Geography of Asia and Southeast Asia

• Asia is the largest continent, comprising about 30% of Earth's land.
• The Arabian Peninsula is the world's largest peninsula.
• It contains countries such as Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
• Asia has approximately 2,300 different languages spoken.
• As of 2019, the Asian population makes up around 60% of the world's population.
• Southeast Asia features a mix of islands, peninsulas, and coastal areas.
• Southeast Asia lies within the tropics and was once heavily forested, but now has growing cities.
• Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia.
• Southeast Asia has many volcanoes and high mountains.
• Typhoons are sometimes a hazard in the Philippines.
• Southeast Asia is located on two fault lines, making it prone to tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
• Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as Indochina, includes Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
• Maritime Southeast Asia, historically known as Nusantara, comprises the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India, Indonesia, East Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
• Maritime Southeast Asia is characterized by island chains.
• The Indonesian Archipelago is the world's largest archipelago and is volcanically active.
• Monsoons cause wet and dry conditions in most of Southeast Asia, with tropical rain belts adding rainfall.
• Seasonal changes are commonly related to rainfall rather than temperature.
• Cyclones (hurricanes) can be very destructive to heavily populated coastal areas.
• Storm surges, resulting from rising sea levels, can cause coastal flooding.
• All of Southeast Asia has a warm, humid tropical climate characterized by monsoons and rainfall.
• Mountainous regions of Myanmar and Laos, along with Northern Vietnam, experience a subtropical climate.
• Much of the region receives at least 1,500 mm of rainfall annually.
• The mainland receives most of its rain between May and September due to southwest monsoons.
• The average annual temperature in most of the region, except northern Vietnam, is close to 80 °F.
• The mainland is characterized by mountain ranges that are separated by river deltas and valleys.
• The Tian Shan mountain range extends from China to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
• Southeast Asia was a key part of the world trade system before European contact.
• Commodities like pepper, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger originated in the region.
• Agriculture is the main economic activity in Southeast Asian countries, excluding Singapore and Brunei.
• This sector employs over 60% of the workforce in Laos and Cambodia.
• Rice, cassava, corn, and pulses are the main crops.

Logging

• Global demand for wood and paper has increased tree cutting.
• Loggers sometimes remove specific trees like teak, which damages the forest.

Roads and Mines

• Remote areas are becoming more accessible because of new roads and highways.
• Land is becoming polluted by mines
• Dams have flooded large areas

Rainforest Importance

• People realize that rainforests are unique habitats that are disappearing.
• Losing the rainforest is an irreversible loss.

Environmental and Social Issues

• Many plants and animals in the Amazon are going extinct before they can be studied.
• Cutting down trees leads to habitat loss for the people living in the Amazon.
• The trees in the Amazon release water into the atmosphere, therefore reduced tree cover may affect global climates.

The Amazon

• The River Amazon stretches over 6400 km.
• The Amazon River rises in the Andes and empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
• It has many tributaries.
• The river basin covers a large part of South America
• It around 1,100 tributaries.
• The Amazon is located on the Equator, therefore the climate is warm, wet, and a has high biodiversity.
• Around 10% of the world's living species are found in Amazonia.
• There are communities of native Indians in Amazonia.
• Amazonia is about the same size as Europe.
• The Amazon is home to about 400 tribes.
• Each tribe has its unique language, culture, and land.
• About three-quarters of the world's food originally came from rainforests, including rice, bananas, potatoes, and tomatoes.

Deforestation

• Soybean farming covers 8 million hectares of Amazonia.
• Soybeans are used for both human and cattle food
• Land being used to grow soybeans has driven deforestation
• More people wanting to eat meat has increased cattle ranching.
• This encourages people to clear rainforests to create grasslands for animals.