Taiz Governorate


Taiz is a governorate of Yemen. The governorate's capital is Taiz, which is the third largest city in Yemen. Today it is the most important commercial centre in Yemen owing to its proximity to the richest farmland in the nation and to the important Red Sea port of Mocha. It also has an international airport, Taiz International Airport, with numerous services within Yemen and to neighbouring countries.

Geography

For such a small area, Taiz Governorate has an extraordinarily diverse geography. The western half of the governorate is part of the Tihamah coastal plain and has an exceedingly hot, humid and arid climate. The eastern half, however, is very mountainous, with the major peak being 3,070-metre-high Jabal Sabir, near Taiz city. These mountains trap the moisture created by an upper-level wind reversal between April and October, so that in the eastern half of the governorate annual rainfall increases from 200 millimetres in the foothills to probably more than 1,000 millimetres near Jebel Saber. Temperatures in the highlands remain high during the daytime, but at the highest elevations they can fall dramatically to -5°C overnight.

Mountain ranges

The governorate has many mountain ranges. Their height ranges is between 1000-3200 km. The most important ranges are Jabal Sabir, Jabal Habashi, Jabal Samaʿa, Jabal Qadas, Jabal As-Silw, the mountains of al-Wazi'iyah and the Mountains of Shar'ab and Maqbanah.

Streams

There are many streams in Taiz governorate, they are known as Wadi and they are divided into perennial and temporary streams:

Perennial streams

Are the steams that only run in wet seasons:
DistrictsTemporary streams
Damnt KhadirWadi al-Shofiah
MawaiahWadi al-Sudan, Wadi al-Gharman, Wadi al-Sawarih
As-SilwWadi Qoradah, Wadi al-Zubirah, Wadi al-Qatriah
HayfanWadi al-Musali, Wadi Khawalah, Wadi Shawkah
Ash-ShamayataynWadi Adim
Shar'ab Ar-RawnahWadi Gaw'ah, Wadi al-Ma', Wadi Shamlah
Shar'ab As-SalamWadi al-fojeer, Wadi al-Habab, Wadi Hawsa', Wadi Nakhlah
Jabal HabashiWadi Hannah
al-MakhaWadi Tanag, Wadi Kabir, Wadi Hathiah
At-Ta'iziyahWadi Haban
Sabir al-MawadimWadi Sailat Hawas
Al-wazyiahWadi al-Makhshab, Wadi al-Mu'aqam, Wadi Hawlajah, Wadi Sumadah
MawzaWadi Janob, Wadi al-Gharafi, Wadi al-Majash, Wadi Hagharamah, Wadi al-Murra, Wadi Sha'bo

Economy

The agriculture of this governorate is diverse. In the Tihamah region, there is only irrigated agriculture, with cotton, sorghum and sesame the chief crops. Inland, whilst these crops are still significant, a much wider range of crops can be grown on rainfall and through water storage. Mangoes, papayas and bananas are the major crops of the western escarpment, and further up coffee and khat are grown. Although wine is prohibited in Yemen because of its alcohol content, grapes are still grown to produce raisins in some areas.

Wildlife

The governorate has many wild animals and birds. The most common wild animals in the governorate are hyaenas, foxes, tigers, lions, rock hyrax, african wild dog, rabbits, hedgehog, monkeys. The most common wild birds are vultures, falcons, partridges, owls, pigeons, hoopoes, bulbuls.

Districts