Qatar Coast

Qatar's east coast — where Doha, Al Wakrah, and Al Khor sit — faces the central Arabian Gulf across very shallow water. The mean spring tidal range at Doha is 1.5–1.8 m, mixed semidiurnal with pronounced diurnal inequality. The seabed off Qatar's east coast is particularly shallow: charts show depths of 2–5 m extending many kilometres offshore, which means low-water exposures are extensive and small-boat navigation requires careful attention to tidal state. Al Wakrah's dhow harbour dries partially at low spring water. Al Khor's mangrove coast in the northeast is a tidal flat ecosystem; the creeks that thread through the mangroves are navigable only on the upper half of the tidal range. Historic pearl diving shaped Qatar's coastal culture for centuries before oil revenues transformed the peninsula entirely.