978-1-4222-3442-6

View of the Euphrates River as it passes through the village of Hit. One of Iraq’s two major rivers, the Euphrates originates in Turkey.

The Land

I raq lies on the northern shore of the Arabian Gulf, more com- monly known as the Persian Gulf among non-Arabs. Its small segment of coastline is situated between the much longer shorelines of Iran to its east and Kuwait to its south. Iraq possesses a land area of some 168,754 square miles (437,072 square kilometers), making it slightly more than twice the size of Idaho. If Iraq were placed over the eastern part of the United States, its southern edge would rest at Raleigh, North Carolina, and its northern edge in Lake Ontario. The width of Iraq would stretch from Washington, D.C., in the east to Indianapolis, Indiana, in the west. Iraq is surrounded by six countries, four of which are, like Iraq, populated by Arabs. Kuwait lies to the southeast of Iraq. To the south and southwest is the larger country of Saudi Arabia. Jordan, to the west of Iraq, shares a 113-mile (181-km) border. To the northwest is Syria, which borders Iraq for 376 miles (605 km). The

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