PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

OF ASIA

WHY STUDY ASIA?

•Read the article carefully.•Write 2-3 sentences about whether or not you agree with the author’s opinion about why we should study Asia.

SOUTH ASIAB A N G L A D E S H , B H U TA N , I N D I A , T H E M A L D I V E S , N E PA L , PA K I S TA N , S R I L A N K A

WHEN AND HOW WAS SOUTH ASIA FORMED?

• Indian subcontinent was once separated from Asia

• The two land masses collided

–Formed the Himalayan Mountains: contains the world’s tallest mountains

–Form a giant barrier between the Indian subcontinent and China

SOUTH ASIA’S THREE LARGEST RIVERS AND THEIR SOURCE

• Indus River: flows through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea

• Ganges River: flows eastward across northern India

• Brahmaputra River: flows south through Bangladesh

– Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers meet to form a huge river delta before entering Bay of Bengal

• All three originate in the Himalayas

GANGES RIVER• To Hindus, the Ganges

River is not only an important water resource, but also a sacred river

– Earthly home to Hindu goddess Ganga

– Believe the water has healing powers

• One of the most polluted rivers in the world

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkPwEuflhKo

• Varanasi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWLNYZKGyAA

CLIMATE• In the northwest part of South Asia,

there is desert

• In Bangladesh and along the western coasts of India and Sri Lanka are tropical rainforests

• Monsoons: seasonal winds

– Winter monsoons: October – May

– Summer monsoons: June – September; bring heavy rains

• The annual monsoon not only brings the much needed rainfall for successful agriculture but it also causes catastrophic flooding that causes death and destruction every year.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnHPDp9-eNo

• Cyclone: violent storm with fierce winds and heavy rain

THE DECCAN PLATEAU REMAINS HIGH AND DRY• The monsoon rains do

not affect all areas of South Asia equally. The Deccan Plateau receives very little rainfall.

– Covers much of southern India

– Western and Eastern Ghats flank the plateau, blocking moist winds

SOUTH ASIA MAP: UNIT ATLAS STARTS ON PAGE 543•Use provided numbers instead of full names

• Add countries:–Bangladesh

–Bhutan

– India

–Nepal

–Pakistan

• COLOR YOU MAP

Terminology

Atman- The individual soul

Brahman- The universal world soul

Karma- Material actions resulting from the

consequences of previous actions

Darma- Fulfilling one's duty in life

Moksha - liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth

HINDUISM

• Began India around 1500 B.C.E

• Today almost a billion people are Hindus

• Main Idea: the purpose of life is to unite the soul with the universe (moksha). Every soul experiences a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth (reincarnation)

• No single sacred text; major texts are the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita

HINDU BELIEFS

• Hindus believe in a single force (Brahma) that is present in everything

• Moksha is when the soul

stops being reincarnated. Your soul achieves moksha at the end of the life.

– Enlightened state; similar to nirvana

Caste System- rigid class structure based on Hinduism which is found in India. It is believed that if one leads a good life then they will be rewarded by being reincarnated as a person belonging to the next highest level in the Caste System. 

Bhramin- PriestsKshatryia- WarriorsViasya- Merchants and landownersSudra- Commoners, peasants, and servantsUntouchables- Street sweepers and latrine cleaners

It is illegal, but still practiced in rural villages.

The jobs of each social class.

HINDU CASTE SYSTEM

• Caste System: a system of social classes in India. When your soul is reincarnated, you can be born into a higher or lower caste.

• Only the highest caste members can achieve moksha.

HOW DO YOU CHANGE YOUR CASTE AFTER REINCARNATION?

•Hindus believe in 2 main rules:

–Karma: Everything you do influences your destiny

–Dharma: you should behave based on your caste and your place in a family and society

BLUE: BrahminRED: Kshatriya

YELLOW: VaishyaGREEN: Sudra

EAST ASIAC H I N A , J A PA N , M O N G O L I A , N O RT H KO R E A , S O U T H KO R E A , TA I WA N

MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS• Kunlun Mountains: western

China; source of Huang He and Chang Jiang Rivers

• Qinling Shandi Mountains: divide northern and southern parts of China

Rivers:

• Huang He (Yellow River): 3,000 miles, empties into Yellow Sea

• Gets name from yellow silt that the river carries

• Chang Jiang (Yangtze River): longest river in Asia

• 3,915 miles long

CLIMATE• East Asia has the following climate zones:

– Subarctic, Highland, Humid Continental, Humid Subtropical, Semiarid, Desert, and Tropical Wet

• Desert:– Taklimakan Desert: Western China

– Gobi Desert: northern China and southeast Mongolia.

• Typhoons: tropical storm that occurs in Western Pacific

THREE GORGES DAM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_QnEIX_y1w

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA• Dynasty: series of rulers from the same family

• Mao Zedong: a Chinese Communist revolutionary and the founding father of the People's Republic of China

• Religions:

– Confucianism

– Buddhism

– Taoism

PACIFIC RIM

Countries surrounding the Pacific Ocean

Countries of East Asia, Southwest Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and the west coast of the US

NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA

• After WWII, North Korea was controlled by USSR, South Korea was supported by the US

• Korean War: North Korea invaded South Korea – ended with a treaty that divided peninsula into 2 countries

JAPAN • 19th century: becoming more modernized

• 20th century: expanded empire

– December 7, 1941

• After WWII, Japan became a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament

• 60% of population lived on 2.7% of the land

• Manufacturing and trade = heart of Japan’s economy

SOUTHEAST ASIA, OCEANIA, AND ANTARCTICA

SOUTHEAST ASIA• 2 distinct sub-regions: corner of Asian mainland and many islands

• Most islands are found in archipelagos = set of closely grouped islands

• Most mountains on these islands are of volcanic origin

• Experienced years of European colonialism

– Centralized, bureaucratic governments

– Produced commodities to benefit Europe’s economy

– Sparked nationalism

Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the

Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

• No one knows the exact number of islands, some estimate more than 20,000

– As a group, these islands are called Oceania

• Erosion causes islands to vanish, while other forces create new islands

• 3 regions: Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia

• For many years, had no contact with the rest of the world.

• Many died when Europeans came (1500s), during WWII when Japan and the US fought over possession, and US nuclear testing

OCEANIANauru, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands,

Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga,

Tuvalu, and Vanuata (New Zealand and Australia)

Low islands: made of coral reefs

High islands: created by volcanoes

NUCLEAR TESTING: BIKINI ATOLL• Atoll: a ring-like coral island or string of islands surrounding a lagoon

• Bikini Atoll: site of US atomic weapons testing; in the Marshall Islands

– US government closed Bikini Atoll, relocated its 167 inhabitants in 1946, and they were unable to return.

– Bravo: hydrogen bomb explosion that vaporized several islands

– Still uninhabitable, and no one knows when/if it will ever be safe for humans again

NEW ZEALAND• 2 main islands: North Island and South Island

• Center of South Island – Southern Alps, a 300-mile long mountain chain

• North Island is less mountainous, but has hilly ranges and a volcanic plateau

• Original inhabitants: Maori people

• Colonized by the British, became a self-governing nation in 1907

– Still a Commonwealth nation

• First nation to grant women the right to vote and provide pensions to senior citizens

• Smallest and flattest continent

• Along eastern coast – chain of highlands called the Great Dividing Range

• Great Barrier Reef: along Australia’s southern coast; largest coral reef

• Original inhabitants: Aboriginal people

• British colonized Australia as a place to send prisoners

• British killed many Aboriginal people due to violent conflicts and diseases

• Still a Commonwealth nation

AUSTRALIA

RABBIT PROBLEM IN AUSTRALIA

• Thomas Austin released 24 rabbits into Australia to hunt them in 1859

– By 1900, there were more than a billion rabbits

• Rabbits killed or weakened the few plants that grow in Australia – wiped out many native plants and destroyed crops

• Ruined pastures; sheep couldn’t graze

• Areas suffered from erosion, because they had no vegetation

• Native animals became endangered because there was no food for them

• Still a major problem in Australia: the government has tried to poison them, released foxes, built fences, and introduced new diseases.

ANTARCTICA• Circular in shape, centered

around the South Pole

• Transantarctic Mountains divide the continent in two

• Antarctica’s ice sheet is the largest in the world – 90% of the world’s freshwater supply