SW Asia and Northern Africa Geographic Concepts

The Middle East vs. the U. S. Latitude Lines

Middle East: Population Density

Middle East: Climate Regions

Bodies of Water  Tigris River Nile River  Euphrates River  Jordan River  Persian Gulf Arabian Sea Mediterranean Sea Indian Ocean Red Sea Black Sea  Gulf of Aden Strait of  Hormuz Suez Canal  Dardanelles Strait  Atlantic Ocean  Gulf of Oman Caspian Sea

Fresh Groundwater Sources

Desert Oases: Water at a Premium!

Wadis – Instant Springs

Desalinization Plants

Rub al-Khali: “The Empty Quarter”

The Tigris & Euphrates River System Mesopotamia: ”Land Between the Two Rivers” Marsh Arabs, So. Iraq

Suez Canal Completed by the British in 1869

The Mighty Nile River: “Longest River in the World”

Egypt:The“Gift of the Nile” Annual Nile Flooding Nile Delta 95% of the Egyptian people live on 5% of the land!

Aswan High Dam, Egypt Hydroelectric Power Plant

The Sahara, which is Arabic for desert, stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. It’s the world’s largest desert. Years can pass without rain.

The Sahara divides Africa into two regions. * North Africa includes the Sahara and the region south of the Mediterranean. * The rest of Africa is sub-Saharan Africa or Africa below the Sahara.

The Sahel has been heavily affected by the process of desertification. This means that the land is turning to desert. Desertification happens because of both physical and human factors. The term land degradation tends to be linked to the human factors, with desertification being linked to climate change.

The Sahel has long periods without rain called droughts. This photo shows people of the Sahel region that have to travel long distances in search of food and water.

Swarms of Desert Locusts! Locusts Swarm the Pyramids Complex at Giza! Israel Hit By Worst Locust Plague Since the 1950s!

Breeding Areas of Desert Locusts