Oman is divided in two by the United Arab Emirates. A small mountainous area at the tip of the MUSANDAM peninsula overlook the strategic Strait of HORMUZ, which controls the entrance to THE GULF. The main part of the country consists of a fertile coas¬tal plain (BATINAH) in the far north, the limestone HAJAR MOUNTAINS rising to 3018 m (990 I ft), and a largely barren plateau with small fishing harbours to the south. The DHOFAR coast in the far south is fertile and has reliable monsoon rain from June to September, and there is good pasture in Dhofar's mountains. Inland the plateau mer¬ges into the largely unexplored 'Empty Quarter' in Saudi Arabia.
Oil, found mainly in the north, provides 90 per cent of exports, and there are also copper and natural gas. However, 70 per cent of the people live by farming or fishing. With high temperatures and low, generally unreliable rainfall, only 0.1 per cent of the land is cultivated. This area includes the Batinah a potentially rich garden area, land around mountain villages which have ancient irrigation systems, and sheltered mountain valleys.
