Which scarce resource has most directly shaped Southwest Asia's history and settlement patterns? Question 5 options:

A. rich soil

B. natural gas

C. water

D. forests

Water is the scarce resource which has most directly shaped Southwest Asia's history and settlement patterns. Most of the population in Southwest Asia is located where there is water. The populated area in Southwest Area's includes eastern and northeastern shores of Mediterranean Sea, Basin of Tigris Euphrates and along the Caspian Sea.