Landforms and Resources

Main Ideas• East Asia has a huge

mainland area that includes

rugged terrain.

• East Asia has a number of

important islands off its

eastern coast.

Places & TermsKunlun Mountains

Qinling Shandi Mountains

Huang He

Chang Jiang

Xi Jiang

Connect to the Issues

physical forces East

Asia’s rough terrain and

unevenly distributed resources

have influenced settlement and

ways of life in the region.

A HUMAN PERSPECTIVE Time and again in its early history, Chinawas attacked by invaders from the steppes of Central Asia. The Chinesebuilt and extended the Great Wall over many centuries in an attempt tokeep out such invaders from Mongolia. From the Yellow Sea to the GobiDesert, the wall twisted for thousands of miles across China. The wallwas built by hundreds of thousands of peasant workers. Many diedfrom the backbreaking labor or the severe weather. The Great Wallremains one of the largest building feats in history—partly because ithad to cross mile after mile of China’s difficult terrain.

Landforms: Mountains and PlateausEast Asia stretches from the western provinces of China to the easterncoast of Japan. Mongolia, Taiwan, North Korea, and South Korea are theother countries in the region. East Asia includes high mountains, vastdeserts, cold climates, and Pacific waters. The mostly rugged terrain wasformed by the collision of tectonic plates. One result of these naturalbarriers was to limit people’s movement and increase their isolation.

MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE REGION High mountains in the regionlimited contact between people living in China and in other parts of Asia.The world’s highest mountains are located on the western edge of EastAsia in southwestern and northwestern China and western Mongolia.The Kunlun Mountains, which are located in the west of China, are thesource of two of China’s great rivers, the Huang He (Yellow) and theChang Jiang (Yangtze). In southeastern and east central China, the QinlingShandi Mountains divide the northern part of China from the south.

PLATEAUS AND PLAINS Thelandscape of East Asia is among theroughest in the world. The moun-tain areas in the western part of theregion restricted movement andwere underpopulated. Althoughfew flat surfaces exist, the regionhas some low basins and barrendeserts. These include the Plateauof Tibet (also known as the XizangPlateau), the Tarim Pendi Basin inwestern China, and the TaklimakanDesert in western China. All theseareas are sparsely populated.

PLACE The Potala Palace in Lhasa,

Tibet, has many floors and more

than 1,000 rooms. It was once the

residence of the Dalai Lama and

other monks and is now a major

pilgrimage site.

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One of the largest deserts in the world—the Gobi—stretches fromnorthwest China into Mongolia. It covers more than 500,000 squaremiles, which is larger than Texas and California combined. TheMongolian Plateau reaches into northeastern China. Northern Chinaencompasses the Manchurian Plain and the North China Plain.

Peninsulas and IslandsEast Asia includes a number of important peninsulas. Most of theseform a part of China, although one peninsula contains independentnations. In addition, a number of islands off the coast of China includepossessions of China as well as independent nations.

THE COAST OF CHINA The eastern coast of China features severalpeninsulas. These include the Shandong Peninsula, the LeizhouPeninsula, and the Macao Peninsula. Macao was owned by Portugaluntil 1999, when it returned to Chinese control. Because of its peninsu-las, China has a long coastline that has allowed several major port cities,such as Shanghai, to develop. Bordering China on the east is the KoreanPeninsula, which contains the two independent nations of North Koreaand South Korea.

THE ISLANDS OF EAST ASIA An important feature of East Asia is the continental shelf—the submerged border of the continent—that extends east from China. A number of islands stand above this

Rivers and Mountains of East Asia

SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting MapsREGION What plateau in China separates the Himalaya

Mountains from the Kunlun Mountains?

PLACE Which of the three great river systems—Chang Jiang,

Huang He, or Xi Jiang—is southernmost in China?

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Background

Japan is made

up of four main

islands and

numerous smaller

islands.

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continental shelf. The isolation of the islands has permitted them todevelop in greater security and peace than parts of the mainland.Further, many of these islands have developed trading economies.

The islands off China include Hainan and part of Hong Kong. Longone of the major harbors in the world, Hong Kong (while originally apart of China) used to be a British colony. In 1997, Hong Kong onceagain came under the authority of mainland China.

The smaller nations of East Asia are located on islands and peninsu-las. For example, Japan is an island nation with enormous economicpower. Taiwan is a separate island that at one time belonged to mainlandChina—and is still claimed by China.

River SystemsChina has three great rivers, which have been critical to the develop-ment of China’s civilization. The rivers have helped to feed hundreds ofmillions of people because of the fields and crops they irrigate.

THE HUANG HE The Huang He (or Yellow River) of northern Chinastarts in the Kunlun Mountains in the west. It winds east for about3,000 miles before emptying into the Yellow Sea. Both the sea and theriver get their names from the yellow silt, or particles of soil, that theriver carries to its delta. Another name for the river is “China’s Sorrow”because of the terrible floods that it has caused.

THE CHANG JIANG The Chang Jiang (or Yangtze River) is the longestriver in all of Asia. The name Chang Jiang means “long river.” It flowsabout 3,900 miles from Xizang (Tibet) to the East China Sea. The riverhas been a major trade route since ancient times. Even today, the ChangJiang carries most of the goods shipped on China’s waterways. But thisriver, too, floods frequently, causing a great deal of damage to nearbyvillages, as well as to the surrounding countryside.

THE XI JIANG The Xi Jiang (or West River) runs its course in the southof China. It flows eastward through southeast China and joins up with

Connect to

the Issues

How might

rivers facilitate

trade?

MOVEMENTWorkers pull a boat

ashore along the

Huang He (Yellow

River).

What are some of the uses thatpeople might make of a river?

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YellowSea

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PACIFICOCEANSouth China

Sea

Coal

Commercial fishing

Copper

Gold

Hydroelectric power

Iron ore

Lead

Natural gas

Petroleum

Silver

Tin

Tungsten

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the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) to flow into the South China Sea. The XiJiang joins with three other rivers to form an estuary (where the river’scurrent meets the ocean’s tides) between Hong Kong and Macao.Important mineral resources are located in this river’s valley.

OTHER RIVERS OF THE REGION The Yalu Jiang is another importantriver of the region. The Yalu, which is about 500 miles long, forms theborder between North Korea and China. It is important historicallybecause in 1950, Chinese troops entered the Korean War by crossingthe river and attacking United Nations forces.

Resources of East Asia Natural and mineral resources are unevenly distributed throughoutEast Asia. China, for example, is rich in natural resources. Mongolia andNorth Korea also have substantial mineral resources. However, Japan,South Korea, and Taiwan have limited natural resources. Even so, theselatter three nations have grown into major economic powers.

LAND AND FORESTS The number of mountains in East Asia meansthat the amount of land available for agriculture is limited. For this rea-son, China’s population is concentrated in the east, where river basinsare located. The land in these valleys is highly productive, allowing theChinese to grow rice and many other crops. In contrast, the mountain-ous western regions of China are more sparsely populated.

Resources of East Asia

Seeing PatternsWhat are the

three nations of

the region that

have grown into

major economic

powers, and what

do they have in

common?

SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting MapsHUMAN–ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION What are two

important resources in Taiwan?

REGION Where is most of the coal in the region located?

Landforms and Resources 623

Forests are also abundant in the region. China, Japan,Taiwan, and both North Korea and South Korea all haveforest resources. Japan has been able to keep most of itsforests in reserve by buying timber and other forestproducts from other regions of the world.

MINERAL AND ENERGY RESOURCES China has largeenergy reserves of petroleum, coal, and natural gas, andKorea has coal reserves. Japan also has deposits of coal.China’s resources have enabled it to be self-sufficient formuch of its history. In contrast, Japan’s shortage ofresources has forced it to trade for what it needs.

China’s mineral resources include iron ore, tungsten,manganese, molybdenum, magnesite, lead, zinc, and cop-per. North and South Korea possess important tungsten,gold, and silver reserves. Japan has reserves of lead, silver,and coal.

WATER RESOURCES China’s long river systems areimportant to the country’s economy. They provide cropirrigation, hydroelectric power, and transportation. Tocontrol flooding on the Chang Jiang and produce moreelectricity, China is building the Three Gorges Dam. (Seepages 628–630.) The Huang He and Xi Jiang also providehydroelectric power and a means of transportation.

People in East Asia look to the sea for food. In fact,Japan has developed one of the largest fishing industriesin the world. Japanese factory ships process huge amounts of seafoodfor human consumption throughout the world, as well as in Japan.

You will read about East Asia’s climate zones in the next section. Youwill also read about its vegetation.

Places & TermsIdentify each of the

following places and

terms.

• Kunlun Mountains

• Qinling Shandi

Mountains

• Huang He

• Chang Jiang

• Xi Jiang

Taking Notes PLACE Review the notes you

took for this section.

• What types of landforms

are found in East Asia?

• What are their relative

locations?

Landforms

Resources

Main Ideas a. How might the river basins

of China have affected

settlement patterns?

b. How are the landforms of

East Asia an advantage to

life in the region?

c. What effect might natural

resources have had on the

development of East Asia?

Geographic ThinkingDrawing Conclusions How

might China’s three large river

systems have affected the

development of agriculture and

trade in the area? Think about:

• the obstacles that mountains

and deserts present to

agriculture

• the network of travel and

communication offered by a

river system

SEEING PATTERNS Pair with a partner and draw a map of East Asia’s rivers and mountains.

Use arrows to indicate the directions the rivers flow. Why do the three main rivers of China flow

all the way east across the continent even though their headwaters begin in the mountains of

the west?

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The Japanese FishingIndustry

There is great competition

among the world’s nations to

harvest the resources of the sea.

Sophisticated and mechanized

factory ships process the catch

while still at sea.

Japan’s fishing industry is larg-

er than that of the United States

or any country in Western Europe.

Fleets of Japanese fishing vessels,

such as the sea bass fishing boat

shown below, trawl the oceans

far from Japan to bring fish back

to the home islands. Tuna, mack-

erel, salmon, and cod are eaten

by the Japanese.

Seeing PatternsIn what ways

might river sys-

tems be important

to an economy?