Jebel Jais
Jebel Jais (Arabic: جَبَل جَيْس, romanized: Jabal Jays) is a mountain of the North-Western Hajar range in the Musandam Governorate of Oman and also in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The summit has an elevation of 1,934 m (6,345 ft).[1] The summit is located on the Omani side, but a high point west of this peak is considered the highest point in the United Arab Emirates, at 1,892 m (6,207 ft) above sea level, and with around 10m of prominence. Since the summit is on the Omani side, Jebel Al Mebrah (also known as "Jabal Yibir"), at 1,527 m (0.949 mi), is the highest peak in the UAE, with significant prominence.[2]
| Jebel Jais | |
|---|---|
| Jabal Jays | |
 The Road leading to the top of Jebel Jais in Ras Al-Khaimah | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,934 m (6,345 ft) [1] |
| Coordinates | 25°57′11″N 56°11′02″E |
| Naming | |
| Native name | جَبَل جَيْس |
| Geography | |
  Jebel Jais Location of Jebel Jais  Jebel Jais Jebel Jais (Oman)  Jebel Jais Jebel Jais (West and Central Asia) | |
| Countries | United Arab Emirates and Oman |
| Parent range | Al Hajar Mountains |
Infrastructure
On the Omani side, the mountain is largely undeveloped, inaccessible, and far from any development, however on the United Arab Emirates side there has been a lot of development in recent years. A 20 km (12 mi) road has been built, which hairpins most of the way up the mountain on the United Arab Emirates side. Near the top of the road, there are parking places, food providers, toilets and a viewing platform. After a security checkpoint, the road continues up a few kilometers further to the world's longest zip-line and an Etisalat cell tower, as well as a large flat area used for outdoor shows and parking. New buildings are also being built along this road section, for use of the zip-line operating company. This section was completed towards the end of 2017; however it remains closed to the public, by motorized vehicles, as of December 2019. A private brick road then continues further up, to Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi's palace, which is situated near the UAE's highest point. The summit is then accessible by hiking, a short distance after the palace perimeter fence.
The road is due to be completed by September 2019.[3]
Jebel Jais ZipLine
The world's longest zip line opened on the mountain in February 2018. It is 2,832 m (9,291 ft) long, and users travel at speeds of up to 150 km/h (93 mph),[4][5] There are, or have been, plans in place to build a hotel, cable car, paragliding launch ramp, golf course and ski slope following the opening of the road.[6]
Climate
The temperature of Ras Al Khaimah tends to be lower than other parts of the country. Temperatures as low as -5 degrees Celsius[7] have been measured at the top of the mountain in winter. The temperatures at the highest elevations on the mountain tend to be lower than other parts of United Arab Emirates, by about ten degrees, except for spots such as the mountains of Hafeet,[8] Yibir, Yanas and Al-Heben.[9]
| Climate data for Jebel Jais (2003–2018) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 21.4 (70.5) |
22.2 (72.0) |
27.5 (81.5) |
29.0 (84.2) |
34.2 (93.6) |
36.5 (97.7) |
35.0 (95.0) |
34.9 (94.8) |
32.5 (90.5) |
29.2 (84.6) |
23.7 (74.7) |
23.8 (74.8) |
36.5 (97.7) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 11.2 (52.2) |
13.0 (55.4) |
17.4 (63.3) |
21.7 (71.1) |
26.8 (80.2) |
30.1 (86.2) |
30.5 (86.9) |
29.8 (85.6) |
27.5 (81.5) |
23.2 (73.8) |
17.1 (62.8) |
13.4 (56.1) |
21.8 (71.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 8.7 (47.7) |
10.6 (51.1) |
14.7 (58.5) |
18.9 (66.0) |
23.9 (75.0) |
27.2 (81.0) |
27.7 (81.9) |
27.0 (80.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
20.2 (68.4) |
14.4 (57.9) |
10.8 (51.4) |
19.1 (66.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 6.3 (43.3) |
8.0 (46.4) |
11.9 (53.4) |
16.2 (61.2) |
21.2 (70.2) |
24.4 (75.9) |
25.0 (77.0) |
24.3 (75.7) |
22.2 (72.0) |
17.7 (63.9) |
12.0 (53.6) |
8.3 (46.9) |
16.5 (61.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −0.3 (31.5) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
1.2 (34.2) |
5.0 (41.0) |
9.0 (48.2) |
16.4 (61.5) |
17.9 (64.2) |
17.8 (64.0) |
16.5 (61.7) |
11.1 (52.0) |
4.1 (39.4) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 24.7 (0.97) |
13.0 (0.51) |
30.2 (1.19) |
6.0 (0.24) |
0.3 (0.01) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.2 (0.01) |
0.4 (0.02) |
0.2 (0.01) |
5.2 (0.20) |
12.9 (0.51) |
9.3 (0.37) |
102.4 (4.04) |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 52 | 45 | 34 | 32 | 28 | 25 | 28 | 33 | 29 | 35 | 50 | 50 | 37 |
| Source: National Center of Meteorology[10] | |||||||||||||
Snow fall
In January 2009 there was snow on Jebel Jais.[11] This was only the second time snow had been reported in the history of United Arab Emirates, previously having only been seen in 2004.[12] There was less on this occasion. In February 2017 it snowed again on Jebel Jais and the temperatures fell down-to -5 degrees Celsius.[7] In January 2020 a mix of snow and hail covered the mountain with the temperature dropping below zero degrees.[13]
Gallery
View from the Jabal Jais Road.jpg.webp)
.jpg.webp)
.jpg.webp)
Towards the summit
See also
References
- "Jebel Jais". Jebel Jais Ras Al Khaimah. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- "Jabal Yibir". Dangerousroads.org. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
- Morgan, James. "UAE: Jebel Jais Mountain Road to complete in 2019 | ConstructionWeekOnline.com". www.constructionweekonline.com. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
- Rachel Swatman. "This is what it's like to fly along the world's longest zip line at 93 mph". Guinness World Records.
- CNN. "The world's longest zip line in action - CNN Video". CNN news.
- "Great driving roads: Jebel Jais Mountain Road, Ras Al Khaimah | The National". Retrieved 2015-08-16.
- Report, Gulf News Web (3 February 2017). "Look: It's -5°C and it's snowing in the UAE". GulfNews. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- Al Serkal, Mariam M. (2019-03-10). "UAE to see cold days ahead, temperatures drop to 2.6°C". Gulf News. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
- Al Serkal, Mariam M. (2019-02-28). "UAE to get 5 days of rain and "significant drop in temperature"". Gulf News. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
- "Climate Normals for Jebel Jais for the period from 2003 to 2018". National Center of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- Staff (2016-07-28). "This place is coolest in UAE". Emirates24|7. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
- "This is the frozen north ... of the UAE". The National. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
- "Photos: Snow covers UAE's Jebel Jais as temperature drops below 0°C". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
External links
- (in English) Is this the right way to the top?, The National, February 21, 2009.
- Jebel Jais, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE | جبل جيس، إمارة رأس الخيمة، الإمارات (YouTube)
- Hiking: The Highest Points in the UAE
Hills and mountains on the Arabian Peninsula | ||
|---|---|---|
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Note: Mountains are sorted in alphabetical order, unless where it concerns ranges. The highest confirmed mountains in each country are indicated with 'HP', and those with the highest peak are indicated with 'HP', bearing in mind that in the UAE, the highest mountain and the mountain with the highest peak are different. Outcrops are indicated with 'OC', and outliers with 'OL', and anticlines with 'AC'. Volcanoes are indicated with 'V', volcanic craters with 'VC', lava fields with 'LF', and volcanic fields with 'VF'.
Other notes:
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