Chapter 24 – Section 1

Landforms and Resources

Mountains and Plateaus• Himalaya Mountains stretch for 1,500 miles and contain Mt. Everest,

the tallest mountain in the world at 29,035 ft above sea level.

• 1953 – Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa guide, became the 1st people to reach its summit.

• A subcontinent is a landmass that is like a continent, only smaller, such as South Asia, which is called the Indian Subcontinent.

• Has more than 1 billion inhabitants; more than 1/5 of the world’s population.

• Hindu Kush are mountains west of the Himalayas; form rugged barrier between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

• Karakorum Mountains are in the northeast and contain, K2, the 2nd

highest peak.

• Western and Eastern Ghats mountain ranges block moisture from reaching the Deccan Plateau creating an arid region.

Karakorum Mountains, India

Hindu Kush Mountains, India

Western Ghats, India

Eastern Ghats, India

Deccan Plateau, India

Rivers, Deltas and Plains• Northern Indian Plain (Indo-Gangetic Plain) has very fertile soil.

– formed by 3 rivers which all originate in the Himalayas: Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra.

• Most heavily populated part of South Asia; contains about 3/5 of India’s population.

Ganges River

• Rivers are crucial to supporting life in this region providing irrigation for farmlands. When they overflow their banks they deposit rich soil.

• Alluvial Plain is rich farmland; composed of clay, sand or gravel deposited by running water.

Sri Lanka• An island country off the coast of India; 20+ million population

• Lush tropical land; 8,000 ft. high mountains in the center; lowland hills; palm-fringed beaches.

Sigiriya aka Lion Rock

Maldives• This country is an archipelago; an island group made up of more than

1,200 small islands; about 200 islands are inhabited; 115 sq. miles

• Atoll is an island that is a low-lying top of submerged volcanoes, surrounded by coral reefs and shallow lagoons.

Water and Soil• Alluvial soil enriches the land necessary for crop growth.

• Small and large scale irrigation projects provide farms water.

• Waters provide fish, transportation and hydroelectric power.

Forests• Many exotic hardwoods are found in this region; sal, teak and

sandalwood.

• Deforestation is a severe problem as it causes soil erosion, flooding, landslides and loss of wildlife habitats.

Minerals• India ranks 4th in the world for coal production and has enough petroleum for half

its needs; uranium deposits provide fuel for nuclear energy.

• India is a major exporter of iron ore and supplies most of the world’s mica; a key component in electrical equipment.

• India is known for their diamonds; Sri Lanka also has substantial gemstone deposits.

Chapter 24 – Section 2

Climate and Vegetation

Climate Zones1. Highland: coldest climate; snow

year-round; Himalayas/mountains

2. Humid Subtropical: Indo-Gangeticplain, valleys

3. Semiarid: high temps, light rain; Deccan Plateau

Climates Zones4. Desert: lower Indus Valley; Thar

Desert, average 10 in. of rain a year

5. Tropical Wet: along eastern/western coasts of India & Bangladesh

6. Tropical Wet/Dry: North Sri Lanka; lots of rain

Monsoons• Seasonal winds that greatly affect the climate of the region, bringing

heavy/unpredictable rain.

• October – February: dry winds blow across South Asia from the NE.

• June – September: winds from in from the SW bringing moist ocean air.

• Rainfall is crucial to life here; however, they can cause severe hardship for millions.

Cyclones• Violent storms with fierce winds & heavy rains that can cause

widespread damage & death.

• Bangladesh – waves can swamp large parts of the country.

• 1970 – 300,000+ were killed from a cyclone.

Deforestation• Causes soil erosion, flooding, climate changes and loss of habitat

for wildlife

• Less than 1/5 of India’s original forests remain

Chapter 24 Section 3

Human-Environment Interaction

Hinduism• The religion of most Indians; 1 billion+ followers; 3rd largest world religion; oldest

organized world religion; 4,000+ years old.

• Hinduism has no single founder, no single scripture, and no commonly agreed set of teachings.

• Most Hindus believe in a Supreme God whose qualities/forms are represented by many deities that come from him, revere a body of sacred scripture known as the Veda, and draw on a common system of values known as dharma.

• Believe that existence is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, governed by Karma.

Why do some women wear a dot on their foreheads?

• A bindi is commonly worn by Hindu women; colors have different meanings.

• Known as the third eye and is linked to the pineal gland which may inform a model of its envisioning.

• Bindu is the point or dot around which the mandala is created, representing the universe.

Crash Course World HistoryBuddha and Ashoka

Ganges River• 1,500+ miles long; 350+ million live within its drainage basin.

• Known as Gangamai “Mother Ganges”; waters believed to be spiritually healing;

• Waters provide for farming, transportation, and people drink it & scatter ashes of the dead; despite the risk of disease.

• People gather daily at the river’s holiest site, Varanasi, to enter the water for purification and prayer.

• Avatarana

– Celebration of the Ganges descending from heaven to earth.

– Bathe in the river to rid yourself of sins.

– Late May or Early June each year

Polluted River• One of the most polluted rivers in the world; receives sewage &

industrial waste as well as corpses. Clean up has been slow.

• People develop stomach and intestinal illness from drinking/bathing in water; hepatitis, typhoid or cholera.

• Many believe that Mother Ganges will fix the river and protect them.

Feni River• Flows through a low-lying coastal plain which is prone to flooding during the wet

season; monsoons swell the river.

• Cyclones bring storm surges; high waters that swamp low-lying areas.

• Cause serious destruction to villages and fields; limited financial resources restrict Bangladesh’s ability to address these issues.

• Using their large population and the help of the Netherlands, they were able to construct a dam to help control flooding.

• The largest estuary, an arm of the sea at the lower end of a river, in South Asia.

Estuary