1. Of the world's known petroleum reserves, 65 percent lie beneath the Middle East, where supplies could be exhausted in about 85 years if no new reserves are found. But the most critical resource here is water, which has contributed to past conflicts and may one day start others. A key issue dividing Israel and its Arab neighbors, for example, is control of the tributaries of the Jordan River and West Bank aquifers. Across the region, recycling of wastewater and drip irrigation, along with dam reservoirs and desalination, could help relieve shortages. With few regional water agreements and the growing threat of pollution, the most fundamental problem, though, is scant and undependable rainfall. Without oil, the Middle East cannot live well; without water it cannot live. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/iraq/map_midEastNR.html Did you know?

3. Southwest Asia Landforms and Resources of the Middle East

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16. Tigris Euphrates River Basin

17. Aerial View of Tigris Euphrates River Basin

18. Jordan River

20. Jerusalem, Israel

21. Amman, Jordan

22. Beirut, Lebanon

23. Damascus, Syria

24. Ankara, Turkey

25. Baghdad, Iraq

26. Riyadh,Saudi Arabia

27. Sanaa,Yemen

28. Muscat, Oman

29. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

30. Kuwait City, Kuwait

31. Tehran, Iran