Social Studies Final Review Geography of Ancient Civilizations

Fertile Crescent Land between two rivers – Mesopotamia - *fertile land! Two Rivers – Tigrus and Euphrates – flow north to south. They empty into the Persian Gulf Called Fertile Crescent because it is shaped like a crescent moon. The deserts and city-states made it difficult to form a unified government

Ancient Egypt Nile River – Flows from the south Empties into the Mediterranean 4000 miles long Most silt is found in the Nile Delta Deserts on either side formed a natural barrier Cataracts – rock filled rapids Made boat travel difficult

Ancient Egypt Sources of the Nile - Blue Nile (Ethiopia) wild rapids - White Nile (East Africa) – Calm They both meet to form the Nile in Sudan Egpyt has fertile soil Nubia has cataracts Napata is rich in iron ore

Rivers Overflow PROS CONS Provided fish for food Gave rich soil for farming Provided clay for building and tablets (cuneiform) Provided strong reeds to make boats CONS Was unpredictable Caused death and damage

Ancient India Indus and Ganges Rivers located in Northern India Both Rivers were unpredictable Indus empties into Arabian Sea Ganges empties into Bay of Bengal Himalayas and Hindu Kush form natural barriers – separate India from Asia Mount Everest – 15,000 miles long and 5 miles wide Subcontinent – large land mass that juts out from a continent Mountains provide natural protection

Ancient China North China Plain – made from soil deposits from the Huang River *Rains only in summer Southern China = Warm and Wet gets heavy monsoons from March to September Northern China - Brief but intense summer monsoon winds, no rain the rest of the year, climate is cool & very dry Middle Kingdom – surrounded by mountains, seas, and deserts Huang River – “Yellow River” –second largest in China Loess – yellow-brown soil Chang River – Longest River – it was unpredictable Dikes – help control the flooding of the rivers

Ancient Greece Mountainous - Poor soil – Little farming Rough terrain (rocky and rugged) separated by city-states Used goats and sheep to handle the terrain No River systems for fertile soil Relied on sea-travel Grew olives and grapes Many peninsulas – land surrounded by water on 3 sides Attica and Peloponnesus are 2 main peninsulas Crete and Rhodes main islands

Ancient Rome Rome is on a long narrow peninsula located on Mediterranean Sea Good for trade Tiber River (West) Po River (north) Rome built around these river systems Sicily – island off Italy 4 natural land regions 1. Apennines 2. Alps – protection to the north 3. Po Basin- good farming 4. West coastal plain – good farming