Abstract
Several springs have been known in Saudi Arabia for hundreds of years on which many old settlements were dependent for both domestic uses and irrigation purposes. However, by the late 1980s, most of the springs in the central and eastern parts of the country dried up or ceased to flow as a result of extensive withdrawals of groundwater mainly for agricultural purposes. With the exception of some biological and religious studies, the previous studies on springs of Saudi Arabia have not mentioned any springs in the northwest region of the country. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to carry out a preliminary inventory to identify as many as possible of unrecognized springs in the northwest region of Saudi Arabia, to provide a scientific description and explanation of the current conditions of the identified springs, and to infer the spring flow sustainability. This study has identified, located, measured, and described a total of nine springs in the region.
Highlights
The geological structure of Saudi Arabia consists of two major geological parts
The Ain Musa Spring, the Wadi Tayyib Ism spring, and the Wadi Qaraqir springs have been initially recognized via Internet searches since 2009
In the western part of the region, two springs have been recorded which are Ain Musa Spring and Wadi Tayyib Ism spring, while six springs have been found in the eastern part of the region at Wadi Qraqir and
Summary
The geological structure of Saudi Arabia consists of two major geological parts. Previous studies indicate that the northwest region is one of the driest areas in Saudi Arabia (Ministry of Agriculture and Water 1984; Bani-Domi 2005). Several springs have been known in Saudi Arabia for hundreds of years on which many old settlements were dependent for both domestic uses and irrigation purposes. By the late 1980s, most of the springs in the central and eastern parts of the country dried up or ceased to flow as a result of extensive withdrawals of groundwater mainly for agricultural purposes (Al Tokhais and Rausch 2008; FAO 2009; Kalbus et al 2011).
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