Fertile Crescent Geography

Where is the Middle East?

Mesopotamia

• The term Mesopotamia refers to a geographical area
• Mesopotamia is also a period of history that lasted for more than 3000 years.
• Greeks called the land “Mesopotamia”, meaning “between the rivers”
• Mesopotamia is located within the Fertile Crescent, between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers
• It is called the “Cradle of Civilization” because many of the world’s oldest civilizations began in this area.

​

​

The Big Picture

• Civilization was developing in Western Asia.
• This area was later called the Fertile Crescent because it looks like a quarter moon.
• The Fertile Crescent covers the present-day countries of Iraq and Syria

The Big Picture

• Much of the land was either rocky mountains or desert.
• The 2 rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, made life in these areas possible.

Between 2 Rivers

• The region between the Tigris and the Euphrates is known as Mesopotamia.
• In Greek it means “land between two rivers.”
• This area is now known as Iraq.

Between 2 Rivers-�From Mountains to the Sea

• Both the Tigris and the Euphrates begin in the Taurus Mountains, located in Turkey.
• The rivers rush down and then reach the plateau, located in present-day northern Iraq.
• A plateau is an area of elevated flatland.
• In southern Iraq the rivers flow to lower land and empty into the Persian Gulf.

Fertile Crescent

• Fertile Crescent - Region of rich soil in the middle east
• Located in modern-day Middle East

​

​

​