Physical Environment of Asia

Physical Environment of Asia

• Asia is unique due to its vast size, diverse people, geography, and diverse plant and animal life.
• Asia has the richest, largest, and most populated continent in area, encompassing 44.5 million km².
• It's bounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Indian Ocean to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Ural and Caucasus Mountains.
• Asian countries are categorized as either continental or maritime, depending on whether their land is part of the continental land mass or separate islands.
• The sun rises in the east, meaning the day starts in Asia.
• Asia nurtured the first civilizations.
• Russia is the largest country in Asia, while Brunei, Maldives, and East Timor are among the smallest.
  • Mt. Everest is Asia's highest mountain.
  • The Mariana Trench is Asia's deepest point.

Asia: A Unique Continent

• Asia's name originates from the word "asa," meaning hope, sunrise, new beginnings, and a feeling of safety and comfort after darkness.
• Asia was once considered the center of the world because of the early development of civilizations there.
• Western dominance emerged after Western colonizers conquered Asian territories.

Primary Reference Lines

• Geographers use hemispheres—North, South, East, and West—to divide the world.
• The two primary lines are the Equator and the Prime Meridian.
  • The Equator divides the world into equal North and South hemispheres.
  • The Equator is located precisely at zero degrees latitude.
  • It's an equal distance from the North and South Poles.
  • Mapmakers use parallel lines of latitude between the Equator and the poles.
  • Each degree of latitude equals approximately 111 kilometers.
  • The Prime Meridian is a line that defines the East-West division of the earth.
  • In 1824, a Russian Czar placed a huge stone cross on the Ural Mountains to mark the line.
  • The Prime Meridian is located in Greenwich, West London, and marks zero degrees longitude.
  • Longitude lines are vertical lines on world maps, and each represents roughly 111 kilometers of distance.
  • Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is associated with the Prime Meridian for timekeeping.
    • AM (ante-meridian) is used for the morning,
    • PM (post-meridian) for the afternoon.

Political and Geographical Regions of Asia

• Asia is divided in several key geographical areas:
  • Western Asia (Middle East): Including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Yemen.
  • South Asia: Containing India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and the Himalayan countries of Nepal and Bhutan.
  • Central Asia: Comprising Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan.
  • East Asia: Including China, Mongolia, Japan, Taiwan, North Korea, and South Korea.
  • Southeast Asia: Consisting of Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and East Timor (Timor Leste), and the Philippines.