The topography is almost uniformly flat and rocky, covered with ever-shifting layers of migrating sand. However, jagged limestone outcroppings in the northwest rise over 40 meters high (130 feet); and in the south, impressive sand dunes may reach up to 60 meters (200 feet). Moreover, Sabkhas or salt flats characterize some coastal regions on either side of the peninsula, where large water birds sometimes congregate during seasonal passages.

Notable features include coastal salt pans, elevated limestone formations (the Dukhan anticline) along the west coast under which lies the Dukhan oil field, and massive sand dunes surrounding Khor al Udaid, an inlet of the gulf in the southeast known to local English speakers as the Inland Sea. Of the islands belonging to Qatar, Halul is the most important. Lying about ninety kilometers east of Doha, it serves as a storage area and loading terminal for oil from the surrounding offshore fields.