350 THE SAUDI ARABIAN COAST BETWEEN ABU DHABI AND QATAR The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia claims the southern shore of the Persian Gulf westerly from a point between al-Mughaira and al-Marfa on the coast of the Dhafrah to a point on the southeastern coast of the Qatar Peninsula. This claim is contested by the British Government acting on behalf of the Rulers of Abu Dhabi and Qatar. For at least eighty years the British Government has expressly recognized the claim of Abu Dhabi to the coast as far as al-Udaid and its vicinity, and it is assumed that it views with favor the extension of the authority of the Ruler of Qatar south to the vicinity of al-'Udaid, as no disposition has been shown to recognize the validity of a Saudi claim to any portion of the coast south or east of Qatar: General information on this stretch of the coast is set forth in The Eastern Reaches of al-Hasa Province. Because of the importance of al-'Udaid in determining the attitudes of the British Government and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, a special study has been made of the history of the place, AL-'UDAID. Khaur al-'Udaid is an inlet in the southern shore of the Per Gulf a short distance north of latitude 24 N and stor tude 51°30' E. The khaur or inlet consists of a winding eight miles* long running inland in a southwesterly direction opening into a lagoon six miles long from north to south and on miles broad. According to the British Admiralty The distances given here are approximate are the greatest lengths and width
