Meadow, plateau and dune
Established by Royal Order on 2 June 2018, the reserve joined the at-Tanhat and al-Khafs reserves with neighbouring land. It covers about 28,000 km² north-east of Riyadh, mostly within Riyadh Region with a portion in the Eastern Province, bounded by Hafr al-Batin to the north, al-Majma'ah to the west, Riyadh to the south and Qaryat al-Ulya to the east.
It takes in part of the as-Summan plateau and part of the ad-Dahna desert, whose star-shaped dunes rise to 100 m. Valleys carry the rain across it: at-Tawqi, about 110 km long, runs from the al-Armah mountains into the Dahna, and al-Shawqi, more than 65 km long, is dotted with natural pools.
Four rawdat
The meadows are the reserve's signature. Rawdat al-Tanhat, fed by the al-Shawqi valley, is thick with acacia, sidr and desert lavender, while Rawdat al-Khafs is a flat sandy plain of grass and flowers with no large trees. Rawdat al-Khushm lies low and is mostly under rainwater in wet periods, and Rawdat Noura, about 3 km², is fed by the al-Atash and Ruwaighib valleys.
Who lives here
The Arabian oryx, which can go up to six months without water, shares the reserve with reem gazelles, Rüppell's foxes, sand cats and honey badgers. The Arabian wolf here hunts by night, shelters in caves and keeps to small groups rather than large packs, while steppe eagles arrive as winter migrants.