Download the arabian peninsula

THE ARABIAN PENINSULA
RED SEA
• Africa and Arabia were once
joined
• Tectonic movement created a
rift valley
• That valley filled w/water
• Bam! Red Sea
ARABIAN PENINSULA
• (Know def. of peninsula)
• Surrounded by Gulf of Aden,
Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman,
and the Persian Gulf
• Israel, Jordan, and Iraq make
up northern border
ARABIAN SHIELD
• Creates a mountain range in
northwest Saudi Arabia
• Steep escarpment on western
edge
• Many extinct volcanoes
NAJD
• The central plateau of the
Arabian Peninsula
• Slopes very gently from east to
west (unusual for a plateau)
DESERT
• Peninsula is mostly unsuitable for
human settlement
• Arabian Desert has 2 parts:
• 1) An Nafud: reddish, crescent
shaped dunes—covers 25,000 sq.
mi.
• 2) Rub’al-Khali: “The Empty
Quarter—10X the size of An
Nafud; world’s largest
uninterrupted area of sand; one
of the driest regions on earth
WINDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES
WINDS
• MONSOON: a seasonal WIND
that brings warm air from the
oceans in the summer and
cooler, dry air from inland in
winter
• Creates intense contrast with
desert climate
• Dense fog and humidity on
coastal areas
WINDS CONT
• SIMOOM: dry, suffocating wind
from the Arabian Peninsula
• Last c. 20 minutes
• Destroys plant and animal life
(simoom translates to
“poison”)
MORE WIND
• SHAMAL: northwesterly wind
in the Persian Gulf area
• Occur midwinter and early
summer
• Carries millions of tons of sand
and silt into the Rub’ al-Khali
NATURAL RESOURCES
• Arabian Peninsula has at least
25% of world’s proven oil
reserves
• Only Bahrain does not have
significant oil
• Most crucial resource is fresh
water
SECTION 2: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
HISTORY
• Tribal—social groups based on
family relationships
• SHEIKDOM: territory ruled by
an Arab tribal leader
• Bedouins controlled most of AP
• Nomadic and pastoral
• No formal government
GOVERNMENT TODAY
• Majority on AP are monarchies
• Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar
are absolute monarchies
• Bahrain and Kuwait are
constitutional monarchies
• UAE is a federation of
emirates, states ruled by emirs
(Arab rulers)
• Yemen is a republic
SECTS OF ISLAM
• Death of Muhammad caused
conflict among Muslim leaders
(who would succeed him?)
• Islam broke into 2 branches:
• 1) SUNNI: regards 1st 4
successors of Muhammad as
the rightful leaders
• 2) SHIA: regards Muhammad’s
son-in-law Ali and the imams
as his rightful successor
SECTS OF ISLAM
• IBADHISM: conservative form
of Islam (Oman)
• WAHHABISM: strictly orthodox
Sunni Muslim sect; advocates a
return to the early Islam of the
Koran and Sunna, rejecting
later innovations (Saudi
Arabia)
GEOPOLITICS
• Def: government policy as it is
influenced by physical, human,
and economic activity
• Unrest in oil producing
countries is a real concern