Geography of the Middle East

Environment includes desert, coastal plains, and snow-capped mountains. Arabian Peninsula and Anatolian Peninsula border strategic waterways and the Suez canal. Straits of Hormuz is the only waterway to the oilfields of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. VERY important for worldwide oil access. 20% of the world’s oil passes through here

Strait of Hormuz

Peninsula environment Much of the Arabian Peninsula is covered by dry, sandy, and windy plains. Most of the land is barren with low hills, ridges and wadis.

Deserts Major desert is the Rub al-Khali known as the “Empty Quarter.” 2 types of desert are sand and salt. Semiarid land located on the fringes of desert that receive enough rain to support cotton, wheat, and pastures.

Mountains Rugged mountains divide the land and countries. Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan and the Zargos Mountains of Iran help isolate countries.

Water Bodies Surrounded by bodies of water which provide trade and access to the world. There are few rivers that flow all year. Two most important rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates which created fertile surrounding lands. The 2 rivers join together at Shatt al Arab

The Dead Sea is a landlocked salt lake that only bacteria can survive in. Mediterranean coasts have a good climate to grow citrus fruits, olives, and vegetables year round.

Resources Oil is the most abundant resource. Major oil fields are located in the Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Iraq and offshore drilling sites. Oil has made the region important because so many countries depend on its oil.

Other resources include coal, copper and non-metallic minerals but are scattered and not plentiful. Most valuable resource in the Middle East is WATER. Mountainous lands of Turkey, Iran, Lebanon and Afghanistan are plentiful with water, but it is scarce everywhere else.

Water Water is a source of international conflict. To find reliable water supplies, nations use both ancient and modern practices. Dams and irrigation systems attempt to meet the needs of farms and populations.

Modern Water Technology Desalinization (remove salt from water) is too salty for irrigation or drinking. Wastewater treatment plants can be used, but don’t meet the needs. Fossil water can be used from aquifers, but only 25-30 years of use is left.

OIL! Oil and natural gas are trapped within rocks, not in large, underground pools. Petroleum that has not been processed is called crude oil. Pipelines pump crude oil to refineries where it is processed and shipped. Placement of pipelines depends on the location of existing ports.

Moving oil from one location to the next has the risk of an oil spill. Pipes breaking Tankers sinking Most oil fields are located in the Persian Gulf and transported by pipe to the Mediterranean Sea.

1st discovery of oil was in Iran in 1908. More oil was discovered in the M.E. around the 1920s. 1948 oil companies discovered the largest oil fields in the Rub al-Khali Desert.

Oil is a strategic commodity  a resource that is so important nations will go to war to ensure its steady supply. Unpredictable oil prices have made it difficult for the region’s nations to have a steady economic growth.