What Makes a Region? North Africa, Southwest Asia, Central Asia

NAME: ______PERIOD: ______

WHAT MAKES A REGION? NORTH AFRICA, SOUTHWEST ASIA, CENTRAL ASIA Pgs. 406-421

In reading pages 406-421, answer the following questions:

PART I: UNIT INTRODUCTION What geographical features of this region have affected where people settled?

PART II: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Where are most of the mountains located in this region?

Major Waterways?

Deserts?

Plains?

Plateaus?

Steppes?

What are grasslands such as plains or steppes most suitable for?

Are mountainous regions best suited for farming or for mineral resources?

PART III: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Using Map pg. 412 What are the highest & lowest places in the region, their elevations, and the countries in which they are located or bordered?

What are the dominant physical features in the following areas: North Africa –

Southwest Asia –

Central Asia –

PART IV: CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY This region is birthplace to how many of the 5 major world religions? What are they?

Look at picture 3, How does the architecture of the hotel indicate Dubai’s wealth?

How does the hotel indicate that Dubai may be moving away from oil? PART V: A DIFFICULT LAND Using Pg. 413, How would you describe the elevation of the region? What impact would the terrain have on people’s ways of life?

How would the landforms and the deserts of the region affect settlement patterns?

What are the Strait of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Hormuz important?

PART VI: POLITICAL/PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Using map on pg. 412 and pg. 414, how might the physical geography of Syria, Lebanon, and Israel affect relations among these three countries?

PART VII: BONDS & BARRIERS (pg. 415) Which of the major language families is the most widely spoken in the region?

Questions pg. 415 How does the size of countries compare (overall in the region)? What effect might those difference have on the relations between countries?

What is the dominant religion in the region?

What do language families suggest about linkages and differences among the people of the region?

PART VIII: A CHALLENGING CLIMATE (pg. 416) What climates cover most of the region? Why will those climates create challenges for people?

Which countries have a severe water problem? How can you tell?

Where do you think the water being used comes from? Why do you think so?

Water Availability Where in the region is the most water available?

Where is the greatest use of water in the region?

PART IX: COUNTRY PROFILES What country has the highest population density? Is this because the population is high or because the area is small?

What country in the region has the lowest population density? Is this because the population is small or because the area is large?

Look at % Urban column, are more countries below or above 50%? What are general problems associated with living in cities? Which three countries in the region have the largest GDP per capita?

Does this mean these countries have the greatest revenue?

What might be true for a county to have a large GDP per capita?

What group of countries has the highest literacy rates? What common factor do you think is responsible for this?

Do you notice any trends between level of urbanization and average life expectancy?

What do you conclude is the reason for higher life expectancy in more urbanized areas?

What language is most widely spoken in the region? What common factor do you think is responsible for this?

Looking at pgs. 418-421, determine (educated guess) to answer the following questions:

Which country do you think has the longest coastline?

Which country’s border is mostly coastline?

Which countries are entirely landlocked?

Which countries have coasts but no access to open seas or oceans?

Which 3 countries have the most telephone land lines? Which 3 countries have the most cell phone users?

Looking at the two previous questions, is the proportion of telephone lines to cell phones the same for each of these countries?

How does Internet use in these countries compare to cell phone use? PART X: SHORT-ANSWER QUESTION In summary (complete sentence and paragraph form), what makes North Africa, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia A Region? OR Do you think it is inaccurate to classify them as a region?