The most western fossiliferous locality in the Emirate. It is about 60 metres in height and its southern flank slopes towards the main east-west road linking Abu Dhabi with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabi at As Sila. Most fossils have been found on its seaward facing slopes and cliffs. Part of the seacliff contains the type section of the Baynunah Formation (Whybrow, 1989; Whybrow et al., 1999).

Barakah was first visited by ARAMCO geologists Holm & Layne in 1949; then by Glennie and Evamy during the early 1960's; by Whybrow in 1979, 1981 and 1984, and by Hill in 1984. In 1996 most of Barakah had been fenced and trees and shrubs planted within a large compound. In 2001 a large area near the summit of Barkah had been levelled, possibly for the erection of a new microwave tower.

Setting up camp in 1984. Peter and Libby Andrews, Prof Bassiouni (Ain Shams Univ.) and our driver who killed snakes		1984 camp site viewed from hummocky ground comprising gravels of the Baynunah Formation. Here most fossils from Barakah have been collected.		Sea cliff exposures of the Baynunah Formation, near the top of the cliff, and Shuwaihat Formation at its base.		Detail of the cliff section with erosional unconformity marked in white. See Bristow, 1999.

Site B1 (N 24 00' 24.9" E 52 19' 48.6")

On the top of the jebel there used to be a UAE Trignometrical Station (G 111 at 63 metres; UK Ministry of Defence Survey Map, 1:100,000, NG-39-159, 1988).

Site B2 (N 24 00' 13.6" E 52 19' 35.5")

Material from the most western part of the jebel and its northern slopes leading to the sea cliff bench. Nearby is a United States Marines survey point, labelled Alpha-1 1990 (a marker placed by the US Marines to demarcate part of Sabkha Matti and the area subsequently used for practise amphibious landings 1991. Most fossils from Jebel Barakah, such as Hexaprotodon aff. sahabiensis (see Gentry, 1999a) were collected from this area. From this site, Kingston (1999) collected palaeosoil samples.

Teeth of Hexaprotodon sahabiensis as found in 1981		Mohammed helping to excavate the jaw of Hexaprotodon sahabiensis - 1981		Hexaprotodon sahabiensis after reconstruction (see Gentry, 1999a)		Right upper P3 of Hexaprotodon sahabiensis (see Gentry, 1999a) found in association with lower jaw, left.

Site B3 (N 24 06' 04.7" E 52 31' 38.5")

is on the cliff face from which samples for magnetostratigraphic studies were taken (Hailwood and Whybrow, 1999). From near B3 Kingston (1998) collected palaeosoil samples. Slightly west of this site is believed to be the location of the "Mastodon" tooth found in the 1960's by Glennie and Evamy (1968). Likewise, David Holm (pers.com. Whybrow, 1980's) indicated that he had measured the sea cliff exposures near to Site B3.

Ernie Hailwood (Southampton University) drills for magnetostratigraphic samples. Whybrow feeds water to the drill - 1990		Hill and Hailwood at Barakah - 1990. See Hailwood and Whybrow, 1999.

Site B4 (N 24 00' 23.6" E 52 19' 37.3")

lies between the foot and the top of the jebel itself. Fragments of catfish collected and, from a carbonate clay, ostracods of the genus Cyprideis sp.

Site B5

The southern parts of the jebel slope gently towards the main road over a distance of about 1k. Here much eroded Miocene material has accumulated and the bedrock lies deep. In 1994, during a visit by the Emirates Natural History Group, the young son of a member found the broken, edentulous jaw of a Stegotetrabelodon syrticus (see Tassy, 1999). In 1995 Valerie Whybrow found part of the missing ramus some 100 metres down slope from the 1994 find. This has been the only fossil so far found on the southern slopes of Barakah.

Edentulous jaw of Stegotetrabelodon syrticus (ramus found 1995)		Edentulous jaw of Stegotetrabelodon syrticus (found 1994). See Tassy, 1999.		The landward facing slope of Barakah. The brown hillocks consist of clays of the Baynunah Formation with very rare fossils.		The dirt road from Barakah joins the main Abu Dhabi-Sila road near a radio mast.