Wadi Musa

Wadi Musa, (Arabic: وادي موسى‎, literally ‘Valley of Moses’), is the name of a town located in the Ma'an Governorate in southern Jordan east of Petra at latitude 30.317N and longitude 35.483E.

It is the nearest town to the archaeological site of Petra and hosts many hotels and restaurants for tourists visiting this place. Approximately 2 kilometers from the main town, there is an important Bedouin settlement.

Demographics

The census of 2004 shows that the population of Petra Department, which includes Wadi Musa and 18 other villages, with Wadi Musa being its administrative center, had a total population of 23,840 inhabitants. The male to female ratio was 51.56 to 48.44, Jordanian citizens made up 93.5% of the population of Wadi Musa. The estimated population of Wadi Musa in 2009 is 26,100.

Origin of the Name

Wadi Musa means ‘Valley of Moses’ in Arabic. It is said that the prophet Moses passed through the valley and struck water from the rock for his followers at the site of Ain Musa (‘Moses's water spring’ or ‘Moses's Well’). The Nabateans built channels that carried water from this spring to the city of Petra. Wadi Musa was also nicknamed the ‘Guardian of Petra’. The "Tomb of Aaron", supposed burial site of Aaron, the brother of Moses, is on nearby Mount Hor.

Wadi

Wadi (Arabic: وادي‎"wādī) "Vadi" (Hebrew: ואדי‎ "vādī)" is the Arabic and Hebrew term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a dry (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.

Etymology

The term wādī is very widely found in Arabic toponyms.

Some Spanish toponyms are derived from Andalusian Arabic where wādī was used to mean a permanent river, for example: Guadalcanal from wādī al-Qanal = "river of refreshment stalls", Guadalajara from wādī al-hidjārah = "river of stones", or Guadalquivir from al-wādī al-kabīr = "the great river". Seasonal streams, frequent in south-east Spain, are called ramblas instead.

In the Maghreb, the term wadi (wad in Maghrebi Arabic, sometimes transcribed Oued) is applied to all rivers including regular ones.

General morphology and processes

Wadis are located on the gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portions of fans and extend to inland sabkhas or playas. In basin and range topography, wadis trend along basin axes at the terminus of fans. Permanent channels do not exist, due to lack of continual water flow. Wadi show braided stream patterns because of the deficiency of water and the abundance of sediments. Water percolates down into the stream bed causing abrupt loss in energy and resulting vast deposition. Wadis may develop dams of sediment which results in change of stream patterns in the next flash flood. :)

Wadi, Karnataka

Wadi (ವಾಡಿ) is a census town in Gulbarga district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The Wadi Junction railway station is an important railway junction on the Indian railways. Trains from the metro cities of Mumbai, Bangalore,Hyderabad and Chennai pass through this town. Wadi is home to two cement plants of Associated Cement Company Limited ( ACC ) . The ACC has two cement plants of capacity 2.11 and 2.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).The cement plants are some of the largest in the country. Wadi is also famous for its Limestone mines. The main source of income is ACC, Railway's and Working in Lime Stone Mines. The growth of cement plants(ACC) and railways in the region has attracted people from diverse regions and cultures. Gulbarga, which is around 37 km from Wadi is a major educational centre which houses many engineering, medical, management and dental colleges.

Geography

Wadi is located at 17°04′N 76°59′E / 17.07°N 76.98°E / 17.07; 76.98. It has an average elevation of 411 metres (1348 feet).

Wadi, Maharashtra

Wadi is a census town in Nagpur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Wadi had a population of 40,147. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Wadi has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 74%. In Wadi, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Other Features

Wadi is generally a place where all the godowns and all the warehouses are found. Especially at main area can see marketplace, godowns for verious medicines, cosmetics and transportation. It has international highway no.6 (asian highway 46) known as amravati road.

References