HAJAR, AL-

mountain chain in northern Oman, paralleling the coast of the Gulf of Oman and stretching in an arc southeastward from the Musandam Peninsula almost to Ra's (cape) al-Hadd on the extreme northeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. From northwest to southeast, the al-Hajar (The Stone) range includes the Ru'us al-Jibal overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, the al-Gharbi al-Hajar (Western Hajar), the vast massif of al-Jabal Al-Akhdar (Green Mountain), the Jabal Nakhl, the ash-Sharqi al-Hajar (Eastern Hajar), and the Jabal Bani Jabir. This range, with its steeper slopes to seaward, reaches its greatest height at al-Jabal (mount) al-Akhdar (10,089 feet ); its average elevation is about 4,000 feet (about 1,220 m). Al- Hajar is generally bleak except on al-Jabal al-Akhdar, where greater rainfall permits the growth of some alfalfa, date palms, lime bushes, and fruit trees. Geologically the chain is mostly limestone and is drained by many wadis, such as Wadi al-Hawasinah, Wadi Sama'il, and Wadi al-'Udayy. There are many species of wildlife, including leopard and the Arabian tahr, a wild goat not found in the rest of the country. Bowl-like valleys are carved into the northern face of al-Hajar by northward-flowing wadis and contain tiny agricultural settlements connected with the coast by graded tracks. The inhabitants are predominantly Ibadi and were involved in the unsuccessful Jabal War of the 1950s against the Omani Sultanate.