Its typical definitions overlap substantially, but not entirely, with definitions of the terms Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, and Near East (which is historically familiar but is widely deprecated today). A fault-zone also exists along the Red Sea, with continental rifting creating trough-like topography with areas located well-below sea level.
[7] In the United Nations geopolitical Eastern European Group, Armenia and Georgia are included in Eastern Europe, whereas Cyprus and East Thracian Turkey are in Southern Europe. [17] The Arabian Plate is moving northward into the Anatolian plate (Turkey) at the East Anatolian Fault,[18] and the boundary between the Aegean and Anatolian plate in eastern Turkey is also seismically active.[17]. All Rights Reserved, "By clicking OK or by using this Website, you consent to the use of cookies. In the context of the history of classical antiquity, "Western Asia" could mean the part of Asia known in classical antiquity, as opposed to the reaches of "interior Asia", i.e. We've been online since 1996 and have created 1000's of pages. The Largest Countries in the World. It includes Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Levant region, the island of Cyprus, the Sinai Peninsula, and Transcaucasia (partly). In Yemen, elevations exceed 3,700 meters in many areas, and highland areas extend north along the Red Sea coast and north into Lebanon. Popular. Major countries are Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Syria. The Zagros Mountains are located in Iran, in areas along its border with Iraq.
The boundaries between the tectonic plates make up the Azores-Gibraltar Ridge, extending across North Africa, the Red Sea, and into Iran.
To the north, the region is delimited from Europe by the drainage divide of the Greater Caucasus, to the southwest, it is delimited from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez, while to the northeast and east, the region adjoins Central Asia and South Asia. The region is located south of Eastern Europe.
Rub' al Khali, one of the world's largest sand deserts, spans the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula in Saudi Arabia, parts of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. [12][13][14] Is Asia the Most Populated Continent in the World. In Yemen, elevations exceed 3,700 meters in many areas, and highland areas extend north along the Red Sea coast and north into Lebanon.
The shamal is a summer northwesterly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states (including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), often strong during the day, but decreasing at night.