Maṭṭī Salt Flat

In the far west the Maṭṭī Salt Flat extends southward into Saudi Arabia, and coastal sabkhahs, which are occasionally inundated by the waters of the Persian Gulf, lie in the areas around Abu Dhabi.

…vast salt flat of the Maṭṭi salt marsh, which runs north about 60 miles to the Persian Gulf coast. East of the Maṭṭi the oasis hamlets of Al-Jiwāʾ (Liwāʾ in the United Arab Emirates) lie among the dunes on the desert’s northeastern fringe. The largest dunes of the Rubʿ al-Khali…

The surface of Sabkhah Maṭṭī, the largest single exposed sabkhah, is sometimes composed of soft, wet, muddy, and salty slush, with a hard crust less than three feet (one metre) deep. The feature is extremely treacherous to unwary travelers. The sabkhah surface is not akin to quicksand, but…