Download Physical Features of North Africa and Southwest

Physical
Geography
North Africa and Southwest
Asia
©2012, TESCCC
World Geography Unit 8, Lesson 1
Factors of Settlement
• What factors influence where people
live within a certain area?
• Generate a list of ideas on the board or
using an overhead projector (data
projector).
• Discuss the answers that are generated
by students.
• Now, let’s look at the factors.
©2012, TESCCC
Factors of Settlement
• Physical Factors - most settlements cluster
near bodies of water such as rivers and gulfs.
People also settle in areas that have access
to fresh water. Low-lying areas near fertile
soil attracts settlement. Temperate and mild
climate regions are also regions of large
settlement.
• Human Factors - people settle in areas
where they have access to natural resources,
economic activities, and access
©2012, TESCCC
How do geographers study
human settlement?
• A number of tools are available for
geographers to study settlement patterns.
These include:
• GIS
• Maps (atlas)
• Government data (charts, graphs, reports)
• Satellite imagery
©2012, TESCCC
So where were the first
settlements located in North
Africa and Southwest Asia?
• Fertile Crescent (Tigris and Euphrates
River Valley) (Mesopotamia)
• Nile River Valley
©2012, TESCCC
Mesopotamia
• The earliest cities have
been uncovered in the
Tigris and Euphrates
River valleys. About 3500
B.C. civilizations began
here due to the rich soil
created by the rivers.
• Mesopotamia is the land
that is located between
the two rivers.
©2012, TESCCC
Nile River Valley
• The annual flooding of the river
brought nutrients to the soil and
allowed farmers to grow crops in
abundance.
• Farmers were able to predict the
time of the floods and farming
became more reliable.
• People relied less on nomadic
ways of life.
• Farmers learned to retain water
for use later in the year by
developing irrigation and building
reservoirs.
©2012, TESCCC
The Nile Delta at Night
©2012, TESCCC
Persian Gulf
• The Persian Gulf is located between Iran and the
Arabian Peninsula. It is an extension of the Indian
Ocean.
• The discovery of oil transformed the region from one
of desolation to one of commercial wealth as the
global demand for oil expanded rapidly.
©2012, TESCCC
Then…. Now
Dubai in the mid
20th century
©2012, TESCCC
Dubai today
Sahara
• The largest desert in the world.
• It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Red Sea.
• Temperatures can rise to over 130
degrees.
• The desert consists of sand, mountains,
gravel, and rock formations.
• Underground water supplies—aquifers—
can come to the surface. They can create
an oasis.
©2012, TESCCC
Sahel
• Sahel means shore of the desert.
• The Sahel is a narrow band of dry grassland that runs
east to west along the edge of the Sahara. It receives
very little rainfall.
• People use the Sahel for farming and herding.
• The Sahara has spread into the Sahel leading to
desertification.
©2012, TESCCC
Population Distribution
• The majority of the population in this realm
lives not in the dry arid regions but around
water sources:
• The Nile
• Mediterranean Sea
• Euphrates and Tigris Basin
• Lower mountain slopes of Iran, south of
the Caspian Sea
©2012, TESCCC
Water- A Renewable or Finite
Resource?
• Water is critical for life, food
production, and industrial processes.
• 9 of the 14 Southwest Asian states
face water shortage conditions, the
most concentrated region of water
scarcity in the world.
• The North African states all have rates
of natural increase above 2.0%,
increasing the stress on water sources.
©2012, TESCCC
Other Notable Physical
Features of North Africa and
Southwest Asia
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Atlas Mountains
Nubian Desert
Red Sea
Gulf of Aden
Strait of Hormuz
Anatolia
Black Sea
Caspian Sea
©2012, TESCCC
• Dead Sea
• Arabian Sea
• Rub al Khali (Empty
Quarter)