Transcript The Physical Geography of East Asia

The Physical Geography of
East Asia
The Land
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Introduction:
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The People’s Republic of China
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80% of East Asia’s land area
1.3 billion people = world most populated country
Mongolia
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13% of East Asia’s land area
Less than 1% of China’s population (one of the worlds
most sparsely populated countries in the world
Seas and Oceans
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Yellow Sea
Sea of Japan (East Sea)
East China Sea
South China Sea
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1/3 world’s shipping
traffic
Pacific Ocean
Peninsulas
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Korean Peninsula
Leizhou Peninsula
Shandong Peninsula
Islands
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Japan = Archipelago
Archipelago: island
chain
Hokkaido, Honshu,
Shikoku, Kyushu
Ring of Fire
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Pacific, Philippine, and Eurasian tectonic
plates meet to create the Ring of Fire.
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Ring of Fire marked by islands that were created
by volcanic activity.
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Japan
Taiwan
Japan has
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~50 active volcanoes
Numerous hot springs
~1,000 earthquakes a year (most are very small)
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Under the sea, create tsunami
Mountain Ranges
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Kunlun Shan and Tian Shan
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Altay Mountains: form a barrier
between Mongolia and China
Himalaya: form a barrier between
S. Asia and China or East Asia
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Shan= Chinese for mountain
Mt. Everest
Mt. Fuji is the tallest mountain
(volcano) on the Japanese
archipelago
China’s Plateaus
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The Plateau of Tibet
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East Asia’s highest
plateau
Mongolian Plateau
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Grassy pasture, ideal for
grazing
China’s Basins and Deserts
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Tarim Basin
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Sichuan Basin
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Between the Plateau of Tibet and the North China Plain
Mild climate and long growing seasons
Very important agricultural area
Taklimakan Desert
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Consists of deserts and salt marshes
Between the Kunlun Shan and Tian Shan
West of the Tarim Basin
Gobi
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NE of the Taklimakan Desert
Dry and fairly cold
River Systems
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China’s Rivers
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Begin in the Plateau of Tibet and flow eastward to the
Pacific
Yellow River- Northern China’s major river system
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Yangtze River- Asia’s longest river 3,965 miles long
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Yellow due to large amounts of yellowish-brown topsoil (loess)good for wheat farming in the Northern China Plain
Often floods killing many people- known as “China’s Sorrow”
The Yangtze River is now partially flooded because of the
worlds largest dam, the Three Gorges Dam
Grand Canal- World’s longest artificial waterway
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Moves people and goods 1,085 miles from Beijing to Hangzhou
Begun in 400 BC
The Power of Wind and Water
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East Asians have chosen building sites and
designed homes using feng shui
Feng Shui- Chinese words for “wind” and
“water”
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Combining observations of the natural landscape
with traditional spiritual teachings
Used to “harmonize their buildings with the
surroundings
Natural Resources
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Iron ore, Tin, Tungsten, Gold
Oil deposits
Coal
Rice
Cedar, Hemlock and Oak woods
Fishing (China alone harvests about 18
million tons of fish a year)