Northern Africa &
Southwest Asia
 Ten
Geographic
Characteristics
 Physical
Geography
 Cultural
Geography
 Regions & States
 Conflicts
Ten Geographic Characteristics

1. World’s great
ancient culture
hearth

2. Source region or
hearth for several
religions
Ten Geographic Characteristics

3. Islam Predominates

4. Arab World

5. Population is
clustered around water
Ten Geographic Characteristics

6. Desert Environment
predominates

7. Central Pivotal Area
between 3 continents.
Name them---

8. Volatile area with
conflicts - disputes &
boundary frictions
Ten Geographic Characteristics

9. Center of
superpower chess
game. Who???

10. Petroleum - a
key economic
resource
Relative Location of Northern
Africa & Southwest Asia
Centrally located
between Europe,
Asia & Africa
 Between the
Atlantic/Indian and
Mediterranean

Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia
 Ten
Geographic Characteristics
 Physical Geography
 Cultural Geography
 Historical Geography
 Regions & States
Physical Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia
Plate Tectonics
 Plateaus
 Deserts
 Mountains
 Rivers
 Lakes
 Climates

Physical Geography

Plate Tectonics
– Clashing Plates

Arabian Plate into
Eurasian Plate
– Separating Plates
Arabian Plate
pulling apart from
African Plate
 Red Sea

Physical Geography

Plateaus - Anatolian
Highland

Suez Canal

Peninsulas - Saudi
Arabian,

Physical Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia
Deserts
– The Sahara
Desert (World’s
largest)
– The Saudi
Arabian Desert
– The Libyan
Desert
– Negev Desert
(Israel)
Physical Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia

Mountains
– Atlas Mountains (N.
Africa)
– Taurus & Pontic Mts
(Turkey)
– Zagros Mts. (Iran)
– Hindu Kush
(Afghanistan)
Physical Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
 Rivers & Sea
Asia
– The Nile River
– The Tigris & Euphrates Rivers (Ataturk Dam)
– Mediterranean Sea
 Gulfs – Persian Gulf,
– Gulf of Aden &
Oman
Physical Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia

Lakes
– Dead Sea (Israel- salt)
– Sea of Galilee (Israel freshwater)
Physical Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia

Climates
– Desert Climates with less
than 10” of rain

under high pressure
latitude belt and NE trade
winds
– Middle zones on Northern
Africa coast & eastern
coasts of Mediterranean
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia
 Ten
Geographic Characteristics
 Physical Geography
 Cultural Geography
 Regions & States
Cultural Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia
– Population
– Languages
– Religion
– Agriculture
– Economics/
– Urban
Cultural Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
 Population
Asia
– 300 million
– concentrations
along the Nile,
Euphrates & Tigris &
Coasts
– low overall
population due to
desert climate
Northern Africa
 Population
Characteristics
– Birth rates 29/1000
– Death rates 8/1000
– Annual growth 2.2/1000
– Infant Mortality 59/1000
– Pop <15 39%
– Pop > 65 4 %
Southwest Asia
 Population
Characteristics
– Birth rates 28/1000
– Death rates 7/1000
– Annual growth 2.2/1000
– Infant Mortality 54/1000
– Pop <15 37 %
– Pop > 65 5 %
Percent dying under 40 years
Cultural Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia
 Languages
– Unified by Arabic
Language - An AfroAsiatic Language
– Hebrew spoken in
Israel
– Tribal languages
spoken in remote
areas of North Africa
Cultural Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
 Religion
Asia
– Islam - one of the world’s
great religions
– Religious landscapes
of mosques, minarets,
distinctive
non-revealing clothing
– Muslim - a follower of Islam
(What is muezzin?)
Cultural Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia
 Religion
– Islamic Divisions
Sunni Islam
 Shiite Islam (Iran)

Cultural Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia
 Agriculture
(major occupation)
– Commercial farming in Israel (Technology)

Mediterranean climate yielding citrus, avocados &
ranching
– Nomadic Herding dominates the region

Bedouins – Arab nomads
– Today – giving up traditional nomadic lifestyle to move to
the city
– Desertification
Cultural Geography of
Northern Africa & Southwest
 Economy
Asia
– oil dominated industry
Northern Africa Southwest
Asia
 Ten
Geographic Characteristics
 Physical Geography
 Cultural Geography
 Historical Geography
 Regions & States
 Conflicts
Historical Geography
 Pre
European Prelude
 Colonial Transformation
 First World Dependence on oil
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia
 Ten
Geographic Characteristics
 Physical Geography
 Cultural Geography
 Historical Geography
 Regions & States
 Conflicts
Regions of Northern Africa &
Southwest Asia
 Egypt
& the Nile River Basin
 Maghreb
 Arabian Peninsula
 Middle East
 The North
Egypt
& the Nile
Basin
Egypt & Sudan
The Maghreb
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Western Sahara
Countries within Regions
 Arabian
Peninsula
– Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar,
UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain
 The
Middle East
– Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq,
Gaza,
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia
 Ten
Geographic Qualities
 Physical Geography
 Cultural Geography
 Historical Geography
 Regions & States
 Conflicts
Israel and the Palestinian Issue
Northern Africa & Southwest
Asia
 Ten
Geographic Characteristics
 Physical Geography
 Cultural Geography
 Historical Geography
 Regions & States
 Conflicts