Oman, the second largest country in Arabia with an area of 300,000 square km, occupies the south eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. To the North, it borders the Strait of Hormuz, and to the East the coastline stretches 1700 km along the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea to the Yemeni border. In the West, Oman borders Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates along the eastern fringe the Rub Al Khali (also known as the 'Empty Quarter'). The northern region of the Musandam Peninsula is separated from the rest of the country for 70 km by the UAE. The highest point in Oman is Jebel Shams at 3010 meters. The most notable feature of Oman is the range of imposing mountains running North West to South East across the Northern third of the country.

 

These mountains are the result of tectonic forces which pushed them up from ocean beds some 800 million years ago. The 1700 km long coastline is a showcase of varying terrain from the deep fjords in the Musandam, long sand beaches between Sohar and Muscat, mangrove lagoons, coral reefs, rocky islets and coves from Muscat to Sur around Ra's Al Hadd, Eastern most point of the Arabian peninsula to Salalah.