1. Physical Geography China, Japan, Taiwan Mongolia, N. Korea S. Korea
East Asia

2. Landforms and Resources
High mountains, vast deserts, cold climates, and Pacific waters limited people’s mov’t. and increased isolation
China was isolated by Kunlun Mts. (west), Qinling Shandi Mt. (SE and E. central), the Himalayas (SW), and the Hindu Kush (NW)

3. Landforms and Resources, cont.
Western East Asia is sparsely populated due to the Mountains in the west, the Plateau of Tibet, the Tarim Pendi Basin, theTaklimakan Desert, and the Gobi Desert (size of TX and Cali combined)

4. Landforms and Resources, cont.
Peninsulas
Shandong Peninsula (China)
Leizhou Peninsula (China)
Macao Peninsula (Portuguese returned to China in 1999)
Korean Peninsula (N. and S. Korea)

5. Landforms and Resources, cont.
Islands-the submerged border of the continent (continental shelf) extends east from China-home to many islands
Hainan (China)
Parts of Hong Kong (China)
Taiwan
Japan

6. River Systems China has 3 great river systems
Huang He (Yellow River), starts in the Kunlun Mts., winds E for 3,000 mi., empties into Yellow Sea. Gets name from yellow silt that line the banks. Called “china’s sorrow”
Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)-longest river in Asia. Flows 3,900 mi. from Tibet (Xizang) to East China Sea. Ancient Trade route. Building 3 Gorges Dam to provide Electricity and ease flooding
Xi Jiang (West River). In the south, flows eastward and joins the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) to flow to the South China Sea. It forms an estuary between Hong Kong and Macao
Other impt. Rivers -Yalu Jiang forms border between China and N. Korea

7. Yellow River “China’s Sorrow”
Huang He
Yellow River “China’s Sorrow”

8. Natural Resources Abundant
China-highly populated in East, limited in available land for agriculture but rich in resources like petroleum, coal, and natural gas, iron ore, zinc, copper
Mongolia-rich in mineral resources
North Korea-forests, minerals, gold and silver reserves
Limited
South Korea-forests, tungsten, silver and gold,
Japan-forests, lead, silver and coal, fishing industries
Taiwan-forests

9. Climate and Vegetation
Subarctic-along Mongolia and China’s Northern border with Russia
Highland Climate-W. China
Humid Continental-NE China, N. Korea, Northern S. Korea, and N. Japan
Humid Subtropical-SE China (Shanghai-Houston), Southern S. Korea, S. Japan, N. Taiwan
Semiarid-Mongolian Plateau
Desert-West, Central China and Mongolia
Tropical Wet-SE China, Hainon, S. Taiwan

10. HEI- 3 Gorges Dam
Three Gorges Dam-built on Chang Jiang to control flooding and to generate power and allow ships to sail further into China
World’s largest Dam and will create a reservoir nearly 400 miles long. 1,000 towns and villages will disappear
Positives-(1) control flooding (2) generate electrical power (3) help ships reach interior
Negatives (1) 1-2 million people relocated, loss of historical sites (2) expensive $11 billion (3) environmental concerns on animals, contaminating chemicals in water.

11. Three Gorges Dam

12. HEI-Use of Space in Japan
One of the most impt. Challenges facing Japan---an island nation on a series of mountains---is not enough room to grow
60% live on 3% of the land
80% Urban which causes pollution like mercury poisoning and PCBs
Adapt by…living in small spaces, commuting from suburbs
Landfill—method of solid waste disposal where they bury trash between layers of dirt to reclaim land. They then build factories or refineries on these sites. Sometimes ports.

13. Capsule Hotel in Japan

14. Ring of Fire-Japan
In march 2011, Japan was hit by a 9.0 earthquake that triggered a 23 foot tsunami.
The earthquake was the largest Japan has ever seen. The giant waves from the tsunami wiped out cities and rural areas alike, swept away cars, homes, buildings, a train, and boats, and left a path of death and devastation in its wake.
What's more, cooling systems in one of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in the Fukushima prefecture on the east coast of Japan failed shortly after the earthquake, causing a nuclear crisis.
This initial reactor failure was followed by an explosion and eventual partial meltdowns in two reactors, then by a fire in another reactor which released radioactivity directly into the atmosphere. The nuclear troubles were not limited to the Daiichi plant; three other nuclear facilities also reported problems.

15. Japan Tsunami