1. South Asia: The Land
Ch. 23 Sec. 1

2. Separate Land Mountains form a border from the rest of Asia
Making a subcontinent
Large, distinct landmass that’s joined to a continent
Half the size of continental U.S.

3. Separate Land 3 bodies of water border the subcontinent:
Arabian Sea West
Bay of Bengal East
Indian Ocean South
INDIAN OCEAN

4. Land of Variety
Young, high mountains (in N) & old, eroded mountains (in S)
High deserts & rich, lush valleys (N)
Flat plateaus & terraced foothills (S)

6. The Himalaya
Formed when the Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasian plate
Indian subcontinent used to be connected to Africa, then broke away
Mt. Everest (highest point on Earth): 29,035 ft.
Still growing! (0.5 cm per yr)

7. Pangaea: 300 million years ago

8. Continental Convergence

10. Mount Everest

11. Other Northern Mts. Karakoram Mts. (most N) -K2 Hindu Kush (NW)
Complete the wall of mts. b/w S. Asia & the rest of Asia
Narrow passes allowed few invaders in (Khyber Pass- b/w Pakistan & Afghanistan)
Protected region from outside influence

12. KARAKORAM MTS. Highest Concentration of peaks over five miles in
height to be
found
anywhere on
Earth!

14. Khyber Pass Recorded use as far back as Alexander the Great!
Many Afghan wars fought here
Used by NATO forces now, Taliban attempts to blow up passes/bridges

15. Vindhya Range
Caused by previous convergence of plates not as tall as Himalaya
Divides India into N & S regions (in Central India)
2 distinct cultures *
Arid to NW
Fertile to NE

17. Pangaea: 300 million years ago

18. Southern Highlands Eastern and Western Ghats Eroded mts. (why?)
Triangle of rugged ‘hills’
E.G. older than W.G. (formed w/ diff. super continents)
W.G. formed as Deccan Plateau faulted from super continent (150 mil. yrs ago)
W.G. are a biodiversity hotspot!

20. In WG: about 6,000 plant species and 1,250 animal species47% endemic!

21. Southern Highlands Deccan Plateau
Once covered in lava (eruptions occurred millions of yrs ago) now has rich black soil, BUT…
W.G. prevent rain from reaching D.P.  very arid

22. Deccan Plateau

23. Southern Highlands Karnataka Plateau S. of Deccan
Receives rain instead  lush and green
Lots of spices, plantations, rain forests

26. Islands Sri Lanka broke away from the Indian mass
Maldives are small coral atolls (22-26)
Create over 1,000 islets (250 inhabited)
Smallest in Asia
350,000 ppl live here

28. Islet

29. Water Systems Rivers are the most impt. to life
All start in the Himalaya
3 main rivers:
Indus
Brahmaputra
Ganges

30. Indus River Mainly thru Pakistan, empties into Arabian Sea
Waters orchards, transportation route
One of earliest
civilization sites
Indus Valley Civilization

33. Brahmaputra River Winds thru Himalaya, India, & Bangladesh
Meets w/ Ganges R. to form a delta at Bay of Bengal
Major inland waterway, travel from bay 800 miles
Provides 50% of hydroelectricity to Bangladesh

35. Ganges River Most important by far Begins in ice cave in Him.,
About 1,560 miles long
Basin about 400,000 sq. miles
Keeps size during dry season, but floods during summer monsoons
Revered as sacred by Hindus

36. Delta of Ganges & Brahmaputra

37. Indo-Gangetic Plain AKA- North Indian River plain
River creates world’s longest fertile, alluvial plain
Over 1/7 of world population lives here
Grasslands/forest cleared for crops (rice, sesame, sugarcane, jute)

38. Natural Resources Water:
Fertile soil, drinking H20, transportation, hydroelectricity, & fish
Countries work together to harness power (India & Bhutan)
Build dams for power & open up new farmland consistent irrigation

39. Natural Resources Water cont’d Challenges
Dams threaten to flood settlements resistance
The Tarbela Dam (Pakistan) will be unusable soon from built up silt

40. Actually began with treaty b/w India and Pakistan--- Pakistan gets stored water, independent of India’s control over upper river (1960)

41. Natural Resources
There are oil reserves, but still depend on imported oil
There’s natural gas & uranium, too
Most still depend on hydroelectricity, fuel wood, & coal

42. Natural Resources
India exports 90% of world’s mica (makes electrical equip.)
India- leading exporter of iron ore
Sri Lanka- a top exporter of graphite (lead)
Also a variety of precious stones

43. Natural Resources Timber
Nepal & Bhutan are covered with conifers (valuable hardwoods)
Overcutting is major prob.
 soil erosion
India has prized sandalwood
Sri Lanka banned timber exports in 1977 to protect environment