Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, officially "Abu Dhabi Region" (), also called "Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area", is the municipal region in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi that contains the city of

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, distinct from the Eastern and Western municipal regions of the Emirate. Abu Dhabi City is the capital of both the Emirate and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, and has its own local government.

Geography and description

Besides the city and island of Abu Dhabi, the region contains nearby settlements such as Al-Bahiyah, Mussafah, Khalifa City and Mohammed Bin Zayed City, and nearby islands such as Al-Aryam and Al-Saadiyat. Khalifa City is in the vicinity of Zayed International Airport, and Mafraq and Mussafah are industrial areas, with the latter having a sea port. As such, the region is economically important. Settlements: *

City (main settlement) * Abu al Abyad * Al-Aryam Island * Al Bandar * Al-Bahiyah * Al Falah * Al Lulu Island * Al Maryah Island * Al Rahah * Al Rahbah * Al Reem Island * Al Samhah * Al-Shahamah * Al-Wathbah * Al Shamkha * Bani Yas City * Dalma Island * Ghantoot * Halat al Bahrani * Jubail Island * Khalifa Industrial Zone * Khalifa Port * Masdar City * Mina' Zayed * Mussafah * Saadiyat Island * Yas Island File:Saadiyat Beach.jpg, Saadiyat Beach File:Al Maqta Tower.jpg, Al-Maqta' Tower (; front) and Al-Maqta' Fort (; back), just outside the island of Abu Dhabi

Ecology

To the east of the island of Abu Dhabi is a national park with grey mangroves.

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

for "the Mangrove" is ''al-Qurm'' (), and it is the name of a corniche that is popular amongst residents of the city, near Salam Street. The satellite town of al-Wathba has a Ramsar wetland nearby. File:Abu Dhabi Mangroves.jpg, Grey mangroves in Mangrove National Park, to the east of Abu Dhabi File:Greater Flamingos 2.jpg, Greater flamingoes at Al-Wathba Wetland Reserve

Emirates Park Zoo and Resort

In the area of Al-Bahiyah, near the Abu Dhabi – Dubai highway and close to Yas Island, is located the Emirates Park Zoo And Resort (), which hosts over 1400 animals, including rescued ones, and allows visitors to engage with them. The zoo offers interactive and educational experiences aimed at promoting wildlife awareness and conservation. As of 2025, the zoo features animal engagement programs that include opportunities for visitors to have breakfast with giraffes, dinner with elephants, and lunch with leopards. These initiatives are designed to raise awareness about endangered species such as the Amur leopard and to support wildlife education in the region. File:Emirates Park Zoo, Abu Dhabi, UAE (15612112079).jpg,

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

File:Amur leopard (16270665599).jpg, An endangered Arabian leopard, which used to be recorded in the mountainous region of the country File:Hamadryas Baboon (15824101393).jpg, Hamadryas baboon File:Emirates Park Zoo, Abu Dhabi, UAE (15603679360).jpg, Northern giraffes being fed by children

Transportation

Abu Dhabi island has four highways and four road bridges which all connect the island to the mainland namely Sheikh Zayed road (E10) with Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Abu Dhabi-Al Ain road (E22) with Maqta Bridge, Abu Dhabi-Sweihan highway (E20) with Mussafah Bridge and The Abu Dhabi-Al Falah highway (E12) with Sheikh Khalifa Bridge. The Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Street, also known as Salam Street, is one of the busiest streets in Abu Dhabi Island, and goes near the mangroves located to the east of the island. It connects Abu Dhabi with the mainland through the Sheikh Zayed Bridge. The Abu Dhabi-Al Falah highway (E12) connects Abu Dhabi island to Saadiyat Island, Yas Island and other islands and to the mainland. File:Shore view.jpg, The Maqta' Bridge (; front) and Sheikh Zayed Bridge (; back) at ''Al-Maqṭaʿ'' (), which connects the island of Abu Dhabi to the mainland File:Abudhabi Mussafa road 2013 new 18 - panoramio.jpg, The E 30 highway connecting Abu Dhabi City to

Al Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is Oman–United Arab Emirates border, bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al A ...

City in the Eastern Region, going through Mussafah Industrial City File:Emarat Road Abudhabi to Dubai 2013 pic 30 - panoramio.jpg, The E 11 highway leading to

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, passing through Ghantoot on the border of the Emirates of

and

File:Etihad Tail Line Up (7922111798).jpg, Planes belonging to Etihad Airways at Zayed International Airport

References

External links