THE ARABIAN PENINSULA RED SEA Africa and Arabia

THE ARABIAN PENINSULA

RED SEA • Africa and Arabia were once joined • Tectonic movement created a rift valley • That valley filled w/water • Bam! Red Sea

ARABIAN PENINSULA • (Know def. of peninsula) • Surrounded by Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf • Israel, Jordan, and Iraq make up northern border

ARABIAN SHIELD • Creates a mountain range in northwest Saudi Arabia • Steep escarpment on western edge • Many extinct volcanoes

NAJD • The central plateau of the Arabian Peninsula • Slopes very gently from east to west (unusual for a plateau)

DESERT • Peninsula is mostly unsuitable for human settlement • Arabian Desert has 2 parts: • 1) An Nafud: reddish, crescent shaped dunes—covers 25, 000 sq. mi. • 2) Rub’al-Khali: “The Empty Quarter— 10 X the size of An Nafud; world’s largest uninterrupted area of sand; one of the driest regions on earth

WINDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES

WINDS • MONSOON: a seasonal WIND that brings warm air from the oceans in the summer and cooler, dry air from inland in winter • Creates intense contrast with desert climate • Dense fog and humidity on coastal areas

WINDS CONT • SIMOOM: dry, suffocating wind from the Arabian Peninsula • Last c. 20 minutes • Destroys plant and animal life (simoom translates to “poison”)

MORE WIND • SHAMAL: northwesterly wind in the Persian Gulf area • Occur midwinter and early summer • Carries millions of tons of sand silt into the Rub’ al-Khali

NATURAL RESOURCES • Arabian Peninsula has at least 25% of world’s proven oil reserves • Only Bahrain does not have significant oil • Most crucial resource is fresh water

SECTION 2: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

HISTORY • Tribal—social groups based on family relationships • SHEIKDOM: territory ruled by an Arab tribal leader • Bedouins controlled most of AP • Nomadic and pastoral • No formal government

GOVERNMENT TODAY • Majority on AP are monarchies • Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar are absolute monarchies • Bahrain and Kuwait are constitutional monarchies • UAE is a federation of emirates, states ruled by emirs (Arab rulers) • Yemen is a republic

SECTS OF ISLAM • Death of Muhammad caused conflict among Muslim leaders (who would succeed him? ) • Islam broke into 2 branches: • 1) SUNNI: regards 1 st 4 successors of Muhammad as the rightful leaders • 2) SHIA: regards Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali and the imams as his rightful successor

SECTS OF ISLAM • IBADHISM: conservative form of Islam (Oman) • WAHHABISM: strictly orthodox Sunni Muslim sect; advocates a return to the early Islam of the Koran and Sunna, rejecting later innovations (Saudi Arabia)

GEOPOLITICS • Def: government policy as it is influenced by physical, human, and economic activity • Unrest in oil producing countries is a real concern