BRIGHTRIDERS SCHOOL, ABU DHABI

UAE SST-GRADE- 8

GEOGRAPHY OF WEST ASIA

Notes

Lesson Objective:

 Analyzing the geographical features of West Asia.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. What do you mean by Fertile Crescent?

The Fertile Crescent is a crescent shaped land that runs around the Syrian Desert. It
includes the fertile agricultural area of the Nile Valley in Egypt.
2. What are the two reasons that affected the fertility of the arable land in Fertile
Crescent?
The two reasons are,
a) Climate change that altered the arable areas of the agricultural land.
b) The recent problem of war and migration
3. What are the major regions that come under modern Middle East?
The modern Middle East consists of West Asia, part of North Africa and East Africa.
4. What are the countries included in West Asia?
West Asia includes the modern day nations of Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and UAE.
5. What are the unifying factors of West Asian countries?
The West Asian countries have some common unifying factors such as historical
background, cultural, economic and geographical characteristics. They have a
common language, Arabic, much of the region has desert environment, coastal areas
using for fishing and trading.
6. Write briefly about the geographical location and economic importance of Oman in
Arabian Peninsula.
Oman is located in the south eastern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. It has a coastal
plains and the mountain range rising up about 3.000 metres. They use mountain
spring waters for traditional irrigation system. The traditional irrigation system is
called Al Falaj. Fishing, pearl diving, and trade were the economic activities of past.
In the recent times, we could see a total transformation of their economic activity.
7. What are the frontiers of Turkey?
Turkey is bounded on the north by the Black Sea, on the northeast
by Georgia and Armenia, on the east by Azerbaijan and Iran, on the southeast
by Iraq and Syria, on the southwest and west by the Mediterranean Sea and
the Aegean Sea, and on the northwest by Greece and Bulgaria.
8. Name the empires that conquered the Fertile Crescent of Syria.
The Assyrian, the Greek and the Roman empires conquered and occupied the Fertile
Crescent in the ancient times.
9. ‘UAE’s location is favourable for sea trade’ Substantiate the statement.
The United Arab Emirates is located in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula. The
port cities of UAE were linked by the sea trade to the Indian Ocean and by land to the
Northern Middle East and Mediterranean countries.
10. Explain about the physical features of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Arabian Peninsula is broadly divided into 3 major physical divisions.
MOUNTAINS: There is a range of mountains in the west part made of volcanic rock
that run from north to south and parallel to the Red Sea.
COASTAL PLAIN: A coastal plain runs before the mountain ranges. It consists of an
extremely flat region with little vegetation and low population,
THE DESERT: The vast sandy deserts, the Nafud and the Empty Quarter and a rocky
steppe, called the Najd, extend to the shores of the Gulf.
COASTALINE: Arabia’s long coastline provides important economic activities of
fishing, pearl diving and it connected to Asia and Europe through sea route.
FILL IN THE BLANKS:
1. The modern Middle East consists of_________(West Asia
part of North and East Africa)
2. The major trade routes of West Asia was________(Caravan)
3. The Arabian peninsula surrounded by three sides of
_____,____, and seas.(Red Sea, the Arabian Gulf and
Arabian Sea)
4. The western part of Arabian Peninsula is covered by
______(Mountains)
5. The western mountain range of Arabian Peninsula is made
of __________ rock.(Volcanic)
6. Volcanic rock of Arabian peninsula which run from south to
north and parallel to the _______.(Red Sea)
7. The important mountain ranges of western mountains of
Arabian Peninsula are________.(Timaha, Hijaz, Asir, and
Yemen)
8. The highest peak of the mountain range is about_______
metres.(4000)
9. _______ runs before the mountain ranges.(Coastal plains)
10. The southern mountains extend towards the southeast with a
large valley called _________(Wadi Hardramoot)
11. Vast sandy deserts, the Nafud and the Empty Quarter and a
rocky steppe, called the______(Najd)
12. The Najd is traditionally used for_____ and ______(pastoral
and seasonal migrations)
13. Oman is located in the______ corner of the peninsula.(south
eastern)
14. The UAE is located in the __________part of Arabian
Peninsula.(Northern)
15. The height of the mountain ranges in Oman reaches up to
_________(3000 metres)
16. ________ is a crescent shaped land that runs around the
Syrian desert.
17. ____, _______ and _____ were occupied The Fertile
Crescent in ancient times.(Assyrian, Greek and Roman
empires)
18. ________ river is an important one that feed the agricultural
land of Syria.( Orantes)
19. The fertile land Iraq made by the twin rivers of ______ and
_________ (Euphrates and Tigris)
20. Euphrates and Tigris empty into _______(Arabian Gulf)
21. The great civilization flourished in Iraq
is________(Mesopotamia)
22. In ancient time modern Turkey was known
as_____(Anatolia)
Values : Care and Empathy
Competency : Independent Learning and Digital Competence

MIP : Collect a physical map of Arabian Peninsula, and mark the physical variations
such as mountains, plains and desert.

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