section 2- southwest asia. arabian peninsula home of the “empty quarter” largest all-sand desert...
TRANSCRIPT
Section 2- Southwest Asia
Arabian Peninsula• Home of the “Empty Quarter”• Largest all-sand desert in the world• Almost nothing lives there
Arabian Peninsula
Topography of Southwest Asia
Dry Region Bordered By Water
• Rub’al-Khali desert
• Areas receive little rain
• Oasis- some support whole communities
• Deserts– Sand– Pebbles– Gravel– Boulders
Two Historic Rivers• Tigris & Euphrates• Flood and deposit valuable silt• Begin in Turkey and flow south through Iraq
Ancient Mesopotamia
• Existed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
• People raised plants and animals
• Relied on rich soil provided by the rivers floods
Mountains• Zagros Mountains- western Iran• Elburz Mountains- northern Iran
Seas & Gulfs• Red Sea
• Mediterranean Sea
• Black Sea
• Caspian Sea
• Persian Gulf
• Dead Sea
The Dead Sea is dying.
Seven times saltier than the ocean!
Red Sea, Persian Gulf
Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea
Caspian Sea, Black Sea
Climate
• Arid
• Semiarid
• <10 inches of rain per year
• Up to 125 degrees during the day
• As low as 40 degrees at night
• Some parts Mediterranean climate
Climate Map
Natural Resources• 2 main resources are:
– Petroleum– Water
Natural Resources
• Petroleum- an oily, flammable liquid formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals; non-renewable resource.
• Non-renewable resource- a natural resource that cannot be quickly replaced once it is used.
• Petroleum plays a key role in the world’s economy.
Natural Resources
• Oil increases the standard of living for Southwest Asia.
• Standard of Living- a measurement of a person’s or a group’s education, housing, health, and nutrition.
• Southwest Asia has more than ½ of the world’s oil reserves.
Water
• Irrigation is a MUST!
• This region has no permanent rivers
• Wadis- stream beds that hold water when seasonal rain falls but are dry much of the year
• People irrigate using deep underground wells
• Wells could run dry! OUCH!
drip irrigation
Using the land
• 3 major ways
• Nomadic herding– Bedouins- herd camels, goats and sheep– Today Bedouins- 10% of population
• Producing oil
• Agriculture
Agriculture• Turkey
– Wheat– Barley– Cotton– Sugar beets– Fruits– Olives– Corn
• Israel– Citrus fruits– Cotton– Peanuts– Sugar cane