Page 92 - Key to Social Studies 5

Features of the UAE

Geography

• The UAE is a federation of seven emirates –

Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Sharjah, Dubai, Fujairah,

Ras Al-Khaimah, and Umm Al-Quwain – that

were uni ed in 1971 by Sheikh Zayed. A

federation is a group of states with a central

government but some independence, or

freedom over internal a airs. Each emirate

has its own monarch, but together they form

the Federal Supreme Council. One of the

monarchs is selected to be the president of Satellite view for the Arabian Gulf

the whole federation. Traditionally this

president is the Emir of Abu Dhabi.

• The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE and the largest in land size, occupying around

three-fourths of the federation’s total area. The Emirate of Dubai is the center of nance, tourism, and

trade.

• The United Arab Emirates is bordered by Qatar toward the northwest, Saudi Arabia toward the west and

south, and Oman toward the east.

• The peninsula’s protrusion, or projecting out, toward Iran forms the Strait

of Hormuz, which links the Arabian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. Since

the mid-1990s, the emirates have been in a debate with Iran over

the domination, or control, of the islands Abu Musa and

Greater and Lesser Tunbs. There is also a long-running

border dispute between the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Map of the UAE
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