1. Agenda Monday Aug 8
What am I learning today? How does the physical geography of North Africa and southwest asia unify the area as a region?
What am I doing today? Partner Work; power point with notes, water crisis DBQ
How will I show that I learned it? complete DBQ

2. Warm up Aug 8 Describe the physical geography.
How have people interacted with the environment? (Adapt, Modify, Depend).
What challenges might people living in this area face?

3. Middle East & North Africa
Why are these areas treated as one region?

4. The Middle East: North Africa and Southwest Asia
What do you think makes it a region? What are the characteristics that tie North Africa and Southwest Asia together?
Work with a partner to create a list of similar characteristics that North Africa and southwest asia share. Include geography and culture in your list. Use pages ; ; and 438 – 441.

5. Introduction
The Middle East is on the Continent of Asia and north Africa.
The reason these two
areas are studied together is that they share many characteristics.

6. Dry Area? Fact or Fiction?
Many deserts: Libyan, Nubian, Sahara, and Arabian which cover most of the region
Most places get less than 10 inches rain per year
Why?
- Interior location
- Low latitudes where
moisture carried away
- Mountains
Biggest Challenges?
- lack of arable land
- lack of water
- salt buildup in soil from irrigation

7. The Rub al-Khali Also called the empty quarter
Covers 1/5 of Arabian peninsula (225,000 square miles)
Spills across 4 nations – Saudi Arabia oman, yemen, and united Arab Emirates
Least hospitable place on earth

8. Because it is a dry area…
Most people live on plains along rivers and irrigation canals
Water is a strategic commodity: a resource so important that a country is willing to go to war to ensure a steady supply
Wadis: Riverbeds that remain dry except during the rainy season
Oasis: an area of vegetation in the desert fed by an underground water source

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

10. Egypt: The “Gift of the Nile”
Major influence on the development of Egyptian civilization
Nile Delta
Annual Nile Flooding
95% of the Egyptian people live on 5% of the land!

11. Connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea
Suez Canal
Cuts off thousands of miles for ships since they do not need to sail around Africa to reach India and other eastern countries
Completed by the
British in 1869
Connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea

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

13. Dead Sea 2,300’ below sea level – lowest point on earth
Highest Salt Content (33%)
Little to no life
Believed to have healing properties

14. The Jordan River System: Israel & Jordan--A Fight Over Water Rights?

15. Activity Independent Assignment
Read each document. Remember to define unknown vocabulary words
Answer the questions for Each document. This is a graded assignment

16. The Middle East Today: Political Map19
4--> 17 18
11--> 6 7 1 13
8--> 9
<--10 2 12 5
3--> 16
15--> 20 14 21

17. Geographic Records Nile River: World’s longest river
Arabian Peninsula: world’s largest peninsula
Sahara: world’s largest desert
Dead sea: world’s saltiest lake
- lowest place on earth
- mud believed to have medicinal properties
- fed by the Jordan river

18. Other Physical features
Rub al Khali: the empty quarter
- locally known as the place where no one
comes out
- one of driest places on earth
Mesopotamia: land between two rivers – Euphrates
and tigris Rivers
Persian Gulf choke point: control the Gulf =
control of Resources