NASWA - Physical Geography Lesson

Physical Geography

Although large geographic territories, North Africa and Southwest Asia are far more alike than different. This is due to their similar climates, water challenges, and natural resources. North Africa, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Sahara Desert, and the African Transition Zone, includes Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara. Southwest Asia, which is bordered by many seas and the Persian Gulf, includes Türkiye, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. As a result of its possession of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt is unique in that it has territory in both North Africa and Southwest Asia.

Did you know?

The Middle East is the name that Europeans gave to the region. They considered Türkiye to be part of the Near East and India and China to be the Far East. So, what was between near and far? The middle! So, the region in between the near and far came to be called the Middle East. Today, the Middle East is often defined as the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. Technically, the term the Middle East only includes the five countries of Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq.

 

The Climate and Terrain

The countries of this region share physical traits that influence human activities. The first and most significant trait is the dry or arid type B climate that dominates and covers most of the physical area. In fact, the climate has given the region the Sahara Desert which is the largest desert in the world. In type B climates, the availability of water influences lifestyles more than the availability of money-generating resources such as oil. Other climate types include the type H highland climate (cold temperatures at the high elevations with moderate temperatures at the bases) of the mountains and the more moderate type C climate in the coastal regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The type C climate along the coastal Mediterranean area attracts human development and is home to many large port cities. North Africa is separated from the Iberian Peninsula by only nine miles at the narrowest sections of the Strait of Gibraltar, which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.

North Africa is at times divided into the Maghreb of the northwest; the Nile River valley in the east; and the African Transition Zone, where the Sahara Desert transitions into the tropical type A climates of Central Africa's equatorial region.

The Maghreb is an expansive region extending from Morocco to Libya that is distinguished by its mountain ranges which form the Atlas Mountains. The tallest of these mountains reach elevations of thirteen thousand feet. Traditionally, the region includes only the mountainous Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia; but Libya is also considered part of the Maghreb by many inhabitants of the region. The Maghreb, which in Arabic means "Isle of the West," receives between ten and thirty inches of rainfall per year and is often snow-covered at higher elevations. An example of the rain shadow effect is the Atlas Mountains extract precipitation from the air in the form of rain or snow. This allows fruits and vegetables to be grown in the fertile mountain valleys of the Maghreb region. With lower precipitation and warmer temperatures, the Sahara Desert lies to the south of this region and is a predominant feature of Libya and parts of Tunisia. The largest cities of Libya are along the coast, but other Libyan cities are positioned in the desert region. Tunisia, the smallest of the countries in the Mediterranean, has mountains in its north and desert areas to the southwest.

The Main Mountain Ranges of the Maghreb

Aided by a moderate type C climate, the northern coastal region of the Maghreb and the mountain valleys are the centers of the region's agricultural production. In the past, North Africa exported fruit and vegetable crops that were not as plentiful in the colder northern European latitudes. The discovery of oil changed the trade equation as oil and natural gas revenues advanced past agricultural goods as the main export products. Oil and natural gas exports now make up between 80 to 95 percent of the export income for Algeria and Libya. Countries like Morocco, without large oil reserves, have increasingly produced items like insulated wire and automobiles along with assorted agricultural products.

Past the coastal regions of North Africa and Southwest Asia, the availability of water has an even greater relevance because of the dominant type B climate. As all geography students know, large populations of people can be found wherever there is freshwater. Mountainous regions such as the Atlas Mountains in North Africa or the Elburz Mountains in Iran trap moisture, which is then available in the valleys to irrigate crops. In areas without mountains, discovering or developing other methods of acquiring freshwater is a requirement. Water can be found in desert regions in a range of forms which include rivers, oases, springs, or wells. Iraq and Egypt have the benefit of rivers that have supported life for thousands of years. Modern-day Iraq has the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. These famous rivers supported the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia.

 

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