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The Wadi Bih (وَادِي ٱلْبَيْح), also known as Wadi Al Biyah is a valley or dry river, with ephemeral or intermittent flow, which flows almost exclusively during the rainy season, located west of the Musandam Governorate, in Oman, and northeast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

It forms its own drainage basin, which covers an extensive drainage area, with a surface area between 460 and 483 km², distributed between the territory of UAE and Oman (172.32 km² in UAE and 298.26 km² in Oman, approximately).

Both the main channel of the Wadi Bih, as well as those of its tributary wadis, have historically been inhabited by local tribes dedicated mainly to agriculture and livestock, always highly dependent on water resources for its economy and for its own survival, so in the absence of regular precipitation, the collection and storage of water through the channeling of runoff and the exploitation, through wells, of the aquifers of the Wadi Bih, have been and continue to be fundamental in this region.

The Wadi Bih is also of great importance for the development of some of the coastal cities of the Persian Gulf, in the UAE, such as Ras Al Khaimah, capital of the emirate of the same name, with a population in 2024 of almost 200,000 inhabitants, and a growing industrial, commercial and tourist activity, which until the construction of a desalination plant, in 1998, depended exclusively on the extraction of groundwater from the shallow Wadi aquifer Al Bih as the sole source of fresh water for domestic and other uses.

Source


As is often the case with many other rivers, determining the main source of the Wadi Bih is not a simple task, since it depends on the Criteria used to determine which is the main channel of the wadi, and this concept of main river, like the concept of the source of a river, or the distinction between main river and tributary, are quite subjective.

In hydrology, main river is usually defined as the course with the greatest water flow (average or maximum), or with the greatest length or greatest area of drainage, although sometimes, when a river is fed by more than one source, the criterion of the highest source of origin is also used. in Musandam Governorate (Oman), where several important tributaries converge: Wadi Salhad, Wadi Halqa Rawdah, and Wadi Banah. In this assumption, the Wadi Bih would have a length of approximately 36.56 km.

If priority is given to the criterion of the highest source, taking as the main course of the Wadi Bih, that of its tributary Wadi Salhad, its source would be located approximately at the point of coordinates 25°58'23"N 56°14'04"E, at 1,981 m, on the southern slope of Jabal Al Harim (2,087 m), top highest of the hydrographic basin and of the entire Musandam Peninsula, and would therefore have a total length of 52.03 km.



If the criterion of greater length and greater drainage area is used, but with a slightly lower elevation of the source, and adding to the main channel of the Wadi al Bih, that of its tributary Wadi al Jalbat ', and that of one of its tributaries, whose highest source is located at 1,964 m, on the eastern slope of Jabal Al Harim, approximately at the coordinates 25°58'34"N 56°14'11"E, the Wadi Bih It would have a total length of 57.44 km.

Taking the course of the Wadi Rimth and that of one of its long tributaries located to the northeast of the hydrographic basin, as if it were the main wadi, a slightly longer length would be obtained (58.94 km), but The added section offers a smaller drainage area, lower flow and a lower elevation of the source (1,169 m).

Finally, a fifth intermediate criterion between the previous ones, which avoids altering the identity of its tributaries, places the source of the Wadi Bih south of the village of Maqalayli (مقليلي), like all the previous ones, in Oman, at 465 m, approximately at the coordinate point 25°55′27″N, 56°16′12″, corresponding to the confluence of its tributaries Wadi al Jalbat and Wadi Rimth, which results in a total length of 48.54 km.



The current maps do not clarify the options much, but there are British maps, from 1968, prepared at the request of local authorities, by Sir William Halcrow and Partners, as part of a complete hydrological study on the Wadi Bih, They clearly opt for this last option, thereby demonstrating that, at least at the time, it was the officially adopted one.

In any case, either directly or indirectly through its tributaries, it is proven that the main sources of origin of the Wadi Bih are located on the southern and eastern slopes of the Jabal Al Harim (2,087 m), in Musandam Governorate (Oman).

Course
From its source, the course of the Wadi Bih initially follows the direction from northeast to southwest, later turning northwest (at Khartum al Bih), and then southwest, shortly before its confluence with the Wadi Shah / Wadi Shehah.

Although the basins of the numerous tributaries of the Wadi Bih, underlain by limestone and characterized by a rugged topography, present steep slopes without vegetation cover (average slope 1:250), when considering that the birth of Wadi Bih occurs at the confluence point of its tributaries Wadi al Jalbat and Wadi Rimth, at 465 m, and taking into account that its mouth altitude is 50.54 m, its main channel is limited to what would be usually a part of the middle course, and the lower course of a wadi, presenting a very little slope, with a gradient of only 410 m., gradually distributed among its 48.54 km of length (average slope 1: 8.45).



With such a slight slope; a very wide channel without obstacles; and an easily traversable base of small boulders, gravel, sand and earth, it is perfectly understandable that the lower course of the Wadi Bih has usually served as a way of communication and commercial traffic between the small towns and numerous isolated villages and farms that populate the valley and its surroundings: Maqalayli, Bānah, Al Khartum, An Nakhas, Ralat asSaouda, Al Jannur, Al Asam, Dirah, Al Khabba, Al Hilah, Al Asmat, Salhad, Al Jawf, Al Ashkalah, Hafil, Khartum al Bih, Zibat, Al Jami`ah, Al Mazluq, Agh Al Mihli, Atmar, Al Miherbani, Jiddat Silayyah, As Siyyat, Gargaha, Al Feriya, Al Burairat and many more.

However, currently, access to the Wadi Bih course is restricted by the existence of a border control post on the border between Oman and UAE, located 19 km away. before its mouth, approximately at the coordinates 25°49'28″N, 56°8'24″E, which in the absence of the development of the cooperation agreements between both countries, signed in November 2023, to promote tourism on both sides of the border, it is being very restrictive for the transit of citizens who do not have a passport from the UAE, Oman or member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC).



Already in the last section of its lower course, especially from the area of ​​confluence with the Wadi Shah / Wadi Shehah, the bed of the Wadi Bih widens considerably, forming a large alluvial plain of gravel, in which the risk of flooding increases.

To prevent the danger of flash flooding in urban areas near Ras al Khaimah, and to increase the potential for groundwater recharge, it was built in 1982, on the bed of the Wadi al Bih, a large dam 18 meters high, with a reservoir of 3.2 km² and a capacity of 7.5 million cubic meters, called Wadi Al Bih Dam, and in 2001, a second dam called Al Burairat Dam was built, shortly before the mouth, and after the confluence of the Wadi Qada'ah, with a height of 7.2 m and a reservoir with capacity of 0.25 million cubic meters.

The existence of these two important dams in the lower course of the Wadi Bih has led to the development of large agricultural farms, with high water use, especially in the lowlands and alluvial fans.

Toponymy
Alternative names: Wādī Al-Bayḥ, Wadi Al Bayh, Wadi al Bih, Wādī al Bīḥ, Wādī Al Bīḩ, Wady Albyh, Wadi Bih, Wadi Beeh, Wadi Al Beeh, Wadi Al-Baih, Wadi Biyah and Wadi Al Biyah.

The name of this wadi appears mentioned in the documentation and maps prepared between 1950 and 1960 by the British Arabist, cartographer, military officer and diplomat Julian F. Walker, and in many other documents related to the work carried out to establish borders between the then called Trucial States, later completed by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, on 1:100,000 scale maps published in 1971.

In the National Atlas of the United Arab Emirates it is identified with the spelling Wādī Al Bīḩ.

Population
The northern and central area of ​​the watershed of Wadi Bih was populated mainly by the semi-nomadic tribe Shihuh, section of Bani Shatair (بني شطير), distributed in the tribal areas of Khanabilah, Ahl Salhad, Maqadihah, Qaiyaisha and Banī Bakhit and to a lesser extent by the section Bani Hadiyah (بني هدية), in the Banī Idaid tribal area.

The southwestern area of ​​the Wadi Bih basin, in the current territory of UAE, was populated mainly by the Habus tribe, distributed mainly among the tribal areas of Banī Huraymish, Banī ‘Udayd, Banī Sā‘ad, Banī Zidah and Banī Hasan.