Howstuffworks "Geography of the Middle East"

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The Middle East encompasses nearly 20 countries. A geopolitical hotspot for several decades, the region sees much military activity in its deserts and lowland plains.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan is the size of Texas and is extremely rugged, with the Hindu Kush mountains running from the northeast to southwest corner of the country. See more »

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Bahrain

Bahrain is an archipelago of three islands situated off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Gulf of Bahrain. Bahrain is a strategic transit point for oil tankers to reach the open ocean. See more »

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Cyprus

Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, just south of Turkey. The geography of Cyprus is dominated by the Troodos Mountains which include the famed Mount Olympus. See more »

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Egypt

Egypt's features like the Nile River, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and its capital city of Cairo are steeped in history. Egypt has the largest population of all the Arab countries. See more »

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Iran

Iran is flanked by Iraq and Afghanistan on the west and east, respectively. The center of the country is largely desert with rugged mountain ranges on its borders. See more »

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Iraq

Iraq borders Iran to the east and Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan and Turkey on the west. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers both run through the center of the country. See more »

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Israel

Israel is a small country with a complex geopolitical history. Situated on the Mediterranean Sea, its deserts border Egypt and Jordan. See more »

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Jordan

Mostly desert plateaus, Jordan varies only slightly across the country. Along with Israel, Jordan shares one of the lowest points in the Dead Sea (more than 1,200 ft below sea level). See more »

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Kuwait

Kuwait is a small country wedged in between Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. Kuwait's rich oil reserves rest underneath a massive desert plain. See more »

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Geography of Kuwait

Lebanon

Lebanon's terrain varies from coastal plains alongside the Mediterranean Sea to 12,000 foot mountain peaks that receive heavy winter snowfalls. See more »

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Oman is a small country in the Middle East that is about the size of Kansas. It juts out into the Arabian Sea and has a desert plain in the center of the country with mountain ranges in the north and south. See more »

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Pakistan

Pakistan shares borders with Iran and China. Pakistan's terrain is largely plateaus and plains in the east and west, but it's also home to the second-highest peak on Earth, called K2. See more »

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Palestine

Palestine sits on the Mediterranean Sea, west of Jordan and to the south of Lebanon. The territory of Palestine covers nearly 10,500 square miles. See more »

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Qatar

Qatar is a true peninsula that borders Saudi Arabia and juts out into the Persian Gulf. This desert terrain has vast oil reserves and is home to one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. See more »

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Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia borders the Persian Gulf to the east and Iraq to the north. It is mostly uninhabited desert but contains about 25% of the world's proven oil reserves. See more »

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Syria

Syria is south of Turkey and west of Iraq. The mountains in the west descend into plateaus and the Euphrates River valley that runs through the northeastern section of Syria. See more »

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Turkey

Turkey is about the size of Texas, and has both coastal plains along the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is located in eastern Turkey. See more »

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United Arab Emirates

Although the United Arab Emirates has several mountain ranges in the east, rolling sand dunes cover the landscape until you get to the coastal plains alongside the Persian Gulf. See more »

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Geography of the United Arab Emirates

Yemen

Yemen sits on the southeastern tip of the Asian continent and borders the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. The country is home to one of the world's most popular shipping lanes. See more »

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Physical Features

The diverse physical features in the Middle East contain the lowest point on Earth (the Dead Sea) and the second-highest mountain peak (K2). See more »

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Geography of Iran

, a country of southwestern Asia. Until 1935 it was known in the West as Persia. Iran is bounded by Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Turkey.