MORPHOLOGY OF INVERTED WADIS IN EASTERN SAUDI ARABIA

A roughly rectangular strip of inverted wadis has been found in Nejd, eastern Saudi Arabia, south of Darb Zubaida, 360 kilometers of the Persian Gulf, covers an area of about 18,650 square kilometers. The main process which led to the development inverted wadis on this surface is cementation of valley floor. Detailed measurements were made on inverted wadis dimensions in several localities in this strip by Google Earth and DEM from (ASTER). Inverted wadis in eastern Saudi Arabia extend from 200 meters to 27 kilometers in length, from 22 meters to 410 meters in width, and the height of inverted wadis ranges from less than 1 meters to 22 meters. Cross section profiles range from trapezoidal to convex. The relatively steep side slopes range from 8° to 26°. The patterns of inverted wadis in this strip vary from dendritic in the north and central to radial pattern in some spots in the south.

Overall, the study of inverted wadis in Eastern Saudi Arabia has important implications for evolutionary reconstruction of paleohydrological and paleoenvironmental conditions for this area.