Wadi Rum
Native name وادي رم
Mountains of Wadi Rum
Location	Aqaba Governorate, Jordan
Coordinates	29°34′35.4″N 35°25′11.74″E / 29.5765°N 35.4199278°E / 29.5765; 35.4199278Coordinates: 29°34′35.4″N 35°25′11.74″E / 29.5765°N 35.4199278°E / 29.5765; 35.4199278
Area	720 km2 (280 sq mi)
Elevation	1,750 m (5,741 ft)
Settled	8000 BC
Governing body	Aqaba Special Authority
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, iii, iv
Designated	2011 (35th session)
Reference #	1377
State Party	Jordan
Region	Arab States
IUCN Category Ia (Strict Nature Reserve)
Designated	1998
designation2_free2name = Area
720 Km2
Website	www.wadirum.jo
Location of Wadi Rum in Jordan

Wadi Rum (Arabic: وادي رم‎) also known as The Valley of the Moon (Arabic: وادي القمر‎) is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan 60 km (37 mi) to the east of Aqaba; it is the largest wadi in Jordan.^[1] The name Rum most likely comes from an Aramaic root meaning 'high' or 'elevated'. To reflect its proper Arabic pronunciation, archaeologists transcribe it as Wadi Ramm.

History[link]

Wadi Rum has been inhabited by many human cultures since prehistoric times, with many cultures–including the Nabateans–leaving their mark in the form of rock paintings, graffiti, and temples.

In the West, Wadi Rum may be best known for its connection with British officer T. E. Lawrence, who based his operations here during the Arab Revolt of 1917–18.^[2] In the 1980s one of the rock formations in Wadi Rum was named "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" in memory of Lawrence's book penned in the aftermath of the war, though the 'Seven Pillars' referred to in the book actually have no connection with Rum.

Geography[link]

Landscape

The area is centred on the main valley of Wadi Rum. The highest elevation in Wadi Rum is Mount Um Dami at 1,840 m (6,040 ft) high and was first located by Difallah Ateeg, a Zalabia Bedouin from Rum. On a clear day, it is possible to see the Red Sea and the Saudi border from the top.

Jabal Rum (1,734 metres (5,689 ft) above sea level) is the second highest peak in Jordan and the highest peak in the central Rum,^[3] covered with snow and rising directly above Rum valley opposite Jebel um Ishrin, which is possibly one metre lower

Khaz'ali Canyon in Wadi Rum is the site of petroglyphs etched into the cave walls depicting humans and antelopes dating back to the Thamudic times. The village of Wadi Rum itself consists of several hundred Bedouin inhabitants with their goat-hair tents and concrete houses and also their four wheel vehicles, one school for boys and one for girls, a few shops, and the headquarters of the Desert Patrol.^[4]

Tourism[link]

Wadi Rum is home to the Zalabia Bedouin who, working with climbers and trekkers, have made a success of developing eco-adventure tourism, now their main source of income. The area is now also one of Jordan's important tourist destinations, and attracts an increasing number of foreign tourists, particularly trekkers and climbers, but also for camel and horse safari or simply day-trippers from Aqaba or Petra. Popular activities in the desert environment include camping under the stars, riding Arab horses, hiking and rock-climbing amongst the massive rock formations.

Filming location[link]

The area has been used as a background setting in a number of films:

• Lawrence of Arabia - David Lean filmed much of this 1962 film on location in Wadi Rum.^[5]
• Red Planet - Wadi Rum was used as the surface of Mars in this 2000 film.
• Passion in the Desert - The area was also used for scenes in this 1998 film.
• The Face - BBC Film, Rock climbing in Rum
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Represented as being in Egypt
• The Frankincense Trail - scenes from train, and aerial filming too

Gallery[link]

• 

  Wadi Rum desert

• 

  View from the top of Jabal Rum

• 

  The "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" rock formation

• 

  Thamudic inscriptions in Wadi Rum

• 

  The Wadi Rum Visitor Center

• 

  A Nabatean temple in Wadi Rum

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wadi Rum

• Wadi Rum Rock page
• Photos from Wadi Rum
• Flickr Wadi Rum photo pool

Wadi in Nachal Paran, the Negev, Israel.

Wadi (Arabic: وادي‎ wādī; also: Vadi) is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.

Variant names[link]

Oued Tissint, Morocco.

In North Africa the transcription Oued, pronounced as Wad, is used. The term kouri is used in Hausa speaking and surrounding areas of West Africa. The Hebrew term nahal (נחל) and Hindi/Urdu term "Nala" is synonymous in meaning and usage.

Some names of Spanish locations are derived from Andalusian Arabic toponyms where wādī was used to mean a permanent river, for example: Guadalcanal, Guadalajara from wādī al-hidjārah = "river of stones", or Guadalquivir from al-wādī al-kabīr = "the great river". Seasonal streams, frequent in south-east Spain, are called rambla instead.

The term wādī is very widely found in Arabic toponyms.

Hydrological action[link]

Nahal Ashan, a wadi in Beersheba, Israel

Modern English usage differentiates a wadi from another canyon or wash by the action and prevalence of water. Wadis, as drainage courses, are formed by water, but are distinguished from river valleys or gullies in that surface water is intermittent or ephemeral. Wadis, cut by stream in a desert environment, generally are dry year round except after a rain. The desert environment is characterized by a sudden but infrequent heavy rainfall often resulting in flash floods. Crossing wadis at certain times of the year can be dangerous because of unexpected flash floods. Such flash floods cause several deaths each year in North America and many Middle Eastern countries.

Wadis tend to be associated with centers of human population because sub-surface water is sometimes available in them. Nomadic and pastoral desert peoples will rely on seasonal vegetation found in wadis, even in regions as dry as the Sahara, as they travel in complex transhumance routes.

The centrality of wadis to water - and human life - in desert environments gave birth to the distinct sub-field of "Wadi Hydrology" in the 1990s.^[1]

Wadi deposits[link]

Deposition in a wadi is rapid because of the sudden loss of stream velocity and seepage of water into the porous sediment. Wadi deposits are thus usually poorly-sorted gravels and sands. These sediments are often reworked by eolian processes.^[2]

Over time, wadi deposits may become "Inverted Wadis" where the presence at one time of underground water caused vegetation and sediment to fill in the Wadi's eroded channel to the point that previous washes appear as ridges running through desert regions.

Biblical references[link]

Job speaks of his friends whom he calls brothers as being like these wadis. The Jewish Study Bible transliterated the word "brook" in Job  6:15 for the word "nachal" נחל, the Hebrew equivalent of the Arabic "wadi". The commentator notes, "Wadi, a seasonal stream that may be dangerously overflowing in winter and dry in summer". In his books of commentary, Albert Barnes notes: "The idea here is, that travelers in a caravan would approach the place where water had been found before, but would find the fountain dried up or the stream lost in the sand; and when they looked for refreshment, they found only disappointment".

See also[link]

• Alluvial desert
• Arroyo (creek)
• Canyon
• Gulch
• Gully

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Summary: Drainage Courses, Wadis. United States Army Corps of Engineers. Desert Processes Working Group; Knowledge Sciences, Inc. (n.d), retrieved 2008-08-26.
• Summary: Summary: Drainage Courses, Wadis - Inverted. United States Army Corps of Engineers. Desert Processes Working Group; Knowledge Sciences, Inc. (n.d), retrieved 2008-08-26.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wadi

• IHP REGIONAL WADI HYDROLOGY NETWORK, International Hydrological Programme, UNESCO.
• Arab Center for Studies of Arid Zones and Dry lands (ACSAD): Water resources division.

Coordinates: 30°36′48″N 34°55′24″E / 30.61333°N 34.92333°E / 30.61333; 34.92333