Musandam Peninsula

[edit] See also: Wildlife of Oman and Wildlife of the United Arab Emirates Fauna include the Ruus al Jibal fan-footed gecko, Arabian tahr and caracal. It is unknown if the Arabian leopard is still present. Important Bird Area[edit] The mountainous northern end of the peninsula has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of bird species, whether resident, breeding, wintering or on passage. These include pallid scops-owl, plain leaf-warbler, hooded, variable, Hume's and red-tailed wheatears, and pale rockfinch. The islands scattered around the tip of the peninsula are in a separate IBA because of their importance for seabirds, including red-billed tropicbird, Persian shearwater, Socotra cormorant and bridled tern.

[edit] In the past, the region was unstable and was repeatedly invaded by Persian empires such as the Achaemenid Empire and the Sassanian Empire. These empires then declined until the Islamic era arrived.[citation needed] Modern era[edit] In the modern era, occupation of the Peninsula continued. In 1507, Afonso de Albuquerque captured key areas along the Omani coast, including Sur, Muscat, and Khasab. From then, until 1650, the Portuguese used Khasab as a supply point for the dates trade as well as a safe passage for their ships in the region. By the early 1600s, native tribes began asserting more control, and the Portuguese presence in the area dwindled. Three decades after the Safavids retook Hormuz from the Portuguese in 1622, the Ya'rubids, the ruling house of Oman, occupied the Musandam Peninsula first under Imam Nasir bin Murshid, then completed by a new Imam, Sultan bin Saif, south of Hormuz Island, which gives the strait between the peninsula and island its modern name. In the 19th century, the British occupied the area as part of the Trucial States, and in 1891, Muscat and Oman became a British Protectorate; however, the Khasab region, not suitable for port nor hospitable for settlement due to a harsh climate, was not developed. In the late 20th century, the UAE was formed, with most sheikdoms in the area joining, except notably Ras Al Khaimah. However, in 1972, the Emirate entered the UAE, leading to discussions on the Emirati-Omani border eventually settling on the Musandam Peninsula being granted to Oman.

[edit] In The Secret of the Swordfish, a secret underground British military base lies beneath the Musandam Peninsula.

[edit] View of Jabal Harim from the Green Valley, March 2013 View of the mountains of Musandam, December 1971 View of the Ru'us al-Jibal from Jabal Qihwi The mountainous area of Kumzar, c. 1908 Sedimentary rock layers near Khasab in Musandam Governorate, Oman Jabal ar Raḩraḩ (1,676 m), the UAE's highest mountain, near Ras Al Khaimah African monarch butterfly (Danaus chrysippus) in Zhighy Bay, Musandam Governorate Blue basker dragonfly (Urothemis edwardsii) Rock semaphore gecko (Pristurus rupestris) Elphinstone Inlet with a small piece of land separating it from Malcolm's Inlet