1. Asia

2. Asia World’s Largest continent Home to 2/3 of the world’s population
Divided into several distinct regions.

3. Middle East

4. Middle East Crossroads of 3 continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa
Contains the world’s most important waterway, the Suez Canal.
It shortens the travel time from Europe to Asia.
Most of it is a desert.
Major bodies of water: Jordan, Tigris, and Euphrates Rivers.
These rivers were the center of some of the world’s earliest civilizations due to the fertile soil and mild climate.
Other bodies of water include Mediterranena Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf
Most of the Middle East is located near the Equator. Has warm winters and hot, dry summers. They lack water but have about half of the world’s known oil reserves.

5. Northern and Central Asia

6. Northern and Central Asia
Northern Asia is occupied by Russia – the world’s largest country in area.
Most of Russia’s population is located in Europe and most of its land is in Asia.
Central Asia, south of Russia, consists of mountains, deserts, and steppes (treeless grasslands).
The steppes are good for grazing.
Siberia, in northeastern Russia, is a cold region with forests.
The northernmost area of Russia is a tundra, where the ground is frozen most of the year.
Afghanistan is a dry, mountainous country in Central Asia. It separates Iran and Russia from Pakistan.

7. Northern and Central Asia
Bodies of Water
Arctic Ocean – north of Russia is frozen most of the time
The major rivers are the Ob and Lena
Mountains
Ural Mountains separate European and Asian Russia
Pamir Mountains separate Russia from China
Climate
Most of Russia has long, cold winters and short mild summers.

8. East Asia

9. East Asia Includes three important countries:
China
Korea
Japan
China – world’s third largest country in area (Russia and Canada are bigger). It is the world’s most populous nation.
Korea – a peninsula extending from the north-eastern coastline of China
Japan – consists of four main islands and a number of smaller islands. Separated from the Asian mainland by the Sea of Japan.

10. East Asia Bodies of Water Mountains Deserts
Rivers – were the birthplace of early civilizations
Hwang Ho (yellow river)
Yangtze
Mountains
China’s southern and western borders are ringed by the Himalayan, Kunlun, and Tianjin Mountains.
To the west is the mountainous plateau of Tibet.
Japan and Korea are also mountainous. 85% of Japan is covered by mountains and hills. Mount Fuji, an extinct volcano, is the highest and most infamous mountain in Japan.
Deserts
Gobi Desert – north of China in Mongolia

11. South and Southeast Asia

12. South and Southeast Asia
Most of South Asia is a subcontinent (a large piece of land smaller than a continent).
The Indian subcontinent is about the size of the US.
Southeast Asia consists of a peninsula (land surrounded by water on three sides) and a series of islands on the southeast corner of the Asian mainland.

13. South and Southeast Asia
Mountains
The Himalayas, north of India, are the highest mountains in the world. They separate India from the rest of Asia.
Mountains also separate the people of Southeast Asia from the rest of the continent.
Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia all have their own language, customs, and cultures.
Bodies of Water
Rivers – Indus and Ganges rivers in the Indian subcontinent.
Mekong, Salween, and Irrawaddy rivers are major rivers of Southeast Asia.
Climate
Warm winters and hot summers
Subject to monsoons.
Monsoons are violent winds that blow over the region and bring heavy rain during the summer.
Can cause flooding, landslides, property damage, and death.

14. Mount Everest
It is 29,035 feet high. It is the tallest mountain in the world. It is located in the Himalayas on the Nepal/China border.

15. Rivers in India
Gangus River
Indus River