Dubai Creek

Dubai Creek or Khor Dubai (In Arabic: خور دبي) is an inlet located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Despite its name, Dubai Creek is truly not a creek but an inlet. Some historical sources say that the Creek extended as far inland as Al Ain, and that the Ancient Greeks called it "River Zara." It has historically been the center of Dubai and the reason the city was established where it was. Also, Dubai Creek has been the reason for Dubai's initial prosperity. The Creek separated the areas of Deira and Bur Dubai. In the 1970s, Dubai Creek was dredged to remove silt and allow larger ships into the inlet. In the past decade Dubai Creek has been losing its importance due to the massive growth of Dubai, especially on Sheikh Zayed Road. The natural ending of Dubai Creek is at the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) from its opening at the Persian Gulf.
This length and ending is not static. Recently, an extension has been approved. The extension will bring the Creek all the way around Bur Dubai and into the Persian Gulf. This extension is part of the Business Bay development. This artificial portion of Dubai Creek is 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) long. Later the total expansion length will be 12.2 kilometres (7.6 miles) once it is completed in November 2010. The 10 kilometre extension (which was nearly completed in late September 2007) costs 484 million dirhams, or 50 million dirhams per kilometre (78 million dirhams per mile). The average width of this new section is 100 metres (328 feet) and the depth will be 6 metres (20 feet). At is widest point, it will be 500 metres (1640 feet). (...) more....