Download 5 Themes of Geography- The Middle East

Five Themes of Geography- The Middle East
Theme 1 Location:
Located near the Suez Canal, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, Arabian
Sea, and Mediterranean Sea
Theme 2- Regions
1. Middle East” or Southwest Asia
2. The term “Middle East” came from the Europeans because it was in the
middle between Europe and Asia on the trade routes. It is located on the
African and Asian continents.
3. North Africa, Central Asia, and Southwest Asia
Theme 3- Place
Physical Characteristics
1. Sahara and Arabian Desert
2. The Arabian Peninsula
3. Major Rivers- Tigris, Euphrates, Jordan and the NILE- Longest river in the
world
4. Major Seas- Caspian, Aral, Red, Dead, and Arabian Sea
a. The Aral Sea has been shrinking since the 1960’s when the Soviet
Union diverted the rivers for irrigation projects.
5. The climate is arid with little rain and Mediterranean
6. Vegetation
a. Shrubs
b. Fruit trees such as olives, figs, citrus, walnuts and grapes
c. Grasses: grassland types, bunchgrasses; sedges, and rushes
d. Herbs: such as fragrant rosemary, thyme, and lavender.
7. The Middle East lies on 4 fault lines so they have earthquakes.
Mountains are:
a. Lebanese Mountains
b. El Buz Mountains
c. Atlas Mountains
d. Zagros Mountains
Human Characteristics
1. Known as one of the “Cradles of Civilization. Birthplace of the world’s first
civilizations
a. Sumerians
b. Mesopotamians
c. Babylonians
d. Assyrians
e. Ethiopians
f. Egyptians
2. Religion (Birthplace of the three monotheistic religions):
a. Islam
b. Christianity
c. Judaism
3. Government:
a. Iran Presidential parliamentary democracy under Islamic religious
control. Also known as a theocracy.
b. Iraq dictatorship
c. Israel Parliamentary democracy
d. Kuwait Constitutional monarchy
e. Saudi Arabia Monarchy
f. Syria
g. Turkey Presidential parliamentary
4. Languages- Arabic, English, Hebrew
5. Economy- based on oil.
a. Oil reserves is an important factor in determining population
distribution.
b. OPEC-Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
i. Intergovernmental organization that was created to stabilize
oil prices and stop competition between oil producing nations.
ii. As of 2016, OPEC's members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador,
Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
iii. Two-thirds of OPEC's oil production and reserves are in its six
Middle Eastern countries that surround the oil-rich Persian
Gulf.
6. Many countries are war torn because of oil, religion, and post colonialism
conflicts over land ownership.
a. Israel and Palestine have been fighting for years over control of Gaza.
b. The borders of Israel, Gaza, and Palestine are constantly shifting and
changing.
Theme 4- Movement
1. Silk Road - Historically, much of the world’s trade flowed through this area
(Silk Road)
2. 3 of the world’s most followed religions started here and spread
throughout the globe
3. Today, the Suez Canal is a vital route for trade and military ships
Theme 5- Human-Environment Interaction
1. Some of the world’s earliest civilizations were located here because of the
war climate and water sources. Humans settled near water to survive (Nile,
2. Use desalination factories to make fresh water from salt water.
3. Accessing Oil and drilling
4. Deforestation
5. Freshwater is a scarcity. Oil is used to trade for water.
a. Building aquifers
i. Israel is the world leader in recycling water for agriculture.
b. Aswan Dam. Benefits include
i. Reduced flooding
ii. Year-round irrigation
iii. Hydroelectric power generation