Physiographic Map Study of China “China’s geography is an assemblage of pieces.”

Map Study Directions Be prepared to answer the 5 essential questions. You need a black line map of China. You need pen/pencil/colored pencils. Read through the slide show. Complete the map as you read through the slide show. Shade the key to reflect your color choices. Answer the questions at the end of the slide show in your notebook.

Essential Questions How would you describe China’s physical borders? How would you characterize the western part of China? The eastern? The southern? The northern? The central? Given these physical attributes, why might it be difficult for a government to rule China? How might a government unify such a vast and diverse country? What does the following quote mean to you? “ China ’ s geography is an assemblage of pieces. ” Provide examples to illustrate your point of view.

Taklimakan Desert (A) The Taklamakan Desert is in northwest China. Because it lies in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, Taklamakan is a cold desert climate. Extreme lows are recorded in wintertime, sometimes well below −20 °C (−4 °F). It has very little water; therefore it is hazardous to cross. Merchant caravans on the Silk Road would stop for relief at the thriving oasis towns.

East China Sea (B) The East China Sea is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of roughly 1,249,000 square kilometres (482,000 sq mi).

South China Sea (C) The South China Sea’s importance largely results from one-third of the world's shipping sailing through its waters and that it is believed to hold huge oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed

Mount Everest (D) Mount Everest is Earth's highest mountain. The international border between China and Nepal runs across Everest's precise summit point.

Tian Mountains (E) Tian Shan lies to the north and west of the Taklamakan Desert and directly north of the Tarim Basin in the border region of Kazakhstan. Glaciers in the Tian Shan Mountains have been rapidly shrinking and have lost 27%, or 5.4 billion tons annually, of its ice mass since 1961 compared to an average of 7% worldwide. It is estimated that by 2050 half of the remaining glaciers will have melted.

Mekong River (G) The Mekong is a trans-boundary river in Southeast Asia. It is the world's 12th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. The extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls in the Mekong make navigation difficult. Even so, the river is a major trade route between western China and Southeast Asia.

North China Plain (H) The North China Plain is based on the deposits of the Yellow River and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. Because the fertile soil of the North China Plain gradually merges with Central Asia with no natural barriers between the two regions, the plain has been prone to invasion, prompting the construction of the Great Wall of China.

Yellow River (I) “ Yellow" refers to the perennial color of the muddy water in the lower course of the river, which arises from soil (loess) being carried downstream. The Yellow River is called "the cradle of Chinese civilization,” because its basin was the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilization, and it was the most prosperous region in early Chinese history. However, because of frequent devastating floods and course changes produced by the continual elevation of the river bed (due in part to manmade erosion upstream), sometimes above the level of its surrounding farm fields, it also has the name China's Sorrow.

Plateau of Tibet (J)

Himalayas Mountains (K) This range is home to nine of the ten highest peaks on Earth, including the highest above sea level, Mount Everest. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia. Many Himalayan peaks are sacred in both Buddhism and Hinduism.

Yangzi River (M) Also known as the Yangtze or Chang Jiang, it is the longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the world. For thousands of years, the river has been used for water, irrigation, sanitation, transportation, industry, boundary-marking and war. Its Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric power station in the world.

Gobi Desert (N) The Gobi is a cold desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia.

On the next page in your notebook answer the following questions in complete sentences: What does the following quote mean to you? “ China ’ s geography is an assemblage of pieces. ” Provide examples to illustrate your point of view. How would you describe China’s physical borders? How would you characterize the western part of China? The eastern? The southern? The northern? The central? Given these physical attributes, why might it be difficult for a government to rule China? How might a government unify such a vast and diverse country

Resources Photographs were taken from the Internet. Content material comes from TCI History Alive unit on China.