The highest elevation in Jordan is Jabal Umm ad Dami at 1,840 m (6,040 ft) high (SRTM data states 1854 m), located 30 kilometers south of Wadi Rum village.

Khaz'ali Canyon in Wadi Rum is the site of petroglyphs etched into the cave walls depicting humans and antelopes dating back to the Thamudic times.

The village of Wadi Rum itself consists of several hundred Bedouin inhabitants with their goat-hair tents and concrete houses and also their four-wheel vehicles, one school for boys and one for girls, a few shops, and the headquarters of the Desert Patrol.

These thunderstorms are caused when cold upper air pools passing through the Eastern Mediterranean interact with the Red Sea thermal low, combined with the presence of subtropical moisture in the mid and high levels of the atmosphere.Wadi Rum is located within the Sandstone Mountain and Valley Region of southern Jordan the area is characterized by tall, near vertical mountains of iron-rich, erosion resistant, Umm Ishrin Sandstone, separated by flat-bottom valleys of alluvial sediments, aeolian sands, and salt pans.

[8] Various human cultures have inhabited Wadi Rum since prehistoric times, with many cultures–including the Nabataeans–leaving their mark in the form of petroglyphs, inscriptions, and temple ruins.

[12] Lawrence described his entrance into the Valley of Rumm: "The hills on the right grew taller and sharper, a fair counterpart of the other side which straightened itself to one massive rampart of redness.

"[13] Lawrence also described his encounter with the spring, Ain Shalaaleh, "On the rock-bulge above were clear-cut Nabathaean inscriptions, and a sunk panel incised with a monogram or symbol.

Around and about were Arab scratches, including tribe-marks, some of which were witnesses of forgotten migrations: but my attention was only for the splashing of water in a crevice under the shadow of the overhanging rock.

I looked in to see the spout, a little thinner than my wrist, jetting out firmly from a fissure in the roof, and falling with that clean sound into a shallow, frothing pool, behind the step which served as an entrance.

"[13]: 355 The discovery of the Nabataean Temple (located walking distance from the Rest House) in 1933 briefly returned the spotlight to the desert.

[15] Wadi Rum is home to the Zalabieh tribe, who developed eco-adventure tourism and services throughout the protected area.

Bedouins in Wadi Rum allow tourists to stay overnight in their traditional camps, and provide activities, meals and transport throughout the desert.

[citation needed] Dima and Lama Hattab coordinate an annual marathon in the region called Jabal Ishrin.

The first recorded European ascent of Jabal Ram took place in November 1952, by Charmian Longstaff and Sylvia Branford, guided by Sheik Hamdan.

[17] Many new routes were climbed in the 1980s, by this team, French guide Wilfried Colonna, by the Swiss Remy brothers, and by Haupolter and Precht.