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 Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

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 A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

. As such, the region is economically important. Settlements: *

City (main settlement) *

Abu al Abyad Abu al Abyad ( Arabic : جزيرة أبو الأبيض ) (formerly Abu al Jirab) is the largest of about 200 islands along the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Geography The island is situated in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Its area is . Settleme ...

Al-Aryam Island Al Aryam Island () is an island in the Persian Gulf off the west coast of Abu Dhabi in 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 t ...

* Al Bandar * Al-Bahiyah * Al Falah * Al Lulu Island * Al Maryah Island * Al Rahah * Al Rahbah *

Al Reem Island Reem Island () is a natural island located off the coast of the Abu Dhabi island. It is a mixed-purpose community with residential, retail, and commercial units. As of 2025, Al Reem Island's population is at 19,941 people with the population den ...

* Al Samhah * Al-Shahamah * Al-Wathbah * Al Shamkha * Bani Yas City * Dalma Island * Ghantoot * Halat al Bahrani * Jubail Island *

Khalifa Industrial Zone KEZAD or Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi - KEZAD Group () was launched by AD Ports Group on September 19, 2022, as part of the plan to consolidate and grow its Economic Cities and Free Zones offering. Background As part of its plans to achieve ...

Khalifa Port Khalifa Port () is the Abu Dhabi Ports' flagship deepwater port. It is a gateway to Abu Dhabi and handles all of the emirate’s container traffic. The transfer of container traffic from Zayed Port was completed in December 2012. Khalifa Port ...

* Masdar City * Mina' Zayed * Mussafah *

Saadiyat Island Saadiyat Island (; ', for "Island of Happiness") is a natural island and a Cultural tourism, tourism-cultural environmentally friendly project for Culture of the United Arab Emirates, Emirati heritage and culture that is located in Abu Dhabi, U ...

Yas Island Yas Island () is an island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates named after the Arabian Tribe- Bani Yas Tribe. It occupies a total land area of . It is a leisure island and one of the largest tourism projects in Abu Dhabi. Yas Island holds the ...

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 flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. Common in the Old World, they are found in Northern (coastal) and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent (south of the Him ...

es 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

, 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 The Arabian leopard (''Panthera pardus nimr'') is the smallest leopard subspecies. It was described in 1830 and is native to the Arabian Peninsula, where it was widely distributed in rugged hilly and montane terrain until the late 1970s. Today, t ...

, which used to be recorded in the mountainous region of the country File:Hamadryas Baboon (15824101393).jpg,

Hamadryas baboon The hamadryas baboon (''Papio hamadryas'' ; gawina;Aerts 2019 , Ar Robbaḥ) is a species of baboon within the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and the southwestern region o ...

File:Emirates Park Zoo, Abu Dhabi, UAE (15603679360).jpg,

Northern giraffe The northern giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis''), also known as three-horned giraffe, is the type species of giraffe, ''G. camelopardalis'', and is native to North Africa, although alternative taxonomic hypotheses have proposed the northern gir ...

s 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 Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

, Abu Dhabi-Al Ain road (E22) with Maqta Bridge, Abu Dhabi-Sweihan highway (E20) with

Mussafah Bridge Muṣaffah () or Musaffah is an industrial district to the southwest of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Also known as ''Muṣaffah Aṣ-Ṣanāʿiyah'' (), it is one of the most important economic areas of the United Arab Emirates and has been ...

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

. The Abu Dhabi-Al Falah highway (E12) connects Abu Dhabi island to

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 Eastern Region or East Region may refer to: * Eastern Region (Abu Dhabi): Al Ain *Eastern Region, Ghana *Eastern Region (Iceland) *Eastern Region, Malta *Eastern Region, Nepal *Eastern Region, Nigeria * Eastern Region, Serbia *Eastern Region, Ugand ...

, 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 Emirates may refer to: * 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 ...

and

File:Etihad Tail Line Up (7922111798).jpg, Planes belonging to

Etihad Airways Etihad Airways is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Zayed International Airport. The airline commenced operations in November 2003, and ...

at Zayed International Airport

References

External links