Physical Geography of the Middle East

The Middle East is almost completely surrounded by bodies of water Landforms The Middle East is almost completely surrounded by bodies of water Tigris and Euphrates Fertile land provided the opportunity for early settlers to profit from the land The Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea and provides the most valuable resource to the land (water)

Tigris and Euphrates River

Strait of Hormuz The only waterway to the oilfields of the Arabian Peninsula. VERY important for exporting oil.

Suez Canal First Canal 1310 B.C. Modern Suez Canal opened November of 1869.

Suez Canal Suez by the Numbers New Suez Section

Mountains Hindu Kush-Afghanistan and Pakistan created tribal societies that are isolated and very strong Mountains are an obstacle with the War on Terror

Zargos Mountains-Iran created a society of Persians (different from the Arabs)

Sandy Deserts Rub al-Khali Oasis The most famous desert in the area Also known as Empty Quarter Approximately the size of Texas One of the largest in the world covering 250,000 square miles Oasis An area in a desert where vegetation is found because underground water is available

Salt Deserts In Iran, the high mountains block rain, and dry winds increase evaporation Winds evaporate the moisture in the soil and leave chemical salts behind (salt flat) There are two major salt flats in the Middle East Dasht-e Kavir and the Dasht-e Lut

Resources Oil is the most abundant resource Major oil fields are located on the Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Iraq Offshore drilling sites Oil has made the region important to the international community Believed that ½ the world’s oil reserves are in the Middle East Unpredictable oil prices=difficulty for the nations of the region to have steady economic growth

A BARREL OF OIL In 2016, the United States consumed a total of 7.21 billion barrels of petroleum products, an average of about 19.69 million barrels per day.2 PRICE $57 A BARREL

Water Although oil is the most profitable, water is the most valuable resource Source of international conflict now and in the future Modern Water Technology has helped to solve the problem Drip Irrigation- practice of using small pipes that slowly drip water just above ground to conserve water for crop use

Modern Water Technology continued… Desalinization- the removal of salt from ocean water Fossil water- water pumped from underground aquifers Over the next 10 minutes find five pros and five cons of the desalinization of sea water. After you have compiled the information, write a paragraph using the information to give your opinion on desalinization. Paragraph and notes due tomorrow.