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Northern Africa & Southwest Asia

Ten Geographic Characteristics

Physical Geography

Cultural Geography

Regions & States Conflicts

Ten Geographic Characteristics

1. World’s great ancient culture hearth

2. Source region or hearth for several religions

Ten Geographic Characteristics

3. Islam Predominates

4. Arab World

5. Population is clustered around water

Ten Geographic Characteristics

6. Desert Environment predominates

7. Central Pivotal Area between 3 continents. Name them---

8. Volatile area with conflicts - disputes & boundary frictions

Ten Geographic Characteristics

9. Center of superpower chess game. Who???

10. Petroleum - a key economic resource

Relative Location of Northern Africa & Southwest Asia

Centrally located between Europe, Asia & Africa

Between the Atlantic/Indian and Mediterranean

Northern Africa & Southwest Asia

Ten Geographic Characteristics Physical Geography Cultural Geography Historical Geography Regions & States

Physical Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Plate Tectonics Plateaus Deserts Mountains Rivers Lakes Climates

Physical Geography Plate Tectonics

– Clashing Plates Arabian Plate into

Eurasian Plate

– Separating Plates Arabian Plate

pulling apart from African Plate

Red Sea

Physical Geography

Plateaus - Anatolian Highland

Suez Canal

Peninsulas - Saudi Arabian,

Physical Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Deserts– The Sahara Desert

(World’s largest)

– The Saudi Arabian Desert

– The Libyan Desert – Negev Desert

(Israel)

Physical Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Mountains

– Atlas Mountains (N. Africa)

– Taurus & Pontic Mts (Turkey)

– Zagros Mts. (Iran)– Hindu Kush

(Afghanistan)

Physical Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Rivers & Sea– The Nile River– The Tigris & Euphrates Rivers (Ataturk Dam)– Mediterranean Sea

Gulfs - – Persian Gulf, – Gulf of Aden &

Oman

Physical Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia

Lakes – Dead Sea (Israel- salt)– Sea of Galilee (Israel -

freshwater)

Physical Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Climates

– Desert Climates with less than 10” of rain

under high pressure latitude belt and NE trade winds

– Middle zones on Northern Africa coast & eastern coasts of Mediterranean

Northern Africa & Southwest Asia

Ten Geographic Characteristics Physical Geography Cultural Geography Regions & States

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia– Population– Languages– Religion– Agriculture– Economics/– Urban

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Population– 300 million– concentrations

along the Nile, Euphrates & Tigris & Coasts

– low overall population due to desert climate

Northern Africa Population Characteristics

– Birth rates 29/1000– Death rates 8/1000– Annual growth 2.2/1000– Infant Mortality 59/1000– Pop <15 39%– Pop > 65 4 %

Southwest Asia Population Characteristics

– Birth rates 28/1000– Death rates 7/1000– Annual growth 2.2/1000– Infant Mortality 54/1000– Pop <15 37 %– Pop > 65 5 %

Percent dying under 40 years

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Languages

– Unified by Arabic Language - An Afro-Asiatic Language

– Hebrew spoken in Israel

– Tribal languages spoken in remote areas of North Africa

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Religion– Islam - one of the world’s

great religions– Religious landscapes

of mosques, minarets, distinctive

non-revealing clothing

– Muslim - a follower of Islam (What is muezzin?)

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Religion

– Islamic Divisions Sunni Islam Shiite Islam (Iran)

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Agriculture (major occupation)

– Commercial farming in Israel (Technology) Mediterranean climate yielding citrus, avocados &

ranching

– Nomadic Herding dominates the region Bedouins – Arab nomads

– Today – giving up traditional nomadic lifestyle to move to the city

– Desertification

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Economy– oil dominated industry

Northern Africa Southwest Asia

Ten Geographic Characteristics Physical Geography Cultural Geography Historical Geography Regions & States Conflicts

Historical Geography

Pre European Prelude Colonial Transformation First World Dependence on oil

Northern Africa & Southwest Asia

Ten Geographic Characteristics Physical Geography Cultural Geography Historical Geography Regions & States Conflicts

Regions of Northern Africa & Southwest Asia

Egypt & the Nile River Basin Maghreb Arabian Peninsula Middle East The North

Egypt & the Nile Basin

Egypt & Sudan

The MaghrebMorocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Western Sahara

Countries within Regions

Arabian Peninsula– Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar,

UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain

The Middle East– Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq,

Gaza,

Northern Africa & Southwest Asia

Ten Geographic Qualities Physical Geography Cultural Geography Historical Geography Regions & States Conflicts

Israel and the Palestinian Issue

Northern Africa & Southwest Asia

Ten Geographic Characteristics Physical Geography Cultural Geography Historical Geography Regions & States Conflicts