Introduction

There are nine islands off the coast of Kuwait: Failaka, Bubiyan, Miskan, Warba, Auhha, Umm Al-Maradim, Umm Al-Naml, Kubbar and Qaruh.

Bubiyan, the largest island of the State, has an area of 863 sq km and is connected with the mainland by a concrete bridge. Warba, at the north extremity of the Gulf, occupies an area of 37 sq km. Miskan and Auhha lie on the north and the south of Failaka island, respectively. Located at the mouth of Kuwait Bay, a lot of Islamic antiquities have been found on Umm Al-Naml island. Kubbar and Qaruh lie at the southern end of the Gulf and have been the favourite homes for large flocks of sea birds.

Lying 20 km north-east of Kuwait city, the island of Failaka is the most beautiful and famous of Kuwait's islands. It combines the ancient history of Kuwait, dating back to the early Stone Age and the modern history of Kuwait, when the early Utubs settled in after their long journey, prior to their settlement on the Kuwaiti mainland in the late 17th century.

A 21-km submarine pipeline connecting the island to the mainland provides the inhabitants with more than 100 million gallons of sweet water every year. Parallel to the submarine water pipeline there are three submarine power cables from Kuwait City providing electrical energy to the island.

Failaka island has become a modern tourist attraction, keeping abreast of all aspects of modern progress. Every day, before the Iraqi aggression, visitors were carried from the mainland at Ras Al-Ardh (Salmiyah) to the island by ferry boats belonging to the Public Transport Company, to relax and swim in its lazuline waters. Much of their leisure time was spent at its five million sq metre tourist complex, located in the southern part of Failaka, which contains a good number of swimming pools, sports playgrounds and restaurants.

Warbah Island

Warbah Island constitutes the northernmost part of eastern Kuwait. It is composed of soft mud and gypsiferous silty sediments. It has several tidal creeks and high tide covers most of the island.

Bubyan Island

Bubyan Island lies in the Kuwait part of the Shatt Al-Arab delta at the head of the Arabian Gulf. It measures 30 kilometers wide and 40 kilometers long, with a maximum total area at mid-tide of 1400 square kilometers. It is the largest of Kuwait's islands. It is flat, low-lying, and composed of deltaic mud. About 75 percent of Bubyan stands above spring high tides. This area is sparsely vegetated, with halophytes growing in deltaic-estuarine type sabkha deposits. Small, isolated wind-shadow gypsum dunes are formed by wind drifts of gypsum grains mixed with wind-blown terrigenous sediment. Apart from these dunes the interior of the island is flat and featureless. During the winter rainstorms a network of shallow ephemeral channel-bar drainage systems may develop after heavy runoffs.