Iraq Geography
(and a little Geology)
R.J. Stern
Geosciences Dept.
UTD
Babylonian
(600 BC)
view of the
world
Asia
Iraq
Iraq’s highest peak: Haji
Ibrahim, 3600m (12,000 ft.)
Terrain: mostly broad plains;
reedy marshes along Iranian
border in south with large
flooded areas; mountains
along borders with Iran and
Turkey
Major Cities (Library of
Congress):
Baghdad (1987): 3,845,000
Basra (1977):1,540,000
Mosul (1977):1,220,000
Kirkuk (1977): 535,000
Land boundaries: 3631 km
Six neighboring nations
Coastline: 58 km
*
*
*
*
Emily Hinz
Satellite Image of Middle East
Iraq: On the northern end of the
Africa-SW Asia ‘Desert Belt’
Arabian Desert
Sahara
Mesopotamia: Between the Rivers
Mesopotamia
& Iraq: A Gift
of the Tigris
& Euphrates
rivers
Ancient
Mesopotamian
Sites
Population Density
Iraq Ethnic
&
Religious
Groups:
Sunni,
Shiites, and
Kurds
MODIS
Satellite
image
Z
Iran
T
E
*
Z
Z
Z = Zagros Mts.
T = Tigris
E = Euphrates
S = Shatt al Arab
* = Baghdad
S
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
TigrisEuphrates
Drainage
Basin and
Relief
Geomorphology
of the
Mesopotamia
Uchupi et al., 1999
MODIS
Satellite
image
T
E
Lake Tharthar
Lake Razaza
*
Floodplain near Baghdad
Historical Migration of Tigris & Euphrates (1944 map)
MODIS Satellite Image of the Shatt al Arab and Vicinity
Euphrates
Zagros
Kuwait
Life in
the
Mesopo
-tamian
Marshes
Dams on the Tigris & Euphrates rivers
Euphrates Water Flow
UNEP, 2001
Mesopotamian
Marshes: Demise of
and Ecosystem:In
the last 10 years,
wetlands that once
covered as much as
20,000 square km
(7,725 square miles)
in parts of Iraq and
Iran have been
reduced to about 15%
of their original size.
Loss of waters from
the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers
results in drying up of
wetlands near Basra.
(UNEP 2001)
Salinization of Mesopotamian Soil
Hillel, 1994
Growth of
TigrisEuphrates
delta:
~150km
over the
past 2700
years
Lees & Falcon (1952)
Space
Shuttle
Photograph
of Persian
Gulf, Shatt
al Arab,
and Zagros
Mountains
ISS photograph of Shatt al Arab & Zagros Mountains
( from the north)
Persian Gulf (viewed from the East)
Persian Gulf
Bathymetry of the Persian Gulf
Teller et al., 2000
Geology
and Oil
Deposits
of the
Arabian
Plate
QuickTime™ and a Video decompressor are needed to see this picture.
Another view of a Collision Zone
TASA graphics
Saudi
Arabia
Iraq
Saudi
Arabia
Iran
Geological Section across Iraq
Topography of the Arabian Peninsula
Oilfields are
concentrated
in structures
related to the
Zagros
Foldbelt
USGS Bull. 2202-E