Southwest
Asia
The Middle East
Physical Geography
Arabian
Peninsula: Surrounded by
water on three sides
Tigris and Euphrates rivers are the
only water source
Between the partly folded Arabian
Plate and Eurasian Plate are huge
reserves of oil
Oil
 Many
countries in Arabia rely on oil and
natural gas to meet their needs
 Also, rely on foreign workers
 The rest of the world relies on these
countries for oil supply
 Is the oil supply going to last forever?
Source: Mike Horn
OPEC
 The
Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries
 Coordinate and unify oil policies
Vast Deserts and Scarce Water
 Most
of Arabia and Iraq is desert
 Farming is possible in the mountains of
Yemen
 The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are the
most important sources of water
 The driest countries depend on seawater
that has been stripped of its salt
Population
 High
population due to high birth rates
and guest workers
 Most people live in the urban areas
(cities)
 Why would most people live in cities?
What do the cities have?