Geography of Mesopotamia
The region centers on two rivers: the Tigris and Euphrates. They originate in the eastern mountains,
and are trapped in the Mesopotamian valley by the desert shield to the west. Both originate in the
Turkish High Plateau, about 2000 m above sea level, and draw almost all of their water from outside the
Mesopotamian region. The slope is steep, enabling them to pick up a lot of sediment. However, the land grows
rapidly flatter, and they become slow, shallow, meandering rivers. The Euphrates flows around the north and
west of the shorter Tigris, and they converge into the braided, swampy delta region in the south. Due to the
climate of the region, all of the waterways are constantly moving, flooding, and drastically altering
their courses.
Mesopotamia, like most of the Middle East, has an extremely arid climate. Winter is the rainy season,
with the more mountainous areas in the north getting around 400 mm of rain in the season from November to
April, and little to none the rest of the season. South of the Euphrates, true desert conditions prevail,
with much of the valley receiving less than 100 mm per year. Therefore the water the rivers bring
down from the mountains is the major source of water for the valley. Rainfall is erratic as well, with variations
of many hundred percent from year to year. The occasional
unseasonal rainfall often produces flooding. The rainy season
is the cold season as well, although the weather is never extremely
cold; average temperature]s in January, the height of the wet cold
season, rarely fall below freezing, averaging around 60º F(Rzóska
4). They hover around ninety in August, occasionally
reaching as high as 120ºF. The flood periods of the rivers, the
periods of maximum snowmelt and rain from the mountains, occur
at the end of the rainy season, in April and June. Sandstorms
occur often in the region. Large amounts of silt flow down
from the new mountains, the former seabed filled with
sediment, becoming a broad, fertile valley filled with rich
brown soils.
Exploration Task:
Imagine you are a geographer analyzing the climate of Mesopotamia. Analyze the problems that
arise in the region. Develop solutions to each problem.
Mesopotamian Problems
What geographical features prevent
farming in Mesopotamia?
Solutions
How would you solve these problems?