Abu Dhabi's Fossil Dunes: A breathtaking frozen landscape shaped by climate change

A short drive southeast from Abu Dhabi city takes you into the vast, empty deserts of the emirate, where you'll encounter a landscape filled with surprising man-made creations.

The Al Wathba region boasts a stunning wetland reserve, created, as the story goes, from an overflow from a water treatment facility. It now flourishes as a vibrant ecosystem, drawing in flocks of migratory flamingos.

Further along roads lined with neatly planted trees, you'll come across the surreal sight of an artificial mountain rising on the horizon, its slopes reinforced with massive concrete barriers.

Venture off the main roads into the quieter lanes, and you'll find wide, dusty camel tracks. As cooler evening temperatures set in, large groups of camels are exercised in preparation for the upcoming winter racing season.

One of Al Wathba's most intriguing and graceful features isn't man-made. Instead, it has been shaped over millennia by natural forces, offering a glimpse into how past climates can help us understand the potential future impacts of today's climate crisis.

Abu Dhabi's fossil dunes emerge from the desert like massive, frozen waves in a violent ocean of sand, their surfaces sculpted by the fierce winds that have shaped them over time.

A ‘Complex Tale’

These remarkable geological treasures, which have withstood the test of time in the remote desert, were officially opened to the public in 2022 as part of Abu Dhabi's efforts by the Environment Agency to preserve them in a designated protected area.

Where visitors once relied on all-terrain vehicles to reach the fossil dunes for the perfect selfie, they can now choose from two spacious parking lots at either end of a trail that winds through some of the most breathtaking landmarks.

Along the trail, informative signs explain the basic science behind the dunes' formation—moisture in the soil caused calcium carbonate in the sand to solidify, and then relentless winds sculpted them into striking shapes over time.

However, there’s much more to the story, says Thomas Steuber, a professor at Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, who dedicated much of the Covid lockdown to studying the dunes when travel to other geological sites was restricted.

‘It’s a very intricate tale,’ Steuber explains to Dinogo.

Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency estimates the age of the fossil dunes to be between 120,000 and 150,000 years. According to Steuber, successive generations of dunes formed through cycles of ice ages and thaw periods, spanning from 200,000 to 7,000 years ago. During colder times, ocean levels dropped as ice increased at the poles, allowing sand to accumulate in the drained Arabian Gulf.

As the ice melted, bringing a more humid climate, the water table in present-day Abu Dhabi rose. This moisture interacted with the calcium carbonate in the sand, turning it into a natural cement, which was eventually shaped into surreal forms by the constant winds.

Destructive Forces

‘The Arabian Gulf is a small, shallow basin,’ explains Steuber. ‘At just 120 meters deep, during the peak of the ice age about 20,000 years ago, the polar ice caps held so much water that the ocean itself was depleted. This left the Gulf dry, providing the material for the fossil dunes.’

Steuber notes that the fossil dunes, found not only in the UAE but also in India, Saudi Arabia, and the Bahamas, likely took thousands of years to form. Yet, despite the official protection now in place in Abu Dhabi, the same forces that shaped these dunes will eventually erode them.

‘Some of them are quite massive, but ultimately, the wind will wear them down. They're essentially rocks, though you can often break them with your hands. They are surprisingly fragile.’

That’s why visitors at Al Wathba are now kept at a safe distance from the dunes, though still close enough to admire their timeless beauty.

The best time to visit is in the early evening, when the harsh daylight gives way to a golden glow from the setting sun, and the sky turns to soft lilac at magic hour. A leisurely walk from the visitor center and souvenir shop to the parking lot at the other end takes about an hour, or just 10 minutes if you take the shortcut back.

The serene isolation of the dunes is occasionally interrupted along the trail by a series of towering red and white electricity pylons stretching across the horizon. Far from detracting from the view, these modern structures add a bold, engineering-driven contrast to a landscape otherwise seemingly frozen in time.

As night falls, some of the dunes are bathed in light, offering a fresh perspective on these awe-inspiring natural wonders.

Religious Insights

‘The dunes are truly spectacular,’ remarked Dean Davis, who was visiting the site on a break from work in Abu Dhabi city. ‘It's wonderful that they are being preserved, and the government has done a remarkable job.’

Ashar Hafeed, another visitor touring with his family, shared his thoughts: ‘I found it on Google and just had to see it for myself,’ he said, adding that ‘once was enough’ to truly appreciate the dunes.

Stauber and his research team from Khalifa University are likely to visit again, though.

‘We’re continuing our research,’ says Stauber. ‘There are still many unanswered questions about sea-level fluctuations during the recent ice ages, and it’s crucial to understanding the current coastal landscape of the Emirates. It also serves as an important model for future sea-level rise.’

Additionally, Steuber suggests that the dunes could provide insight into the inspiration behind the story of Noah’s flood, a tale that appears in the Koran, Bible, and Torah—the holy texts of the three major religions originating from the Middle East.

‘It’s possible that this was the flooding of the Arabian Gulf at the end of the ice ages, as the sea level rise occurred very quickly,’ suggests Steuber.

‘With the Arabian Gulf being dry, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers would have flowed into the Indian Ocean. The area now known as the Gulf would have been a lush, fertile lowland, inhabited around 8,000 years ago, where people may have witnessed this rapid rise in sea levels,’ he explains.

‘Perhaps this event left an impression that influenced the creation of the flood stories in the holy texts of these three local religions,’ he adds.