1. SS7G7 The student will explain the impact of location, climate, physical characteristics, Distribution of natural resources and population distribution on Southwest Asia (Middle East).
b. Describe how the deserts and rivers of Southwest Asia (Middle East) have affected the population in terms of where people live, the type of work they do, and how they travel.
Day 5
You may Focus on the Standard as a group, in small groups, or individually. Have TAG students add their own element based on the standard. What is missing? Climate.
Talk through Human Environmental Interaction- slides 13-17
Formative Assessment on Maps- 10 questions. “Middle East Geography Formative Assessment 1’

2. Let’s think about this…
Write down a few examples of how WHERE you live affects HOW you live…
For example, if we live in Alaska, will we wear the same clothes as we would if we lived in Florida?
What about food? Is it the same everywhere you go?
What about how we get around? This is dependent on where we live as well…

3. What does this mean?
There are many things that impact where people live and how their lives function day – to – day
Location
Climate
Resources available
Physical characteristics

4. Location of the Middle East
Southwest Asia is between 3 major continents: Europe, Africa, Asia
The location of the Middle East makes it perfect for trade!

5. For centuries trade through the Middle East has occurred
For centuries trade through the Middle East has occurred. Ships loaded with goods came from Asia to the Middle East.
Goods traveled from there by caravan to the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
Today the Suez Canal in Egypt links the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
Goods can travel from Asia to Europe by ship without using camel caravans.

7. Middle East Climate
*The climate of a region impacts how and where people live as well
The Middle East is usually very hot and dry
Mountain ranges block moisture coming from the oceans and seas nearby; most of the interior is desert ( it can reach 140 degrees F in the desert!)
Coastal areas and river areas have enough water to support agriculture and large towns/cities

8. Resources available: The Impact of Rivers in the Middle East
3 major river systems
Euphrates River
runs through Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Kuwait
Tigris River
runs through Turkey, Iraq, and Kuwait
Jordan River
part of the border of Syria, Jordan, the West Bank, and Israel

10. These major rivers provide:
Water for drinking
Water for irrigation
Water for transportation and trade
Boundaries between nations
Major cities are located on or near these rivers – centers of industry (jobs)

11. However, as we know, water is a SCARCE resource in the Middle East which makes it often times the source of conflict!
When multiple people NEED a resource and there is not enough to go around, it can cause major problems!

12. Physical Characteristics: Deserts in the Middle East
Southwest Asia has a lot of desert areas.
Syrian Desert between Syria & Iraq
Rub al-Khali or “Empty Quarter” in southern Saudi Arabia

13. Importance of Deserts How do they make a living?
Deserts serve as a natural barrier against invasion.
Deserts have also led to a way of life developed around surviving the harsh conditions
People (Bedouins – desert nomads) have managed to live in the desert in tent camps and survive as sheep and camel herders.
A nomad is someone who moves from place to place often in search of natural resources and things needed to live
Why do you think people living in a desert are nomads?
How do they make a living?
They trade animals and handmade goods with those who live in towns on the desert’s edge.

15. Transportation – how do people get around?
The most common form of transportation in the Middle East DESERTS are camels
In cities and towns people will drive cars or use modern types of transportation
Most people tend to live in cities for jobs and to be near a water source

17. How does WHERE you live affect HOW you live…?
DESERTS
RIVERS
Where people live
The work people do (Occupation)
Transportation
What other physical features affect where people live? Ex. mountains
What other ways do features affect us? Ex. the food we eat

18. Human-Environmental Interaction
DESERTS
RIVERS
Where people live
-Not a favorable area
-people live in cities since the discovery of oil
-Oasis, near a water source
-Huts (goat-haired tents)
-Food hard to find
-Farming –able to irrigate
-Good food source, crops and fish
-Can bathe and drink the water -easier to live in the area
Work
-Goat Herding
-Oil/ Construction
-Move to cities to work
-fishing
-farming
-trade/ Merchants
-shipping
Transportation
-Camel
-ATV (All Terrain Vehicle)
-Boats
- Many cities close with roads ~ buses, cars, trains.