Umm Birka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Umm Birka
أُمّ بِرْكَة | |
|---|---|
  Umm Birka | |
| Coordinates: 25°45′00″N 51°26′59″E / 25.75000°N 51.44972°E | |
| Country |  Qatar |
| Municipality | Al Khor |
| Zone | Zone 75 |
| District no. | 310 |
| Area | |
• Total | 58.5 km2 (22.6 sq mi) |
Umm Birka (Arabic: أُمّ بِرْكَة; also spelled Umm Baraka) is a settlement in the Al Khor municipality of Qatar.[2][3]
Umm Birka derives its name from the Arabic word barikat, which means "blessing". It was named in reference to a local depression that would fill with water during the rainy season.[4]
History
Historically, during the winter months, residents of nearby towns such as Al Thakhira and Al Khor traveled to Umm Birka to graze their livestock and collect wild grasses due to its relative abundance of vegetation. This included species such as samma (Stipellula capensis), daqiqah (Tripleurospermum auriculatum), and thumam (Panicum turgidum), which were valued for their suitability as fodder.[5]
