Asia's Physical Environment

Asia's Physical Environment

• Asia is the largest continent, covering 44,579,000 sq. km (17,212,000 sq. miles), which is approximately 30% of Earth's land.
• The highest point in Asia is Mt. Everest, located on the Nepal-China border, rising to 29,028 ft. above sea level.
• The lowest point is the Dead Sea, situated on the Israel-Jordan border, at 1,412 ft. below sea level.
• Asia's mean elevation is 950 m (3,117 ft), higher than any other continent.
• The Himalayas are home to the world's tallest mountains, along the borders of China, Nepal, and India.
• The Himalayas extend westward to meet the Hindu Kush mountains.
• The Caucasus and Ural mountains form a boundary between Asia and Europe.
• The Tibetan Plateau is known as "the roof of the world" due to its high elevation.
• The Deccan Plateau is located in South Asia, primarily in India and contains Jog (Gerossa) Falls which is 830 ft (253 m) high.
• Other significant plateaus include the Anatolian Plateau in western Turkey and the vast regions of the Siberian Plateau in northern Asia.
• The Arabian Peninsula lies to the southwest, the Indian subcontinent and Malay Peninsula lies in the south, eastern China and central India have vast plains, Northwest areas have Steppes and the largest deserts is the Gobi in Mongolia and China (500,000 sq mi)
• Significant deserts include Rub'al Khali, Kara Kum, Kyzyl Kum, Thar, and Taklimakan.
• Many islands lie southeast of the continent, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Bahrain, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Taiwan.
• Asia contains rivers and vast water bodies; Lake Baikal is the deepest freshwater lake (5,315 ft deep), and the Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water.
• Plateaus of China are in an arc dissected by the Yangtze (Chang Jiang) River (3,964 miles) and Huang Ho (Yellow River).
• Other major river systems include Tigris and Euphrates (west), Ob and Lena (north), Ganges and Indus (south), and Mekong, Chao Phraya, Salween and Irrawaddy (southeast).

People and Regions of Asia

• Asia is home to the world's most populated countries: China and India.
• The continent is divided into five regions: East, Southeast, South, Western/Southwest, and Central Asia.

East Asia

• East Asia covers 12,000,000 sq km, or about 28% of the Asian continent.
• The countries comprising East Asia are China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Mongolia.
• Capital cities of East Asia: Beijing, China; Tokyo, Japan; Pyongyang, North Korea; Seoul, South Korea; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
• East Asia features diverse landscapes of mountains, lowlands, deserts, and forests.

Southeast Asia

• Southeast Asia comprises Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, and the Malay Archipelago.
• The area is bordered by China (north), the Pacific Ocean (east), the Indian Ocean (south), and the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh and India (west).
• Southeast Asia includes Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, and East Timor.
• Capital cities of Southeast Asia: Naypyidaw, Myanmar; Bangkok, Thailand; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Vientiane, Laos; Hanoi, Vietnam; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Singapore, Singapore; Manila, Philippines; Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
• Mainland Southeast Asia extends from the Asian continent, while island Southeast Asia is maritime.
• Long rivers originate in the highlands separating Southeast Asia from China and northwest India (e.g., Mekong, Salween, Irrawaddy, Chao Phraya Rivers).
• Lowland plains are separated by forested hills and mountains, suited to rice-growing cultures.
• Highlands are occupied by tribal groups with distinct cultural styles.
• The island region includes both large islands and tiny pinpoints; Indonesia has around 17,000 islands.
• Southeast Asians found it easier to move by boat between the islands, uniting rather than dividing the region.
• The oceans have created many zones where people share similar languages, and they were exposed to the same religious and cultural influence.
• The climate is tropical, and because the region lies between the tropics, plant and animal life are similar throughout
• The entire region is affected by monsoon winds.
• Each country of Indochina has a nationally dominant ethnic group (e.g., Khmer in Cambodia, Lao in Laos). However, Indonesia, Malaysia, East Timor, and the Philippines contains Malay and Chinese as the majority.

South Asia

• South Asia is physically defined, it has the Himalayas (north), the Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains (northwest), deserts (west), forests and hills along the Burmese border (east).
• It contains a large area with great physical diversity.
• The region includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, with the island nations of Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
• The Karakoram Range spans Afghanistan, China, India, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.
• The Hindu Kush Mountains is mainly within Pakistan.
• The climate is mostly tropical with frost in higher elevations.
• Neighboring plains are composed of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra Rivers.
• The continuous alluvial plain on Earth covers 300,000 miles and it supports half of South Asia.
• While South Asian region is among fastest growing regions in the world, it contains the largest concentration of people living in poverty.
• It has a fast-growing economy but also has severe poverty: Leading and lagging regions means stupendous growth hides deep pockets of poverty
• It is a major consumer and a granary of rice.

Western/Southwest Asia

• Western/Southwest Asia joins Africa, Asia, and Europe, composed of, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, and Yemen and countries of Cyprus, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
• The environment is mainly deserts, steppes, and mountains, with a Mediterranean coast in parts.
• Precipitation is very low and variable, with temperature extremes and strong winds.
• Soils are thin, and mountain slopes have limited vegetation.
• Water sources are along coasts, rivers, oases, and qanats.
• The driest area is the Arabian Peninsula, with an average rainfall of four inches.
• Countries that face the Mediterranean Sea: Israel, Turkey, and Lebanon.
• Tigris and Euphrates are the Rivers.
• The Mountains include the northern areas consist of the Taurus Mountains (Turkey), the Elburz and Zagros Mountains (Iran) and the mountains of northern Iraq, extensive deserts exist as well.
• The Anatolian Plateau, Rub al-Khali Desert, Syrian Desert, Taurus Mountains (Turkey), Elburz Mountains (Iran), and Zagros Mountains (Iran).
• People are primarily Arabs, Persians, Kurds, Turks and Azeris.

Central Asia

• Central Asia comprises five former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan.
• The area has sparsely populated regions with landlocked, arid, or semi-arid climates of lowlands, steppes, mountains, and valleys.

Cultures of Asia

• East Asia: Influenced by China with shared cultural, religious, and organizational characteristics, it is accommodated to Muslim influences.
• Southeast Asia: influenced by either China or India.

Ethnic Groups of Asia

• West Asia: The majority of people are Arabs, using the Arabic language. A significant amount of people are speaking Turkic languages from Turkey and Iran. The Persians make up about 60% of the population of Iran.
• Central Asia: Regions of more than 100 distinct ethnic groups like Germans, Austrians, Tibetans, and Koreans.
• Central Asians are complex where they are tied economically to Russia yet trying to find a relationship with another country as well.

Religion in Asia

• The population in Eastern Asia is mostly Shinto in Japan, Shamanism in Korea and generally Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.
• Islam majorly lives in Muslim populated Central Asia, specifically the Sunni, while the Russian Orthodox Church carries a great amount of the population, with many members in Kazakhstan.