Transcript Power Point
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 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 species47% 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 Plateau Southern Highlands • Karnataka Plateau –S. of Deccan –Receives rain instead lush and green –Lots of spices, plantations, rain forests 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 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