CHAPTER 1: THE WORLD

The Asian Continent Asia is the largest continent in the world (44,391,162 square km) and has a population of almost 4 billion.

Continental Drift Theory Alfred Wegener’s hypothesis was that all that continents in the world once formed a single landmass known as Pangaea and drifted along the years to form the continents we now know today.

Pangaea Pangaea was a supercontinent that is said to have existed approximately 225 million years ago. Pangaea itself consisted of two supercontinents, Laurasia (north) and Gondwana or Gondwanaland (south).

Laurasia and Gondwanaland Gondwanaland consisted of the continents now known as Antartica, Australia, South America, Africa, and India. Laurasia consisted of the continents now known as Europe, Asia, and North America. Approximately 65 million years ago, South America drifted apart from Africa, forming the body of water now known as the Atlantic Ocean.

Asia Asia consists of the following geographical regions: West Asia (aka the Middle East) Central Asia East Asia South Asia Southeast Asia

Geographical Features: Highlands A large part of Asia is covered by highlands consisting of plateaus and mountain ranges. Most of the Asian mountain ranges originate from the Tibetan Plateau, which is also known as the roof of the world. The Plateau is the source of most of the rivers and mountains in Asia.

The Formation of the Himalayas According to the Continental Drift and Plate Tectonic Theory, the surface of the Earth consists of tectonic plates which are constantly in motion due to convection currents. Although the tectonic plates only move at a rate of several cm a year, this can bring about impactful results over millions of years.

The Formation of the Himalayas The Indo-Australian plate drifted over the years and collided with the Eurasian plate (the Tibetan Plateau). The impact of the two plates led to the formation of the Himalayas after millions of years.

River Basins Asia also has many river basins. Each basin is filled by a main river and its tributaries. This chapter will be discussing the following river basins: The Hwang He basin The Chang Jiang (Yangtze) basin The Ganges basin

The Hwang He Basin The Hwang He Basin is situated in northern China and originates from the Tibetan Plateau and empties into the Yellow Sea. It is the second longest river in China (after the Chang Jiang) and is estimated to be around 5,464m long.

The Hwang He Basin The basin is almost always on the brink of flooding and almost a million died in 1931 when the Hwang He overflowed. This is why it is known as “China’s Sorrow”.

The Chang Jiang Basin The Chang Jiang basin is situated in central China and is surrounded by mountains. Like the Hwang He, it originates from the Tibetan Plateau and is 6,400m long. The basin itself is about 5 and a half times the width of Malaysia.

The Ganges Basin The Ganges basin is filled by the Ganges (aka Ganga) which originates from the Tibetan Plateau and flows eastward to Bangladesh before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. Among the major cities situated by the Ganges basin are Allahabad, Varanasi, Patba, and Dhaka.

Natural Phenomena Asia experiences a range of natural disasters. This chapter will be discussing earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes.

Earthquakes Earthquakes refer to the sudden movement in the Earth’s tectonic plates that can led to seismic waves. The magnitude of this seismic activity is measured using the Richter scale. The Earth’s crust consists of tectonic plates and the friction between them can cause tremors or earthquakes.

Earthquakes The tremors originate from a point known as the focus, which is underground. The epicentre refers to the point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus.

Tsunamis Tsunamis are tidal waves which can potentially wreak havoc on coastal regions. Regular (non-tidal) waves are caused by the movement of air which causes the waves to break on the shore. Tidal waves, however, are caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

Tsunamis Tsunamis are tidal waves which can potentially wreak havoc on coastal regions. Regular (non-tidal) waves are caused by the movement of air which causes the waves to break on the shore. Tidal waves, however, are caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

The Formation of Tsunamis Tsunamis are usually caused by seismic activity below sea level. The friction between tectonic plates causes the ocean bed to spring up and leads to the displacement of a great volume of water, i.e. a tsunami.

Volcanoes Most volcanoes are situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire. More than 20 countries in Asia have active volcanoes that have erupted in the past 10,000 or so years.

The Formation of Volcanoes Volcanoes are formed when two tectonic plates collide against each other, causing a crack in the Earth’s crust. This leads to the outflow of magma which forms the basis of a volcanic eruption.