Physical Geography of Southern and Eastern Asia An Overview

Land of Contrasts F Larger than North and South America F 1/3 of the earth’s land F Many physical features - huge mountains, deserts, fertile river valleys and plains

Vocabulary F Asia has a - a large land mass that is smaller than the continent F Asia has a subcontinent - a large land mass that is smaller than the continent F Only continent to have a subcontinent F F The subcontinent is India, but also includes the countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan & Nepal

Thousands of Islands F Formed by volcanoes F Archipelagoes (groups of many islands) –Indonesia - largest, has 13,500 islands –Philippines - has 7,000 islands

The World’s Highest Mountains F The Himalayas - Mt. Everest F Form the heart of Asia F Called “The Roof of the World” F Many mountain ranges - Pamirs (center of the “roof” - the “Pamir Knot” - Altai - Tian Shan

Mountains affect… F Climate F Soil fertility F Amount of rainfall F Separate countries and peoples

Effect of Mountains F Farming and traveling difficult F Uncomfortable living (very cold & dry) F Block rain-bearing winds from south -north of mountains and Plateau of Tibet are deserts - Gobi - Takla Makan

River Valleys F Rivers flow down from mountains F Extremely high population F Flood and leave behind rich, fertile soil

Vocabulary F Winds blowing off mountains blow yellow top soil into the F Winds blowing off mountains blow yellow top soil into the North China Plain F Creates - very fertile soil, refertilized every year F Creates loess - very fertile soil, refertilized every year

The rivers are… F Huang River (or Yellow River) F Chang River (or Yangtze River) F Mekong River F Also the Ganges, Indus, & Brahmaputra F Rivers start in the Plateau of Tibet, flow across the plains and empty into the sea

Vocabulary F Civilization began in China along the Huang He River F People learned to farm the - fertile soil deposited by the river as it flows F People learned to farm the alluvial soil - fertile soil deposited by the river as it flows F Huang is called “China’s Sorrow”

The Pattern of the Land F High mountains and great river valleys - reason why some areas are crowded and some are not F Mountains isolate regions and peoples - so cultures developed without outside influences

Asia India - The Taj MahalJapanese Symbols A Chinese Symbol