Central Asia and the Caucasus The Caucasus Countries Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan Central Asian Countries Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan “the stans”

Physical features:  Central Asia is a very dry, landlocked region  Melting snow in the mountains feeds rivers and lakes  The Caucasus is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea

Climate & Land Use: Central Asia  Farmers irrigate their crops by taking water from the Amu Dar’ya and Syr Dar’ya Rivers  Herders graze their livestock in the high mountain meadows in the summer; and the lower plains in the winter The Caucasus  Farmers use the valleys and plains for growing many different crops

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Georgia

Kazakhstan

Uzbekistan

Turkmenistan

Kyrgyzstan

Tajikistan

Natural Resources:  Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan – most natural gas  Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan – most oil  Armenia – copper, lead, zinc  Kyrgyzstan – gold  Oil has became a source of wealth for the region  Water is an important issue especially in Central Asia.

Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Georgia Armenia Azerbaijan

Culture  Very culturally diverse due to many traders and invaders  Over 40 different languages are spoken in the Caucasus area  Most people in the Caucasus live in small villages within their own ethnic groups  Arabs and Turks brought Islam to Central Asia  Most in Central Asia speak Turkic languages