Jabal Shada al-A'la Nature Reserve is one of the nature reserves in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, located twenty km northwest of al-Makhwah Governorate. It is the only reserve in al-Bahah Province.
Jabal Shada al-A'la Nature Reserve inception
The reserve was established in 2001 during the reign of King Fahd Bin Abdulaziz. With an area of about 69 km, it is the second smallest reserve under the supervision of the National Center for Wildlife. It is divided into two protection areas: one is for wild animals, and the other is for the environment and trees.
Jabal Shada al-A'la is an extension of the Sarawat Mountains to the west, almost parallel to them. It was formed by the uplifting of the Arabian Shield millions of years ago to become a transition zone between the shelf of the Red Sea and the Sarawat Mountains.
Jabal Shada al-A'la is about 2,200 m high above sea level, and it is composed of basaltic rocks and valleys.
Protection areas at Jabal Shada al-A'la Reserve
The reserve has many species of trees, the most important of which are juniper and wild olives, as well as some shrubs, herbs, and grasses. The most prominent animals at the reserve are the Arabian leopard, the striped hyena, the Arabian wolf, foxes, and caracals.
In addition to protecting animals from irregulated hunting, Jabal Shada al-A'la Reserve plays many roles, most notably: conserving and expanding the vegetation cover, reducing logging, promoting ecotourism, and providing citizens and residents of the Kingdom with a suitable environment for picnics.
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