Dubai: Place Space, and Landscape

Dubai is considered one of the top 10 tourist attractions, namely to experience seeing the tallest tower in the world The Burj Khalifa. Have you ever wondered what is Dubai's geographical position based on it's place, space, and landscape? The spatial reference map and rock formations have rarely been studied. This blog is intended to engage readers with a unique perspective of learning its authentic geographical formation.       

Dubai Spatial Reference:                                                                                                    

Here is a latitude and longitude map of UAE. In class we studied the geographical coordinates in which longitude is vertical and latitude is horizontal. According to this map, we can tell that the Geographical Coordinates of Dubai are 25 degrees 15' 8" North, 55 degrees 16' 48" East.



Maps: Scale 

The map to the left shows an example of a small-scale. The Palm Islands in the map that looks like a palm tree are man-made islands which I showed in my introduction blog.

The left picture is an example of a large-scale map showing the main "hotspot" of Dubai today.  

The left picture is a prime example distinguishing the difference of a small-scale and large-scale map. 

Landscape: Rocks 
Since Dubai is an urbanized city with tall towers, businesses, and homes, rocks and minerals can only be found in the outskirts of the country, particularly in the north. The UAE has vast resources of limestone and hard rock. The demand for higher value of minerals is being met by imports and used by local exploitation. There is a wide variety of rock types used in the process. These include: 

• Igneous rocks such as granite and basalt 
• Metamorphic rocks such as marble and slate 
• Sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone 

Limestone is highly applicable in the industry including the manufacture of paint, paper, plastic, glass, and more. In 2008, the UAE produced over 200,000 tonnes of high purity limestone valued at over US$20 million to meet industrial demand.




Links used: 
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/19398/1/Rock_resources_of_UAE_poster.pdf
http://www.dubai.com/v/geography/