Kristen Wilhite

Middle East Fun Facts The Middle East is NOT a continent. It’s a region with no clear boundaries. It sits where Africa, Asia and Europe meets. The countries of the Middle East are apart of Asia The African Country of Egypt is thought to be in the Middle east, as well as the northern African countries around the Mediterranean sea.

The Middle East Today: Political Map > > 11--> 9 < >

Bodies of Water  Tigris River Nile River  Euphrates River  Jordan River  Persian Gulf Arabian Sea Mediterranean Sea Indian Ocean Red Sea Black Sea  Gulf of Aden Strait of  Hormuz Suez Canal  Dardanelles Strait  Atlantic Ocean  Gulf of Oman Caspian Sea

The Mighty Nile River: “Longest River in the World”

Egypt: The “Gift of the Nile” Annual Nile Flooding Nile Delta 95% of the Egyptian people live on 5% of the land!

Aswan High Dam, Egypt Hydroelectric Power Plant

Suez Canal Completed by the British in 1869

The Tigris & Euphrates River System Mesopotamia: ”Land Between the Two Rivers” Marsh Arabs, So. Iraq

The Jordan River

Dead Sea: Lowest Point on Earth Highest Salt Content (33%) 2,300’ below sea level

Wadis – Instant Springs

Mountains & Plateaus  Atlas Mts.  Elburz Mts. Taurus Mts.  Zagros Mts. Iranian Plateau Anatolian Plateau Caucasus Mts. Hejaz Mts.

Mountain Ranges in Mid-East Elburz Mts., Iran Zagros Mts., Iran Lebanese Mts. Taurus Mts., Turkey

Other Land forms of the Middle East An Nafud Desert (Part fo the Arabian Desert)- Saudi Arabia, gigantic sand dunes, some over 100 ft. High Asir & Hejaz Mts.- running along Saudi Arabia’s Border with the red sea Dash-E Lut (Lout Desert)- North Central Iran, largest desert in the country, uninhabited wasteland covered with crusty salt ridges. Hadramawt- low mountain range of Yemen Hindu Kush- mountains border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, many snow capped peaks reaching over 22,000 ft. Kara Kum Desert- south central Turkmenistan, large mass of sand known for its towering sand dunes Syrian desert- covers parts of Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and western Iraq. Very little rain, lots of camels and cattle, oil pipelines and scattered oases.

Deserts Sahara Desert Arabian Desert Negev Desert Sinai Desert Libyan Desert Rub al-Khali

Desert Bedouins

Swarms of Desert Locusts! Locusts Swarm the Pyramids Complex at Giza! Israel Hit By Worst Locust Plague Since the 1950s!

Rub al-Khali: “The Empty Quarter”

Desert Oases: Water at a Premium!

Desalinization Plants

Fertile Crescent

The Fertile Crescent

Completed Map  Tigris River Nile River  Euphrates River  Jordan River  Persian Gulf Arabian Sea Mediterranean Sea Indian Ocean Red Sea Black Sea  Gulf of Aden Strait of  Hormuz Suez Canal  Dardanelles Strait  Atlantic Ocean  Gulf of Oman Caspian Sea Arabian Desert Negev Desert Sinai Deser t Rub al-Khali  Atlas Mts.  Elburz Mts. Taurus Mts.  Zagros Mts. Iranian Plateau Anatolian Plateau Caucasus Mts. Hejaz Mts. Sahara Desert Libyan Desert

Middle East: Climate Regions

Middle East: Population Density Annua l renew able fresh h2o Algeria Bahrai n Egypt Iran Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebano n Libya Morocc o Oman Saudi Arabia Syria Tunisia Turkey UAE Yemen By the Millions

Cairo, Egypt: Most Populated City in the Middle East 17,000,000+ People!

The Middle East: Natural Vegetation

The Natural Resources of the Middle East

World Oil Reserves

Persian Gulf Oil Exports (2003)

Saudi Oil Fields & Refineries

Kuwait: An Island Floating on a Sea of Oil Kuwait City

Leading U. S. Oil Suppliers The U. S. imports 30% of its oil needs from the Middle East.