Patterns of Physical Geography

Use the Unit Atlas to addto your knowledge ofSouthwest Asia. As youlook at the maps andcharts, notice geographicpatterns and specificdetails about the region.For example, the chartgives details about themountains and desertsof Southwest Asia.

After studying thegraphics and physicalmap on these two pages,jot down answers to thefollowing questions inyour notebook.

Making Comparisons1. Which of Southwest

Asia’s deserts is aboutthe same size as theMojave Desert of theUnited States?

2. How do the tallestmountains of SouthwestAsia compare to thetallest U.S. mountain?

3. Which mountain chainscut off Turkey and Iranfrom the rest of theregion? How mightisolation affect the way a country developseconomically?

478 UNIT 7

Damavand Iran18,606 feet

Mt. AraratTurkey16,945 feet

Mt. Hermon Lebanon-Syria9,232 feet

Mt. Everest Nepal-Tibet 29,035 feet

World’s TallestMt. McKinley United States20,320 feet

U.S. Tallest

Negev Israel4,700 square miles

An-Nafud Arabian Peninsula 25,000 square miles

Rub al-Khali Arabian Peninsula 250,000 square miles

World’s LargestSahara Africa 3,500,000 square miles U.S. Largest

Mojave United States 25,000 square miles

0 100 200 300

United States281,422,000

SouthwestAsia

262,678,000

Population (in millions)

SouthwestAsia 2,673,262 sq mi

ContinentalUnited States

3,165,630 sq mi

Comparing Data

Landmass

Deserts

Mountains

Population

For updated statistics on Southwest Asia . . .

DATA UPDATECLASSZONE .COM

478-483-Unit 7 Opener 10/16/02 11:23 AM Page 478

40°E30°E 50°E 60°E 70°E

40°N

30°N

20°N

10°N

0°

70°E

Tropic of Cancer

Equator

Arabian Sea

Gulf Of Aden

Ca

s pi a

nS

ea

Gulf Of Oman

PersianGulfR

edSea

B l a c k S e a

Aegean

Sea

’

MediterraneanSea

INDIANOCEAN

Bosporus

Dardanelles

Sea ofMarmara

Strait ofHormuz

Euphrates

River

TigrisR

iver

Diyal

aR.

Amu

Darya

LakeUrmia

LakeVan

Socotra(Yemen)

Crete (Gr.)

Mt. Ararat16,945 ft. (5,165 m.)

Mt. Damavand18,934 ft. (5,771 m.)

Khyber Pass3,518 ft. (1,072 m.)

Dead Sea-1,312 ft.(-400 m.)

Mt. Hermon9,232 ft. (2,814 m.)

Hindu Kush

Taurus Mountains

Pontic Mountains

ZAGRO

SM

OUNTAINS

Elburz Mountains

Anatolia

Plateau Of Iran

ARABIAN PENINSULA

He

ja

z

N

a

j

dSyrianDesert

Dasht-e-Kavir

Dasht-e-Lut

R u b A l - K h a l i

An-Nafud

CYPRUS

N. CYPRUS

ISRAEL

JORDAN

LEBANONSYRIA

RUSSIA

UKRAINE

ROMANIA

MOLDOVA

BULGARIA

EGYPT

SUDAN

ETHIOPIA

SOMALIA

DJIBOUTI

TURKMENISTAN

GEORGIA

ARMENIA

AZER.

AZERBAIJAN

UZBEKISTAN

KAZAKHSTAN

KYRGYZSTAN

TAJIKISTAN

PAKISTAN

TURKEY

IRAQ IRAN

SAUDI ARABIA

YEMEN

OMAN

UNITED ARABEMIRATES

BAHRAIN

QATAR

KUWAIT

AFGHANISTAN

OMAN

Sinai

Peninsula

Negev

MediterraneanSea

DeadSea

Gulf of Suez

Gul

f of A

qaba

Jo rdanR

.

SuezC

anal

WestBank

GolanHeights

GazaStrip

Pa

le

st

in

e

ISRAEL

SAUDIARABIA

LEBANON

JORDANEGYPT

0

0 25 50 kilometers

25 50 miles

Elevation

Mountain peak

(4,000 m.)(2,000 m.)

(500 m.)(200 m.)

(0 m.)Below sea level

13,100 ft.6,600 ft.1,600 ft.

650 ft.0 ft.

0

0 250 500 kilometers

250 500 miles

Lambert Conformal Conic Projection

N

S

EW

479

Southwest Asia: Physical

SW

AS

IA

478-483-Unit 7 Opener 10/16/02 11:23 AM Page 479

Patterns of Human Geography

After World War II(1939-1945), the nationof Israel was created in 1948. Since that time,the peoples and nationsof the region have beenin conflict with oneanother.

Study the political map of Southwest Asiaand the Israel maps atthe right to see howpossession of the landschanged. Then write theanswers to these ques-tions in your notebook.

Making Comparisons1. Which areas did Israel

occupy in 1967?

2. Study both maps of Israeland the political map and write a sentencedescribing the changesin land possession from1948 to the present.

3. What nation is inpossession of the SinaiPeninsula today?

4. Which four nationssurround the GolanHeights? Who controlsthe area?

480 UNIT 7

Jerusalem

M e d i t e r r a n e a n

S e a

R e d S e a

Gulf

ofSuez

Gul

f of A

qaba

DeadSea

SuezCanal

WESTBANK

GOLANHEIGHTS

GAZA STRIP

SINAIPENINSULA

EGYPT

ISRAEL

CYPRUS

JORDAN

LEBANON

SAUDI ARABIA

SYRIA

Jord

anR

.

Israel before 1967 war

Territory occupied by Israel, June 1967

Jerusalem

Med

iter

ran

ean

Sea

R e dS e a

DeadSea

Jord

anR

.

WESTBANK

EGYPT

ISRAEL

TRANSJORDAN

LEBANON

SYRIA

0

0 25 50 kilometers

25 50 miles

Lambert Conformal Conic Projection

N

S

EW

Jewish state

Arab state

International zone

Proposed by UN, 1947

0

0 50 100 kilometers

50 100 miles

Lambert Conformal Conic Projection

N

S

EW

Israel, 1948 and 1967

1948 1967

478-483-Unit 7 Opener 10/16/02 11:23 AM Page 480

40°E30°E 50°E 60°E 70°E

40°N

30°N

Tropic of Cancer

20°N

10°N

0°

70°EArabian Sea

Gulf of Aden

Ca

s pi a

nS

ea

Gulf Of Oman

PersianGulf

Red

B l a c k S e a

Aegean

Sea

’

MediterraneanSea

INDIANOCEAN

Bosporus

Dardanelles

Sea ofMarmara

Strait ofHormuz

Sea

LakeUrmia

LakeVan

Euphrates

River

TigrisR

iver

Socotra(Yemen)

Crete (Gr.)CYPRUS

N. CYPRUS

ISRAEL

JORDAN

LEBANON SYRIA

RUSSIA

UKRAINE

ROMANIA

MOLDOVA

BULGARIA

EGYPT

SUDAN

ETHIOPIA

SOMALIA

DJIBOUTI

TURKMENISTAN

GEORGIA

ARMENIA

AZER.

AZERBAIJAN

UZBEKISTAN

KAZAKHSTAN

KYRGYZSTAN

TAJIKISTAN

PAKISTAN

T U R K E Y

I R A Q

I R A N

SAUDI ARABIA

YEMEN

OMAN

UNITED ARABEMIRATES

BAHRAIN

QATAR

KUWAIT

AFGHANISTAN

OMAN

Aleppo

Adana

Istanbul

Izmir

Medina

Mashhad

Shiraz

Esfahan

Tabriz

Qom

Mosul Arbil

Erzurum

Samsun

MeccaJiddah

Basra

Aden

Beirut

Nicosia

Ankara

Damascus

JerusalemAmman

Baghdad

Kuwait

Doha

Manama

Abu Dhabi

Muscat

Riyadh

TehranKabul

Sanaa

MediterraneanSea

DeadSea

Gulf of Suez

Gul

f of A

qaba

JerusalemTel Aviv-Yafo

Haifa

Port Said

Suez

Amman

Jor danR

.

SuezC

anal

*WestBank

GolanHeights

*Gaza Strip

Pa

le

st

in

e

ISRAEL

SAUDIARABIA

LEBANON

JORDAN

EGYPT

0

0 25 50 kilometers

25 50 miles

Dashed border indicates disputed boundary

* The status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is under negotiation

National capital

Other city

0

0 250 500 kilometers

250 500 miles

Lambert Conformal Conic Projection

N

S

EW

481

Southwest Asia: Political

SW

AS

IA

478-483-Unit 7 Opener 10/16/02 11:23 AM Page 481

Regional Patterns

482 UNIT 7

SAUDI ARABIA

YEMEN

OMAN

BAHRAIN

QATAR

CYPRUS

ISRAEL

JORDAN

LEBANONSYRIA

T U R K E Y

I R A Q

I R A N

U.A.E.

KUWAIT

AFGHANISTAN

40°N

30°N

20°N

10°N

Tropic of Cancer

50°E 60°E 70°E40°E30°E

B a l u c h i

A r a b i c

A r a b i c

A r a b i c

A r a b i c

P e r s i a n

Tajik

T a j i k

L u r

K u r d i s h

Kurdish

H a z a r aG r e e k

G r e e k

L u r

A r a b i c

A r a b i c

T u r k i s h TurkmenUzbek

Jewish

Azerbaijani

P u s h t u n

Bakht iari

P e r s i a n

Turkic

Iranian

Semitic

Other

Ethnic groupA r a b i c

0

0 250 500 kilometers

250 500 miles

Lambert Conformal Conic Projection

N

S

EW

Ethnic Regions of Southwest Asia

Persian 14%

Azerbaijani 7% Kurd 9%

Other 16%*Turk 23%

Arab 31%

Ethnic Groups of Southwest Asia*

* Includes Jews, who are of different ethnic groups.SOURCE: Britannica Book of the Year 2000; U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base;CIA World Factbook 2000

These two pages containa graph and three thematic maps. Thegraph and two of themaps show the ethnicand religious diversityof Southwest Asia. Thethird map shows youhow people in theregion earn a living.After studying these two pages, answer thequestions below in your notebook.

Making Comparisons1. What percentage of the

population is Kurdish andwhere are Kurds found inthe region?

2. What area has holyplaces for three majorreligions? Why might thelocation of these placesbe a problem?

3. What energy sources arefound in the region?

4. What is the maineconomic activity in theregion? What does thatsuggest about the landand the population on it?

478-483-Unit 7 Opener 10/16/02 11:23 AM Page 482

Ankara

DamascusBaghdad

Ephesus

Tehran

Beirut

JerusalemAmman

Nicosia

Kuwait

DohaManama

Abu DhabiMuscatRiyadh

Sanaa

Kabul

Medina

An Najaf

Mecca

Karbala

Qom

Mashhad

SAUDI ARABIA

YEMEN

OMAN

BAHRAIN

QATAR

CYPRUS

ISRAEL

JORDAN

LEBANONSYRIA

T U R K E Y

I R A QI R A N

U.A.E.

KUWAIT

AFGHANISTAN

40°E30°E20°E 50°E

60°E 70°E

30°N

Tropic of Cancer

Jord

an

R.

JerusalemBethlehem

TiberiasNazareth

Zefat

Hebron

Mt.Carmel

Sea ofGalilee

WESTBANK

GAZASTRIP

GOLANHEIGHTS

ISRAEL

JORDAN

LEBANONSYRIA

0

0 25 50 kilometers

25 50 miles

Christian

Druze

Jewish

Sunni Muslim

Shi'ite Muslim

Religious group

Christian

Jewish

Sunni Muslim

Shi’ite Muslim

Holy place

0

0 250 500 kilometers

250 500 miles

Lambert Conformal Conic Projection

N

S

EW

Cr

Cr

Cr

Cr

C

CC

C

C

Ca

spi a

nS

ea

B l a c k S e a

Gulf of Aden

Re

d

Se

a

Persian

Arabian Sea

Gulf of Oman

INDIANOCEAN

Gulf of Suez

Gulf

Mediterranean Sea

Chromium

Coal

Copper

Hydroelectricpower

C

Cr Iron ore

Lead

Natural gas

Petroleum

Phosphate

Resources

Commercial farming

Commercial fishing

Forestry

Nomadic herding

Subsistence farming

Little or no economic activity

Activities

0

0 250 500 kilometers

250 500 miles

Lambert Conformal Conic Projection

N

S

EW

Religious Groups of Southwest Asia

SW

AS

IA

Economic Activities of Southwest Asia

483

478-483-Unit 7 Opener 10/16/02 11:23 AM Page 483

Regional Data File

Study the information on the countries ofSouthwest Asia. In yournotebook, answer thesequestions.

Making Comparisons1. Which nations have more

doctors per 100,000population than theUnited States?

2. Study the information todetermine which nationafter Afghanistan is thepoorest. On whichcategories did you baseyour judgment?

3. Using the map on page479, make a list of thenations that border thePersian Gulf. How manyof those nations havemore exports thanimports?

Sources:Human Development Report 2000, UNInternational Data Base, U.S. Census

Bureau onlineMerriam-Webster’s Geographical

Dictionary, 3d ed., 1997World Education Report 2000,

UNESCO onlineWorld Population Data Sheet 2000,

Population Reference Bureau onlineWHO Estimates of Health Personnel,

onlineWorld Almanac and Book of Facts

2001World Factbook 2000, CIA online

Notes:a A comparison of the prices of the

same items in different countries is used to figure these data.

b Includes land and water, whenfigures are available.

484 UNIT 7

Country Country/ Population Life Expectancy Birthrate Infant MortalityFlag Capital (2000 estimate) (years) (per 1,000 pop.) (per 1,000 live births)

(2000) (2000) (2000)

Afghanistan 26,668,000 46 43 149.8Kabul

Bahrain 691,000 69 22 8.1Manama

Cyprus 882,000 77 14 7.8Nicosia

Iran 67,411,000 69 21 30.8Tehran

Iraq 23,115,000 59 38 127.0Baghdad

Israel 6,227,000 78 22 6.0Jerusalem

Jordan 5,083,000 69 33 34.0Amman

Kuwait 2,190,000 72 24 12.5Kuwait

Lebanon 4,202,000 70 23 34.5Beirut

Oman 2,353,000 71 44 25.0Muscat

Qatar 591,000 72 20 20.0Doha

Saudi Arabia 21,607,000 70 35 46.4Riyadh

Syria 16,482,000 67 33 34.6Damascus

Turkey 65,311,000 69 22 37.9Ankara

United Arab Emirates 2,835,000 74 24 16.0Abu Dhabi

Yemen 17,030,000 59 39 75.3Sanaa

United States 281,422,000 77 15 7.0Washington, D.C.

For updated statistics on Southwest Asia . . .

DATA UPDATECLASSZONE .COM

484-485-Unit 7 Opener 10/16/02 11:25 AM Page 484

Doctors GDPa Import/Exporta Literacy Rate Televisions Passenger Cars Total Areab

(per 100,000 pop.) (billions $US) (billions $US) (percentage) (per 1,000 pop.) (per 1,000 pop.) (square miles)(1996–1998) (1998–1999) (1998–1999) (1998–1999) (1998) (1996–1997)

11 21.0 0.2 / 0.1 32 10 2 250,7751996

100 8.6 3.5 / 3.3 87 467 242 255

255 Greek Cypriot 9.0 GrkCyp 3.5 / 1.1 97 322 316 3,572Turkish Cypriot 0.8 TrkCyp 0.4 / 0.1

85 347.6 13.8 / 12.2 75 63 26 635,932

55 59.9 8.9 / 12.7 54 80 32 168,927

385 105.4 30.6 / 23.5 96 290 224 7,992

166 16.0 3.0 / 1.8 89 80 40 34,575

189 44.8 8.1 / 13.5 81 370 318 6,880

210 16.2 5.7 / 0.9 85 366 325 3,949

133 19.6 5.4 / 7.2 69 657 108 82,000

126 12.3 4.2 / 6.7 80 401 151 4,400

166 191.0 28.0 / 48.0 75 257 89 865,000

144 42.2 3.2 / 3.3 73 67 9 71,498

121 409.4 36.0 / 26.0 84 189 53 301,380

181 41.5 27.5 / 34.0 75 104 144 32,278

23 12.7 2.3 / 2.0 44 28 15 203,849

251 9,255.0 820.8 / 663.0 97 847 489 3,787,319

485

484-485-Unit 7 Opener 10/16/02 11:25 AM Page 485