 years or so.

• A person who applies the principles of software engineering to the design, development, maintenance, testing, and evaluation of computer software.

• A person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.

What are Glacial and Interglacial periods?

• During a glacial period, glaciers fall from the sky continuously and during an interglacial period, glaciers fall from the sky after every 2 hours.

• During a glacial period, glaciers form over the earth's poles and extend to the continents and during an interglacial period, glaciers retreat and the earth is warmer and wetter.

Today, we are in an interglacial period that started around 15,000 years ago. Scientists call the current interglacial period _______________________.

• Holocene Epoch

• Miocene Epoch

• Pleistocene Epoch

• Oligocene Epoch

How were the Wadis created during the early glacial periods?

• When there was more rainfall, the rivers flowed through parts of the UAE and down into the Arabian Gulf.

• When snow fell and melted on the snow caps.

• When hail fell onto the plains

How were Alluvial plains created?

• The rain carried large amounts of rocks and soil away from the mountains. This soil was deposited in a lower part of the land and slowly created flat landforms.

• The rain carried large amounts of rocks and soil away from the plains. This soil was deposited on a mountain and slowly created high landforms..

• The rain carried very small amounts of rocks and soil away from the plateau's. This soil was deposited in a much lower part of the land and slowly created high landforms.