Wadi Madnan () Map of Trucial States, Muscat and Oman - Rams - Scale 1:100 000 - Published by D Survey, Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom (1971) - Edition 3-GSGS - The National Archives, London, England <https://www.agda.ae/en/catalogue/tna/fco/18/1785>Mindat.org - Wādī Madnan, Ra’s al Khaymah, United Arab Emirates https://www.mindat.org/feature-291577.html is a valley or dry river, with ephemeral or intermittent flow, flowing almost exclusively during the rainy season, located in the east of the United Arab Emirates, in the emirates of Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah.

It is a left tributary of the Wadi Naqab, to whose drainage basin it belongs,OpenStreetMap.org - Via: Wadi Naqab drainage basin (1266108848) https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1266108848#map=12/25.7057/56.0963 and which is bordered to the north by the Wadi Qada'ah basin,;Relation: Wadi Qada'ah drainage basin (19054264) https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/19054264#map=13/25.75692/56.11318&layers=P to the west with that of Wadi Nahela;OpenStreetMap.org - Via: Wadi Nahela drainage basin (1274096521) https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1274096521#map=13/25.65882/56.05569 and to the south and east, with that of Wadi Tawiyean.OpenStreetMap.org - Via: Wadi Tawiyean Drainage Basin (1286229718) https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1286229718#map=11/25.6031/56.0936Application of a hydrological model in a data poverty arid region catchment: a case study of Wadi Ham - Mohamed Mustafa Al Mulla PhD Thesis Academic Year 2005-2006 - Supervisor: Dr Ian P. Holman - December 1, 2005 - Cranfield University at Silsoe - Institute of Water and Environment <https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/items/c116d8d5-f80b-4c8b-b754-7507d3abec27>Water Resources and Integrated Management of the United Arab Emirates - Abdulrahman S. Alsharhan, Zeinelabidin E. Rizk - Springer Nature, Mar 17, 2020 - 850 pages - pag. 204-205 <https://books.google.com/books?id=lF7XDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA103&hl=es&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q&f=false>

The entire Wadi Naqab basin, whose highest peak is Jabal Yibir (), brings together approximately 91 independent streams, most of them without known names, all classified into five grades or levels according to the Horton-Strahler numbering. Of these, the main one, due to its length and flow rate, is the Wadi Madnan.OpenStreetMap.org - Via: Wadi Wadi Madnan (1146556326) https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/1146556326

Among the main tributaries of the Wadi Madnan (sub-tributaries of the Wadi Naqab), the Wadi Sharih and Wadi Samarat (also known as Wadi Khalkhal) stand out.

Course

The total approximate length of Wadi Madnan is . It flows from south to north, and its main source is located on the northeast slope of Jabal Yibir, at an altitude of approximately .

In its upper course, about long, it surrounds Jabal Dardur ()Jabal Dardur (1398 m) - PeakFinder <https://www.peakfinder.com/es/?lat=25.65440&lng=56.12920&ele=1398&azi=358.26&alt=0.06&fov=47.78&cfg=s&name=Jabal%20Dardur> and the village of Dardur (), which extends around its summit, forming a large ravine with abrupt and very steep sections.

At the beginning of its middle course, the wadi passes through the village of Wab Saqar () and for the next , until reaching the village of Khanaan (), it has a wide and deep channel, with high cliffs on its sides, but with a moderate slope that facilitates its use as a transit and communication route (on foot or with donkeys), between the small villages and cultivated areas of the area.

In the second half of its course, Wadi Madnan also has a very rugged channel, and past the village of Shairi it forms a large canyon, with several spectacular dry waterfalls, between high, only accessible with rock climbing techniques and equipment.

This area of waterfalls is known to enthusiasts of canyoning named Kirithon Canyon.climbing7.com - Kirithon Gorge, Wadi Naqab <https://climbing7.com/2020/10/29/kirithon-gorge-wadi-naqab/>Canyon exploration (Kirithon) - Ras Al Khaima - United Arab Emirates - Journey On Route - YouTube - 2023 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI8JX0736XY>

A few meters before its mouth in the Wadi Naqab, the Wadi Madnan receives on its right the confluence of the Wadi Samarat (Wādī Khalkhāl).

Toponymy Alternative names: Wadi Midnan, Wādī Midnān, Wādī Madnan.

The name of Wadi Madnan (with that same spelling), its tributaries, mountains, and nearby towns was recorded in the documentation and maps produced between 1950 and 1960 by the British Arabist, cartographer, military officer, and diplomat Julian F. Walker, during the work carried out to establish borders between the then called Trucial States,FCO 18/1896 1959 Oman: Dibba - The National Archives, London, England <https://www.agda.ae/en/catalogue/tna/fco/18/1896/n/1> later completed by the UK Ministry of Defence, on 1:100,000 scale maps published in 1971.

In The National Atlas of the United Arab Emirates appears with the spelling Wādī Midnān ().

Population

The entire area around Wadi Naqab, including its tributaries and sub-tributaries, although initially populated by the Naqbiyin tribe (Arabic: النقبي), also called Naqabi or Al-Naqabi (from which the wadi gets its name), was occupied from approximately 1800 by the Habus tribe,Tribes of Trucial States coast - 1958- Ref. FO 371/132894 <https://www.agda.ae/en/catalogue/tna/fo/371/132894/n/43>Mindat.org - Al Ḩabūs, Umm al Qaywayn, United Arab Emirates <https://www.mindat.org/feature-289290.html> which extended, among other territories, through the tribal areas of Ahl Ghayl and Bani Hasan.

See also List of wadis of the United Arab Emirates List of mountains in the United Arab Emirates List of wadis of Oman List of mountains in Oman

References

External links

Canyon exploration (Kirithon) - Ras Al Khaima - United Arab Emirates - Journey On Route - 2023 (YouTube)