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GEOGRAPHY

Geography is the study of the physical and political features of a country, including its people and resources. Without geography, we'd be ignorant of our surroundings. We must study our land to understand the complexity of our environment and the people around us.

SWAME Waterways

  • The rivers of Southwest Asia are important because most of the region is mostly desert and dry.

  • One of the longest rivers in the region is the Euphrates River, which begins in Turkey and flows through Syria and Iraq. The Euphrates River joins with the Tigris River to form one waterway called the Shaat al-Arab.

  • The Tigris River begins in the mountains of Turkey an flows south through Iraq.

  • The Shaat al-Arab is considered the natural boundary between Kuwait and Iran.

  • The Persian Gulf is one of the main ways oil is transported from the rich fields of Kuwait (and other oil-rich countries).

  • The Strait of Hormuz is an elbow-shaped waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.

  • The Red Sea is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east and Egypt to the west.

  • The man-made Suez Canal allows goods to access the Mediterranean Sea without having to sail around the continent of Africa.

  • The Jordan River is a much smaller river than either the Tigris or the Euphrates.

  • The Jordan River is the main source of water for Israel, Jordan, parts of Syria, and many of those living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

  • The Dead Sea is salty because it has no outlet, meaning that most of the water is evaporated.

SWAME Countries

  • Afghanistan is a good example of a landlocked country, meaning that it has no seacoast.

  • Iran, to the west of Afghanistan, is able to use the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea.

  • The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is said to be the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula.

  • Turkey is located to the north and west of Iraq.

  • Israel was created by the United Nations in 1948 as a homeland for the Jewish people of the world.

Water is a natural resource that is distributed unevenly throughtout Southwest Asia. Both Turkey and Iraq shared the Tigris and Euphrates River systems while Israel Syria and Jordan shared the Jordan River. Unfortunitly, water is in short supply making irrigation necessary for those who want to make a living through farming. Many types of irrigation can be found in Southwest Asia as farmers Because it can be a struggle to bring water to their fields, many types of irrigation can be found.

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Drip irrigation uses computer that measures out how much water each plant receives. Many farmers have begun to use chemical fertilizers, which have contaminated the water supplies through runoff into rivers and streams. Constant planting and fertilizer use have led to the buildup of salt levels in soils, eventually making it impossible to farm in those areas.There is also hydroelectric  power which is produced from the energy of running water. the proplem with this is that the hydroelectricity prouduced  in one country reduces the amount of water available to other countries located further downstream.

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Two of the most important natural resources found in Southwest Asia are natural gas and oil. The countries with the greatest reserves are Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait. These two resources bring wealth into the region because they are needed for much of the world's economy. Over half of the world's known oil reserves are found in this part of the world.In the 1960s several Southwest Asian countries joined with other oil-rich countries around the world to create the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in order to have more control over the price of oil on the world market.

 

The countries of Southwest Asia generally have a very hot and dry climate which is the type of weather a region has over a very long period.  Three major river systems are located in Southwest Asia. The Euphrates Rivera runs through Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Kuwait and  the Tigris River runs through Turkey, Iraq, and Kuwait. There are also several very large desert areas. The Great Syrian Desert is  shared between Syria and Iraq and the Rub al-Khali, or the Empty Quater, is  in southern Saudi Arabia. 

 

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An ethnic group is a group of people who share cultural ideas and beliefs that have been a part of the community for generations. This can include languag, religion,  a shared history,  types of foods, and  a set of traditional stories, beliefs or celebrations. An example of an ethnic group from Southwest Asia is the Kurds. A religious group shares a belief system in a God or gods with the specific set of rituals and literature. Religion has been important to the history of Southwest Asia. Christianity, Islam and  Judaism were all started in this region.

Literacy, or the ability to read and write, has a big affect on the standard of living in a country. Lack of education prevents many young people from becoming the engineers, doctors, scientists, or business managers that the modern economies need in order to bring improvements to their countries. Girls tend to have less opportunity to go to school in many areas of Southwest Asia, a problem these countries are trying to correct.

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