Unit 9 – The Middle EastSG 1 - Physical Geography, Population & Demographics

I. Physical GeographyA. The “Middle East” includes southwestern Asia and North Africa.

1. The name is “Eurocentric.” Middle East is a term used to describe the location of this region in relation to Europe. The term for this region is still widely used today.

B. High amount of geologic activity: 3 tectonic plates converge so earthquakes are common.

1. Folding of sedimentary rocks has created vast deposits of oil and natural gas.

2. The Red Sea is a divergent zone and is getting wider. The rift splits in two creating the Sinai Peninsula and a valley for the Jordan River and the Dead Sea (lowest elevation on Earth at 1,312 ft. below sea level).

C. Oil Resources are abundant in the region. 1. 20% of the world’s crude oil supplies are found in Saudi Arabia.

D. Climate - Arid climate dominates with little to no rain year-round in many areas.

1. Prior to 5000 years this area was not as arid as it is today. People moved to the river valleys where the earliest human civilizations began (Nile River; Tigris-Euphrates Rivers)

The Fertile Crescent

E. Water resources are scarce 1. Most rivers are fed from meltwater at their sources in the mountains. Annual flooding in the spring is important for agriculture in the region.

2. Many of these rivers pass through more than one country, so conflict can arise when rivers are polluted or dammed upriver.

a. Development of the upper Tigris & Euphrates Rivers in Turkey has caused political issues with Iraq.

3. The Nile River provides water for drinking & agriculture for the 82 million people of Egypt. The physiological density of Egypt is 3,053 people/square mile of arable land. Almost all of Egypt’s population lives along the Nile River.

a. The Aswan High Dam was built along the first cataract of the Nile from 1960-1970. It created Lake Nassar behind it. Despite increasing crop yields, Egypt is still not self-sufficient agriculturally due more subsistence farming rather than commercial farming which is more efficient.

The Aswan High DamA. The dam was built for many reasons:

1. To control the yearly spring flooding when high-waters wiped out crops.

2. To deal with droughts in low-water years.

B. The dam through helping to control flooding and droughts, helped increase agricultural production downstream. However, the dam also blocks the very fertile silt that is deposited after flooding. This has caused an increase in artificial fertilizer use and because the Nile Delta is not being replenished with new soil as it is also being eroded, the delta is sinking.

C. The lake has caused the water table in the area to rise closer to the surface causing drainage issues where crops are irrigated. This has caused swamplands to form increasing the incidence of malaria.

D. The building of the dam created Lake Nassar causing many people to be forcibly relocated and flooding archaeological sites. Some had to be relocated (Temple of Abu Simbel).

The Aswan High Dam

The Temple of Abu Simbel at Lake Nassar

Moving the Temple

E. Water – Water resources are scarce 1. Underground aquifers (nonrenewable and very far below ground); major issues include:

a. Polluted agricultural chemical runoff (fertilizers & pesticides)

b. Aquifers are replenished by rainfall that is less than 10 inches annually. Removal of groundwater by a growing population is depleting it faster than it can be replenished.

c. The rock layers that holds the water is often contaminated by crude oil.

d. Drilling wells is very expensive because the groundwater is can be as far 6000 feet below the surface in some areas.

2. Desalinization plants to remove salt from water along the coasts

F. Major Bodies of Water 1. Gulfs – Persian, Aden, Aqaba, Oman

2. Seas – Mediterranean, Red, and Dead Sea a. The Mediterranean and Red Seas are connected by the Suez Canal a major construction venture by the occupying British Empire from 1859 – 1869.

G. Major Landforms 1. Atlas Mountains (Morocco & Algeria); Zagros Mountains (Iran)

2. Sahara Desert (includes smaller deserts such as the Nubian, & Libyan); Rub al-Khali (Saudi Arabia)

3. Peninsulas a. Anatolian – Turkey

b. Arabian – Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, U.A.E., Qatar

c. Sinai – part of Egypt

H. Agriculture – due to the increasing population in the Middle East food sources are important and have been for the thousands of years this land has been inhabited.

1. Two of the earliest human civilizations arose in this region: Egyptian along the Nile River valley and Sumerian along the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers in present day Iraq (Mesopotamia).

2. The Neolithic Revolution arose in this region specifically the area known as “the Fertile Crescent.” This area stretched from Iraq into Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Israel.

a. The Neolithic Revolution began in this area about 10,000 years ago with experimentation in growing wheat & barley as well as the domestication of animals such as cattle, sheep, & goats.

b. This caused humans who were mainly nomadic (followed herds of animals from winter to summer feeding grounds) to create farming settlements where water was available later becoming the first cities and civilizations.

II. Population & DemographicsA. The population of the Middle East is approximately 500 million and growing.

1. Migration within the Middle East is mainly rural to urban within individual countries and from one country to another such as movement on the Arabian peninsula from poorer countries (such as Yemen, the poorest) to wealthy countries (such as the U.A.E.) 2. Immigration to the Middle East is mainly from countries in South & Southeast Asia. Many of these people are not treated well depending on which country they migrate to. 3. Emigration out of the Middle East to countries in the West (mainly Europe) are mostly younger people who go to universities in the West with visas and apply for citizenship to stay. This is causing “brain drain” in the Middle East. There are better job opportunities in the West for the younger generations.

B. Urban Patterns 1. There are issues with rural to urban migration placing stress on the infrastructure of existing cities that are very old such as those in the Fertile Crescent. Many modern cities have a central “old city” called a medina.

a. medina – the walled urban core of an Islamic city, dominated by a central mosque (named after the sacred city of Medina in Saudi Arabia)

2. These city cores include souks, commercial markets, and attract tourists seeking authentic Islamic culture. Prestigious craft workers are usually found within the walls of the medina.

3. Residential areas of cities are usually drawn into “quarters” based on religion to separate Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

II. Population & Demographics