Mr. Mark GonzalezSantiago Christian School

The Middle East Today:Political Map-Label it w/ Mr. G.

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

Bodies of Water

Nile River

EuphratesRiver

Persian Gulf

ArabianSea

Mediterranean Sea

IndianOcean

Red Sea

Suez Canal

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!•Lined w/ papyrus

plants

Papyrus-Paper

Aswan High Dam, Egypt

Hydroelectric Power PlantThe aim of both projects was to control Nile

River flooding, to provide storage of water for agriculture, and later, to generate electricity.

Suez CanalCompleted by the

British in 1869• Today, the canal is

owned and maintained by the

Suez Canal Authority

(SCA) of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

•it may be used "in time of war as in time of peace, by every vessel of

commerce or of war, without distinction of

flag."

The Tigris & Euphrates

River System

Mesopotamia: ”Land Between the

Two Rivers”Today the area is

called the country of Iraq

Marsh Arabs, S. Iraq

Dust Storms Along the Tigris-Euphrates Flood Plains

Dead Sea: Lowest Point on Earth

HighestSalt

Content(33%)

2,300’ below sea level

Wadis – Instant Springs-dry during Summer, overflowing at times during the

winter season due to rains

Ghardaïa (Tagherdayt), Ghardaïa (Tagherdayt), Algeria, Algeria, with the dry bed with the dry bed of of Wadi Mzab Wadi Mzab on the right on the right

side.side.

a Wadi in Negev Desert, a Wadi in Negev Desert, IsraelIsrael

Mountain Ranges in Mid-East

Elburz Mts., Iran Zagros Mts., Iran

Lebanese Mts. Taurus Mts., Turkey

Deserts

Sahara Desert

ArabianDesert

NegevDesert

Libyan DesertRub

al-Khali

Nomadic Arabic Desert Bedouins

The Libyan people are rebelling against the cruel 42 year dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi

10,000 Libyans have been killed since mid February in this uprising

The city of Benghazi has been captured and held by rebels

No fly zone US and other nations are enforcing the no fly zone

Major Geographic Problem: Breeding Areas of Desert Locusts

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” and is neither inhabited nor traversed by the Bedouins.

-

Geologically, the Empty Quarter is the second most oil-rich place

in the world

Rub al-KhaliRub al-Khali::• Summer temperatures of nearly 55 °C

(131 °F) and dunes over 330 meters (1,080 ft) make Rub' al Khali a forbidding environment.

Desert Oases: Water at a Premium!

Fresh Groundwater Sources

DesalinizationPlants:

To provide fresh drinking water

Fertile Crescent

The Fertile Crescent

Completed Map

TigrisRiver

Nile River

EuphratesRiverJordan

River Persian Gulf

ArabianSea

Mediterranean Sea

IndianOcean

Red Sea

Black Sea

Gulf of Aden

Strait ofHormuz

Suez Canal

Dardanelles Strait

AtlanticOcean

Gulf of

Oman

Caspian Sea

ArabianDesert

NegevDesert

SinaiDesert

Rubal-Khali

Atlas Mts.

Elburz

Mts.

Taurus Mts.

Zagros Mts.

Iranian Plateau

AnatolianPlateau

Caucasus Mts.

Hejaz Mts.Sahara Desert

Libyan Desert

The Middle East vs. the U. S.

Latitude Lines

Middle East: Climate Regions

Middle East: Population Density

Cairo, Egypt: Most Populated City in the Middle East

17 millionPeople!

The Middle East:Natural Vegetation

The Natural Resources of theMiddle East-petroleum is the

most valuable

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.