Qatar is the second largest country in the Persian Gulf and is located on a small peninsula 180 km long and 85 km wide, with a surface area of 11,437 square kilometres. Much of the country is a low, sterile plain covered with sand. To the south-east is the spectacular Khor al Adaid or “inland sea”, an area of moving sand dunes surrounding a bay in the gulf. The highest point in Qatar is the Jebel Dukhan in the west. This is also the location of Qatar’s main inland oilfields. The natural gas reserves are in the sea to the north-west of the peninsula. Within the desert biome that occupies the whole of Qatar, WWF has distinguished two ecoregions: Persian Gulf desert and semi-desert along the coast, and Arabian and Sinai desert and xeric shrublands inland.
The Climate of Qatar can be described as subtropical dry, hot desert climate with low annual rainfall, very high temperatures in summer and a big difference between maximum and minimum temperatures, especially in the inland areas.
Most of Qatar is a flat and rocky, sandy plain. Low hills punctuate the landscape, west and central, with massive sand dunes in the southeast. A few salt pans (shining white in the desert sun) line the western coastal areas, and within Qatar there are no perennial rivers or lakes. The Hawar islands serve as a loading terminal for oil from the western oil fields. Qatar's highest point is Qurayn Abu al Bawl, which peaks at 338 ft (103 m). The current environmental issues are limited natural freshwater resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities.
Quatar sits on the Arabian Peninsula in the Persian Gulf. Those who have spent time in Arizona will find a few similarities between Qatar and the Grand Canyon State. The climate is a pleasant place for a winter getaway from October through May, with temperatures in the 70s. The summer months in Qatar can reach up into the 100s, with a couple of muggy months from June to August. And just like some of the Arizona Sonoran Desert rivers, Qatar's rivers are dry beds except for during rainy weather.