Southwest Asia

Physical Geography

Tectonic Activity North Anatolian Fault One of the most active faults in the world Plate movement causes: Earthquakes Formation of mountain ranges Expansion of s

Mountains Taurus Mountains Zagros Mountains Southern Turkey Southern Iran

Water Mediterranean Sea Red Sea Arabian Sea Persian Gulf Arabian Gulf Strait of Hormuz Bosporous Strait Dardanelles Jordan River Tigris & Euphrates Rivers

Climate Water is the region’s most important resource Mediterranean climate in some areas Dry, semi-arid or arid in most other places

Culture

Countries & Languages Speak Arabic Non-Arab Countries Iran: Persian Bahrain Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria United Arab Emirates Yemen Non-Arab Countries Iran: Persian Israel: Hebrew Turkey: Turkish

Major Cities Istanbul Jerusalem Mecca Tehran Baghdad

Art & Architecture Artwork and architecture reflects religious diversity Mosques & minarets Churches Synagogues More tomorrow!

Economy/Human Impact

Life Wide range in per capita incomes and levels of development in the region Great variation in standard of living Ranges from very wealthy to poverty-stricken

“Black Gold” & the Economy Main exports: Petroleum & oil products Over 60% of world’s oil reserves About 50% of world’s natural gas reserves Use petrochemicals (derived from oil/natural gas) for fertilizer, plastic, medicine and paint Oil producing countries have grown more rapidly than other countries in the area

Service Industries Rapid urbanization/modernization has led to growth of the service industry Major role in economies Banking, real estate, insurance, tourism, etc. i.e Bahrain: 60% of GDP

Transportation Waterways are key for shipping Oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz & Persian Gulf Extensive road systems in Iran and Turkey Gov’ts building more transit systems to connect urban & rural populations Subway in Istanbul

Trade & Interdependence Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Algeria, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, & United Arab Emirates Oil dependency means that OPEC has a lot of influence Economic disparity between oil-rich and oil-poor countries

Human Impact Persian Gulf War (1990-1991) Iraq War (2003-2011) Burning oil wells  smoke pollution affected birds Dumping oil into Persian Gulf  Fish & other marine life died Iraq War (2003-2011) Lebanon-Israel (2006) Dumped oil into Mediterranean Sea Depend on desalination plants

The End 