Marawah is 15 km (9.3 miles) north of the Khor al-Bazm (lagoon) along the Abu Dhabi coastline in the southern Gulf.
[citation needed] Current research indicates that the island was formed from relict Pleistocene limestone platforms linked by Holocene sand and beach deposits and intervening patches of sabkha.
[3][4] The coastline of the island, with its extensive tidal mudflats, has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports both passage and wintering populations of many waders, including grey plovers, Siberian sand plovers, bar-tailed godwits, great knots and crab-plovers.
[5] The west first became aware of the island around 1829 when the East India Company recorded its location in a nautical survey of the Persian Gulf.
[clarification needed] In 2004, ADIAS discovered the oldest human skeleton ever found in the region amid the remains of Neolithic buildings and over 200 flint tools.