Karoo Karoo The Karoo ( ; from a Khoikhoi word, possibly "garo" "desert") is a semi desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology and climate, and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of million years ago which is now represented by many fossils. The Karoo formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the
Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert Gulf of Oman continuing along past Muscat to the beaches and dunes of the Ash Sharqiyah Region. From the Ras al Hadd point it runs south along the coast to the desert island of Masirah. It also includes an inland strip running along to the southwest of the Al Hajar Mountains. In the UAE it covers the plains around the Al Hajar mountains in the east, in the emirates of Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al-Khaimah, and the country's Al Batinah coast around Fujairah. This dry ecoregion contains a mixture of habitats including mangrove swamps, lagoons and mudflats on the coast,