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Prepare to Read
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2 Section 2
Southwest Asia: Physical Geography

Objectives

1. Learn about the major landforms of Southwest Asia.

2. Find out what the two most important resources in Southwest Asia are.
3. Examine how people use the land in Southwest Asia.

Target Reading Skill

Paraphrase Paraphrasing is putting what you read into your own words.
It is another skill that can help you understand and remember what you
read.
Look at the first two paragraphs under the heading “A Dry Region
Bordered by Water.” They could be paraphrased like this:
Southwest Asia is mostly desert. The world’s largest desert covered
entirely in sand is in Southwest Asia. Because there is very little rain,
water is very valuable.
As you read, paraphrase the first paragraph or two after each heading.

Vocabulary Strategy
© Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All Rights Reserved.

Using Context to Determine Meaning If you don’t understand a word,

sometimes you can pick up clues to its meaning from the words, phrases,
and sentences around it. The underlined words in the paragraph below
give clues to the meaning of the word oasis.
Travelers passing through the desert are happy when they find an
oasis. Sometimes, the water from an oasis can support a community of
people. It can be pumped from under ground to irrigate crops and
water livestock.
An oasis is a place in a desert region where fresh water is available from
under ground. Do you see how the context clues help make that clear?

Chapter 2 Section 2 19
AP_RVSG.fm Page 20 Tuesday, July 6, 2004 12:01 PM

Section 2 Summary

A Dry Region Bordered by Water

Southwest Asia: Climate Regions
30° E 40° E 50° E 60° E 70° E
Black S
ea
GEORGIA

Ca Sea
Istanbul

sp i
40° N
ARMENIA

an
TURKEY AZERBAIJAN N

Tigris
Eup
CYPRUS ra Tehran W

h
te s
SYRIA R.

R
Mediterranean S

.
Sea LEBANON I R A N
Baghdad
IRAQ
30° N ISRAEL JORDAN

Pe
rs
KUWAIT n

ia
G
ul
BAHRAIN f
QATAR KEY
Tropic of Canc S A U D I UNITED ARAB Semiarid
er
ARABIA EMIRATES Arid

R
Mediterranean 70

AN
Mecca A r aHumid
b i a nsubtropical

d
20° N

M
SHighland
ea

O
S
e
National border

a
City
YE M E N 0 miles 500

den
0 kilometers 500
of A Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
30° E 40° E Gulf 50° E 60° E

1 Most of Southwest Asia is desert. Less than 10 inches

(25 centimeters) of rain fall a year. The Rub’ al-Kahli is
the world’s largest all-sand desert. Ten years can go by
between rainfalls. Not all deserts are covered with
5 sand. Some include pebbles, gravel, and boulders.
Water is very valuable in Southwest Asia. Travelers

Reading Check in the desert are happy to find an oasis. An oasis in the
Where do the Tigris and Euphrates
desert can support a community. Farmers can grow
rivers begin? crops. Nomadic shepherds can raise livestock.
There are some fertile areas in the region. The Tigris

© Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All Rights Reserved.
10
____________________
(TY gris) and Euphrates (yoo FRAYT eez) rivers begin in
____________________ the mountains of Turkey and flow south through Iraq.
When these rivers flood, they leave rich soil along their
Vocabulary Strategy banks. In ancient times, one of the world’s first civiliza-
15 tions grew up in this fertile area. The region was known
as Mesopotamia.

Look at the word Mediterranean in
the underlined sentence. You may
not have seen the word used this Southwest Asia is surrounded by water. Most of the
way before. But there are clues to region is hot and dry. But some parts of Southwest Asia
what it means. Circle the words or have a Mediterranean climate. They have hot, dry
phrases that help you learn
20 summers but mild, rainy winters. The coasts of the
rk
its meaning in this con-
a t Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian seas have a Medi-
Tex
text. Then write a
definition of the
M terranean climate. So do the mountain areas.
TH
E

term below.

____________________ Key Term

____________________ oasis (oh AY sis) n. an area in a desert region where fresh water is
usually available from an underground spring or well
____________________

20 Reading and Vocabulary Study Guide

 AP_RVSG.fm Page 21 Tuesday, July 6, 2004 12:01 PM

Southwest Asia’s Major Natural Resources

The two most important natural resources in Southwest Target Reading Skill
Asia are petroleum and water. Petroleum, also called
oil, is a nonrenewable resource. Use your own words to paraphrase
the bracketed paragraph. Be sure
We get gasoline and other fuels from petroleum. It is
to explain what a nonrenewable
the natural resource that brings the most money into resource is in your own terms. Hint:
Southwest Asia. Since much of the region has a dry paraphrase the definition in the Key
climate, water is the resource that people need most. Terms box below.
30 Southwest Asia is the largest oil-producing region in ____________________
the world. Money from selling oil has improved the
____________________
standard of living in many Southwest Asian countries.
They have enough money to import goods and workers
from other countries. The countries with little or no oil
35 tend to have a lower standard of living.

Reading Check
Most countries in the region must use irrigation to How has oil improved life in some
grow crops. People may use water from rivers or pump countries of Southwest Asia?
water from far underground.
____________________
Using the Land in Southwest Asia ____________________
Land in Southwest Asia is used for agriculture, ____________________
40 nomadic herding, and producing oil. Most farmland is
in the northern part of the region. The Mediterranean
climate along the coasts lets people grow many crops.
For centuries, Bedouins (BED oo inz) have lived in
Southwest Asia’s deserts. They are Arabic-speaking
45 nomadic herders. They move over a large area of land
in search of grass and water for their animals.

Reading Check
© Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All Rights Reserved.

Who are the Bedouins?

Review Questions
1. How do rivers and seas affect Southwest Asia? ____________________
____________________ ____________________
____________________ ____________________

2. Describe the different ways in which water and

petroleum are important to Southwest Asia.
____________________
____________________

Key Terms
petroleum (puh TROH lee um) n. an oily liquid used as fuel
nonrenewable resource (nahn rih NOO uh bul REE sawrs) n. a
natural resource that cannot be quickly replaced once it is used
standard of living (STAN durd uv LIV ing) n. a measurement of a
person’s or a group’s education, housing, health, and nutrition

Chapter 2 Section 2 21