Geography of Bahrain

The Kingdom of Bahrain consists of Bahrain Island and 33 of the 37 Bahrain Islands, lying in the Persian Gulf's Gulf of Bahrain off the north shore of Asia's Arabian Peninsula. Bahrain's capital city is Manama. The islands are about 24km off the east coast of Saudi Arabia and 28km from Qatar. The total area of the country is about 780km2, about 3.5 times the size of the District of Columbia.Bahrain Island accounts for about 83% of the kingdom's land area, comprising 590km2. It is 48km long from north to south and at its widest point stretches 16km from east to west.The island is surrounded by several of the Middle East's large petroleum fields and commands a strategic position amid the Persian Gulf's shipping lanes.