C.J. Cox Instructor. Northern Africa & Southwest Asia F Ten Geographic Qualities F Physical Geography F Cultural Geography F Regions & States F Conflicts.

C.J. CoxInstructor

Northern Africa & Southwest Asia

Ten Geographic Qualities

Physical Geography

Cultural Geography

Regions & States Conflicts

Ten Geographic Qualities

1. World’s great ancient culture hearth

2. Source region or hearth for several religions

Ten Geographic Qualities

3. Islam Predominates

4. Arab World– (semitic)

5. Population is clustered around water

Ten Geographic Qualities

6. Desert Environment predominates

7. Central Pivotal Area between 3 continents

8. Volatile area with conflicts - disputes & boundary frictions

Ten Geographic Qualities 9. Center of

superpower chess game

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 Qualities 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

Penninsulas - Saudi Arabian, Suez

Physical Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Deserts

– The Sahara Desert -

– The Saudi Arabian Desert

– The Libyan Desert

– Negev Desert

Physical Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Mountains

– Atlas Mountains– Thorus Mts (Turkey)– Elburz & Zagros Mts.

(Iran)– Golan Heights (Israel)

Physical Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Rivers & Sea– The Nile River– The Tigris & Euphrates Rivers– The Jordan River– The Red Sea

Gulfs - – Persian Gulf, – Gulf of Suez, – Gulf of Aqaba

Physical Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia

Lakes – Dead Sea– Sea of Galilee

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

– med. zones on Northern Africa coast & eastern coasts of Mediterrean

Northern Africa & Southwest Asia

Ten Geographic Qualities 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

Asia Population– 300 million– concentrations along

the Nile, Euphrates & Tigris & Coasts

– low overall population due to desert climate

– very high growth rates in Gaza

Northern Africa Population Characteristics

– Birth rates 29/1000– Death rates 8/1000– Natural Increase 2.2/1000– Infant Mortality 59/1000– Doubling Time 32 yrs– Pop <15 39%– Pop > 65 4 %

Southwest Asia Population Characteristics

– Birth rates 28/1000– Death rates 7/1000– Natural Increase 2.2/1000– Infant Mortality 54/1000– Doubling Time 32 yrs– Pop <15 37 %– Pop > 65 5 %

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Languages

– Unified by Arabic Language - An Afro-Asiatic Language

– Hebrew spoken in Israel

– Tribal languages spoken in remote areas of North Africa

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Religion– Islam - one of the

world’s great religions– Religious landscapes

of mosques, minarets, distinctive non-revealing clothing

– Moslem - a follower of Islam

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Religion

– Islamic Divisions Sunni Islam Shite Islam (Iran)

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Agriculture

– commercial farming in Israel Meditterean climate yielding citrus,

avacados & ranching

– Nomadic Herding dominates the region

Bedouins

– Desertification

Cultural Geography of Northern Africa & Southwest

Asia Economy– oil dominated industry

Northern Africa Southwest Asia

Ten Geographic Qualities 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 Qualities 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 MaghrebMorocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Western Sahara

Countries within Regions

Arabian Penninsula– Saudia 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 Qualities Physical Geography Cultural Geography Historical Geography Regions & States Conflicts

C.J. CoxInstructor