1. Chapter 3.1 “Geography of Mesopotamia” “Land Between Two Rivers” –section 1
The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers start in the mountains of Turkey and flow through Iraq into the Persian Gulf
This region is known as the Mesopotamia
It is mostly flat with small, scrubby plants
Rivers provide water and help with traveling
Rivers overflowed onto the floodplains and deposited silt
Silt was fertile
The semiarid climate was hot and fairly dry

2. “Controlling Water by Irrigation“–section 2
Farming was difficult in the Mesopotamia
Yearly flood was unpredictable (April – June)
Farmers needed to plant after the flood
Floods depended on the amount of snowmelt and rainfall
Droughts were a constant danger
Crops failed and people starved
They built canals to carry water from rivers to fields
They built dams to hold back excess water

3. “Finding Resources” – section 3
Mesopotamia had no forests
It lacked stone, metal, and other minerals
They used mud for bricks & plaster
Few mountains & natural barriers made it easy to invade
Built mud walls for protection
They traded a surplus of crops for wood, stone, & metals