Physical Environment of Asia PDF

CHAPTER 1 Physical Environment of Asia  Asia: A Unique Continent Why Asia is unique? Meaning of the name Asia How to tell East from West? Five geographical and political regions of Asia  It's good to study Asia because of; the sun rises in the east...

CHAPTER 1 Physical Environment of Asia  Asia: A Unique Continent Why Asia is unique? Meaning of the name Asia How to tell East from West? Five geographical and political regions of Asia  It's good to study Asia because of; the sun rises in the east, which means that your day (and everybody's day) begins in Asia. Life and the first civilization began in Asia, which has the three cradles of civilization, more than any other continent. Asia is the richest, largest and most populated continent in area, with a total of 44.5 million km². it has the greatest diversity of people, geography, and plant and animal. it is 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. The countries in Asia are either continental or maritime, depending on whether their land is attached to the main continental land mass, or if they are detached islands. Asia has the largest country in the world, Russia. The smallest countries (Brunei, Maldives, and East Timor) are found in the southeast part of Asia. The highest mountain (Mt. Everest) and the deepest deep (Mariana's Trench) are found in Asia. Everybody's day begins in Asia "Asia" comes from the word asa. "Asa" means hope, sunrise, and new beginnings. Sunrise brings a good feeling of comfort and safety after the darkness and terror of the night. Asia used to be the center of the world. In the past, people looked to the Asians because they developed the first civilizations. It was only after Western colonizers conquered Asian territories that Westerners gained supremacy. The primary Reference lines. How do we tell what is East and West, or North and South?. geographers divided the world into four different halves called hemispheres - North, South, East and West. Where did they make dividing lines? they agreed on two primary dividing lines called the Equator and the Prime Meridian. These two primary reference lines enable us to tell about hemispheres, location, distances, direction, and time. The Equator divides the world into two equal hemispheres of North and South. The Equator is located at zero degree line of latitude in the middle of the earth that is an equal distance from the North and South Poles. Mapmakers draw the parallel lines of latitude between the Equator and the two poles. Each parallel line determines Equatorial marker in Ecuador one degree latitude which is equivalent to a distance of a about 111 kilometers. The Prime Meridian was more difficult to agree on. The Prime Meridian is the line that divides the earth between East and West. There were no bulging equators or up and down poles to help them. In an attempt to grab the honor, in 1824, the Russian Czar placed a huge stone cross on the highest road of the Ural Mountains in the town of Tbilisi, Georgia. On one side of the cross, he wrote the word “East” and on the other side, the word “West” but this was not good enough. So, in 1884, the official demarcation line between East and West was decided by the leading maritime nations. They agreed that there would be a Prime Meridian, and it will be located in Britain, which was then lucky enough to be the world’s leading maritime nation. Tourists can take their photos at the marker of the Prime Meridian zero-degree longitude at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, West London. They can stand with one foot on the Eastern Hemisphere. Longitude are the vertical lines on a world map, and each longitude represent about 111 km. of distance. Prime Meridian uses: 1.Marking out the lines of longitude on the map. dividing the world into the two equal hemispheres of East and West. 2. Determining different times zones. In telling time, the Prime Meridian is called the “Greenwich Mean Time” (GMT) in honor of the Observatory in London where Prime Meridian is located. Royal Greenwich Observatory, London AM (morning) means “ante-meridian” PM (afternoon) means “post-meridian” Political and geographical regions of Asia u  Political and geographical regions of Asia 1.West Asia (Middle East)- This region is closest to Europe and is also known sometimes as the Near East. It includes Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Turkiye (Turkey), Israel, Jordan, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Yemen.  Political and geographical regions of Asia 2. South Asia- this region includes countries in the Indian Subcontinent: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and the Himalayans Countries of Nepal and Bhutan.  Political and geographical regions of Asia 3. Central Asia- it includes Russia; the five Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan; and Afghanistan.  Political and geographical regions of Asia 4. East Asia (Far East)- it includes China, Mongolia, Japan, Taiwan, and North and South Korea.  Political and geographical regions of Asia 5. Southeast Asia- this region includes the continental Sea states of Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos; and the maritime Sea states of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and East Timor (Timor Leste, and the Philippines. THANK YOU!