Wadi Safad

Wadi Safad (Arabic: وادي صفد, romanized: Wādī Şafad), is a valley or dry river, with ephemeral or intermittent flow, which flows almost exclusively during the rainy season, located northeast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Emirate of Fujairah.

It forms its own drainage basin, which covers an area of approximately 50 km² (19 sq mi).

The wadi originates on the northern slope from Jabal Jabsah / Jabal Yabsah (874 m (2,867 ft)), and runs from west to east, zigzagging between the steep, low-lying hills south of the Shimayliyah Range, composed almost entirely of harzburgite, with a very steep and rugged relief, which generally culminates in narrow, rocky peaks. As harzburgite is easily weathered at the ground surface, the slopes in this range, which have little vegetation, are often littered with small eroded chips, which make for treacherous climbs.

Along the upper and middle reaches of the Wadi Safad, and on its slopes, there are vestiges of ancient villages, cultivation terraces and palm groves, which show that in the not-so-distant past the wadi had a large permanent population, dedicated mainly to agriculture and livestock.

The channel of its lower course, where the wadi meets its only major tributary, the Wadi Thayb / Wādī Thе̄b, has been transformed and diverted from its natural path as it approaches the suburbs and industrial areas of coastal towns, due to the construction of roads, industrial estates and new housing developments.