1. Physical Geography
Of Southwest Asia

2. Most Distinctive landform
Persian Gulf
Red Sea
Arabian Peninsula
separated from the continent of Africa by the red sea on the southwest and from the rest of Asia by the Persian Gulf on the east
Countries
Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain

3. Anatolian Peninsula Occupied by the country of Turkey
Marks the beginning of the Asian Continent

4. Significance? Both Peninsulas border strategic waterways
Arabian Peninsula
Red Sea & Suez Canal
Anatolian Peninsula
Mediterranean & Black Sea

5. Significance?
Wadis – riverbeds which remain dry except during raining seasons
Mountains
Hejaz Mountains
Zagros Mountains (Iran)
Hindu Kush (Afghanistan)

6. Water resources are relatively limited in Southwest Asia

7. The two most important rivers in SW Asia are the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers

8. The rivers supported several ancient river valley civilizations in an area called the Fertile Crescent
(The Gates of Babylon)

9. The area between the rivers is known as Mesopotamia

10. Pictures of what the rivers look like today

11. The Jordan River is another important river located in the Eastern Mediterranean

12. The river provides one of the most precious resources in the entire region - freshwater
Christians believe Jesus was baptized on the Jordan River

13. The Jordan River flows into the salty waters of the Dead Sea

14. The Dead sea is so salty that only bacteria can live in its waters

16. The Dead Sea is 1,349 feet below sea level, the lowest place on the exposed crust of the earth

17. Resources
It is impossible to think of Southwest Asia without thinking about oil
It is the regions most abundant Resource
Most valuable resource in the area is water
hydroelectric power
Irrigation

18. Climate and Vegetation

19. The land of SW Asia is extremely arid

20. The most famous desert in the region is the Rub al-Khali, which means Empty Quarter

21. The local name for the desert is “place where no one comes out”

22. There are several oasis’s in the Middle East that provide much needed water to the area

23. An oasis is an area in the desert where vegetation is found because of underground springs

24. Salt flat deserts in Iran
In Iran, the high mountains block rain, and dry winds increase evaporation creating salt flat deserts

25. Human Environment Interaction

26. What are some modern methods for water development & use in the Middle East?
Circle Irrigation

27. Desalinization, the removal of salt from ocean water

28. Drip irrigation, using small pipes that slowly drip water just above ground to conserve water used for crops

29. Oil from Sand
Crude Oil – Oil pumped from the ground that is not processed
Refinery – convert crude oil into useful products
Pipelines – Transports crude oil either to refineries or to ports where oil is picked up by tankers

30. Risk of Transporting oil?
Oil Spill
Largest oil spill ever was in Jan during the Persian Gulf War. More than 240 million gallons of oil were spilled into water and land