Physical Geography of North Africa and the Middle East

1
Physical Geography of North Africa and the Middle
East
2
North Africa

• Physical Geography

3
The Nile River

• 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

4
(No Transcript)
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
Atlas Mountains

• 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

8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
Mount Toubkal is the highest peak in Morocco
April
11
The Sahara Desert

• 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

12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
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.
15
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.
16
Middle East

• Physical Geography

17
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

• 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

18
(No Transcript)
19
Jordan River

• Provides water to the region
• Flows from the mountains in Lebanon into the Dead
  Sea
• Natural boundary between Israel and Jordan

20
(No Transcript)
21
The Dead Sea

• 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

22
(No Transcript)
23
The Red Sea

• Separates the Arabian Peninsula and the continent
  of Africa
• Covers a rift valley created by the movement of
  the Arabian plate

24
(No Transcript)
25
The Suez Canal

• Connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea
• Goods from Asia flow through this canal to ports
  in Europe and North Africa

26
(No Transcript)
27
Mountains in the Middle East

• 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

28
(No Transcript)
29
(No Transcript)
30
Climate of North Africa and the Middle East

• 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-al-Khali, which is the most famous desert in
  the region, so that area has a desert climate

31
(No Transcript)
32
Answer the following question on a separate sheet
of paper

• What are the physical features and the climates
  of the North Africa/Middle East and how have they
  impacted development?