Physical Features of Asia • Asia- Land of the rising sun - East –seat of ancient civilizations of Assyrians, Babylonians, Akkadians, Persians• Largest continent on Earth• Lies almost entirely in the Northern

Hemisphere• Occupies 1/3 of the land surface of the

Earth

• 5 regions are identified by a combination of landforms, water forms, climate, vegetation, language, ethnicity, cultural traditions

• Boundaries: N-Arctic Ocean E-Bering Strait & Pacific Ocean SW-Red Sea & Mediterranean Sea S-Indian Ocean• Ural Mountains-Europe & Asia

•Climate - the weather averaged over a long period of time

• Weather - the day-to-day conditions of a particular place.

Tropical Semi-arid ArcticTemperateArid

• close to the equator where the heat of the sun is felt the whole year round

• Weather usually hot and humid

• Home to the world’s rainforests.

Tropical Semi-arid ArcticTemperateArid

Classified as:

• Humid tropical climate

• Tropical rain forest

• Tropical monsoon climate

• Tropical wet and dry savanna

Tropical Semi-arid ArcticTemperateArid

Tropical

Semi-aridArcticTemperate

Arid• Occur in regions with little precipitation

•drier than semiarid climates

•covers broad east west bands near 30° north and south latitude

•in Arabian Peninsula, Northwestern part of India and North Asia

Tropical

Semi-aridArcticTemperate

Arid

Tropical Semi-arid Arctic

TemperateArid

• average temperature between 10°C-40°C in their warmest month

• average temperature between 3°C-18°C.

• Mediterranean climate, Humid Subtropical climate, Maritime temperate climate and continental climate

Tropical Semi-arid Arctic

TemperateArid

Mediterranean Climate

• occurs on the western sides of the continent between 30° and 45° latitude

• experienced at the lowland of northern Pakistan, Southern coast of South Korea and Japan

Tropical Semi-arid Arctic

TemperateArid

Mediterranean Climate

Tropical Semi-arid Arctic

TemperateArid

Maritime Temperate Climate

• experiences cool summers and wild winters

•Usually humid

•accompanied by considerable amounts of precipitation

Tropical Semi-arid Arctic

TemperateArid

Maritime Temperate Climate

Tropical Semi-arid Arctic

TemperateArid

Continental Climate

•Experienced in the interior of a large landmass

• hot summers and cold winters

• usually dry

•Siberia and Central Russia

Tropical Semi-arid Arctic

TemperateArid

Continental Climate

Tropical Semi-arid Arctic

TemperateArid

Continental Subarctic or Taiga Climate

• very cold and dry

• cold snowy winters and warm summers

• continental severe winter, polar climate and tundra climate

Tropical Semi-arid Arctic

TemperateArid

Continental Subarctic or Taiga Climate

Factors that Affect the Asian Climate

1.Latitude

- divided into four latitudinal zones

a. tropical zone- 23.5° north and 23.5° south of the equator.

b. subtropical zone- 23.5°to 35° north and south of the equator

c. mid-latitude zone- 35° and 55° latitude.

d. high latitude zone- above 55° latitude

Factors that Affect the Asian Climate

2. Oceanicity

- The measure of the degree to which the climate of a region is influenced by a maritime airflow from the oceans.

- Remoteness and proximity from any ocean influence climate.

3. Monsoon

- Wind system that influences large climatic regions.

- May-Sept. > Southeast Monsoon or wet monsoon > HABAGAT (Philippines)

- Northeast Monsoon or dry monsoon > AMIHAN (Philippines)

4. ElevationThe higher the elevation the colder the

temperature.

- a direct manifestation of climate the plant life or the plant ground cover of a region, not the life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics

Ice (No vegetation)

North Pole

South Pole

No land

GrasslandNo land

Equator

Forest

Forest Grassland

Desert Grassland

tundraForest

Vegetation pattern

Types of Vegetation1.Tundra Vegetation

- “tundra” Russian word = “a marshy plain”

- Arctic tundra and Alpine tundra

Types of Vegetation2. Forest Vegetation

a.Taiga or boreal forest- Covers the whole northern hemisphere of the high latitude lands.

b. broadleaf forest- characterized by a temperate humid plant community.

c.the rainforest- occur inside the earth’s equatorial regions.

Taiga Forest

Broadleaf Forest

Rainforest

Types of Vegetation3. Grassland Vegetation- Known as “steppe” in Asia- Usually found at the highland areas of

Asia particularly in West Asia, China and North Asia

Types of Vegetation3. Desert Lands•Regions which receives an average of less than 10 inches of rainfall a year.•Evaporation is greater than rainfall•Found in the middle and lower latitudes Middle latitude > cold deserts Low latitude > hot deserts

Land forms- natural features of the earth's surface

Volcano

Peninsula

Hill

Plain

Valley

Island

Mountain

Plateau

-a place on Earth’s -a place on Earth’s surface that is much surface that is much higher than the land higher than the land around itaround it

Desert

archipelago

Tien Shan Karakorum

Kunlun

Pamir Mountains

Asian mountains contain great environmental diversity, which ranges from cold and hot deserts to tropical rainforests.

The Himalayas forms a continuous 2, 413 km mountain range along northern portion of the Indian subcontinent.

Mount Everest- world’s highest mountain- Lies in Nepal, Tibet border- High point reaches 8,848 meter- Leo Oracion, Erwin Emata and Romeo Garduce

(Filipino)

Volcano

Peninsula

Hill

Plain

Valley

Island

Mountain

Plateau

-an opening which allows hot magma, ash and gases to escape from below the surface

Desert

archipelago

Mount Fuji, Japan

Mount Apo, Philippines

Volcano

Peninsula

Hill

Plain

Valley

Island

Mountain

Plateau

a low area of land between hills or mountains, typically with a river or stream flowing through it

Desert

archipelago

Huang Ho river Valley

-rich deposit of yellow loess, provided alluvial farmlands for the Chinese.

Volcano

Peninsula

Hill

PlainValley

Island

Mountain

Plateau

- broad, nearly level stretches of land that have no great changes in elevation

Desert

archipelago

Central Plain of Luzon

Asia’s plains and river valleys played an essential part in the growth and development of the early civilizations.

River valleys offered abundant yield providing early Asians an opportunity to live and prosper in these places.

Volcano

Peninsula

Hill

Plain

Valley

Island

Mountain

Plateau

- a piece of land that is surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus

Desert

archipelago

Arabian Peninsula

Korean Peninsula

Due to the strategic location of Asia’s Peninsulas, these landforms were developed as trading ports between nations.

Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong

Volcanoes

Peninsulas

Hills

Plains

Valleys

Islands

Mountains

Plateaus

any area of land smaller than a continent and entirely surrounded by water. Islands may occur in oceans, seas, lakes, or rivers

ex. Sri Lanka, Singapore, Maldives

Deserts

archipelago

Borneo Island

Sumatra Island

Largest Islands of Asia

Other Islands in Asia are known for their scenic beauty such as:

Islands of Bali Indonesia Nicobarin Island in India

Phuket Island in Thailand

The islands of the continent serve as stepping places for traveling in wide oceans.

Volcano

Peninsula

Hill

Plain

Valley

Island

Mountain

Plateau

Hills are elevations of the earth's surface that have distinct summits, but are lower in elevation than mountains

Desert

archipelago

Volcano

Peninsula

Hill

Plain

Valley

Island

Mountain

Plateau

A plateau is a large highland area of fairly level land separated from surrounding land by steep slopes.

Desert

archipelago

Almost one fifth of the continent is usually made up of plateaus.

Highest plateaus of Asia are located in the Himalayas.

Tibetan Plateau, Highest Plateau in the world, 7,358 km high

Deccan Plateau Anatolian Plateau

Arabian Plateau

Volcano

Peninsula

Hill

Plain

Valley

Island

Mountain

Plateau

Desertarchipelago

- a hot dry place with - a hot dry place with little or no rainlittle or no rain

- - The hottest deserts of the world are found in Southwestern portion of the continent

Rub Al Khali or “empty quarter” of the Arabian Peninsula

-world’s largest expanse of sand that reaches 250,000 km.

- experience little or no rain at all within a year

Karakum or “black Sand, Turkmenistan

Kyzylkum or “Red Sand”,

Uzbekistan

Thar or Great Indian Desert, Western India and

Southwestern Pakistan

Dasht-e Kavir, Iran

Dasht-e Lut, Iran

Negev Desert, Israel

Salt Deserts

Volcano

Peninsula

Hill

Plain

Valley

Island

Mountain

Plateau

Desert

archipelago

sometimes called sometimes called an island group or an island group or island chain, is a island chain, is a chain, cluster or chain, cluster or collection of collection of islandsislands

INDONESIA- Largest archipelago in the world

JAPAN

Maldives

Lake

Ocean

Waterfalls

Bay

Gulf

Sea

River

Strait

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river.

Asia’s rivers are the lifeblood of its people

Yuan River, Largest river in China

Yangtze river, longest river in

Asia

Tigris and Euphrates River

Yangtze and Huangho River

Ganges River

Merkong River, “Mother of Waters”

Chao Phraya River Cagayan River

Ob River

Yenisei river

Lena River

Three Known Rivers of North Asia

Lake

Ocean

Waterfalls

Bay

Gulf

Sea

River

Strait

A lake is a body of water that is surrounded by land.

Asian lakes are marvelous sources of water and other resources

Dead Sea-Lowest point on earth

-Deepest lake in the world-Saltiest body of water on

earth

Caspian Sea, largest saltwater lake in the world.

Lake Baikal, contains 20% of the world’s surface freshwater

Tonle Sap, Largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia

Lake

Ocean

Waterfalls

Bay

Gulf

Sea

River

Strait

A gulf is a portion of the ocean that penetrates land. -vary greatly in size, shape, and depth- generally larger and more deeply indented than bays

Asian gulfs had become important shipping channels among nations.

Gulf of Aqaba Gulf of Suez

Gulf of Thailand, provides profitable fishing grounds for the country.

Gulf of Aden, provides an outlet to the west for Persian Gulf oil.

Lake

Ocean

Waterfalls

BayGulf

Sea

River

Strait

A bay is a body of water partially surrounded by land. A bay is usually smaller and less enclosed than a gulf. The mouth of the bay, where meets the ocean or lake, is typically wider than that of a gulf.

Bay Of Bengal

Lake

Ocean

Waterfalls

Bay

Gulf

Sea

River

Strait

the body of salt water covering approximately 70 percent of the earth's surface

Lake

Ocean

Waterfalls

Bay

Gulf

Sea

River

Strait

A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, the term refers to a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean.

Lake

Ocean

Waterfalls

Bay

Gulf

Sea

River

Strait

A waterfall is a river or other body of water's steep fall over a rocky ledge into a plunge pool below. Waterfalls are also called cascades

Lake

Ocean

Waterfall

Bay

Gulf

Sea

River

Strait

A strait is a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water