[4][5][6] The island is almost perfectly round with a diameter of 4 kilometres (2.5 miles), and a 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) long extension at its southeast end, making the shape of the whole island appear as a drop.

[7] The island is a salt-piercement structure formed by the movement of late Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian Hormuz Formation salt.

The island, an environmentally protected area under the Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA),[8][9] has been registered on the list of wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,[10][11][12] and was in 2012 listed as a potential UNESCO World Heritage Site.

[13] The island has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports populations of Socotra cormorants, sooty gulls and bridled terns.

[14] Sharjah has a small harbour and an airfield (ICAO: OMSN),[15] both located at the island's southeast end.