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