11.1 middle east geography

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Chapter 11 Lesson 1

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Chapter 11 Lesson 1

Southwest Asia is often called the Middle East because it is the land between Europe and Asia.

Some of the different countries in the Middle East are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Israel, Afghanistan and Turkey.

Southwest Asia is surrounded by many different bodies of water.

Black Sea

Persian Gulf

Mediterranean Sea

Red Sea

Arabian Sea

All of the different bodies of water that surround Southwest Asia have resulted in much of the land being carved into 2 peninsulas.

The Arabian Peninsula

-Countries of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and United Arab Emirates

-Surrounded by 5 different bodies of water

Asia Minor

-Location of Turkey

-Surrounded by the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Questions 1-3

• 1. What bodies of water border the Arabian Peninsula?

• 2. The middle east separates what two large land masses?

• 3. What two geographic features make up a majority of Southwest Asia

Asia Minor

The Arabian

Peninsula

The Dead Sea is located along the border of the West Bank, Jordan, and Israel and is the lowest point below sea level in Eurasia.

The Dead Sea is famous because it is one of the saltiest bodies of water on earth with a salinity 8 times greater than the average ocean salinity.

The large amount of salt means that any person who goes into the sea can float!

The Dead Sea

But be careful, just like any other salt water, the water will sting cuts and will cause severe pain if it gets in your eyes!!!

The Tigris River vs. The Euphrates RiverThere are 2 main rivers in Southwest Asia: The Tigris and the

Euphrates.

Tigris River Both Euphrates

River

-1,180 miles long

-Runs for just 20 miles along Syrian Border

-Begin as streams in Turkey and meet in Iraq

-Create a fertile plain for farming

-1,740 miles long

-longest river in SW Asia

-In Syria, free of rapids and deep enough for boats

The fertile area between the Tigris and Euphrates has been called Mesopotamia, or “the land between the rivers.”

This plain consists of alluvial soil, which is soil that is deposited when a river floods over its banks,

For nearly 5,000 years the people living in Iraq have settled on or near this plain.

Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, is located in this area between the two rivers.

Question: How would building a city in such a location contribute to its success and importance?

Answer: Because Baghdad would always have access to food and water. Plus the rivers would help increase trading.

Questions 4-6

• 4. Why is the name of the Dead Sea and the Caspian Sea misleading? (hint: you may need your book)

• 5. Why are the Tigris and Euphrates rivers called “The cradle of civilization?”

• 6. How have the Tigris and Euphrates rivers helped Iraq’s agriculture?

A large amount of desert covers much of Southwest Asia. There are two main deserts in this region: the Syrian Desert and the Rub’ al-Khali.

The Syrian Desert covers a lot of Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Jordan. This desert has a rocky landscape and sandy areas are rare. These parts of the desert receives almost no rain. Strong winds cause huge dust storms.

The Rub’ al-Khali, translated to the Empty Quarter, is one of the largest sand deserts in the world. With summer temperatures reaching as high as 131 degrees and sand dunes as tall as 1000 ft, this is one of the most forbidding places on Earth!

People live in the desert?!? Amazingly enough, there are some people who live in desert regions. Along the edges of the Arabian Desert there are mountains that receive enough rain fall for farming.

Other people settle near an oasis, which is a place in a desert that has a dependable supply of water.

Where does the water in an oasis come from?

Often the water from an oasis comes from underground springs and can provide enough water for farmers to grow crops and raise animals.

Deserts are very important because they can provide several different natural resources. The deserts in Southwest Asia provide iron ore, coal, copper, and rock salt. The most important resources that can be found in this region are natural gas and oil which are both kinds of fossil fuels.

Oil and natural gas are an important resources because people all over the world use them to power cars, planes, boats, heat their homes, and to generate electricity.

People in Southwest Asia are looking to develop new industries because both oil and natural gas are non-renewable resources and will not last forever.

Even though Southwest Asia is surrounded by large amounts of water, it is all salt which can’t be used for drinking or farming. This means that fresh water is a very rare and precious resource to the people who live in Southwest Asia.

To many people it is more important than oil.

Questions 7-10

• 7. List two differences between the Syrian Desert and the Rub’ al-Khali Desert.

• 8. What are two ways people have adapted to living in a desert?

• 9. What is the desert’s most important resource to the Western World? Why?

• 10. What is the desert’s most important resource to people of the desert? Why?

Rivers As a Source of Fresh Water

Rivers can be a good source of fresh water, but the surface water can evaporate quickly in desert areas. An exotic river is one that starts in a wetter place and flows into a drier place.

Question: Why can depending on rivers for fresh water be a bad thing?

Answer: People upstream can use it up or pollute it leaving little for the people downstream.

Another source of fresh water is in a wadis, or riverbeds that are usually dry. During the rainy season these riverbeds will fill up with water for people to use.

Question: How could a wadis be a poor fresh water source?

Answer: The dry riverbeds can soak up the water and the rains can be unpredictable.

Wadis

Good Sources for Fresh Water

Aquifers: underground layers of rock or sand that hold water. The water may be thousands of years old, but it is still pure and fresh.

Qanats: underground canals. Many people in Southwest Asia have used qanats to tap into springs in the mountains or hills and move the water to where it is needed.

Desalinization: a process that removes the salt from salt water. The water can be used for irrigation or for drinking. This process does require a large amount of energy and money so only countries rich in oil can use this process on a large scale.

Questions 11-12

• 11. Describe the three processes people of the desert use to gather fresh water where there is no stream or wadis.

• 12. List all naturally occuring water sources and list all human-made water sources. What is the difference between the two?

• 13. Which water sources are reliable and unreliable?