Did you realize that there are several countries on the earth where there will not be a single river? Rivers are sometimes considered the lifeblood of civilization. However, not less than 18 sovereign states don’t have any everlasting rivers flowing inside their territory.
These countries are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Libya, Djibouti, Maldives, Malta, Monaco, Vatican City, Nauru, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands and Tonga.
This fact raises a fundamental query: How can a rustic function, and even thrive, without one in every of its most significant natural sources of water?
Why are there no rivers in some countries?
Rivers are formed by the buildup of rainfall or melting snow that always flows across the land. This implies that two key conditions should be met: sufficient rainfall and terrain that enables continuous water flow.
Most of those 18 riverless countries are desert countries within the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen and Libya. Annual rainfall in lots of these regions doesn’t reach 100 millimeters, well below the edge essential to take care of everlasting rivers.
For example, Saudi Arabia covers an area of about 2.1 million square kilometers, but about 95 percent of its territory is desert. In some areas, not a single drop of rain fell for years.
The second group consists of small islands or micro-states equivalent to the Maldives, Malta, Monaco, Vatican City, Nauru, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tonga, the Marshall Islands, the Bahamas and Djibouti. These countries lack each sufficient land area and elevation differences to develop river systems.
For example, the Vatican only covers about 0.445 square kilometers, leaving no geographic space for the formation of a river system.
Interestingly, in Saudi Arabia and a number of other other Gulf countries there’s a phenomenon often called dry river bed—river beds dry up and temporarily fill with water during heavy rainfall, only to dry up again shortly thereafter. One of probably the most famous examples is Wadi Hanifah near Riyadh. However, because wadi don’t flow repeatedly, they aren’t classified as rivers.
How countries without rivers adapt and thrive
The lack of rivers doesn’t cause dysfunction in these countries. On the contrary, lots of them have developed a number of the most advanced water management systems on the earth.
Saudi Arabia is an impressive example. The country meets its drinking water needs from three major sources: 50% from seawater desalination, 40% from non-renewable groundwater and 10% from surface water in mountainous regions.
Currently, Saudi Arabia is one in every of the world’s largest producers of desalinated water, using the coast of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf as its major sources.
Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates do similarly, relying almost exclusively on desalination technology. In addition to desalination, Qatar imports a significant slice of its drinking water.
Meanwhile, Bahrain operates an underwater pipeline network that transports water directly from Saudi Arabia. Historically, Bahrain has relied on natural springs, but overexploitation and seawater intrusion have severely depleted these sources.
Small island countries, in turn, are adopting different strategies. The Maldives, which is battling rising sea levels which might be polluting groundwater, relies heavily on rainwater harvesting.
On the opposite hand, Malta has some of the comprehensive water management systems within the Mediterranean, as roughly 60 percent of its water supply comes from desalination and the rest comes from groundwater extraction and water recycling.
The Vatican, the smallest country on the list, relies entirely on water supplied by Italy. Oman presents a novel case of a standard irrigation system often called paralysiswhich has been used for over 1,500 years. This ancient system distributes groundwater between regions, showing how local wisdom can play a key role in overcoming natural limits.
Additional observations value noting
Scientific discoveries add one other fascinating dimension to this topic.
Scientists have discovered that ancient river systems flowed through the Arabian Peninsula thousands and thousands of years ago. Evidence of those rivers was discovered due to satellite images that exposed channels buried beneath the vast desert sands. This suggests that landscapes now perceived as arid were once way more fertile than we may think.
These geographic restrictions also function an early warning within the context of worldwide climate change. Changing rainfall patterns, rising sea levels threatening coastal desalination plants, and depleting groundwater resources are urgent challenges facing these countries.
Cities like Dubai, Doha and Riyad proceed to grow rapidly – not due to rivers, but due to technology.
