Transcript Physical Geography of North Africa and the Middle East

Physical Geography
 The longest river in the world
 Flows more than 4,000 miles
 More than 95% of Egyptians depend on
the Nile for their water
 3,320 people per square mile
 Provides irrigation for the region
 Northwestern Africa
 Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia
 Separates the Mediterranean Basin from
the Sahara Desert which forms a boundary
and almost prevents communication
between the two regions
 The largest hot desert in the world
 Sahara means “desert” in Arabic
 Temperatures can rise as high as 136.4
degrees F in the summer
 Temperatures can also fall below freezing
at night in the winter
 Only 20% is sand, the rest is made up of
mountains, rock formations, and gravelly
plains
Travel in the Sahara is risky because of the extreme
conditions. Many travelers rely on camels because
camels can go for up to 17 days without water. Also,
wind-blown sand has little effect on a camel because it
closes its nostrils and just keeps walking.
As much as 6,000 feet under the Sahara are huge stores
of underground water called aquifers. In some areas,
this water has come to the surface, which is called an
oasis. It supports vegetation and wildlife and is critical
for people living in the desert.
Physical Geography
 Two of the most important rivers in the Middle
East
 Supported several ancient river valley civilizations
in a larger area known as the Fertile Crescent
 Flow through parts of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq
 The valleys are fertile, well watered, and great for
agriculture
 Flow almost parallel to each other for hundreds of
miles
 Join at the Shatt al Arab and then flow into the
Persian Gulf
 Provides water to the
region
 Flows from the
mountains in Lebanon
into the Dead Sea
 Natural boundary
between Israel and
Jordan
 A landlocked salt lake
 The Dead Sea is so
salty that only
bacteria can live in
the water
 1,349 feet below sea
level – lowest place
on the exposed crust
of the earth
 Separates the
Arabian Peninsula
and the continent
of Africa
 Covers a rift valley
created by the
movement of the
Arabian plate
 Connects the
Red Sea and the
Mediterranean
Sea
 Goods from Asia
flow through this
canal to ports in
Europe and
North Africa
 Mountains divide the land and countries
 The Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan are




linked with other mountain ranges that frame South
Asia
The Zagros Mountains on the western side of Iran
isolate the country from the rest of the Middle East
The Elburz Mountains cut off easy access to the
Caspian Sea for Iran
The Taurus Mountains separate Turkey from the
rest of the Middle East
However, goods, people, and ideas have still been
able to spread because of water
 Majority of North Africa has a desert climate
 Around the Atlas Mountains, the climate is
Semiarid and on the coast of the Mediterranean,
the climate is Mediterranean
 Rainfall in North Africa is mainly in the winter
 Majority of the Middle East is extremely arid
 The Arabian Peninsula consists of the Rub-alKhali, which is the most famous desert in the
region, so that area has a desert climate
Choke Points
 What are the physical features and
the climates of the North
Africa/Middle East and how have
they impacted development?