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PREVIEW: TODAY’SISSUES IN SOUTHWEST ASIA

UNIT ATLAS

Chapter 21PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHYHarsh and AridLands

Chapter 22HUMAN GEOGRAPHYReligion, Politics,and Oil

Chapter 23TODAY’S ISSUESSouthwest Asia

RELIGIOUS CONFLICT

OVER LAND

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONFlares of burning natural gas are common

sights at oil wells in the Al-Ghawar oil field

in Saudi Arabia.

PLACE Two holy places in Jerusalem, Israel, can be

seen in this photograph: a shrine known as the Dome of

the Rock, which is sacred to Muslims, and the Western

Wall, a spot sacred to Jews.

Southwest Asia 475

REGION More than half of the world’s oil

reserves are found in this region.

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONSome experts believe that the freshwater supplies

of the Arabian peninsula will be exhausted in the

next 25 to 30 years.

LOCATION Southwest Asia connects three

continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa.

SW

AS

IA

MOVEMENT Crossing the desert areas of Southwest Asia

by land would be almost impossible without oases to provide

water and a resting place. This oasis was on the caravan

route from Yemen to Palestine.

For more information on Southwest Asia . . .

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