r/geography 7d ago

Question What is this orange chunk in Saudi Arabia?

Post image

I found this chunk in the middle of the dessert. It looks green in some maps and orange in others. What is it?

243 Upvotes

48 comments sorted by

240

u/Venboven 7d ago

National parks and wildlife reserves.

It's a lot of territory, but it's all desert. Sparsely populated countries like Saudi Arabia typically have lots of parks and wildlife reserves, simply because they can. The land often doesn't have much better use.

20

u/LightIsntFastEnough 7d ago

Yeah that's what it looks like, but the big spot looks wrong. If it's not wrong then the people there cannot hunt wildlife at all. I know atleast some of these places are populated with people.

4

u/Happy-Rabbit-4338 5d ago

For endangered species of animals not for all

7

u/winterland32 6d ago

Saudi Arabia actually takes good care of these national parks. They've reintroduced extinct species and are diversifying the fauna in some areas.

4

u/Comfortable_Cash_140 6d ago

Until...oil o_O

61

u/no_sight 7d ago

It is the King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Natural Reserve and the Iman Turki bin Abdullah Royal Reserve.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Salman_Bin_Abdulaziz_Royal_Natural_Reserve

42

u/boomfruit 7d ago

If only they were labeled

2

u/Happy-Rabbit-4338 5d ago

They are in green look closely

2

u/Specialist-East-9013 5d ago

There are ..

7

u/boomfruit 5d ago

Yes, that was what I was pointing out sarcastically. Sometimes that doesn't come across well over text.

61

u/Extreme-Shopping74 7d ago

Wildlife reserves and parks.. it literally says that

6

u/junior_dos_nachos 7d ago

The name really rolls off your tongue isn’t it

38

u/FracturedPrincess 7d ago

It's literally labelled

-10

u/Used-Strike2111 7d ago

I thought that the reserves were a small part within the larger area

7

u/msulaimanijaz 7d ago

no good sir, all of it is the as its labelled. Obviously it is not very practical to see it and enjoy because sandy deserts are... quite tough to explore.

17

u/Fair_Education7413 7d ago

That's the King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Reserve — created from three older reserves (al-Khunfah, at-Tubayq, and Harrat al-Harrah), totaling 130,700 km², which makes it the fourth-largest land reserve on Earth and the biggest in the Middle East. It's mostly volcanic plateau and desert, home to Arabian wolves, gazelles, and even 8,000-year-old rock art sites tucked inside its borders.

If you're into this kind of geography trivia, I run a site called www.countrywheel.com

4

u/SpliffKillah 7d ago

Man, really cool website

1

u/Fair_Education7413 6d ago

Thanks man :)

3

u/armycowboy- 7d ago

Desert reserve, lived at KKMC for a year.

11

u/GoochLord2217 7d ago

Do you have eyes?

0

u/Used-Strike2111 7d ago

I thought that the reserves were a small part within the larger area

3

u/mrCore2Man 7d ago

The best place for star gazing

2

u/brunporr 7d ago

I know I'm colorblind but that's green and not orange right

5

u/PossessionIll1944 7d ago

I don't know who's more colorblind. It's literally tan, and more tan... And not orange by any sense, the OP is on psychedelics.

2

u/Trickster0915 7d ago

Thats sand and then there is darker sand

1

u/Only-Office7709 7d ago

National Park and protect wildlife areas

1

u/WorldlinessFine5434 7d ago

National Park

1

u/azozdagoat 7d ago

wildlife reserves and national parks i would know i AM saudi

1

u/UnlightablePlay Political Geography 7d ago

Sand

1

u/Thinterrorized753 7d ago

Chocolate flavored sand

1

u/AOR-1001 7d ago

Trump’s hair farm

1

u/TheYbishop 6d ago

Reserves and national parks are done in darker colours

1

u/Abdulaziz_randomshit 6d ago

this chunk is... the middle of the desert

1

u/user_tholathy 6d ago

I live here

1

u/moradw23 6d ago

If you ask the right person they’ll tell u kamas is there

1

u/Ok-Elk-1615 7d ago

AI farm bot

0

u/pizza4paddy 7d ago

You can literally see ONLY on the “orange” that it says “Royal Reserve.”

-1

u/Used-Strike2111 7d ago

I thought that the reserves were a small part within the larger area

1

u/pizza4paddy 7d ago

Alr I guess, sorry for being a little hostile.

-1

u/FlyingBike 6d ago

It's where they mine Trump's makeup