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Bahrain (from the Arabic word for "two seas" — itself an inaccurate folk etymology for the much older, Semitic term, Bahran) comprises an archipelago of 37 islands in the Persian Gulf, situated close to the shore of the Arabian Peninsula. Bahrain's capital city is Manama. The islands are about 24 kilometers (14 mi) from the east coast of Saudi Arabia and 28 kilometers (17 mi) from Qatar. The total area of the islands is about 780 square kilometers (301 sq mi), or about five times the size of the District of Columbia. The largest island, accounting for 83% of the area, is Bahrain Island (aka ''Al Bahrayn''), which has an extent of 590 square kilometers (227 sq mi). From north to south, Bahrain is 48 kilometers (29 mi) long; at its widest point in the north, it is 16 kilometers (9 mi) from east to west. ==Geographical setting and islands== *It now comprises an archipelago of thirty-three natural islands (after the return of Janan to Qatar on March 2001). Around most of Bahrain is a relatively shallow inlet of the Persian Gulf known as the Gulf of Bahrain. The seabed adjacent to Bahrain is rocky and, mainly off the northern part of the island, covered by extensive coral reefs. Most of the island is low-lying and barren desert. Outcroppings of limestone form low rolling hills, stubby cliffs, and shallow ravines. The limestone is covered by various densities of saline sand, capable of supporting only the hardiest desert vegetation – chiefly thorn trees and scrub. There is a fertile strip five kilometers wide along the northern coast on which date, almond, fig, and pomegranate trees grow. The interior contains an escarpment that rises to 134 meters, the highest point on the island, to form Jabal ad Dukhan (Mountain of Smoke), named for the mists that often wreathe the summit. Most of the country's oil wells are situated in the vicinity of Jabal ad Dukhan. One author writes about the geology of the nation: "Bahrein lies on a portion of the ancient Tethys Ocean geosynclinal belt represented today by the Persian Gulf. The formation of the principal island is the result of pressure from the mountain masses of Persia against the crystalline platform of central Asia, the thrust being absorbed by gentle folding in the geosynclines. The structure of Bahrein is that of a large, single, closed dome covering the entire faulting. Rocks exposed at the surface consist of: 1) Recent sands and coquinas forming flat, raised beaches surrounding the island from which the surface rises gradually to an elevation 150 to 200 feet above sea level. At this point it breaks away into inward-facing cliffs eighty to one hundred feet high completely surrounding an oval central depression about twelve miles long and four wide. 2) Pleistocene sands, cross bedded and probably wind deposited, lying in the canyon. 3) Miocene silicious clay covering a very limited area. 4) Eocene limestone covering most of the island, the central region of which, known as “Jabal Dukhār “Mountain of Smoke”, rises to a point 439 feet above sea level. The limestone is very porous and is the source of most of the water in the northern half of the island."〔Faroughy, Abbas. 1951. The Bahrein Islands (750-1951): A Contribution to the Study of Power Politics in the Persian Gulf. New York: Verry, Fisher & Co. Pages 14-15.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Geography of Bahrain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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