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Abu Dhabi: From Desert Sands to Ancient Rivers
14 Jan
Summary
- Ancient Abu Dhabi once featured rivers, savannahs, and diverse wildlife.
- Fossils show the UAE was submerged under the sea around 100 million years ago.
- Fossil evidence directly demonstrates climate change and extinction events.
The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi offers a 13.8-billion-year journey, highlighting ancient fossils that depict a lush, riverine landscape once present in the emirate. These findings challenge the perception of the UAE as solely a desert nation, revealing evidence of giants like mammoths and crocodiles that roamed the land millions of years ago.
Geological evidence indicates that around 100 million years ago, the region was submerged beneath the sea, with marine remains still found today. Subsequent geological shifts formed the Hajar mountains between 95 and 70 million years ago. By approximately 7 million years ago, Al Dhafra was characterized by vast river systems supporting diverse fauna.
These ancient fossils are crucial indicators of climate change, demonstrating how environmental shifts can lead to extinction. The museum educates visitors on Earth's climatic oscillations through time, including recent global warming trends, emphasizing the importance of caring for the planet for a better future.
