Transcript Physical Geography of South Asia

South Asia: The
Land
Ch. 23 Sec. 1
Separate Land
• Mountains form a border
from the rest of Asia
Making a subcontinent
• Large, distinct landmass that’s
joined to a continent
• Half the size of continental
U.S.
Separate Land
• 3 bodies of water border the
subcontinent:
–Arabian Sea West
–Bay of Bengal East
–Indian Ocean South
INDIAN OCEAN
Land of Variety
• Young, high mountains (in N)
& old, eroded mountains (in S)
• High deserts & rich, lush
valleys (N)
• Flat plateaus & terraced
foothills (S)
The Himalaya
• Formed when the Indian
subcontinent collided with Eurasian
plate
–Indian subcontinent used to be
connected to Africa, then broke away
–Mt. Everest (highest point on Earth):
29,035 ft.
–Still growing! (0.5 cm per yr)
Pangaea: 300
million years ago
Continental Convergence
Rich Ganges plain
Dry Tibet plateau
Tibetan Plateau
Other Northern Mts.
• Karakoram Mts. (most N)
-K2
• Hindu Kush (NW)
–Complete the wall of mts. b/w S. Asia &
the rest of Asia
–Narrow passes allowed few invaders in
(Khyber Pass- b/w Pakistan &
Afghanistan)
–Protected region from outside influence
KARAKORAM MTS.
Highest
Concentration
of peaks over
five miles in
height to be
found
anywhere on
Earth!
Khyber Pass
•Recorded use as far
back as Alexander the
Great!
•Many Afghan wars
fought here
•Used by NATO
forces now, Taliban
attempts to blow up
passes/bridges
Vindhya Range
• Caused by previous convergence
of plates not as tall as Himalaya
• Divides India into N & S regions (in
Central India)
–2 distinct cultures *
–Arid to NW
–Fertile to NE
Pangaea: 300
million years ago
Southern Highlands
• Eastern and Western Ghats
–Eroded mts. (why?)
• Triangle of rugged ‘hills’
• E.G. older than W.G. (formed w/ diff.
super continents)
–W.G. formed as Deccan Plateau
faulted from super continent (150
mil. yrs ago)
–W.G. are a biodiversity hotspot!
In WG: about
6,000 plant
species and
1,250 animal
species47%
endemic!
Southern Highlands
• Deccan Plateau
–Once covered in lava (eruptions
occurred millions of yrs ago)
now has rich black soil, BUT…
–W.G. prevent rain from reaching
D.P.  very arid
Deccan Trap: volcanic
feature
eruption/release of
gases killed dinos??
Deccan Plateau
Southern Highlands
• Karnataka Plateau
–S. of Deccan
–Receives rain
instead  lush and
green
–Lots of spices,
plantations, rain
forests
Karnataka Plateau
Islands
• Sri Lanka broke away from the
Indian mass
• Maldives are small coral atolls
(22-26)
–Create over 1,000 islets (250
inhabited)
–Smallest in Asia
–350,000 ppl live here
Islet
Water Systems
• Rivers are the most impt. to
life
• All start in the Himalaya
• 3 main rivers:
–Indus
–Brahmaputra
–Ganges
Indus River
• Mainly thru Pakistan,
empties into Arabian Sea
• Waters orchards,
transportation route
• One of earliest
Indus Valley
Civilization
civilization sites
Brahmaputra River
• Winds thru Himalaya, India, &
Bangladesh
• Meets w/ Ganges R. to form a
delta at Bay of Bengal
• Major inland waterway, travel
from bay 800 miles
• Provides 50% of hydroelectricity
to Bangladesh
Ganges River
• Most important by far
• Begins in ice cave in Him.,
–About 1,560 miles long
–Basin about 400,000 sq. miles
• Keeps size during dry season, but
floods during summer monsoons
• Revered as sacred by Hindus
Varanasi/ Benares
Delta of Ganges &
Brahmaputra
Indo-Gangetic Plain
• AKA- North Indian River plain
• River creates world’s longest
fertile, alluvial plain
–Over 1/7 of world population
lives here
–Grasslands/forest cleared for
crops (rice, sesame, sugarcane,
jute)
Natural Resources
• Water:
–Fertile soil, drinking H20,
transportation, hydroelectricity, &
fish
–Countries work together to harness
power (India & Bhutan)
–Build dams for power & open up
new farmland consistent
irrigation
Natural Resources
• Water cont’d
–Challenges
• Dams threaten to flood
settlements resistance
• The Tarbela Dam (Pakistan)
will be unusable soon from
built up silt
Actually began
with treaty b/w
India and
Pakistan--Pakistan gets
stored water,
independent of
India’s control
over upper river
(1960)
Natural Resources
• There are oil reserves, but still
depend on imported oil
• There’s natural gas & uranium,
too
• Most still depend on
hydroelectricity, fuel wood, &
coal
Natural Resources
• India exports 90% of world’s
mica (makes electrical equip.)
• India- leading exporter of iron ore
• Sri Lanka- a top exporter of
graphite (lead)
–Also a variety of precious stones
Natural Resources
• Timber
–Nepal & Bhutan are covered with
conifers (valuable hardwoods)
• Overcutting is major prob.
 soil erosion
–India has prized sandalwood
–Sri Lanka banned timber exports in
1977 to protect environment