The largest peninsula in the area

The peninsula refers to a part of the land that has a connection to the mainland, but is washed on other sides by the seas and oceans.

The largest peninsula in the world

The first place in the area (2.7 million square kilometers) is occupied by the Arabian Peninsula. It is located in the southwestern part of Asia. Accordingly, this is the largest peninsula of Eurasia.

This place is known as the "Land of Two Mosques", since it is here that the two sacred sites of the Islamic world are located - Medina and Mecca. Here you are waiting for hot desert lands, on which air temperature is rarely fixed, close to at least zero Celsius, with desert vegetation (by 95%). So what can you provide for yourself living in desert regions? The answer is simple: the largest peninsula has huge deposits of "black gold" and "blue fuel" in its bowels.

It is believed that earlier the peninsula was attached to the African Shield, but at the end of the Paleogene it separated and eventually became part of Eurasia. Therefore, the largest peninsula of Eurasia has landscapes that are more similar to East Africa.

More about the location of the Arabian Peninsula

As already mentioned above, this peninsula is located in the southwestern part of Asia. Its upper boundary (northern) passes approximately along the thirtieth northern latitude, the southern boundary - along the 12th parallel of the northern latitude. From west to east the largest peninsula is located between the 34th and 60th meridians of eastern longitude. In total, the territory occupied by the Arabian Peninsula on the map is 2730 thousand square meters. Km. For comparison, you can bring a record holder of Russian origin - Taimyr. This is the largest peninsula in Russia, which occupies a total of about 400 thousand square meters. Km, and this is seven times less.

The following waters are washed on the peninsula:

• Red Sea on the west coast (breaking it, you can get to the African continent).
• The Persian and Omani Gulfs in the east (on the other side of them is Iran), as well as the Arabian Sea, which, along with the Gulf of Aden, washes the largest peninsula also in the south.

In the northern part of the peninsula, there is a "connection" with the Eurasian continent, and all the above-mentioned water areas belong to the Indian Ocean basin.

Features of the relief

The coasts of the Arabian Peninsula are slightly dissected and rectilinear. If we take again for comparison the largest peninsula of Russia, then the picture is absolutely the opposite.

Starting from the shores near the Red Sea, we find a narrow lowland that flows into the mountain ranges: Hijja (north, with a maximum point of 2347 m) and Asir (south, with a maximum point of 3760 m). Further, passing to the shores of the Gulf of Aden, there is the Hadramaut Upland. In general, if you look at the Arabian Peninsula on a map, you can note its some resemblance to a boot, but not so elegant as Italy. So, in the area where the fingers should be located (the east coast, washed by the Gulf of Oman), there is also a hill - the array of Aldar. Its maximum height is in the area of 3352 meters. Thus, it turns out that the peninsula is almost entirely framed by hills that hide behind them deserted plains. The largest desert on the peninsula - Rub-Al-Khali - occupies about a third of the territory, in the "foot" area of the boot (the southern area between the array of Al-Akhdar and the mountain range of Asher). Also there are two large deserts - Small Nefud and Big Nehud. To the north of the peninsula from the mainland, the Syrian Desert also climbed a little.

The climate is not the most favorable

Mountain ranges played a significant role in the development of those climate conditions that exist on the Arabian lands. Add to this also the situation in the tropical belt, and what we get?

Plain regions can boast annual precipitation in an amount of 50 to 100, and in some places - and up to 70 millimeters. For comparison, we give the city of Moscow, where the annual precipitation is between 400 and 500 millimeters. All the moisture from the seas is taken away by mountain ridges, on which the amount of precipitation exceeds the Moscow indicators by a hundred. The temperature in summer is constantly around 30 ^° C, with frequent cases of much higher rates. In winter, the thermometer can drop to 7-24 degrees Celsius, although there have been cases of reduction even to zero.

The largest peninsula has almost no permanent rivers, proceeding from such conditions. In summer they dry up, and in winter they fill with water again. The Arabs call these rivers "wadi". There are lowlands with water - oases formed by proximity to the surface of groundwater. The rest of the territory is deserted and virtually lifeless.

Flora and fauna

The plant and animal life that the largest peninsula possesses, based on climatic conditions, will not surprise with its diversity. In the oases you can find dates, on the slopes of the mountains grow aloe, mimosa and acacia. In the far south, a fan-tree is very widespread-Wismannia. In those regions where it is not completely deserted, various types of grasses and cereals are common. Of animals:

• Birds (quail, ostrich, bustard, pigeon);
• Mammals (wolf, hyena, panther, fox, wild cat and their prey - gazelle, mountain goat, antelope, gerbils);
• Lizards, snakes, insects - in abundance.

Countries on the territory of the Arabian Peninsula and their population

The largest area here is occupied by Saudi Arabia - its territory is estimated at 1750-2240 thousand square meters. Km with a population of almost 23 million people. The rest is shared by Yemen (18 million), the United Arab Emirates (2.4 million), Kuwait (2 million), Oman (2.6 million) and Qatar (0.78 Million people).

Countries such as Iraq and Jordan are also partly located on the territory of the peninsula. The population of all these countries for the most part (if not to say that virtually everything) is the Arabs.

The population density increases in the coastal zones - 10-50 people per square kilometer, in large cities this figure rises to two hundred. In other regions, not adapted for human existence, people less than 10 per 1 square. Km or not at all.

Problems with foreign workers

An interesting fact that worries the governments of all countries occupying the largest peninsula in the area is the issue of foreign workers. For example, sociologists of Saudi Arabia predicted that by 2030, 39 million people will account for the fourth part of foreigners. This causes a lot of problems related to the provision of jobs to the indigenous people of the country, and further along the chain from it is spread a lot of negative impacts, including the fact that young people who do not have a job, begin to unite in extremist groups. Therefore, the governments of these countries are implementing plans for the nationalization of the economy, the main purpose of which is to reduce the percentage of foreign workers.