Transcript Southwest Asia

Physical Geography
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Tectonic Activity
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Mountains
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 Taurus Mountains
 Southern Turkey
 Zagros Mountains
 Southern Iran
Water
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 Mediterranean Sea
 Red Sea
 Arabian Sea
 Persian Gulf
 Arabian Gulf
 Strait of Hormuz
 Bosporous Strait
 Dardanelles
 Jordan River
 Tigris & Euphrates
Rivers
Climate
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 Water is the
region’s most
important
resource
 Mediterranean
climate in some
areas
 Dry, semi-arid
or arid in most
other places
Culture
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Countries & Languages
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 Speak Arabic
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Bahrain
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
 Non-Arab Countries
 Iran: Persian
 Israel: Hebrew
 Turkey: Turkish
Major Cities

 Istanbul
 Jerusalem
 Mecca
 Tehran
 Baghdad
Art & Architecture

 Artwork and
architecture reflects
religious diversity
 Mosques & minarets
 Churches
 Synagogues
 More tomorrow!
Economy/Human
Impact

Life

 Wide range in per capita incomes and levels of
development in the region
 Great variation in standard of living
 Ranges from very wealthy to poverty-stricken
“Black Gold” & the Economy

 Main exports:
Petroleum & oil
products
 Over 60% of world’s oil
reserves
 About 50% of world’s
natural gas reserves
 Use petrochemicals
(derived from
oil/natural gas) for
fertilizer, plastic,
medicine and paint
Service Industries

 Rapid
urbanization/moderniz
ation has led to growth
of the service industry
 Major role in economies
 Banking, real estate,
insurance, tourism,
etc.
 i.e Bahrain: 60% of
GDP
Transportation

 Waterways are key for shipping
 Oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz & Persian Gulf
 Extensive road systems in Iran and Turkey
 Gov’ts building more transit systems to connect
urban & rural populations
 Subway in Istanbul
Trade & Interdependence

 Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC)
 Algeria, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, &
United Arab Emirates
 Oil dependency means that OPEC has a lot of
influence
 Economic disparity between oil-rich and oil-poor
countries
Human Impact
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 Persian Gulf War (19901991)
 Burning oil wells 
smoke pollution affected
birds
 Dumping oil into Persian
Gulf  Fish & other
marine life died
 Iraq War (2003-2011)
 Lebanon-Israel (2006)
 Dumped oil into
Mediterranean Sea
The End 
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