Al Zubarah tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 01:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Asia/Qatar local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Next spring tide on Fri 22 May (range 1.2m). Next neap on Thu 21 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Al Zubarah is a UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site on the northwest coast of Qatar, a 30-kilometre drive from the nearest town of Madinat ash Shamal. The fortified pearling and trading town was founded in the late 18th century and at its peak in the early 19th century was one of the more significant ports on the western Gulf coast, home to tens of thousands of inhabitants engaged in the pearl trade. The town was abandoned in 1938 following political conflict; the buildings slowly buried under windblown sand, and the site remained sealed until systematic excavation began in the 1980s. Today the site consists of the restored Al Zubarah Fort — a square coastal tower built by Qatar in 1938 on the ruins of the town — and the buried archaeological zone extending inland and along the coast, with excavation trenches showing the street grid, courtyard houses, mosques, and harbour infrastructure of the 18th and 19th century town. The UNESCO inscription in 2013 recognised the site as one of the best-preserved examples of a Gulf pearling settlement. The coast at Al Zubarah faces northwest across the Gulf toward Iran. Tide predictions here use Open-Meteo Marine's global model. Timing accuracy ±45 minutes, height accuracy ±0.2 to 0.3 metres. The northwestern Gulf has mixed semidiurnal tides with spring range of 1.5 to 2.5 metres and significant diurnal inequality. Shallow Gulf waters amplify wind effects: the shamal (northwest wind) generates significant wave action on this coast and can produce surge of 0.5 to 0.8 metres above predicted water levels. The original townspeople of Al Zubarah used the tidal cycle and seasonal wind patterns intimately. Pearl diving fleets departed northward on the summer's end shamal, and the tidal channels behind the town's seawall controlled access to the inner harbour. The excavation has revealed the sea wall foundations and the tidal basin used by the dhow fleet. For archaeological visitors, the fort museum provides context for the excavation and the Gulf pearling trade. The excavation site itself is open to the public on designated paths; the buried street layout is visible in the trenches. The coastal setting — flat desert meeting the Gulf, with the fort silhouetted against the water — is one of the more visually distinctive heritage sites in Qatar. The northwest Qatar coast beyond Al Zubarah is among the least developed stretches of Gulf coastline in Qatar. Mangrove stands in sheltered bays and extensive tidal flats support flamingo flocks and wading bird populations. The drive north from Madinat ash Shamal passes through uninhabited coastal desert, reaching Al Zubarah as an almost startling isolation of heritage in a flat landscape. The sediment stratigraphy at Al Zubarah reveals the full sequence of the site's occupation. Archaeologists from the Danish-Qatari excavation team have identified layers dating from the pre-Islamic period through the Islamic medieval period to the 18th and 19th century pearling town. The continuity of coastal occupation at this specific location reflects the natural harbour qualities of the bay — a gentle beach gradient, protection from the dominant northwest shamal, and proximity to the pearl banks that were the Gulf's economic foundation for centuries. The pearl banks off Al Zubarah on the northwest Qatar shelf were among the productive grounds that attracted the town's founding population. At low spring tide, small sections of the offshore bank are shallow enough to see clearly from the surface; the oyster-bearing substrates are at 6 to 15 metres depth across the bank system. Local fishermen from Madinat ash Shamal still work the offshore area, though pearl oysters are no longer commercially harvested. The interpretive museum inside the Al Zubarah Fort is one of the better small maritime museums in the Gulf. Exhibits cover the pearling trade's social structure, the dhow designs used by the Al Zubarah fleet, and the town's relationship with Bahrain and the Al Khalifa family. Scale models of the town in its peak period show the urban density and harbour layout that archaeology has confirmed. The museum is air-conditioned, which is appreciated after the exposed coastal walk around the fort perimeter.