Wadi Abyad and the Blue Pools
Also known as Wadi Abiyad, or Wadi Fars or translated to the White Wadi.
As a geologist I was first attracted to Wadi Abyad by the reports of blue pools formed by precipitation of minerals such as calcite or maybe magnesite. These tiny crystals my form on the surface of standing water pools and appear like ice or even snow. When they sink they can result in very clear water that allegedly reflects light from the sky causing a blue colouration. They are formed when alkaline spring water mixes with fairly normal wadi water. This is discussed in another section. This attracted me to what I refer to as South Wadi Abyad as calcite cementation of the wadi gravels where the blue pools occur tends to prevent easy driving to the northern section.
I was attracted to the northern section of Wadi Abyad, again as a geologist, as it has a rare example of the “moho” exposed. This is a section of the lowercrust and upper mantle. In Wadi Abyad we see an example of oceanic moho which has been brought to the surface from a depth of 5 – 10km. In continental regions this may be as deep as 50km.
And of course both of these reasons are even better when both north and south sections of the wadi are frequently wet and with pools deep enough to swim.
How to Get there?
(Hint: Click on any of the red waypoints and you will redirect to Google Maps which will give you a route with timings etc from your current Locaton)
For the south Wadi Abyad section it is best to approach after Nakhal and look for signs to the village of Subaykhah. After this village 4WD is needed and while much of the track is graded, after rains these may be washed out and large sections of the track may be very wet or even under water. Be sure of your skills in driving and recovery from wet gravel.
The map then shows the approximate limit to driving due to the cemented rock in the river bed often forming waterfalls. After floods these can be filled with gravel making passage easy or they may be eroded leaving waterfalls of around 50cm.
The blue pools start around here but be warned they are temporary and may be washed out after rains. They take a few weeks at least to regenerate.