Transcript Slide 1 - sheridanhistory

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 2030 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