Chapter 5 Reading Guides

5.1 – Land and Water
Copy each question and answer in a complete sentence.
1. What is the Rub al-Khali? Where is it located?
2. Why is Southwest and Central Asia called “the Dry World”?
3. Describe two kinds of deserts in Southwest Asia.
4. If an oasis has enough water, what can it support?
5. Why are rivers important in this region? What are two well-known examples?
6. Mountains have served what function in Central Asia?
7. How did the seas of Southwest Asia serve a function similar to the mountains of Central Asia? What are some examples?
8. What is another name for Southwest Asia?
9. Where they meet, Southwest and Central Asia serve as a crossroads for people traveling from what three continents?

5.2 – Climate and Vegetation
Copy and complete the following table with information from section two.

The Climate and Vegetation of Southwest and Central Asia
Climate
1.
2.
Vegetation in Harsh Conditions
3.
Water and Crops
4.
5.
Water and Population
6.
7.
Crops and Technology
8.
9.

5.3 – Natural Resources
Copy and complete the following sentences.

1. Petroleum deposits take _____ to form.
2. Petroleum is Southwest Asia’s number one _____.
3. Southwest Asian countries with little or no oil tend to have _____ standards of living than their neighbors.
4. Central Asia is also rich in _____.
5. Three Central Asian countries that contain large oil reserves are _____, _____, and _____.
6. Countries that offer equipment, training, and loans to Central Asia’s oil-rich countries hope to share the _____ in return.
7. The resource that people need most in Southwest and Central Asia is _____.
8. The countries of Southwest and Central Asia must _____ the water they have.
9. Too much _____ can use up the water that is available in Southwest and Central Asia.
10. Oil wealth allows many Southwest Asian countries to increase the _____ of their people.
11. Coal, oil and natural gas are examples of _____, ones that cannot be replaced once they have are used.
12. The oil mined in Kuwait is _____, which is found under the Earth’s surface.