ASIA AND ITS MAJOR REGIONS

ASIA North to south – from the Arctic Ocean to the Indian Ocean in the east and from the Caucasus Mountains to Africa in the west East to west – from the Ural Mountains and Caspian Sea to the Pacific Ocean in the north and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean in the south Has five major regions Siberia and Central Asia : Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan are geographically part of Southwest Asia, but were included with Russia for historical reasons East Asia : China, Mongolia, North and South Korea, Taiwan, Japan South Asia : India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan Southeast Asia : Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia Southwest Asia : Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar (Southwest Asia will be included with North Africa)

EAST ASIA GEOGRAPHY – MAJOR POINTS East Asia covers the eastern half of Asia and is sandwiched between Siberia and Central Asia on the north and west and South Asia and Southeast Asia on the south East Asia is made up of six countries: China is the largest country in East Asia and borders eleven other countries Mongolia is the only landlocked country in East Asia. It is north of China and south of Russia North Korea and South Korea are on a peninsula northeast of China North Korea has borders with China, Russia and South Korea South Korea only has a border with North Korea Taiwan is an island east of China Japan is an archipelago of over 6,500 islands, but 97% of its area is made up of four large islands

EAST ASIA GEOGRAPHY – MAJOR POINTS Mainland East Asia (China and Mongolia) has three major subregions, mostly based on elevation: Plateau of Tibet is about 2.5 miles above sea level and covers most of southwestern China North of the Tibetan Plateau is a belt of deserts, including the Taklimakan Desert and Gobi Desert East and south of the Tibetan Plateau is a region of forests and deep canyons Eastern China is mostly hills and plains; most of China’s population lives in this subregion

EAST ASIA GEOGRAPHY – MAJOR POINTS The Korean Peninsula is northeast of China It is between the Sea of Japan (also called the East Sea) and the Yellow Sea North Korea and South Korea are located on this peninsula

EAST ASIA GEOGRAPHY – MAJOR POINTS Japan is a volcanic archipelago Most of Japan’s land area is four large islands Hokkaido is the farthest north and second-largest Honshu is the largest Shikoku is the smallest Kyushu is the third-largest and farthest south Japan’s land area is slightly smaller than California Japan is part of the Ring of Fire. It experiences about 1000 earthquakes each year. Most are small, but it occasionally has very destructive ones (like the one in 2011) which can produce tsunamis and large amounts of damage.

EAST ASIA GEOGRAPHY – MAJOR POINTS Taiwan is a volcanic island with a spine of mountains running down its center

EAST ASIA GEOGRAPHY – MAJOR POINTS Major Bodies of Water: East China Sea South China Sea Yellow Sea Sea of Japan (East Sea) Major Rivers Huang He Chang Jiang

EAST ASIA GEOGRAPHY – MAJOR POINTS Climates vary depending on elevation and latitude Western China, the Tibetan Plateau and Mongolia tend to be very dry Southern China and Taiwan tend to be very wet Northern China and the Tibetan Plateau tend to be cold Southern China and Taiwan are tropical and subtropical Eastern China, the Koreas and Japan are temperate