Name________________________________________
Middle East Geography Test Study Guide
Know the locations of the following:
Tigris River
Euphrates River
Persian Gulf
Strait of Hormuz
Arabian Sea
Red Sea
Suez Canal
Jordan River
Afghanistan
Iran
Iraq
Saudi Arabia
Turkey
Israel
Gaza Strip
Oman
Yemen
Jordan
U.A.E.
Lebanon
Kuwait
Qatar
Environmental Problems in the Middle East (Southwest Asia)
1) Where do most people live in SW Asia? _____In areas where there is fresh water_______________________
2) Describe the climate of the region. ___hot and arid (dry)________________________________________________
3) Why is the Suez Canal important ? ____It makes trade easier; it’s not necessary to go around the continent of
Africa______________________
4) What is the importance of the Strait of Hormuz? ___All of the oil that comes from the Middle East has to go through
the Strait of Hormuz (one of the Choke Points); it would be disastrous to the world economy if that trade route was
blocked________________________________________________________________________________________
5) How has the dam that was built in Turkey affected Syria and Iraq? __It has drastically reduced the available water
downstream; Syria gets 40% less and 80% less in Iraq______________________________________________
6) Identify the factors that contribute to water pollution in Southwest Asia. __chemical fertilizers & pesticides, human
waste, household waste, industrial waste (including oil spills)______________________________________
7) How have chemical fertilizers affected water supplies in Southwest Asia? ___it can either soak into the ground
which contaminates the ground water or runs off into nearby rivers or streams; it also causes a build up of salt in the
soil which makes the land unable to use to grow crops_________________________________________
8) Why doesn’t Southwest Asia use the desalinization process to gain access to more drinking water? __it’s too
expensive and also requires very advanced technology and skilled workers which many of the countries of the
Middle East are lacking._______________________________________________________________
9) What are the two most valuable natural resources in Southwest Asia? Which resource is scarce and which resource
is plentiful? __water and oil; oil is plentiful and water is scarce__________________________________
Name________________________________________
10) Describe the conflict that occurs due to damming rivers. __Due to overuse of rivers upstream and the fact that it is a
very hot and arid region, countries can’t agree to a suitable water sharing agreement. Sometime countries have
been accused of taking MORE THAN THEIR SHARE (Turkey & Israel) which has led to conflicts between countries or
groups of people.____________________________________________________________________________
11) What is drip irrigation? Why is it important in the Middle East? _Drip irrigation is when a specific amount of water
that is measured and put on the crop at ground level; it’s controlled by computers and reduces the water waste. It’s
very technical and very effective because it eliminates water loss to evaporation. It was developed by agricultural
specialists in Israel.___________________________________________________________________
12) How has the discovery of oil in Southwest Asia affected the economic development of this area? __It has changed
the region from mostly agricultural to more industrial; making the region more economically
developed.____________________________________________________________________________
13) Which countries in Southwest Asia are the most oil-rich countries in Southwest Asia? __Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq ,
Kuwait, U.A.E._____________________________________
14) What is the role of OPEC? ___to control the production and price of oil that is exported around the
world.__________________________________________________________________________________________
15) What type of climate makes up most of Southwest Asia? __hot and arid (repeated question)_____
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
16) Most countries around the _RIVERS__________________ fight over ACCESS TO WATER________________.
17) Describe Saudi Arabia’s GDP per capita in relation to their oil reserves. How does investment in human capital affect
it?__Because Saudi Arabia has about 25% of the oil reserves worldwide, their GDP per capita is higher than non-oil
rich countries; they have to have highly skilled workers to work in the oil industry so their level of available
education is often better than countries without a need for skilled workers_______________