Physical Physical Geography of SW Geography of SW

& Central Asia, & Central Asia, and N. Africaand N. AfricaCh. 17

Bodies of Water

TigrisRiver

Nile River

EuphratesRiverJordan

River Persian Gulf

ArabianSea

Mediterranean Sea

IndianOcean

Red Sea

Black Sea

Gulf of Aden

Strait ofHormuz

Suez Canal

Dardanelles Strait

AtlanticOcean

Gulf of

Oman

Caspian Sea

Seas & PeninsulasSeas & Peninsulas• Arabian Peninsula

– Separated from Africa by Gulf of Aden & Red Sea

– Sinai Pen. & Suez Canal separate the land to the north/west

– Persian Gulf is on the east side

Gulf of Aden

Seas & PeninsulasSeas & Peninsulas• Anatolia Pen.

–Black Sea to N–Aegean Sea to

W–Mediterranean

Sea to S–Many straits

connecting seas ($$)

Aegean Sea ANATOLIA

Bosporus Strait

Dardenelles

Bosporus Strait

Seas & PeninsulasSeas & Peninsulas• Strait of Gibraltar

–Separates Africa from Iberian Pen.

–Only a dozen

miles or so

wide• ‘gateway to

Africa’

Strait of GibraltarStrait of Gibraltar

Seas & PeninsulasSeas & Peninsulas• Dead Sea

– On Jordan River (border w/ Israel)

– 8X saltier than any ocean- How come?

– In the 50s• L= 262 m, W= 57 m

– Today• L= 42 m, W= 11 m

TheJordan River

System:

Israel & Jordan--A Fight Over

Water Rights?

Dead Sea: Lowest Point on Earth

HighestSalt

Content(33%)

HighestSalt

Content(33%)

2,300’ below sea level

2,300’ below sea level

Seas & PeninsulasSeas & Peninsulas• Caspian Sea

–Largest inland/landlocked body of water (lake)

–But it is salt water!! (remnants of larger sea)

–Facing evaporation increases, decrease in flow from feeder rivers, and increase in irrigation/industry uses

Seas & PeninsulasSeas & Peninsulas• Aral Sea

– Use to be lg & have productive fishing

– Shrunk drastically due to USSR draining it for irrigation

– Ppl build sm. dams to create basins of freshwater from rivers

RiversRivers• Nile River

–Longest in world

–Flows NORTH to Med. Sea

–90% of Egyptians live in delta or along river (= 3% of land)

–Faces great flood seasons built Aswan High Dam for control

Aswan High Dam

The Mighty Nile River:

“Longest River in the World”

Egypt: The “Gift of the Nile”

Annual Nile Flooding

Annual Nile Flooding

Nile DeltaNile

Delta

90% of the Egyptian people live on 3% of the

land!

90% of the Egyptian people live on 3% of the

land!

Aswan High Dam, Egypt

HydroelectricPower Plant

HydroelectricPower Plant

Suez Canal

Completed by the British in 1869

Completed by the British in 1869

RiversRivers• Tigris & Euphrates

–Mesopotamia or ‘land b/w two rivers’; aka Fertile Crescent

–Join to form Shatt al Arab• Border of Iraq &

Iran

• Wars & treaties

over it

RiversRivers

• Wadis- dry streambeds that will fill with heavy rain flash floods (seasonal)–Since they are typically arid, creates

mud quickly dangerous mud flows

Wadi in Oman

Wadis – Instant Springs

Plains, Plateaus, & Plains, Plateaus, & Mtns.Mtns.• Since most is desert/steppe agricultural

base = coastal areas of Med. Sea, Caspian Sea, & Persian Gulf

• Atlas Mtns– Longest mtn

range• Stretches from

Morocco to Algeria

– Northern side of Atlas allows for lots of agric. (farms, fishing, livestock)• Rainy side, Med. climate

Plains, Plateaus, & Plains, Plateaus, & Mtns.Mtns.• Hejaz & Asir

–West coast of Arabian Pen.–Rainshadow effect to Central Plateau

• Caucasus Mtns–b/w Black & Caspian Sea–Seen as border b/w

European Russia & Asia

Mountain Ranges in Mid-East

Elburz Mts., IranElburz Mts., Iran Zagros Mts., IranZagros Mts., Iran

Lebanese Mts.Lebanese Mts. Taurus Mts., TurkeyTaurus Mts., Turkey

Plains, Plateaus, & Plains, Plateaus, & Mtns.Mtns.

• Garagum (Karakum)-– Black sand desert, covers 70% of Turkmenistan

• Qizilqum (Kyzyl Kum)-– Red sand desert in Uzbekistan & Kazakhstan

Use wide spaces for livestock

Rub’ al Khali

Hejaz

Asir

Desert Bedouins

Swarms of Desert Locusts!

Locusts Swarm the Pyramids Complex at

Giza!

Locusts Swarm the Pyramids Complex at

Giza!

Israel Hit By Worst Locust Plague

Since the 1950s!

Israel Hit By Worst Locust Plague

Since the 1950s!

Fresh Groundwater Sources

Desalinization

Plants

Tectonic ActivityTectonic Activity• Meeting point of the African,

Arabian, & Eurasian plates–Reason for mountainous terrain–Many earthquakes

• Turkey 1999• Iran has 90% of land on faults

–Landforms still Δing• Red Sea

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources• Oil (petroleum) & nat. gas are region’s

most abundant resources–70% of world’s oil

–33% of world’s nat. gas• Reserves are still being discovered!

–WWII sparked production as we moved to modern industry/reliance

The Natural Resources of the

Middle East

World Oil Reserves

Persian Gulf Oil Exports (2003)

Saudi Oil Fields & Refineries

Kuwait: An Island Floating on a Sea of Oil

Kuwait

City

Kuwait

City

Leading U. S. Oil Suppliers

The U. S. imports 30% of its oil needs from the Middle East.

The U. S. imports 30% of its oil needs from the Middle East.

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources• Why might such

heavy dependence on oil be risky?– Many countries are

now diversifying• UAE banking,

info. tech, tourism• Libya

infrastructure, fisheries

Completed Dubai Tower, Monday night

HomeworkHomework

• Complete the Guided Reading for Ch. 17 Sec. 2