Kristen WilhiteKristen Wilhite

Middle East Fun FactsMiddle East Fun Facts•The Middle East is NOT a continent. •It’s a region with no clear boundaries.

• It sits where Africa, Asia and Europe meets. •The countries of the Middle East are apart of Asia

•The African Country of Egypt is thought to be in the Middle east, as well as the northern African countries around the

Mediterranean sea.

The Middle East Today:Political Map

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23-->5

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9<--10

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1415-->16

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19

20

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Bodies of Water

TigrisRiver

Nile River

Euphrates

RiverJordan River Persian Gulf

ArabianSea

Mediterranean Sea

IndianOcean

Red Sea

Black Sea

Gulf of Aden

Strait ofHormuz

Suez Canal

Dardanelles Strait

Atlantic

Ocean

Gulf of

Oman

Caspian

Sea

The Mighty Nile River:

“Longest River in the World”

Egypt: The “Gift of the Nile”

Annual Nile Flooding

Annual Nile Flooding

Nile DeltaNile

Delta

95% of the Egyptian people live on 5% of the

land!

95% of the Egyptian people live on 5% of the

land!

Aswan High Dam, Egypt

Hydroelectric

Power Plant

Hydroelectric

Power Plant

Suez Canal

Completed by the British in 1869

Completed by the British in 1869

The Tigris & Euphrates

River System

Mesopotamia: ”Land Between the

Two Rivers”

Mesopotamia: ”Land Between the

Two Rivers”

Marsh Arabs, So. Iraq

Marsh Arabs, So. Iraq

TheJordan River

Dead Sea: Lowest Point on Earth

HighestSalt

Content(33%)

HighestSalt

Content(33%)

2,300’ below sea level

2,300’ below sea level

Wadis – Instant Springs

Mountains & Plateaus

Atlas Mts.

El

burz

Mts

.

Taurus

Mts. Zagros

Mts.

Iranian Plateau

AnatolianPlateau

Caucasus Mts.

Heja

z Mts.

Mountain Ranges in Mid-East

Elburz Mts., IranElburz Mts., Iran Zagros Mts., IranZagros Mts., Iran

Lebanese Mts.Lebanese Mts. Taurus Mts., TurkeyTaurus Mts., Turkey

Other Land forms of the Other Land forms of the Middle East Middle East

• An Nafud Desert (Part fo the Arabian Desert)- Saudi Arabia, gigantic sand dunes, some over 100 ft. High

• Asir & Hejaz Mts.- running along Saudi Arabia’s Border with the red sea

• Dash-E Lut (Lout Desert)- North Central Iran, largest desert in the country, uninhabited wasteland covered with crusty salt ridges.

• Hadramawt- low mountain range of Yemen

• Hindu Kush- mountains border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, many snow capped peaks reaching over 22,000 ft.

• Kara Kum Desert- south central Turkmenistan, large mass of sand known for its towering sand dunes

• Syrian desert- covers parts of Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and western Iraq. Very little rain, lots of camels and cattle, oil pipelines and scattered oases.

Deserts

Sahara Desert

ArabianDesert

NegevDesert

SinaiDeser

tLibyan Desert

Rubal-Khali

Desert Bedouins

Swarms of Desert Locusts!

Locusts Swarm the Pyramids Complex at

Giza!

Locusts Swarm the Pyramids Complex at

Giza!

Israel Hit By Worst Locust Plague

Since the 1950s!

Israel Hit By Worst Locust Plague

Since the 1950s!

Rub al-Khali:“The Empty Quarter”

Desert Oases: Water at a Premium!

Desalinization

Plants

Fertile Crescent

The Fertile Crescent

Completed Map

TigrisRiver

Nile River

Euphrates

RiverJordan River Persian Gulf

ArabianSea

Mediterranean Sea

IndianOcean

Red Sea

Black Sea

Gulf of Aden

Strait ofHormuz

Suez Canal

Dardanelles Strait

Atlantic

Ocean

Gulf of

Oman

Caspian

Sea

ArabianDesert

NegevDesert

SinaiDese

rt

Rubal-Khali

Atlas Mts.

El

burz

Mts

.

Taurus

Mts. Zagros

Mts.

Iranian Plateau

AnatolianPlateau

Caucasus Mts.

Heja

z Mts.Sahara Desert

Libyan Desert

Middle East: Climate Regions

Middle East: Population Density1970 2001 2025 Annual

renewable fresh h2o

Algeria 13.8 31 43.2 14.3

Bahrain .2 .07 1 0.1

Egypt 35.3 69.8 96.2 86.8

Iran 28.8 66.1 88.4 137.5

Israel 3 6.4 8.9 2.2

Jordan 1.6 5.2 8.7 0.9

Kuwait .07 2.3 4.2 0.02

Lebanon

2.5 4.3 5.4 4.8

Libya 2 5.2 8.3 0.6

Morocco

15.3 29.2 40.5 30

Oman 0.7 2.4 4.9 1.0

Saudi Arabia

5.7 21.1 40.9 2.4

Syria 6.3 17.1 27.1 46.1

Tunisia 5.1 9.7 12.5 4.1

Turkey 35.3 66.3 85.2 200.7

UAE 0.2 3.3 4.5 0.2

Yemen 6.3 18 39.6 4.1

By the Millions

Cairo, Egypt: Most Populated City in the Middle East

17,000,000+

People!

17,000,000+

People!

The Middle East:Natural Vegetation

The Natural Resources of the

Middle East

World Oil Reserves

Persian Gulf Oil Exports (2003)

Saudi Oil Fields & Refineries

Kuwait: An Island Floating on a Sea of Oil

Kuwait

City

Kuwait

City

Leading U. S. Oil Suppliers

The U. S. imports 30% of its oil needs from the Middle East.

The U. S. imports 30% of its oil needs from the Middle East.