Arabian Peninsula

Arabian Peninsula

Islam began in 610 on the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian Peninsula is located in Southwest Asia, in the Middle East region. The history of the Arabian Peninsula is shaped by its geographic features. These include: Click on each geographical feature to learn more.

• Desert
• Oases
• Mountains
• Coastland

Desert

3/4 of the Arabian Peninsula is covered in desert. The weather is harsh.

• Temperatures reach 120 °F or more during the day but it drops at night.
• Rain rarely happens. When it does rain, it can cause flash floods.

• Windstorms can make it hard to see and reshape sand into tall dunes.

Traders would cross the desert to trade using camels.

OASES >

Oases

Oases are water throughout the desert. They are marked by trees and plants. They can be small. Some people in the Arabian Peninsula are nomads called Bedouins. They travel from oasis to oasis with their animals. They used palm trees for shade, food, and materals for shelter. Some oases turned into small trading centers. The Al-Hasa oasis in eastern Saudi Arabia is an example. On google maps, you can see the green where plants and trees grow.

Mountains >

Mountains

Mountains cover the western and southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Mountains are a barrier between the coast and desert. They get more rain than the desert and are colder. Flashfloods happen in the mountains. They keep rain from falling on the desert areas. Farmers created terraces to farm on mountains. Farmers used irrigation to grow crops like melons.

Coastland >

Coastland

A coast is where the sea meets land. The Arabian Peninsula's coast has fertile land. It rains often, It is good for farming. It has harbors for ships Both farming and trading thrived. People along the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, East Africa, and India came to trade their goods. Powerful kingdoms formed along the coast.