Physical Geography

Of Southwest Asia

Most Distinctive landform

Arabian Peninsula

– separated from the continent of Africa by the red sea on the southwest and from the rest of Asia by the Persian Gulf on the east

Countries– Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab

Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain

Red SeaPersian Gulf

Anatolian Peninsula• Occupied by the

country of Turkey

• Marks the beginning of the Asian Continent

Significance?

• Both Peninsulas border strategic waterways

• Arabian Peninsula– Red Sea & Suez

Canal• Anatolian Peninsula

– Mediterranean & Black Sea

Significance?• Wadis – riverbeds which

remain dry except during raining seasons

• Mountains– Hejaz Mountains– Zagros Mountains (Iran)– Hindu Kush (Afghanistan)

Water resources are relatively limited in Southwest Asia

The two most important rivers in SW Asia are the Tigris

& Euphrates Rivers

The rivers supported several ancient river valley

civilizations in an area called the Fertile Crescent

(The Gates of Babylon)

The area between the rivers is known as Mesopotamia

Pictures of what the rivers look like today

The Jordan River is another important river located in the Eastern Mediterranean

The river provides one of the most precious resources in the entire region - freshwater

Christians believe Jesus was baptized on the Jordan River

The Jordan River flows into the salty waters of the Dead Sea

The Dead sea is so salty that only bacteria can live in its waters

The Dead Sea is 1,349 feet below sea level, the lowest

place on the exposed crust of the earth

Resources

• It is impossible to think of Southwest Asia without thinking about oil

• It is the regions most abundant Resource• Most valuable resource in the area is water

– hydroelectric power– Irrigation

Climate and Vegetation

The land of SW Asia is extremely arid

The most famous

desert in the region is the Rub al-Khali, which means

Empty Quarter

Empty Quarte

r

The local name for

the desert is “place where no one comes out”

There are several oasis’s in the Middle East that provide much needed water to the area

An oasis is an area in the desert where vegetation is found because of underground

springs

Salt flat deserts in Iran

In Iran, the high mountains block rain, and dry winds increase evaporation creating salt flat deserts

Human Environment Interaction

What are some modern methods for water development

& use in the Middle East?

Circle Irrigation

Desalinization, the removal of salt from ocean water

Drip irrigation, using small pipes that slowly drip water just above ground to conserve water used for crops

Oil from Sand

• Crude Oil – Oil pumped from the ground that is not processed

• Refinery – convert crude oil into useful products

• Pipelines – Transports crude oil either to refineries or to ports where oil is picked up by tankers

Risk of Transporting oil?

• Oil Spill• Largest oil spill

ever was in Jan. 1991 during the Persian Gulf War. More than 240 million gallons of oil were spilled into water and land