The Dead Sea is actually a huge lake, located in the heart of the Turkish-African Great Rift between Jordan and Israel. Its length is about 50 kilometers and the average width is 15 kilometers. It was formerly divided into two basins, with the North and South separated by the Lisan (Arabic for ‘Tongue’) peninsula. Mongolia has a 3,485km (2,165-mile) border with the Russian Federation in the north and a 4,677km (2,906-mile) border with China in the south. Much of the country is a large plateau with an average elevation of 915m to 1,524m (3,000ft to 5,000ft).
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- Jordan Westburgalamo World Geography Pdf
- Jordan Westburgalamo World Geography Book
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Jordan was established as a constitutional monarchy in 1946 after it gained independence from Britain which controlled the territory as a mandate after World War I. When Israel was created in 1948, the area west of the River Jordan (known commonly as the “West Bank”), was controlled by it, but Israel occupied it after 1967.
In 1988, Jordan renounced claims to the West Bank. Thus constituted, Jordan has a territory of 34,342 sq. miles (88,946 sq km) and a population of 4.6 million. Jordan has a coastline of 12 miles (19 km) on the Gulf of Aqaba, where the country’s only port (Aqaba) is located.
Jordan is a small nation with meager natural resources and is beset with several pressing political problem—all the more so because the country has provided a haven for thousands of Arab refugees who fled from their homes as a result of the Arab-Israeli wars. From the beginning, the country has depended upon foreign aid and has maintained friendly relations with the West despite strong internal and outside pressures.
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Foreign aid has benefited the country in its development programs. Aid has come largely from the United Kingdom, the U.S., and, since the 1967 war with Israel, from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. Since the 1970s, the country has successfully implemented plans for economic and social development with a view to reducing the need for outside aid.
The country is primarily a desert and semi-desert that occupies more than eighty percent of the country’s surface, largely in the eastern and southern parts. The desert is rocky and bare and made up of volcanic materials of sandstone and granite. The uplands lie east of the Jordan River with altitudes between 2,000 and 3,000 feet (60C and 900 meters) increasing to the south.
In the northern uplands there are several valleys and some perennial streams. The Jordan Valley is part of the great African rift-valley system and lies some 1,312 feet or 430 meters below sea level at the Dead Sea, which is the lowest point on the earth’s surface. The Jordan River flowing southward drains the waters of the Sea of Galilee, and the Yarmuk River and streams of the uplands into the Dead Sea.
Climatically, the country belongs to the Mediterranean type in the west to the desert type in the east and south. The proximity of the Mediterranean Sea modifies, to an extent, the otherwise generally arid climate. The prevailing winds are westerly to southwesterly, but the dry, hot, dusty winds (known as khamsin) from the Arabian Peninsula, frequently bring uncomfortable weather.
Average temperatures range between 46° and 78°F (80° and 26°C) in the capital at Amman, while the port of Aqaba in the far south experiences greater seasonal ranges (between 60° and 90°F). The average rainfall in the uplands east of the Jordan River totals about 15 inches (375 mm) annually, and that drops down to 8 inches in the valley and less than 2 inches in the desert areas of the south.
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Cultural Patterns:
Ninety-nine percent of the population is Arabic, half of which are Palestinians, either from Palestine or the West Bank, who fled their homelands and took refuge in Jordan. Circassians, Armenians, Turks, and Kurds combined make up for the remaining 1 percent. Most native Jordanians belong to the several Bedouin tribes (King Hussein
belongs to one of them) who support the King.
Palestinian refugee settlers perhaps now outnumber the native Bedouins, and occasionally are a source of the nation’s political and economic problems. Most Palestinians are employed and hold Jordanian citizenship; a few thousand live in refugee camps and receive aid from the United Nations.
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Ninety-three percent of the population belongs to the Sunnite Muslim tradition, and five percent is Christian. The Christian groups include Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, and some Protestants. The Druzes (an Ismaili Shiite sect) number a few hundreds. The Armenians, Druze, Baha’i, Turkmen, and Circassians each number a few hundred and form small non-Arab communities.
Economic Activity:
The Jordanian economy has changed dramatically during the last three decades. Although agriculture is still an important occupation, only 6.5 percent of the labor force is engaged in it and it accounted for only 8 percent of the country’s gross product in 1995. Only 4.5 percent of the land is under cultivation; forests cover less than 1 percent, whereas 86 percent of the country’s surface is a wasteland.
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Pastureland is limited and is overgrazed so as to barely support the nation’s livestock. The government has made some attempts to enlarge the pasturage area by digging artesian wells in several parts of the country. Wheat and barley are the main crops of the uplands where there is some rainfall.
Irrigated land in the Jordan Valley produces citrus and other fruits (such as grapes) and vegetables (including tomatoes and cucumbers); some of it is even exported to other Arab countries. Livestock is raised by Bedouins in the desert. Sheep and goats are the most important livestock, although other livestock like cattle, camels, and horses are also raised. There is some fishing in the Gulf of Aqaba.
Mineral resources include deposits of phosphates, potash, limestone, marble and salt. Gypsum, copper, uranium, and some shale oil have also been discovered. A little over 10 percent of the labor force is engaged in mining and manufacturing, which collectively accounts for nearly a quarter of the value of domestic production.
Most of Jordan’s manufacturing consists of extraction of phosphates, petroleum refining, cement production, and the production of a variety of consumer goods and processed foods, that are mostly concentrated around the capital, Amman (population: close to a million in 1998).
Amman is linked with Syria in the north and Saudi Arabia in the south by a railroad and roadways. The seaport of Aqaba in the south at the Gulf of Aqaba and the West Bank and Jerusalem in the west is also connected to Amman by a roadway. The Royal Jordanian Airline links Jordan to the outside world.
The expansion of the Jordanian economy, especially the export of phosphates and the regional transit trade with Iraq during the 1980s and 1990s, has substantially boosted the growth of the port of Aqaba. Food items, including cereals, mineral fuels, machinery, clothing and textiles are the major imports. Phosphate fertilizers, cement, fruits and vegetables, and synthetic fibers, are the main exports.
The U.S.A., Iraq, the European countries, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and India are the chief trading partners. Tourism is an important industry that pumps about half a billion
dollars into the country’s economy; another half a billion comes from Jordanian nationals living abroad.
The economy has shown remarkable resilience and growth after losing a third of its domestic income in 1967 when it lost West Bank territory, but revenues increased due to the growth of its trade with Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War when Iraq sought and obtained access to Jordan’s port of Aqaba.
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Again, the economy slumped during the Persian Gulf Crisis (1990-1991) when Iraq agreed to the United Nations’ trade sanctions against Iraq; but recovered after 1991 when many Palestinians brought much capital back into the country after they were expelled from Kuwait. Jordan’s future depends largely on foreign aid and its policy at good relations with the West is most likely to continue.
Do you need some new inspiration for your Geography Fair Project? This list contains sixty (plus a few extra!) ideas to help your student get moving toward an amazing Geography Fair display!
A huge thanks to all the fantastic kids in our homeschool co-op. All of the photos are of their fabulous efforts in creating great geography fair displays.
1. Color a Flag
2. Sew a Flag
3. Display a Large Fabric Flag
4. Create a Flag Mosaic
5. Compile a National Treasure Box
6. Create a Time Line of the History of the Country, State, or Regio
7. Cultural Music with Headphones
8. Display Photographs
9. Display Post Cards
10. Create a Salt Dough Map
11. Bake a Cookie Dough Map
12. Construct a Map with Strings Connecting to Points of Interest
13. Tri-fold Board Display
14. Create a Cultural Craft
15. Have a Make It-Take It Craft Station
16. Print Recipe Cards
make multiple copies so others can take one home and try the recipe!
17. Share Food Samples
World Market is a great place to find already prepared food from the country you are studying.
18. Display a Cooking Project and Offer Samples
19. Super Simple File Folder Report
Grab the pack from the continent you need and get your student started on a file folder report for his or her country choice.
20. Interactive Word Game
for foreign languages or even similar languages; the game below was made with pockets
21. Sew Traditional Clothes
22. Wear a Costume or Traditional Clothes
23. Have Clothes for Attendees to Try On
24. Display a Doll in Traditional Dress
25. Make a Scrapbook
26. Collect Money to Display
27. Collect Toys to Display
28. Collect Other Artifacts to Display
29. Create a Country Lapbook
30. Complete an Animal Lapbook
31. Display a Lapbook on a Tri-fold Board
32. Make a Poster Board
33. Write a Report
34. Make a Mural
35. Craft a Pop-up Book
scroll down until you find it
36. Put Together a Notebook
37. Build a Model
38. Design a Webpage
share it on a laptop or tablet
39. Make a Triarama
40. Create a 4D Triorama/Pyramid
41. Construct an Electric Wired Answer Board
42. Craft a Diorama
instructions for a Shoebox Diorama
Jordan Westburgalamo World Geography Pdf
43. Use Graphs to Display Information
44. Use Charts to Display Information
45. Display a Game Specific to Your Country’s Culture
46. Make an Interactive Matching Game
47. Trivia Quiz
You can do this in the form of a notebook or as a video display
48. Display a Game Invented in the Country You Are Presenting
49. Host a Coloring Contest at Your Table
50. Use a Teaser Question at Your Display
51. Wear a Teaser Question Around Your Neck
52. Craft a Sculpley Clay Sculpture
53. Create Sculpley Clay Animals
54. Make a Paper Mache Sculpture
55. Offer Attendees Coloring Pages Connected to Your Project
56. Create a Travel Brochure
57. Display Actual Travel Brochures
58. Display a Native Plant
59. Design a LEGO Building Project
60. PowerPoint Presentation
display with a laptop or tablet at your table
61. Create a Video Presentation
display with a laptop or tablet at your table
62. Display Picture Books Set in Your Country, State, or Region
63. Create a 3D Pop-up Book on Zooburst and Use a Tablet for Displaying It
64. Design a Stop-Motion Video for Attendees to View
65. Make a Suitcase Scrapbook
Jordan Westburgalamo World Geography Book
Check out my Geography Fairs Page for posts on:
- How to Start a Geography Fair
- Geography Fair Research and Project Ideas
- and More!
Looking for more great Geography Fair Display Ideas?