Date post: | 19-Dec-2015 |
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Physical Geography of the Middle East
Who cares?!Why does it matter?!
Who cares?!
Hmmm….
This is your land to live on…
…How would this change your life?
Southwest Asia/Middle
East
Desert RegionExample: Rub al Khali – “Empty
Quarter”=
Why does this matter?• Lack fresh water• Limits work/economic
activity• Impacts where people live…
near rivers, coastal areas
When was the last
time you aspired to
herd animals?!
One of these is not like the others?Which one is it?!
1
3
2
Euphrates
Jordan
Chattahoochee
Southwest Asia/Middle
East
Region that lacks fresh water
Example: Saudi Arabia does not have a single permanent source of fresh water!
=
Why does this matter?• Their 3 major rivers (Tigris,
Euphrates, and Jordan Rivers) flow through several countries, so this creates tension about who gets how much water
Southwest Asia/Middle
East
Region surrounded by
salt water=
Why does this matter?• Wealthy countries can turn
salt water into fresh water through a process called desalination
• They can ship goods easily to other parts of the world
Southwest Asia/Middle
East
Region rich in BLACK GOLD! (Petroleum)
=Why does this matter?
• Petroleum is valuable AND is a limited resource…only so many places have it BUT everyone needs it!
• Most of the world’s oil is found around the Persian Gulf region
Persian GulfThe countries that touch it have the oil!
Who has the oil???
Middle East
Chaching
!
Oil or Gas Fields&
Refineries
Who uses the oil???
UniteStates
Knowing what we have already discussed, why do you think the Strait of Hormuz (the red arrow is pointing to it)
would be considered an important waterway?
Many oil tankers transport oil through it everyday. It is small passage, so some country could block it if they wanted to!
Southwest Asia/Middle
East
Home to strategic (important) waterways
=Why do they
matter?Oil is shipped out of the Persian Gulf through this narrow passage of water
Makes trade of goods (like oil) faster because it connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea
What are they?• Strait of Hormuz
(natural waterway)
• Suez Canal (man-made waterway)
Southwest Asia/Middle
East
Strategic location in the world=
Why does this matter?• Three continents come
together here Europe, Africa, and Asia
• Trade from around the world has and always will come through this region
Suez Canal – connects the Red to the Med
Without the Suez, this would the be the shipping alternative!
That
would
really
stink!
So…Why include North Africa?!
• Almost entirely covered by DESERT
• LACKS FRESH WATER
• OIL is a major export
Sahara Desert = World’s largest desert
Nile River = Only major river in region
So…Why do we care about the geography of the Middle East???
Has a strategic
location on the
globe for
TRADE
They have more OIL than
any other region of the world, AND we
can’t go without it!Being dry and lacking fresh water could mean future conflict (war)
between countries