Transcript Ancient China Geography

Ancient China
Geography
China
• China is located on the continent of
Asia.
• The climate in ancient China includes
seasons similar to those in North
America.
U.S.A
China
Alone
• For thousands of years,
the ancient Chinese
thought they were alone
on the planet Earth.
• They knew there were
people to the north, the
Mongols - but they did
not know that other
advanced ancient
civilizations existed
anywhere else.
Isolated
• China's natural barriers to
the west, south, and east
helped to protect these
early people from
invasion.
• China's natural barriers
include mountains,
deserts, rivers, and
sea’s.
• Making them isolated.
• Isolated means separated
from other people; alone
China’s Natural Barriers to
the East
• China's natural barriers
to the East includesthe China Sea and
the Yellow Sea, both
located in the Pacific
Ocean.
• These seas provide a
huge coastline, which
provided trade routes
and easy access to
food.
China’s Natural Barriers to
the South and West
• The Himalayan Mountains
are not located in modern
day China. They run along
the border to the south. In
ancient times, these
mountains helped to protect
the early Chinese people
from invasion.
• The Himalayan Mountains to
the south are very rugged.
Mount Everest is the highest
mountain in the world!
• The Himalayas include ten
(10!) of the highest peaks in
the world.
China’s Natural Barriers to
the North
• The Gobi Desert is one of the
driest deserts in the world.
• The Taklamakan Desert,
China's other desert, is
nicknamed the Sea of Death.
• It offers poisonous snakes,
frequent sand storms, boiling
days, freezing nights, and
intense water shortages. The
Sea of Death is not a small
desert. In fact, it is the second
largest desert in the world.
China’s Rivers
• Not all of China's geography
acted as barriers. Some of their
natural features provided fertile
soil and safe drinking water.
• China has two major river
systems - the Yellow River
(Huang He) and the Yangtze
River (Long River).
• These early people called all
rivers in China by the nickname
"The Great Sorrow". That is
because each year during the
flood season, all homes along
the rivers were destroyed.
Each year, the ancient Chinese
had to rebuild their homes and
their lives.
The Yellow River
• The Yellow River gets its
name because of the
yellow windborne clay
dust called loess that is
blown into the river and
gives it a yellow
appearance.
• The Yellow River is about
3000 miles long. It also
floods each year. The
banks along the Huang
He River are low.
Civilization in ancient
China began along the
Yellow River about 5000
years ago.
Yangze River
• The Yangze River is
the longest in China
and third longest in
the world. The
Yangzi River
irrigates the rice
growing regions in
the south of China.