Southwest Asia and North Africa

Golan Heights and the West Bank Occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, the Golan Heights is the source of the Jordan River, which provides Israel with water for irrigation and drinking. The West Bank of the Jordan River was also part of Jordan. During the 1967 war Israel seized the territory.

SW Asia satellite image

Seismic Hazard Map

Landforms Peninsulas  Arabian  Anatolian

Strategic Waterways Red Sea o Part of Rift Valley Suez Canal o Access to Mediterranean and Europe from Asia Bosporus and Dardanelles o Control access from Russia, Danube, to Mediterranean Straits of Hormuz o Control access from Persian Gulf to ocean Bab al Mandeb

Plains and Highlands Arabian peninsula – Dry, sandy Plateau of Iran – Stony, salty, sandy desert Anatolian Plateau – Agriculture, grazing lands Northern Plain of Afghanistan –Bamyan valley – Isolated, agricultural lands Hejaz Mtns, western Arabian peninsula Bamyan Valley, Afghanistan

Mountains Hindu Kush Zagros Mtns Elburz Mtns Taurus Mtns Atlas Mtns Taurus Mtns Hindu Kush Zagros Mtns

Bodies of Water Tigris and Euphrates Rivers  Mesopotamia, or the Fertile Crescent Jordan River Nile River – World’s Longest – More than 95% of Egyptians depend on it for water Dead Sea  Lowest elevation -1,349 ft below sea level  Salty water, landlocked

Sandy Deserts Rub al Khali – Largest expanse of sand in the world – Size of Texas Al Nafud Syrian Desert Negev

Salt Deserts In Iran – Salt flats Dasht-e Kavir Dasht-e Lut

North Africa Sahara Desert – 20% sand, rest is mountains, rock formations & gravelly plains – Stores of underground water – Aquifers – Water that has come to the surface - Oasis

Semiarid lands and Coastal Areas Semiarid  On edge of deserts  Good pasture  Some crops grown in wet years Coastal areas  Along Mediterranean coast line  Densely populated and farmed Along Tigris and Euphrates/Nile River  Water for irrigation  Numerous dams  Fights over access to water

Climate

RegionsPrincipal Products Central-NorthCereals, rice, vegetables, pulses, fruits AegeanOlives, grapes, cotton, tobacco, pulses, vegetables, tubers MarmaraSunflower, rice, roots, sugarbeets MediterraneanCotton, cereals, citrus, rice, vegetables, pulses North-EastFodder, wheat, tubers, pulses, livestock South-EastFodder, cereals, tubers, vegetables, pulses, grapes, livestock, pistachio, fruits Black SeaHazelnuts, tea, rice, tobacco Central-EastFodder, cereals, fruits, tobacco, sugarbeets Central-SouthCereals, sugarbeets, grapes, pulses, vegetables, tubers, livestock

Resources – Oil & Water

Providing Water

National Water Carrier Project

Fresh water is a vital environmental resource in the Middle East. Jubail desalination plant in Saudi Arabia – largest in the world – 800 million gallons per day – generating 5,000 megawatts of power

Fossil Water

Exxon Valdez spill, Alaska Oil spill, Lebanon