Geo. of the Middle East, an ancient and modern crossroads

True or False: The Middle East is the area of the world where Asia, Africa and Europe meet.

• True

• False

What helped create the fertile soil in this region?

• After a local volcano erupted and lava spread along the land, leaving fertile soil.

• People moved soil from the Zagros Mountains down to the valley to use as soil.

• Annual flooding of the regions rivers produced the fertile soil.

What man made feature was added to the region to allow for movement of goods.

• Red Sea

• Mediterranean

• Persian Gulf

• Suez Canal

What natural resource has made this region become wealthy today?

• Fertile Soil

• Gold

• Oil

• Diamonds

Select all answers that apply.

Which ways have people put food on their tables based on the regions geography?

• Grazing goats and sheep (pastoral nomads)

• Fishing

• Farming

This region called the "Middle East". Which groups point of view created the name of this region?

• Russian

• European

• American

Re-read the section "More Than Just Deserts."

Which sentence from the section helps explain WHY farmers in the Mesopotamian area of the Middle East prospered?

• On a map, this whole area looks like a curved, sickle shape called a crescent moon.

• The fertile soil of the Middle East led to the growth of early civilizations.

• The lands between the Tigris and Euphrates was called Mesopotamia in ancient times.

• This was home to the Sumerians 6,000 years ago, the world's first city-based culture.

Use the four images and information in the article to select the TRUE statement.

• The landscape of the Middle East is almost all desert.

• The Middle East contains countries from only one continent.

• The Middle East is mostly the eastern part of Europe.

• Ships use the Suez Canal to travel through the Middle East.

Read the paragraphs below from the section "Geography Features Bring Economic, Political Riches."

People in Mesopotamia and Egypt long ago developed successful ways to farm where they had little rain. They learned how to channel water from the rivers to their fields. The countries grew rich because of their rich farms.

Today, the wealth in Middle Eastern soil doesn't come from crops. It comes from oil. This region contains more than half of the world's known oil reserves.

Which conclusion is BEST supported by these paragraphs?

• The economy of the Middle East continues to be based on farming.

• The weather in the Middle East today is different than it used to be long ago.

• The source of wealth in the Middle East has changed over time.

• The oil reserves in the Middle East were the reason farmers used to be successful.

Which sentence from the article is BEST illustrated by Image 1?

• The Middle East is the area of the world where Asia, Africa and Europe meet.

• The Egyptians lived not far away along the Nile River where they farmed and had rich harvests due to annual flooding of the Nile.

• The Silk Road was one of many trading routes that crossed into the Middle East.

• Cities grew quickly in the Middle East in the late 1900s.