1. Physical Geography of the Middle East

2. 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)

3. Tigris and Euphrates River

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

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

6. Suez Canal
Suez by the Numbers
New Suez Section

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

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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

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

13. 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

14. 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.