[7] The city of Ras Al Khaimah has two main areas — the Old Town and Nakheel — on either side of a creek that is home to mangroves and is framed by the North-Western Hajar Mountains.

Ras Al Khaimah has the most fertile soil in the country, due to a larger share of rainfall and underground water streams from the Hajar Mountains, which overlook the city on the landward side.

Wadi Suq era graves found at Seih Al Harf in the Emirate in October 2012 briefly held up the construction of the northern spur of the arterial E611 road.

[18] It was the Al Qasimi links to Persia that drew them to the attention of Ahmed bin Said, the Ruler of Muscat, who had wrested control of the coast and interior of Oman back from the Persian forces who had taken it under Nadir Shah and Mirza Taki Khan, the governor of Shiraz.

The British operation continued to Lingeh on the Persian coast which was, like the Greater and Lesser Tunbs islands, administered by the Al Qasimi.

Continued bombardment took place over the following four days until, on the 9th, fortress and town of Ras Al Khaimah were stormed and found to be practically deserted.

On the fall of Ras Al Khaimah, three cruisers were sent to blockade Rams to the North and this, too was found to be deserted and its inhabitants retired to the 'impregnable' hill-top fort of Dhayah.

There, 398 men and another 400 women and children held out, without sanitation, water or effective cover from the sun, for three days under heavy fire from mortars and 12-pound cannon.

[27] The two 24-pound cannon from HMS Liverpool which had been used to bombard Ras Al Khaimah from the landward side were once again pressed into use and dragged across the plain from Rams, a journey of some four miles.

After enduring two hours of sustained fire from the big guns, which breached the fort's walls, the last of the Al Qasimi surrendered at 10.30 on the morning of 22 December.

[30] On 10 February 1972, Ras Al Khaimah, under the leadership of Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qasimi, joined the United Arab Emirates after the Iranian seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.

[44] As one of the emirates that has never discovered oil, Ras Al Khaimah has focused on diversifying its economy and has had real success with its thriving industrial sector.

[64] These zones provide trade and access to the Middle East, and wider markets in a variety of sectors including manufacturing and industry, education, consultancy and professional services, technology and aviation.

[67] The annual Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, first held in 2007, resulted in a world record from Samuel Wanjiru in 2007 and the second fastest run of all time from Patrick Makau Musyoki in 2009.

[68] Kenya's 19-year-old Stephen Kiprop won the 2019 edition of the half marathon in a course record-equaling 58 minutes and 42 seconds, the fastest time ever recorded by a teenager.

A local bus service operated by RAK Transport Authority provides infrequent connections between Nakheel, Al Hamra and the airport.

[83] In November 2019, RAK Transport Authority launched its five-year strategy for 2020–2025, part of which involved making its entire fleet of cars eco-friendly.

[citation needed] Dual carriageways connect major areas within the emirate, with one following the coast and another running inland towards the airport in the direction of Khatt, Masafi, Fujairah, Dhaid, and eventually Oman.

[citation needed] In July 2018, the first phase of the Ras Al Khaimah Ring Road opened, connecting the industrial areas of the mountainous north with the E311 to the south.

[86] In spring 2013 work on the 32-kilometre (20 mi) RAK Ring Road was held up by a three-month rescue excavation after the discovery of megalithic tombs dating to the Wadi Suq period, from 2000 to 1600 BC.

It serves as a hub for low-cost carrier Air Arabia and, in May 2019, it was announced that direct flights operated by Pegasus Airlines would commence to Istanbul, Turkey, from Ras Al Khaimah in October 2019.

[89] In 2023, Qatar Airways started direct flights from Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, connecting the emirate to the airline's 160 global destinations via Doha.

[90] SpiceJet, India's second largest carrier, announced in October, 2019 that RAK Airport would become its first overseas hub in a deal that brought with it direct flights from the Indian capital New Delhi to Ras Al Khaimah.