Bahrain Geography

Bahrain is an Arab state located in the Western Persian Gulf, 29 kilometers north-west of Qatar. Its name originates from the Arabic name al-Baharyan, which essentially means the two seas. Some people interpret the name as belonging to the seas. Initially, Bahrain was over 665 square kilometers, but due to land reclamation from the surrounding ocean, it is now over 765 square kilometers. Bahrain consists of Bahrain Island as well as 32 other islands surrounding the area. As an Arab state, the nation practices the Islamic religion, and it was one of the earliest regions to convert to Islam. The capital of Bahrain is Manama, which also serves as the political centre of the nation; considered a modern-day constitutional monarchy and home

The lowest point of the country is the Persian Gulf which lies right at sea level. Bahrain is mostly a desert with small sandy plains. The environment surrounding the coastal areas commonly have coastal salt marshes in the southern and central beaches. Also, there is a significant absence of rivers and lakes within the islands. However, springs and date palms are grown on the landscape of a small island of Bahrain called Nabih Saleh. Whereas the rocky terrain in Jidda holds a state prison recently changed into a resort on the island. Humans inhabit only six of the 33 islands comprising Bahrain; the rest of the islands were homes for migratory birds as nesting areas. The country is the third smallest nation in Asia, but its area is expansive due to land reclamation efforts. The seas surrounding Bahrain are shallow, and during the summer, they heat up quickly resulting in high humidity content mostly at night. Since Bahrain is an arid region, rainfall is very minimal and quite irregular, with a higher content of rain recorded during the winter season

The Bahraini army has several branches including the Navy and the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF). Bahrain employs the use of the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) which officially adopted in 1977 as the BDF Air Wing. Initially, the RBAF made use of helicopters only in its operations before the government decided to equip it with military grade fighter jets from the USA; a collection which included F-16 fighter jets pending more powerful upgrades. Initially, this would suffice for protecting their country from air threats. After being threatened by Iran with the use of ballistic missiles, Bahrain decided it would need more to protect their citizens from air threats. Currently, they are protected by two United States Army Patriot Air Defense Artillery batteries, employing their Patriot Advance Capability-2 (PAC 2) and Patriot Advance Capability-3 (PAC 3) missile systems.