South Asia Geography & Introduction

South Asia is also known as the Indian Subcontinent Subcontinent- A large part of a continent that is set apart from the rest of the continent by a physical boundary

South Asia is divided from the rest of Asia by the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush Mountains

Himalayas Hindu Kush Mountains

Mountains caused India to develop its own culture But mountain passes and access to oceans connected India to the world

Largest Mountain in the World is Mount Everest

Northern Plains = Indo-Gangetic Plains It is the most Populated area in India because it has fresh water and fertile soil What river is this? What river is this? Indo- Gangetic

Temperatures are mostly tropical, cooler in high elevations

Rivers are sacred to the people of India

Rivers can flood severely Example: Bangladesh is on a Ganges River delta. It is fertile but has a lot of flooding = poor

Northern side of Himalayas gets almost no rain (Plateau of Tibet and Taklamakan Desert in China very dry)

Natural Resources iron fertile land coal limestone copper

Kashmir Valley famous for goats that produce wool for cashmere

Kashmir by Led Zeppelin Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face And stars fill my dream I'm a traveler of both time and space To be where I have been To sit with elders of the gentle race This world has seldom seen They talk of days for which they sit and wait All will be revealed Talk in song from tongues of lilting grace Sounds caress my ear…

India is the largest country in South Asia

…and its capital is New Delhi

India is 1/3 the size of the U.S. with 4 times the population 3.54 mil. sq. mi. 319 million India 1.27 mil. sq. mi. 1.25 billion

Hindi is the most widely spoken. Dozens of languages are spoken m but… Hindi is the most widely spoken.

Hinduism is most common Many different religions are practiced, but… Hinduism is most common

Islam, although only 15% of the population, is the 2nd most common religion in India.