1. Southwest Asia

3. Physical Geography

4. Tectonic Activity North Anatolian Fault
One of the most active faults in the world
Plate movement causes:
Earthquakes
Formation of mountain ranges
Expansion of s

5. Mountains Taurus Mountains Zagros Mountains Southern Turkey
Southern Iran

6. Water Mediterranean Sea Red Sea Arabian Sea Persian Gulf Arabian Gulf
Strait of Hormuz
Bosporous Strait
Dardanelles
Jordan River
Tigris & Euphrates Rivers

8. Climate Water is the region’s most important resource
Mediterranean climate in some areas
Dry, semi-arid or arid in most other places

9. Culture

10. Countries & Languages Speak Arabic Non-Arab Countries Iran: Persian
Bahrain
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
Non-Arab Countries
Iran: Persian
Israel: Hebrew
Turkey: Turkish

11. Major Cities
Istanbul
Jerusalem
Mecca
Tehran
Baghdad

12. Art & Architecture
Artwork and architecture reflects religious diversity
Mosques & minarets
Churches
Synagogues
More tomorrow!

13. Economy/Human Impact

14. Life
Wide range in per capita incomes and levels of development in the region
Great variation in standard of living
Ranges from very wealthy to poverty-stricken

15. “Black Gold” & the Economy
Main exports: Petroleum & oil products
Over 60% of world’s oil reserves
About 50% of world’s natural gas reserves
Use petrochemicals (derived from oil/natural gas) for fertilizer, plastic, medicine and paint
Oil producing countries have grown more rapidly than other countries in the area

16. Service Industries
Rapid urbanization/modernization has led to growth of the service industry
Major role in economies
Banking, real estate, insurance, tourism, etc.
i.e Bahrain: 60% of GDP

17. Transportation Waterways are key for shipping
Oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz & Persian Gulf
Extensive road systems in Iran and Turkey
Gov’ts building more transit systems to connect urban & rural populations
Subway in Istanbul

18. Trade & Interdependence
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
Algeria, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, & United Arab Emirates
Oil dependency means that OPEC has a lot of influence
Economic disparity between oil-rich and oil-poor countries

19. Human Impact Persian Gulf War (1990-1991) Iraq War (2003-2011)
Burning oil wells  smoke pollution affected birds
Dumping oil into Persian Gulf  Fish & other marine life died
Iraq War ( )
Lebanon-Israel (2006)
Dumped oil into Mediterranean Sea
Depend on desalination plants

20. The End 