24° 28' 0" North, 54° 22' 0" East
Abu Dhabi emirate is in the Arabian Gulf region. It adjoins the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman. Occupying almost 87% of the country’s total area, Abu Dhabi emirate covers around 67, 340km², which comprises mostly desert, including part of the Empty Quarter (Rub Al Khali) and salt flats/sabkha. Abu Dhabi’s coastline extends over 400 kilometers.\
The emirate is divided for administrative purposes into three regions. The first encompasses Abu Dhabi city, which is both the emirate’s capital and the federal seat of government. The island city of Abu Dhabi is just 250 metres from the mainland, which has many other suburbs. The two main bridges, Maqta and Mussafah, connect Abu Dhabi city to the mainland, with others currently being constructed. There are around 200 natural islands in the emirate including the Saadiyat, Yas, Lulu and Sir Bani Yas islands.
Abu Dhabi's second region - the Eastern Region - has Al Ain as its capital.
The Western Region (Al Gharbia) has 52 villages with Madinat Zayed as its capital. Extensive forestation covers at least 100,000 hectares, including more than 20 million evergreens.
Parts of Abu Dhabi were settled as far back as the 3rd millennium BC, and its early history fits the region’s nomadic, herding and fishing patterns.
The Arabian Gazelle is known locally as ‘Dhabi’, and gave its name to the country's capital, Abu Dhabi (Father of the Gazelle) by the early Bani Yas tribe hunters who discovered the island when tracking a gazelle and found a rare freshwater spring.
Until the mid 20th century, camel herding, agriculture, fishing and pearl diving were the major occupations within the emirate. Everything changed in 1958 when oil was discovered and the development of modern Abu Dhabi commenced.