Iraq has diverse geography that falls into four main regions: desert west of the Euphrates, Upper Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, northern Kurdish highlands, and lower Mesopotamia extending to the Persian Gulf. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow from Turkey through Iraq and meet north of the Persian Gulf to form the Shatt al-Arab river. Iraq has built dams on the rivers for irrigation and flood control but this reduces downstream water availability, causing conflict with Turkey. The government has also drained marshes, displacing populations and threatening wildlife but development depends on agreements with Turkey over water.

1. Iraq Geography

2. Geography: Regions
• The geography of Iraq is diverse and falls
into four main regions: the desert (west of
the Euphrates), Upper
Mesopotamia (between the upper Tigris and
Euphrates rivers), the northern highlands
of Iraqi Kurdistan, and Lower
Mesopotamia, the alluvial plain extending
from around Tikrit to the Persian Gulf.

3. Geography
Geographic Coordinates:
33 00 N, 44 00 E
Map References:
Middle East
Climate:
mostly desert; mild to cool winters
with dry, hot, cloudless summers;
northern mountainous regions along
Iranian and Turkish borders
experience cold winters with
occasionally heavy snows that melt
in early spring, sometimes causing
extensive flooding in central and
southern Iraq
Natural Resources:
petroleum, natural gas,
phosphates, sulfur
Natural Hazards:
dust storms; sandstorms;
floods
Physical Map

4. Geography
Location: Middle East,
bordering the Persian Gulf,
between Iran and Kuwait
Border Countries (6):
Iran 1,599 km, Jordan 179
km, Kuwait 254 km, Saudi
Arabia 811 km, Syria 599
km, Turkey 367 km.
Terrain:mostly broad
plains; reedy marshes along
Iranian border in south with
large flooded areas;
mountains along borders
with Iran and Turkey
Elevations:lowest
point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Cheekha Dar
(Kurdish for "Black Tent");
3,611 m
Political Map

5. Major Rivers
• The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flow from Turkey through Iraq from
northwest to southeast. They meet about 100 miles north of the Persian
Gulf to form the Shatt al-Arab, which drains into the gulf. Irrigation
canals that have been built between the two rivers provide water that is
crucial in the desert environment for irrigation and drinking. The
canals have been built to divert water of the higher-lying Euphrates to
the west, across the valley into the Tigris. The Iraqi government has
also built a series of dams on the Tigris and Euphrates for irrigation
and for flood control. Iraqis, however, have strongly opposed the
greater number of dams built by Turkey upstream, because they divert
and evaporate water needed by Iraqis in drier and hotter downstream
regions.

6. Geography: Environment
• government water control projects drained most of the inhabited
marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the
feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh
Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been
displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat
poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate
supplies of potable water; development of the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers system contingent upon agreements with
upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil
degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification
• International Agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

7. Geography: Area
• Area:
• total: 438,317 sq km
• land: 437,367 sq km
• water: 950 sq km
• country comparison to the world: 59
• Area - comparative:
• slightly more than three times the size of New
York state

8. Sites
• http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/s
tevenjd.html