The Middle East vs. the U. S. Latitude Lines

Middle East? OR Near East? OR Southwest Asia? OR….?

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

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

Dust Storms Along the Tigris-Euphrates Flood Plains

The Jordan River System: Israel & Jordan--A Fight Over Water Rights?

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

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

Desert Bedouins

Rub al-Khali: “The Empty Quarter”

Desert Oases: Water at a Premium!

Fresh Groundwater Sources

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

The Middle East: Natural Vegetation

The Natural Resources of the Middle East