Qatar is a 11,610 km2 peninsula. It represents a low deflation surface shaped by the persistent Shamal wind with low relief ranging from 103 m above sea level in the SW to around 6 m below sea level in the Dukhan area to the west. The topography is characterized by distinctive features formed during the last few thousand years by surface geologic processes. Generally, the country is divided into three topographic subdivisions. These are the limestone plateau, the sand south, and the coastal areas. The limestone plateau is formed of Tertiary carbonates and evaporites of the lower Eocene Dammam Formation that covers around 80% of the surface area with some outcrops of the Rus Formation, the middle Miocene Dam Formation, and small outcrops of the Quaternary clastics of the Hofuf Formation. The plateau is characterized by extensive karst features called locally (Duhool). Sand sheets and dunes, mostly of crescent and barchan types, cover a considerable part of the country’s southern parts, oriented from NNW to NW, representing the prevalent wind direction. The sand consists mainly of quartz with carbonate fragments. Heavy minerals include apatite, collophane, anhydrite, and kyanite. The sand grains are mainly of eolian origin, although some were of coastal or marine origin. This sand originates from Saudi Arabia, east Iraq, or the Zagros Mountains, east Iran. Some inland and coastal areas are punctuated by salt-encrusted flat areas, the sabkhas and salinas. They are mostly formed due to the upward movement of groundwater to compensate for the loss of surface moisture in the surface sediments due to extensive evaporation. They are characterized by the presence of halite, anhydrite, and gypsum. The most important sabkhas in Qatar are found in Dukhan, Sawda Nathil, Umm Saeed, Fishakh and Hussain, and Khor Al-Adaid.