Southwest Asia characteristics. Southwest Asia: geography and characteristics of the region

Includes the Arabian Peninsula, the Syrian-Palestinian Mountains, the Mesopotamian plains. Distinctiveness in geological structure- a piece of African. The Red Sea and the deeply submerged northern portions of the Rift Valley. Eastern- a foothill trough of alpine age (Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf). The originality of nature - with features. Continental tropical air masses dominate. High average annual, little precipitation - therefore, deserts also prevail. The oldest center of civilization, the center of Arab culture. The richest reserves of oil (more than 30% of capitalist production), a number of ore minerals.

Mesopotamia... The Mesopotamian region occupies an alpine-age foothill trough with a uniform, leveled relief. The crystalline basement is at great depth, overlain by a thick stratum of alluvial deposits of the Tigris and Euphrates. Active activity... The Persian Gulf retreated by 500 km in 5 thousand years (the influx of terrigenous material). The rivers flowing into the bay on their own merged into a single artery - the Shatt al-Arab.

Allocate Lower and Upper Mesopotamia. The first (Babylonia) is a monotonous alluvial lowland (no more than 100 m in height). North of Baghdad, a 6-8 m high ledge is the ancient coastline of the Persian Gulf. Upper (Jezire) - a flat plateau up to 300-400 m with separate ridges up to 30-50 m. Dry channels (wadi) and small hills (telli).

Mesopotamia is one of the hottest places in Eurasia. In the northern part of the Mediterranean climate features, in the southern - tropical. Average July temperatures are from 30 to 34 ° (often rise to 50 °). Average January in Lower Mesopotamia + 11, + 12 °, in Upper +5, + 7 °. Winter maximum precipitation - they fall in the north 300-500 mm, in the south 60-100 mm.

Most of it is tropical, the extreme north is in the subtropical zone. Differences in temperatures of the winter months (from + 8 ° C to + 25 ° in Aden, July from 26 ° in the north to 33 ° in the south). Arabia is one of the hottest places in the world, with temperatures up to 55 ° C. Poor hydration (100-300 mm per year). V northern part precipitation brings Mediterranean cyclones to winter time, in the south, maximum in summer with monsoon. More than 1000 mm in the mountains. There is almost no external. In the relief there are ancient riverbeds (wadis). From west to east - traditional caravan routes.

More than 90% of Arabia is tropical deserts. Sandy with waving sands and salt marshes prevail in depressions.

Vegetation is poor: hodgepodge, tamarisk, camelthorn plant... In oases - date palm, acacia, jeddah.

Wormwood-ephemeral steppes are confined to the more humid places of northern Arabia. In the mountains there are rare forests with pistachio, carob, myrrh, dragon tree, dragon tree. The most diverse vegetation of the river valleys and windward slopes of Yemen: ficuses, candelabra milkweed, sykimora, many endemics. The fauna is represented by ungulates (antelope, gazelles, onager), rodents, predators (jackal, hyena), reptiles.

Special features: the largest peninsula in Eurasia. An ancient crystal lump, raised in the west, lowered in the east. A variety of relief: mountains, plains, cuestas, lava plateaus (harra) with cones of extinct volcanoes. In the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, chains of extinct and active volcanoes... The difference in the types of deserts. Arabia is one of the hottest places in the world. In most of the peninsula, there is no external flow. More than 90% of Arabia is tropical deserts.

A conversation about Southwest Asia should start with defining the meaning of this term. The fact is that in the Russian-language literature the term Western Asia is widespread, which appeared as a result of the copying of the German term. WITH geographic point In terms of view, the region includes Asia Minor, the Arabian Peninsula, Transcaucasia, the Mesopotamian Lowlands, the Armenian Highlands, the Mediterranean coast, and the Iranian Highlands.

Political division of Southwest Asia

From a political point of view, Western Asia is usually divided into three vast regions. The political regions of Southwest Asia include the Middle East, Middle East and Transcaucasia. The region is of great political importance, as its territory contains large reserves of minerals and important transit corridors.

There are twenty sovereign internationally recognized states in Southwest Asia. Below is an exhaustive list with capitals in parentheses:

  1. Afghanistan (Kabul).
  2. Azerbaijan, Baku).
  3. Armenia (Yerevan).
  4. Kingdom of Bahrain (Manama).
  5. Georgia, Tbilisi).
  6. Egypt (Cairo). Only the Sinai Peninsula belongs to the Asian part.
  7. Israel (Tel Aviv).
  8. Jordan (Amman).
  9. Iraq (Baghdad).
  10. Iran (Tehran).
  11. Yemen (Sanaa).
  12. Qatar (Doha).
  13. Cyprus (Nicosia).
  14. Kuwait (Kuwait City).
  15. Lebanon (Beirut).
  16. UAE (Abu Dhabi).
  17. Oman (Muscat).
  18. Saudi Arabia (Riyadh).
  19. Syria (Damascus).
  20. Turkey (Ankara). It should be noted that South-West Asia does not include the European part of the country, which is historically called Thrace.

Cultural features of the region

From a cultural point of view, the region is of great importance, since it was in the territory of the Fertile Crescent, which encompasses Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, that wheat was first domesticated and the first written civilizations arose. Long time the region thrived on account of its relatively favorable climate and distinct political structure.

Another important feature Southwest Asia is that it was on its territory that religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam arose. Today, however, the region is predominantly Islamic. Ethnically, the population of South-West Asia is quite diverse, since the most different nations: from Iranians and Greeks to Indians and Turks.

Peninsula Asia Minor

The entire territory of this peninsula is Turkish Republic... It is one of the most developed in political and economically countries of the Southwest Asia region.

The territory of the peninsula is washed by the Black, Mediterranean, Marmara and Aegean seas. Most of the peninsula is occupied by various mountain systems... The climate of the peninsula is characterized by aridity over a large area, since most of it is occupied by the Asia Minor Highlands.

In the east of Asia Minor, there are the historical regions of the Armenian Highlands and the Taurus Mountains, which are known to mankind since the time of the Sumerians, since there were sources of important minerals on their territory.

Despite the fact that Turkey is an important supplier of agricultural products, it is worth noting that this status is given to it thanks to the properly established technology of growing crops, since the climate of the region is characterized by aridity and a very small river network.

Turkey's capital is Ankara, one of the most important capitals in Southwest Asia, as the country is a NATO member and borders many key states in the region. In addition, Turkey controls the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, linking the Black and Mediterranean Seas.

Arabian Peninsula

Another important region of Southwest Asia is the Arabian Peninsula, which is the most large peninsula on the planet. On its territory there are eight rich oil-producing countries, each of which is also absolute monarchy... In each of the countries official religion is Islam.

Southwest Asia and North Africa separated from each other by the narrow Red Sea, which has essential for the economy of the region, since it has a huge recreational potential and is an important transport corridor through which ships reach the Suez Canal, which separates Asia from Africa.

Most of the peninsula is occupied by rocky deserts formed by denudation mountain heights volcanic origin. Rare oases cannot serve as a source of water on an industrial scale, therefore all countries in the region are engaged in desalination of seawater for industrial needs and export a large amount drinking water.

Geography and politics of the Levant

The Levant is a historical and geographical region that includes countries such as Israel, Syria, Palestine, partially Egypt, Jordan and Turkey (some regions).

Despite the fact that over the centuries the meaning of this term could change significantly, it invariably remained a crossroads where the cultures of Europe, Africa and Asia met, where numerous peoples traded and fought wars for influence at sea and on land. In this region, writing and agriculture arose, the first temples were built, and great empires and new religions were created.

Today in the Levant there is an extremely turbulent political situation caused by the civil war in Syria and the long-term conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The largest ethnic group in the Levant region is the Arabs, and the religious community is Muslim, although there are Christian communities and many small religions.

In addition, the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel states that it is the nation state of the Jewish people, meaning that Jews also occupy an important place on the ethnically variegated map of the region.

Iranian highlands

As noted above, Southwest Asia is a very mountainous region, in which there are numerous plateaus and highlands, the most eastern of which is Iranian.

As the name suggests, lies mostly on the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but some of its parts are located on the territory of countries such as Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Pakistan, which already belong to a different geographical and historical-political region.

The climate in the highlands differs significantly when moving from the center to the south. In the central part of the highlands, a continental cool climate prevails, but in the south it turns into a temperate tropical climate with more humidification and hotter summers.

Geography and ecology

The Mesopotamian lowland is the territory bounded by the peninsula, the Zagros and Taurus ranges. Most of the plateau is located in Iraq and Kuwait, but also falls on the territory of Iran and Syria.

It is worth noting that the relief of this region is formed by the activity of the Tigris, Euphrates and Karun rivers, which for many millennia enriched the surrounding lands with fertile sediments from the north.

The region, also known as Mesopotamia, is the cradle of a written civilization that gave birth to mythology, history, astronomy and organized religion. And it all happened on small area sushi with not the most favorable climatic conditions, requiring incredible efforts to maintain Agriculture.

Economy of the macroregion

Unlike South-East Asia The Southwest is of direct interest to Europe due to its geographical proximity. V last years the humanitarian crisis that unfolded in the territory of Western Asia due to the Syrian civil war... Most of the countries in the region somehow found themselves drawn into the conflict, which could not but affect the state of their economies.

In addition, the drop in oil prices on the world market caused a contraction in the economies of the region's leading oil-producing countries. However, the region is actively developing various economic and infrastructure projects with the participation of other world players. For example, through the territories of Iran, Turkey and Syria, it is planned to build a transport corridor that will connect the countries of Europe and China. Today the countries of South-West Asia play a key role in the extraction and transportation of energy resources.

The total area is over 6 million square kilometers, the population is about 150 million people (1990). Over 60% of the working population are sedentary farmers and about 10% are nomadic and semi-nomadic herders. Countries of Southwest Asia produce valuable cheese ... World sheep breeding

SOUTH WEST ASIA- a natural area in Asia, on the Arabian Peninsula and adjacent territories. Over 3 million km & sup2. Highlands prevail along the outskirts of the mountains. Tropical deserts and semi-deserts. K Yugo Zap. Asia includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Southwest Asia- a natural area in Asia, on the Arabian Peninsula and adjacent territories. Over 3 million km2. Highlands prevail along the outskirts of the mountain. Tropical deserts and semi-deserts. The countries of Southwest Asia include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Southwest Asia- Southwest Asia West (West) Asia (Arabic جنوب غرب آسيا, Persian جنوب غربی آسیا, Hebrew דרום מערב אסיה, cargo დასავლეთი აზია) a geographical region that includes, from a geographical point of view, the Caucasus, Kopet , Asia Minor, Arm ... Wikipedia

Southwest Asia- southwest west asia ... Russian spelling dictionary

Southwest Asia- nature. region (less often invested in political geographic content), covering the Arabian Peninsula and adjacent lands. Pl. exceeds 3 million km², the population is more than 30 million people. The relief is complex: plains, plateaus, along the periphery of the mountain (heights up to 3600 m). Typical ... ... Geographical encyclopedia

Southwest Asia. Physical map - … Geographic Atlas

Southeast Asia- a macro-region covering continental and island territories between China, India and ... Wikipedia

Southeast Asia- Yugo East Asia(Beng. দক্ষিণ পূর্ব এশিয়া, Chinese 東南亞, Thai. เอเชีย ตะวันออก เฉียง ใต้, Khmer. អាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៍, Vietnamese Đông Nam Á, Malay and Indon ... Wikipedia

Southwest- North West North North East West Central East South West South South East South West: South West region in Burkina Faso. South West bus station in Minsk ... Wikipedia

Books

  • Countries and peoples. Popular scientific geographic and ethnographic publication (set of 15 books),. The twenty-volume illustrated edition "Countries and Peoples" is built according to a single plan and covers the entire modern world, without exception, all large and small ... Buy for 2400 rubles
  • Countries and peoples. Overseas Asia (set of 4 books),. The books contain information about the geographical location, nature, history, population and economy of Asian countries as a whole and individual regions. The books are included in the multivolume popular science edition ...

Southwestern Asia includes the Arabia Peninsula, the Syrian-Palestinian Mountains, and the Mesopotamian plains. The peculiarity in the geological structure is a fragment of the African platform. A highly controversial region in terms of determining the ownership of countries and territories. Some analysts attribute certain countries to Southwest Asia, others attribute these same countries to.

Southwest Asia is one of the geographical regions of Asia, which includes the Transcaucasia, Kopetdag, Asia Minor, Armenian and Iranian highlands, Mesopotamia, and the Arabian Peninsula.

Southwest Asia. Landscape

The landscape of the region is quite diverse, there are sun-scorched deserts, semi-deserts and mountain ranges... The largest mountain systems:

  • Caucasus mountains
  • Iranian highlands, the plateaus of which reach an altitude of 2000m
  • Anatolian (Asia Minor) highlands in Turkey with an elevation difference from 800 to 1500 meters.

The peaks of the Caucasus are similar to the alpine ones in shape. Some of them exceed 5000 meters:

  • Elbrus - 5642 m,
  • Dikhtau - 5203 m,
  • Kazbek - 5033 m.

Southwest Asia includes in its territory the largest deserts of the world:

  • Ribru-elu-Khale (to the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula, area - up to 650 thousand km2),
  • Big and Small Nefud,
  • Syrian Desert,
  • Deshte-Lut,
  • Deshte-Kevir and others.

All these are endless spaces covered with giant dunes.

The most famous and deepest lowland of the region - Mesopotamian, located in the valleys of the ancient rivers Tigris and Euphrates, is one of the largest irrigated oases in the world. River network Southwest Asia is quite dense in the mountains, and extremely sparse on the plains. Large rivers are: Tigris, Euphrates, Rioni, Amu Darya, Pyandzh, Kyzyl-Irmak, etc. Many small rivulets end in closed basins or disappear in the sands.

On the territory of the Caucasus, the Asia Minor Highlands, there are many picturesque lakes. Among which are amazing tectonic lakes Sevan, Ritsa, Van, Tuz, Urmia. Another lake, called the Dead Sea (closed lake), is located in the Ghir depression in Israel and Jordan. It is the largest dry land salt reservoir on earth.

The climate of Southwest Asia is tropical and subtropical, extremely dry and hot. In the central and southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula, temperatures reach + 55 ° C. Only on the shores of the Black and Mediterranean Seas is a zone of hardwood forests and shrubs. In Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran, there are insignificant areas of humid subtropics (Kolkhida, Lankaran).

The video tutorial allows you to get interesting and detailed information about the countries of South-West Asia. From the lesson you will learn about the composition of South-West Asia, the characteristics of the countries of the region, their geographical position, nature, climate, place in this sub-region. The teacher will tell you in detail about one of the main countries of South-West Asia - Turkey.

Theme: Overseas asia

Lesson: Southwest Asia

1. Southwest Asia: composition

Rice. 1. Southwest Asia on the map

Southern Europe- a cultural and geographical region in Asia, including, from a geographical point of view, the Transcaucasia, Kopetdag, Asia Minor, Armenian and Iranian highlands, Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant. From a political point of view, Southwest Asia includes the Middle East, Transcaucasia and the Middle East.

1. Afghanistan.

2. Bahrain.

6. Israel.

7. Jordan.

8. Kuwait.

12. Saudi Arabia.

14. Turkey.

17. Palestine.

18. Armenia.

19. Azerbaijan.

2. Southwest Asia: geographical location, climate, nature

Southwest Asia is washed by the waters of the Mediterranean, Red, Black, Caspian, Marmara, Aegean, Arabian Seas, and the Persian Gulf.

Climate of South-West Asia: subtropical Mediterranean and continental, tropical. The tropical climate is characterized by high temperatures and minimal rainfall.

Natural zones: hard-leaved forests, semi-deserts, deserts.

3. Southwest Asia: general characteristics

The countries of Southwest Asia with the largest populations:

1. Iran (77 million people).

2. Turkey (75 million people).

3. Iraq (34 million people).

The most numerous peoples of Southwest Asia:

Religious composition: the majority are Muslim, Israel is Judaism, Armenia and Georgia are Christian.

Rice. 2. Mecca

By the form of government, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia are monarchies. According to the form of the administrative-territorial structure, the UAE is a federation.

The most powerful economies in the region are Turkey and Iran. In terms of GDP per capita, Qatar is in the lead (almost $ 100,000).

All the countries of South-West Asia are characterized by the traditional type of population reproduction. It has some of the highest birth rates in the world.

In most countries, mining, agriculture, nomadic cattle breeding, oil and gas industries, petrochemicals, and mechanical engineering are widespread. In Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan is actively developing tourism.

Resources: oil (the largest reserves in the world) and gas, salts, sulfur, non-ferrous metals.

4. Turkey

Turkey. The full name is the Republic of Turkey. Formed in 1923 as a result of the collapse Ottoman Empire... The main part of the country's territory falls on the Anatolian Peninsula and the Armenian Highlands, a smaller part - on the Balkan Peninsula between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. In 2000, it acquired the official status of a candidate country for membership in the European Union. The capital is Ankara.

Rice. 3. Flag of Turkey

The area of ​​the country is 779.5 thousand square meters. km. Part of the territory of Turkey - 97% - is located in Asia and 3% - in Europe. The maximum length of the Turkish territory from west to east is 1600 km, from north to south - 600 km.

There are more than 100 types of minerals on the territory of Turkey. The country has many types of ore, mining, chemical, fuel and energy raw materials. First of all, we should mention chrome, tungsten, copper ores, borates, marble, coal, etc. Turkey accounts for 25% of the world's mercury reserves.

The share of industry in the country's economy is about 28%, agriculture - 15%, construction - 6%, services - 51%. In total industrial production greatest weight has a manufacturing industry (84%, including construction). The textile, leather, food, chemical, pharmaceutical industries, energy, metallurgy, shipbuilding, automotive and electrical household goods are developed. Tourism is a dynamically developing industry. In recent decades, tourism has played an increasingly important role in the Turkish economy. More than 20 million foreign tourists visit Turkey annually. Most tourists come from Germany, Russia, Iran, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Azerbaijan. According to the Turkish Statistical Office, in 2011 foreign tourists replenished the state budget by $ 23 billion, which is 10.6 percent more than in the previous year.

Rice. 4. Hotel in Antalya

Population. The main population of the country is Turks, in second place in terms of population are Kurds (according to some sources, they are up to 18% within the country), a significant proportion of Crimean Tatars and Arabs. Most people in Turkey are Muslims. Religion is separated from the state. Most Big City Turkey - Istanbul, whose population, according to some sources, exceeds 10 million people.

Homework

Topic 7, P. 1

1. What are the features geographic location Southwest Asia?

2. Tell us about the economy of Turkey.

Bibliography

The main

1. Geography. A basic level of. 10-11 grades: Textbook for educational institutions / A. P. Kuznetsov, E. V. Kim. - 3rd ed., Stereotype. - M .: Bustard, 2012 .-- 367 p.

2. Economic and social geography of the world: Textbook. for 10 cl. educational institutions / V.P. Maksakovsky. - 13th ed. - M .: Education, JSC "Moscow textbooks", 2005. - 400 p.

3. Atlas with set outline maps for grade 10. Economic and social geography of the world. - Omsk: FSUE "Omsk Cartographic Factory", 2012. - 76 p.

Additional

1. Economic and social geography of Russia: Textbook for universities / Ed. prof. A. T. Khrushchev. - M .: Bustard, 2001 .-- 672 p .: ill., Maps .: color. incl.

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books and statistical collections

1. Geography: a reference book for high school students and those entering universities. - 2nd ed., Rev. and finished. - M .: AST-PRESS SHKOLA, 2008 .-- 656 p.

Literature for preparing for the State Examination and the Unified State Exam

1. Thematic control in geography. Economic and social geography of the world. Grade 10 / E. M. Ambartsumova. - M .: Intellect-Center, 2009 .-- 80 p.

2. The most complete edition of typical options for real assignments of the Unified State Exam: 2010. Geography / Comp. Yu. A. Solovyova. - M .: Astrel, 2010 .-- 221 p.

3. The optimal bank of tasks for preparing students. Unified State Exam 2012. Geography: Tutorial/ Comp. E. M. Ambartsumova, S. E. Dyukova. - M .: Intellect-Center, 2012 .-- 256 p.

4. The most complete edition of typical versions of real USE assignments: 2010. Geography / Comp. Yu. A. Solovyova. - M .: AST: Astrel, 2010 .-- 223 p.

5. Geography. Diagnostic work in the format of the Unified State Examination 2011. - M .: MCNMO, 2011. - 72 p.

6. Textbook on geography. Tests and practical assignments in geography / I. A. Rodionova. - M .: Moscow Lyceum, 1996 .-- 48 p.

7. The most complete edition of typical options for real assignments of the Unified State Exam: 2009. Geography / Comp. Yu. A. Solovyova. - M .: AST: Astrel, 2009 .-- 250 p.

8. Unified State Exam 2009. Geography. Universal materials for training students / FIPI - M .: Intellect-Center, 2009. - 240 p.

9. USE 2012. Geography: Typical exam options: 31 options / Ed. V. V. Barabanova. - M .: National education, 2011 .-- 288 p.

10. USE 2011. Geography: Typical exam options: 31 options / Ed. V. V. Barabanova. - M .: National education, 2010 .-- 280 p.

Materials on the Internet

1. Federal Institute for Pedagogical Measurements.

2. Federal portal Russian Education.

3. Ege. yandex. ru.

4. Wikipedia.