Asia

Enduring Understanding: Location Students will understand that location affects a society’s economy, culture, and development.

Georgia Performance Standards SS7G9 The student will locate selected features in Southern and Eastern Asia. b. Locate on a world and regional political-physical map: Ganges River, Huang He (Yellow River), Indus River, Mekong River, Yangtze (Chang Jiang) River, Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, Sea of Japan, South China Sea, Yellow Sea, Gobi Desert , Taklimakan Desert, Himalayan Mountains, and Korean Peninsula.

Indus River IS NOT FOUND IN INDIA!!!! Indus begins in the mountains of Tibet and flows 2000 miles through Pakistan, deserts, and finally emptying into the Arabian Sea. It has very fertile farmland and was home to many ancient civilizations The Indus River provides water for one of the largest irrigation systems of the world.

Indus River Pakistani officials rescue and carry blind dolphin to deep water in the Indus river near Sukkar in Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan 10, 2007. The Indus River dolphins (Plastanista minor) are one of the world's rarest mammals and the second most endangered freshwater river dolphins. According to Pakistani officials about 1,100 specimens of this species exist in Pakistan

Upper Indus River in the Himalayas

Ganges River-INDIA Ganges is the most important river on the Indian subcontinent. It begins in the Himalayas and empties into the Bay of Bengal which flows into the Indian Ocean. It carries silt to create fertile deltas, but it is also very polluted because of the high population density. The Ganges is named for a Hindu goddess and considered sacred by the Hindu religion

Ganges River Ganges River ghats are sacred ground to many Hindus, who descend their steps to bathe in "Mother Ganga's" cleansing waters.

Mekong River-VIETNAM Begins in Tibet, flows through Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, before emptying into the South China Sea Has some of the richest farming land in the world (RICE!!) and is densely populated Most people that live along this river are very poor. Very important during the Vietnam War

Mekong River

Huang He (Yellow) River-CHINA Huang He is found in the North, directly below the Gobi and flows into the Yellow Sea. Yellow dust from the Gobi blows into the river, giving it a muddy, yellow color. It is called “China’s Sorrow” because of the deadly flooding. It is China’s second longest river. Chinese civilization began in the central area of this river basin.

Huang He

Yangtze (Chang Jiang) River-CHINA Yangtze is found to the south of the Huang He and flows into the East China Sea. It is 3400 miles long, making it China’s longest river and is the 3rd longest in the world. Shanghai, one of China’s most important ports is found at the mouth of this river. It provides water for irrigation, transportation for cargo ships, and hydroelectric power.

Yangtze

Himalayas-INDIA/CHINA Found in the northern part of India and southern China Called the “Roof of the World” because of its high altitudes-world’s highest mountain region Stretch for almost 1500 miles covering most of Nepal Contains highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest (5 ½ miles high-that is taller than 23 Empire State buildings)

View from space

Himalayas

Himalayas

K-2. The second highest mountain on the planet.

Gobi Desert-CHINA Gobi (means “waterless place” in Mongolian) covers most of northern China and southern Mongolia. It is extremely dry, temperatures vary from 113 in the summer to -40 in the winter Asia’s largest desert

Gobi

Taklimakan Desert-CHINA Taklimakan (means “who goes in, does not come out”) covers NW China and is over 600 miles long (East to West) making it one of the world’s largest sandy deserts. It is very harsh, spring dust storms with winds as strong as hurricanes blow through It is located between 3 mountain ranges and its surface is covered with sand dunes.

The Taklamakan is surrounded on three sides by enormous mountain ranges. It is one big rain shadow. This thousand mile wide sandstorm is just a normal day in paradise.

There is no crossing the Taklamakan There is no crossing the Taklamakan. You go around it skirting the foothills of the Tien Shan Mountains to the north or the Tibetan Plateau to the south.

This is the nice route around… This is the nice route around….the sandstorms are so violent they can scar your skin or suffocate you.

The Taklamakan has swallowed up ancient cities.

Other bodies of water…

Websites to review geography http://www.triviaplaza.com/trivia.php?quiz=geography-asia 2. http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/asiaquiz.html 3. http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Asian_Geography.htm 4. http://www.yourchildlearns.com/asia_map.htm http://www.maps.com/games/quiz-asia.aspx http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/asia3.html http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-games/asia-map-game.php

Assignment Trace/Color the Physical features on the back of your map worksheet.