The Physical Geography of South Asia Chapter 23 The Physical Geography of South Asia

The Land South Asia is a subcontinent-a large, distinct landmass that is joined to a continent separated by mountains from the rest of Asia

Surrounded by three bodies of water: Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal

The Himalaya According to the theory of continental drift, Himalayan Mts were created when subcontinent broke away from Africa and collided with the southern edge of Asia. 60 million years ago Forced mountains upward Over 1000 miles long and hundreds of miles wide

Mount Everest World’s highest peak Rises 29,035 feet above sea level

Northern Landforms Three mountain ranges form a chain that separates subcontinent: Karakoram Mountains, Hindu Kush, Himalaya Khyber Pass- narrow crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan Mountains protect Nepal and Bhutan from outsiders until 1900s

Ganges River

Vindhya Range The Vindhya Range is at an elevation from 1,500 to 3,500 feet. Because of their horizontal sandstone structure, the mountains tend to be flat-topped and plateau-like. The range is regarded as marking the border between northern and peninsular India.

Southern Landforms In the south the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats form a triangle The Deccan Plateau is in the middle of the older, rugged hills Deccan Plateau – rich, black soil from area once covered in lava Western Ghats prevent rainy winds and create semi-arid to dry conditions on the Deccan Plateau Karnataka Plateau receives much of the rain and has rain forest conditions Karnataka

Sri Lanka and the Maldives Sri Lanka broke away from the subcontinent Maldives-chain of tiny coral atolls and volcanic islands; covers 35,000 miles of ocean, but only 300 square miles in area

Major River Systems Indus The Indus River flows through Pakistan and into the Arabian Sea; known as one of the cradles of ancient civilization together with Egypt and Mesopotamia

Brahmaputra River flows east through the Himalaya and into western India and Bangladesh, then joins with the Ganges, and empties into the Bay of Bengal provides Bangladesh with 50% of in power through hydroelectricity Is navigable for 800 miles and is major source of transportaion

Ganges River Flows east from the Himalaya Most important river of South Asia Named after Hindu goddess, Ganga Maintains levels during entire year Flooding serious problem during summer monsoon season – April to June

Ganges Plain World’s longest alluvial plain Area of fertile soil deposited by flooding river Most densely populated area

Natural Resources: water, energy resources, minerals, timber Water: drinking water, transportation, alluvial soil, hydroelectricity Rivers cross national borders

Energy resources Petroleum reserves along India’s NW coast, near Ganges Delta and in N Pakistan Arabian Sea oil explorations; but South Asia still depends on oil imports Natural gas fields in southern Pakistan, Ganges Delta, Bangladesh Uranium in Eastern Ghats Most energy comes from hydroelectricity, fuel wood, coal

Minerals India-leading exporter of iron ore, 90% of world’s mica (used in making electrical equipment) Manganese, chromite, and gypsum await development Nepal- mica and copper Sri Lanka- graphite, sapphires, rubies, and other precious stones