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Web page regarding the geography of Southwestern Asia

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Southwest Asia

When we think of Asia, we may think of bamboo forests, forbidden cities, and irrigated fields of rice. These things are found in Asia. But they're not found in all of Asia. On the opposite end of the continent from these stereotypes is a whole separate region called Southwest Asia. Many of us know it by a different name: the Middle East. But how much do we really know about this region? Let's take a tour and find out.

Physical Geography

Let's start by looking at the physical geography of Southwest Asia, or the region as it appears in terms of natural features. Southwest Asia stretches from the Arabian Sea in the south up to the Black Sea in the North. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west side, and connects to Central Asia through rolling mountains on the east. So, off the bat we can see that the region has access to lots of water, and that most of it is salt water.

Landforms

Southwest Asia gets a negative image as a place of endless deserts, but there really is a lot more to the region than that. It is dominated not just by deserts but by two major peninsulas, surrounded by water. The Anatolian Peninsula, basically what we call the modern nation of Turkey, is situated right in between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The Arabian Peninsula is further south, separating the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea.

The land of Southwest Asia tends to be hot, and very dry. Southwest Asia has an arid climate, meaning that fresh water is often scarce. In fact, most of the region gets less than 18 inches of precipitation in a year. For that reason, the wadi, or dried riverbed, is a common site in the dry season. You may also expect to see massive sand storms called haboobs.

Water

So, is there water anywhere in Southwest Asia? Yes there is. Besides the numerous salt-water seas we've mentioned, there are parts of this area that actually get reliable rainfall and have adequate springs for fresh water. Most of these are either along the coast of the Mediterranean, which have a pleasant climate like that of Southern Italy or Greece, or the region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Running parallel across Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, the Tigris and Euphrates are the dominant rivers of the region. The land between them is one of the most fertile river valleys on earth, and in fact most archaeologists believe that is was here that agriculture was first developed by humanity. The rich soil of this region, along with the lush coastlines along the Mediterranean form something of a half-moon shaped territory of great soil and healthy agriculture. For those reasons, historians have termed this the Fertile Crescent.

Human Geography

Of course, not everything in Southwest Asia is composed of purely natural features. Humans have had a major impact on the region as well. We call the study of the relationship between humans and the physical landscape human geography.

Borders

One of the most obvious things we see in terms of human geography is that people like to draw borders, creating nations and states. Countries are not natural features, but are entirely human made. The countries that make up Southwest Asia include Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.

Peoples

While Southwest Asia is home to numerous cultures, there are a few things that unite many of them. First is ethnicity. There are two dominant ethno-linguistic families that dominate Southwest Asia. The various Turkish peoples include the ethnic and linguistic groups of the northern region, located mostly around (you guessed it) Turkey. They are ethnically connected to peoples of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The rest of Southwest Asia is largely populated by various Semitic speaking groups. The most widely spoken Semitic languages include Hebrew and Arabic.

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When we think of Asia, we may think of bamboo forests, forbidden cities, and irrigated fields of rice. These things are found in Asia. But they're not found in all of Asia. On the opposite end of the continent from these stereotypes is a whole separate region called Southwest Asia.

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Rub Al-Khali desert in Saudi Arabia

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Web page regarding the physical features and geography in Pakistan

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The Geography of Pakistan ( Urdu: جغرافیۂ پاکِستان‬‎) is a profound blend of landscapes varying from plains to deserts, forests, hills, and plateaus ranging from the coastal areas of the Arabian Sea in the south to the mountains of the Karakoram range in the north.

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Taurus Mountains in Turkey

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Gif of Syrian Desert

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Negev Desert in Israel

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Mount Ramon in Israel

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Middle East Geography

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Video about Southwestern Asia's Physical features

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SW Asia (Middle East) Political & Physical Features

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Learn the countries and physical features of the Middle East (Southwest Asia) with Mr. Parker, for the CRCT. Georgia Performance Standard SS7G5

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Northern angled view of the Himalayan mountains