Geography of the Arabian Peninsula The Four Geographic
Geography of the Arabian Peninsula
The Four Geographic Regions of the Arabian Peninsula • The Desert • Oases • Coastal Plain • Mountains
The Desert
The Desert • The desert climate is extreme. • Rainfall is less than 10 inches per year.
The Desert • Summer temperatures can exceed 120 degrees in the shade. • Winter temperatures can drop below freezing.
The Desert • Extremes prevent the development of a solid cover of vegetation. • Winds create dunes reaching 500 feet high.
The Desert • Arabian deserts contain wells of salty water, low shrubs, and clumps of tough grass. • This provides good grazing for camels, sheep, goats, and jackrabbits.
The Desert • Most of the land of the Arabian peninsula is desert. • This provides a natural barrier from foreign conquest.
An Oasis
An Oasis • An oasis is a fertile place in the desert where a spring or a well provides a water supply.
An Oasis • Main source of lifegiving water and green pastures for camel herds and other grazing animals. • Nomads travel from oasis to oasis seeking pastures for camels to graze.
An Oasis • Vegetation in oases consisted of date palms, orchard and ground crops such as myrrh and frankincense. • Spices were used for religious, medicinal, sanitary and cosmetic purposes.
Oases • Also became trading centers. • Nomads bought camel meat and milk. • Also traded were spices, perfumes, precious metals, ivory and silk. • Another thing that was traded was ideas.
Coastal Plain
Coastal Plain • A coastal plain is level land extending along a coast. • It separates a plateau from the sea.
Coastal Plain • The coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula is more humid than the interior due to its proximity to the sea.
A City on the Coastal Plain • The Arabian Peninsula has a few deep harbors to encourage seafaring but not one river to provide interior transport and communication.
People of the Coastal Plain • People living on the coastal plain became effective traders. • Most of the trading cities are located along the coastal plain.
Advantages of the Coastal Plain • The coastal plain of Arabia has one major advantage over the other geographical areas: RICH AGRICULTURE. • This region contains most of the cultivated land of the peninsula.
Advantages of the Coastal Plain • Crops included: coffee, grains, and fruits. • This cultivation, along with trading, allowed people to develop complex civilizations.
Mountains
Mountains • Mountains stretch along the coast of the Arabian Peninsula about 50 miles from the sea.
Mountains • This causes the climate to be different from the interior basin. • During the rainy season, flash floods are common.
A Mountain Settlement in Yemen • Annual rainfall is 20 -30 inches.
A Mountain Settlement in Yemen • Farmers created banks of earth called terraces to irrigate crops. • They fertilized with manure and ashes from cooking fires.
A Mountain Settlement in Yemen • This system of farming produced a number of crops such as dates and oranges.
A Mountain Settlement in Yemen • Mountains tend to seal people off from the desert and beyond. • People of the mountains can maintain their culture and traditions.
A Mountain Settlement in Yemen • Today, homes built of mud brick are decorated with bands of color. • This is a tradition from ancient times.
The end?
Geography of the Arabian Peninsula • Assignment : • Draw a picture and label each of the four types of geography of the Arabian Peninsula: Desert, Oases, Coastal Plain, and Mountains • Write one sentence about each and color
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