Sinai Peninsula

.	Sinai Peninsula	Italian Peninsula

Geography	Area: 60,000 km2 Coordinates: Google map 30N - 34E	Area: 223,000 km2 Coordinates: Google map 42N - 13E
Climate	Extremely hot and harsh arid deserts that receive very little precipitation in any form	Mediterranean climate, with mild humid winters, and harm dry summers
Rivers and water resources	No rivers run though the peninsula - no source of fresh water No natural lakes Few oasis's such as Ain Umm Ahmed and Wadi Feiran, are the only source of life in this otherwise unlivable region	Many rivers including the Po (645 km long), the Volturno, the Roman Tiber and the Arno Important lakes such as Como, Lugano and Maggiore
Human Settlements	For three millennia, Sinai remained sparsely inhabited, serving primarily as a mining region and as a military route between Egypt and the great civilizations of the Fertile Crescent. The majority of the limited population lived along the north coast and the few oasis's 1970 population - 60,000 (1 person per square kilometer) 2007 population - 600,000	Important cities and civilizations flourished along the Italian Peninsula. Rome, Venice, Florence, Naples and Milan are examples of historical locations. 2007 population - 59 millions (196 persons per square kilometer)
Historical Development	Natural border and buffer zone between Asia and the Nile valley Sinai owed its importance to the Egypt's economy for its valuable minerals - Egyptian presence in Sinai dates back from 3000 BC., when they developed the peninsula's copper and turquoise Mines No civilizations or important cultures have originated here. Around 1400 BC, Moses led the Israelites through its "great and terrible wilderness" on the epic journey recounted in Exodus.	Land of the Roman Civilization Home of the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. The Italian peninsula has been of critical importance to human history throughout the ages.
Vegetation and wildlife	Arid desert	Mediterranean agriculture Coniferous forests