1. North Africa/Southwest Asia
Physical Geography

4. Why study these areas together?
REGION
What is a region?
Even though they are on two separate continents, the countries in this region share:
Physical features
Climate
Natural Resources
Language
Religion
Ethnicity

5. Desert areas of the world

6. Major Physical Features: Deserts
Sahara Desert
Largest desert in the world
Sahel
Semiarid climate zone south of the Sahara
Covered by steppe (dry grassland area)

7. Deserts (continued) Rub al-Khali Desert (“Empty Quarter”)
Deserts occasionally have:
Oasis: area with water and vegetation in the desert
Wadi: dry riverbed
Salt Flat: winds increase evaporation of moisture in the soil, leaving chemical salts behind

8. Salt Flat: Dasht-e Kavir Desert, Iran

9. Issues: Desertification
Definition: The expansion of arid conditions (desert) into non-arid areas (for example, the Sahel).
Can occur naturally (by drought) or by humans (by overgrazing, water use)
What does this mean for the people in this region?

10. Major Landforms
Though mostly covered by desert, this region is divided by 3 other very distinct landforms:
Peninsulas
Mountains
Waterways

11. Peninsulas Arabian Peninsula
On the Arabian Plate – Moving away from Africa
Creates a “land bridge” between Europe, Africa, and Asia
Anatolian Peninsula
Covered by Turkey
Marks the beginning of the Asian continent

12. Mountain Ranges Atlas Mountains (Morocco) Taurus Mountains (Turkey)
Zagros Mountains (Iran)

13. Major bodies of water Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (Iraq)
Nile River (Egypt)
Red Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Persian Gulf

14. Bodies of Water (Continued)
Jordan River
Boundary between Jordan and Israel
Dead Sea
Lowest elevation on Earth
34% salinity (over 8x saltier than the ocean)

15. Strategic Waterways Bosporus and Dardanelles Strait of Hormuz Red Sea
Connect Black Sea and Mediterranean
Strait of Hormuz
Connects Persian Gulf with Arabian Sea
Why important?
Red Sea
Connected to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal
Canal: A manmade waterway (shortcut)

16. Natural Resources

17. Oil: The basics
Oil and natural gas deposits formed millions of years ago from the remains of dead plants and animals
Oil and natural gas are trapped inside rocks, and have to be extracted (removed)
Crude oil: Petroleum that has not been processed
Refinery: Where crude oil goes to be converted into useful products

18. Natural Resources: Oil
Oil is the major resource in this region
Many countries are members of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)
Countries with Oil
Countries with very little oil
Saudi Arabia
Israel
Iraq
Turkey
Iran
Jordan
UAE
Lebanon
Kuwait
Syria
Qatar
Morocco
Libya
Afghanistan

19. Negative/Positive Aspects of Oil Production
Oil is valuable
Oil prices change constantly depending on the world market
Oil money is used to build infrastructure
Oil is a finite resource.
High GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

20. Other Natural Resources
Most important = FRESH WATER
farming
Countries with fresh water sources (rivers):
Turkey
Egypt
Iraq
Israel
Syria
If no fresh water is available, countries make fresh water through desalinization

21. Climate and vegetation

22. Climate and Vegetation
Arid Lands
Less than 10 in rainfall per year
Few crops except where people have set up irrigation
Semiarid Lands
Hot summers, enough precipitation to support grass and shrubs
Cotton, wheat
Coastlands
Hot summers, rainy winters
Citrus fruits, olives, vegetables