China’s Land and Climate (The People’s Republic of China) Ch. 24, Section 1 Mrs. Tinkey World Geography

China’s Land 3 rd largest country by land area – What are the 1 st two? China has a wide range of landforms – Mountains – Deserts – Plains – Rivers – Depressions – Plateaus – Peninsulas – Islands

Himalayas

Kunlan Shan

Qilian Shan

Tian Shan

Atlay Mountains

Plateau of Tibet *The world’s largest plateau *Nicknamed the “Roof of the World” -What landform was the “Roof of Africa?” *13,000 feet above sea level *Covered with shrubs and grasses. *On the eastern end of the plateau rare animals such as Pandas and Golden Monkey’s roam.

Turpan Depression *East of Tian Shan *Lies 505 ft BELOW sea level *Partially filled with salt lakes *The hottest place in China -Daytime temps can reach 122 degrees (F)

Taklimakan Desert *In Northern China, mountain ranges surround deserts like this one. -That makes this area very isolated.

Gobi Desert *Instead of sand, this desert is made of rocks and stones. *Temperature varies by elevation. -Ranges from -30 to 110 degrees (F)

Manchurian Plain *The Manchurian Plain, lies in a region of China called… Manchuria!

North China Plain *About 90% of China’s people live in this region.

Yangtze River *China’s longest river -Flows from the Plateau of Tibet to the East China Sea (3,964 mi) *Chinese name for it is Chang Jiang, meaning long river. *There is rich, fertile land and many industrial centers along this river. *Three Gorges Dam is located on this river. -Controls flooding -Increases ship trading and transportation -Creates electricity for China’s people.

Yellow River *Also known as the Huang He -Chinese civilization began here. -Think back to ancient river valley map from earlier this year. *Flows from the Plateau of Tibet across the North China Plain. *Called China’s Sorrow, because of the lives lost due to the flooding of this river. *The Chinese have built dams and dikes to control flooding. -Dike: a high bank of soil along a river

Xi River (Shee) *During flood time, this river is very important to transportation and trade to inland cities.

Ring of Fire Area in the Pacific known for its volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.

Climate *Turn to page 672 in your text book *7 Different Climate Zones -What are they? *Monsoons greatly affect China’s climate. -In the winter, cold dry air blows in from C. Asia -In the summer, the monsoons blow in from the sea with warm, moist air. -Monsoons often bring in Typhoons *Typhoons are also known as hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean -Tropical storms with strong winds and heavy rains.