Wadi Sifuni () Mindat.org - Wādī Sifūnī, Ra’s al Khaymah, United Arab Emirates is a valley or dry river, with an ephemeral or intermittent flow, occurring almost exclusively during the rainy season, located in the east of the United Arab Emirates, in the emirate of Ras al Khaimah.
Together with the Wadi Ashwani /Wādī Al ‘Ishwānī, their combined drainage basin covers , bordered to the north by that of the Wadi Siji, to the south by the Wadi Shawka, and to the south and east by the drainage divide of the mountain range separating the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman basins, as well as the catchment area of the Wadi Farfar.Application of a hydrological model in a data-poor arid region catchment: a case study of Wadi Ham - Mohamed Mustafa Al Mulla PhD Thesis Academic Year 2005-2006 - Supervisor: Dr Ian P. Holman - December 1, 2005 - Cranfield University at Silsoe - Institute of Water and Environment <https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/items/c116d8d5-f80b-4c8b-b754-7507d3abec27>Water Resources and Integrated Management of the United Arab Emirates - Abdulrahman S. Alsharhan, Zeinelabidin E. Rizk - Springer Nature, 17 Mar 2020 - 850 pages - p. 204-205 <https://books.google.com/books?id=lF7XDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA103&hl=es&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q&f=false>
The entire Sifuni & Ashwani drainage basin, whose highest peak is Jabal Al Ghunah (), contains approximately 270 independent streams, most of them unnamed, all classified into five grades or levels according to the Horton-Strahler numbering. In addition to Wadi Baqarah, which is considered an upper segment of the main wadi, Wadi Mamduh and Wadi Esfai are notable for their length and flow.
Course
The total approximate length of Wadi Sifuni is (including the upper segment, also known as Wadi Baqarah).
It flows from east to west, and its main source is located on the southern slope of Jabal Bulaydah (),Mindat.org - Jabal Bulaydah, Ra’s al Khaymah, United Arab Emiratesirates at an approximate altitude of .
In its middle course, it passes through the village of Sifuni, also known as Esfini or Sha'biyyāt Işfany, and after receiving the Wadi Esfai flow on its left, it enters an area occupied by large gabbro quarries, which have affected the course of the wadi and caused considerable environmental impact in its surroundings.Stevin Rock - One of the largest quarrying companies in the world
In the area of its confluence with the Wadi Ashwani, at the beginning of the great alluvial plain of the Wadi Kadrah,FCO 18/1859 1975 - Map Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE): Dhaid - Scale 1:100 000 - Published by D Survey, Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom (1975) - Edition 3-GSGS - The National Archives, London, England <https://www.agda.ae/en/catalogue/tna/fco/18/1859> an important well was built, known historically as Tawi Kadrah, origin of the present-day village of Kadrah.
Dams and Reservoirs
Like most wadis in the United Arab Emirates, Wadi Sifuni is prone to severe flooding.
To prevent the risk of flash floods and increase the groundwater recharge potential, a dam, high, with a reservoir area of and a capacity of 0.6 million cubic meters, called the Wadi Sfni Dam (coordinates: 25°11′27″N, 56°02′32″E), was built in 2001 in the Wadi Sifuni channel, before its mouth.Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture
Upstream of the former, next to the mouth of Wadi Mamduh in the Wadi Sifuni, a second dam, high, with a reservoir area of and a capacity of 0.21 million cubic metres, was built in 2002. It is called Mamduh Dam (coordinates: 25°10′17″N, 56°06′30″E).
Toponymy Alternative names: Wadi Sfini, Wadi Sifni, Wādī Sifūnī, Wadi Isfini, Wadi Sfuni, Wādī Iṣfani, Wadi Asfani, Wadi Sfni.
The name of Wadi Sifuni (with that same spelling), its tributaries, mountains and nearby towns, was recorded in the documentation and maps produced between 1950 and 1960 by the British Arabist, cartographer, military officer and diplomat Julian F. Walker, during the work carried out to establish the borders between the then called Trucial States,FCO 18/1937 1958 Sketch map drawn by Julian Walker for boundary delimitation: Dhaid-Masafi - The National Archives, London, England <https://www.agda.ae/en/catalogue/tna/fco/18/1937> later completed by the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom, on maps at a scale of 1:100,000 published in 1971.
In the National Atlas of the United Arab Emirates it appears with the spelling Wādī Iṣfani ().
Population
The area of Wadi Sifuni and its upper course (Wadi Baqarah) was populated mainly by the Quwayd / Quwayyid tribal area.Mindat.org - Quwayd, Ra’s al Khaymah, United Arab EmiratesFO 371/114648 1955 Land and sea boundaries of Trucial Sheikhdoms in Persian Gulf - The National Archives, London, England <https://www.agda.ae/en/catalogue/tna/fo/371/114648/n/139>
See also List of wadis of the United Arab Emirates List of mountains in the United Arab Emirates List of wadis of Oman List of mountains in Oman
References
External links