An overview of the material covered in Chapter 24 of the Geography Alive textbook

1. Oil in Southwest Asia: How “Black Gold” Has
Shaped a Region

2.  State: A political unit that controls a particular
territory
 Nomads: A person who wanders place to
place
 Oil reserves: Underground oil that has been
discovered but remains unused
 Natural gas: Gas within the Earth’s crust.
 Crust: The outer layer of the Earth
 Region: An area defined by one or more
natural or cultural characteristics that set it
apart from other areas

3.  SW Asia lies at the crossroads of three
continents:
◦ Europe
◦ Africa
◦ Asia
 Oil: Southwest Asia’s Hidden Treasure
◦ Crude oil: Another name for petroleum as it is
found in the ground
◦ Developed countries: A wealthy country with an
advanced economy. Have many industries and
provide a comfortable way of life for most of their
people

4.  Nonrenewable
resources: Resources
that are in limited
supply
 Renewable resources:
Resources that will not
run out or that can be
replaced
 Geothermal energy:
Heat from the center of
the Earth

5.  Ethnic groups: A group of people in a country
who share a unique culture and identity
◦ Kurds (Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran)
◦ Persians (Iran)
 Islam is the most important religion in
Southwest Asia
◦ Israel is the only country in the region that does not
have a Muslim majority

6.  Oil Was Formed Millions of Years Ago

7.  A lot of the world’s oil lies buried under
Southwest Asia
◦ Millions of years ago, this area was under water
◦ Movement of the Earth’s crust
 Tectonic plates collide, creating pockets where oil can
form
 Oil Is Not Distributed Equally
◦ Saudi Arabia is the largest country in this region
 Has the most oil

8.  Kuwait (tiny country)
◦ Holds 1/10 of the world’s
known oil reserves
 Other countries, like
Syria and Yemen have
less oil, but still have
more than most other
countries

9.  Saudi Arabia’s royal family very rich from oil
◦ $185 million preparing the Marbella, Spain palace
for their visit
◦ Daily flower delivery ($1,500 for each day’s flowers)
 Oil Has Made Many People Better Off
◦ Life expectancy: The average age that a person in a
given population can expect to live to. Varies from
one country to another.
◦ Gross Domestic Product (GDP): A measure of the
goods and services produced by a country each
year

10.  Per capita GDP: Measure the average income
of the people in a country.
 Per Capita GDP Does Not Tell the Whole Story
◦ Human Development Index (HDI)
 Looks at a country’s per capita GDP along with other
factors that reflect quality of life.
◦ Infant Mortality Rate: Number of deaths of babies
under age 1 per 1,000 births in a year

11.  Yemen
◦ One of the 20 poorest countries in the world
◦ Population about 80% as large as Saudi Arabia’s
◦ Oil reserves are about 1% the size of Saudi Arabia
 Oil-Exporting Countries: Working to Control
the Price of Oil
◦ The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC): An organization formed to ensure
a steady flow of money to come back into the
participating countries
 11 member countries, 6 from SW Asian countries
 Includes Venezuela, Algeria, Nigeria, Libya, Indonesia

12.  Countries depend on
the flow of oil from SW
Asia to fuel their
economies

13.  What energy sources is
the world using to
meet most of its
energy needs? What do
they have in common?
 Why isn’t the world
getting more of its
energy from renewable
resources?
 How might having
renewable energy
resources affect a
region in the future?