Rubʿ al-Khali (Empty Quarter)

Syllabus: Geography (UPSC Prelims)

Location

• Vast desert in the southern Arabian Peninsula.
• Forms the largest part of the Arabian Desert.
• Lies mainly in southeastern Saudi Arabia, extending into Yemen, Oman, and the UAE.

Area

• Covers about 650,000 sq km (250,000 sq miles).
• Occupies over one-fourth of Saudi Arabia’s total area.

Geography

• World’s largest continuous sand desert.
• Elevation: ~610 m in the west to ~180 m in the east.
• Landforms include sand dunes, sabkhas (salt flats), and sand sheets.
• The Rub al Khali desert experiences extreme temperature swings, being extremely hot¹ during the day and getting significantly cold at night.

Climate

• Among the driest regions on Earth.
• Virtually uninhabited and largely unexplored.

Natural Resources

• Rich in petroleum and natural gas reserves.
• Al-Ghawar Field (NE Saudi Arabia): World’s largest conventional oil field.
• Al-Shaybah Field (SE region): Major oil and gas operation near the UAE and Oman.

Meaning

• Rubʿ al-Khali (Arabic) means “Empty Quarter.”

1. Question Reference
   (HPAS PYQ 2025) ↩︎