Page 42 - Key to Social Studies 4

The Zones of the Middle East

• The rst zone is where the Nile River streams from Sudan in the south through the

Sahara of Egypt in the north, draining into the Mediterranean Sea.

The Nile River is a major source of life in Egypt. It was the base of all the ancient Egyptian

civilization and continues to support the fertile soil needed for farming, to be a source of

food and to provide a means of transportation using boats.

The alluvial, or rich soil deposit, plain is located in the southern part of this zone, broken

by six waterfalls, or water falling from heights.

• The second zone is the eastern area of the Nile Valley across the eastern desert and the

Sinai Peninsula where the eastern Mediterranean coastal plain forms the Levant,

including Palestine, Western Syria, and Lebanon.

• The third zone is the northern Levant, where the Taurus Mountains separate the Levant

from the Anatolian plateau in Turkey. A plateau is land that is at and higher than the

surrounding area.

• The fourth zone is the Arabian Peninsula in the southern part of the Levant, with its

broad deserts, oases, and coastal areas of the Red Sea, the Arabian Gulf, and the Arabian

Sea. This zone includes the countries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen,

Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait.

• The fth zone contains the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and it is located in the eastern

Levant and south of the Taurus Mountains. It is sometimes called “Mesopotamia,” or the

land between the two rivers. This zone includes Syria, Iraq, and a small area of Iran.

• The sixth zone is located in eastern Mesopotamia, where the Zagros Mountains of

western Iran and eastern Turkey extend. The highest point in the Zagros Mountains is

4,409 m high.

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