Definition of sabkha:-
The Arabs defined sabkha land with salt and ooze. They are flat depressions on the ground near the water level.
Types of sabkha: -
1- Coastal sabkha: It is marine surface soil formed as a result of overlapping marine and continental sediments during the retreat of the sea and its retreat from the land. It is usually surrounded by a separate lake on one side of the sea and desert or rocky outcroppings on the other side.
2- Continental sabkha: These are soils that cover flat continental depressions, and their formation requires a hot, dry climate and groundwater close to the surface. They are far from the shore, and marine sediments have nothing to do with their formation.
Characteristics of sabkha: -
1- Coastal sabkha: They are characterized by being almost flat and covered with a layer of salts, except for some cracks and scattered sand dunes, and their surface slopes slightly towards the sea. Since most of the materials that precipitate and form the sabkha are in calcium carbonate, most of the minerals that make up the sabkha are aragonite and calcite, and the percentage of carbonaceous minerals decreases as we move inland.
2- Continental sabkha: Its composition is dominated by the mineral's gypsum, quartz, calcite, and table salt, and the majority of them are in the solid upper layer. •Where it is located in the Kingdom: - Sabkhas cover approximately 30% of the Earth’s land area and are spread between latitudes 10.50° north and 20.30° south, where the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is located in this range. Marine sabkha are found along the coast of the Red Sea, including... Obhur Sabkha - Yanbu - Al-Laith - and areas surrounding Jizan. And also, along the Arabian Gulf to the eastern coast. As for the continental marshes, they are in the northern regions in the Wadi Al-Sarhan region.
