East Asia: Physical Geography

Land and Water

East Asia’s Landforms

Huge region!!! China takes up most

3rd largest country in the world Very mountainous, but has variety too

Mountains Hills Plateaus (mountains with flat top) Plains Deserts Coastal Areas

Shaped by forces inside Earth 50 million years ago…

Part of continent collides and creates Himalaya Mts. “Ring of Fire”- volcanoes and earthquakes create Pacific

Islands

China: “Land of Extremes” Home of oldest civilization in

world More than 1 billion people!!!

Mountains and deserts take up 2/3’s of China Huge mountains (Himalaya

Mountains) Huge plateau surrounded by

Himalayas in Tibet Rivers

Yangzi 3,915 miles long! Deep enough for ships!

Huang He 400 million live along its

banks Irrigates the North China

Plain Makes super fertile,

covered w/ deposits of loess, a brownish, yellow fertile soil

Japan: An Island Country

Japan is an archipelago- a group of islands 4 main islands and

over 3,000 smaller ones

All major cities located on coasts b/c 80% of land is unlivable mts.

The Koreas

Land of great beauty! Single peninsula- strip

of land surrounded by water on 3 sides occupied by 2 countries

separated by the 38th Parallel since end of WW2

Peninsula stretches into Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan

Over 70% of land is steep mts.

Geography and Population Population not spread evenly

across land Few live in mts., deserts, &

highlands But… 1.5 Billion still live in

region! Means… people crowd into

coasts and plains (easy to live there & grow crops) Population Density- number

of people per sq. mile ½ pop. of Japan live in 3% of

land China largely rural… 70% live

in farms In Japan… 80% of pop. in

cities South Korea pop. at 10

million

East Asia: Physical Geography

Climate and Vegetation

East Asia’s Climate Regions

Like the USA, East Asia has same type of climate regions. Tropical Wet- very hot and very wet Arid and Semiarid- dry very little moisture Humid Subtropical- hot summers, cool

winters Continental- warm/hot summers, cold

winters

What Impacts Climate?

Monsoons- extreme winds that blow across a region at specific times of year Winds bring rain west

from Pacific Rain starts as drizzle in

June Cause hot, humid

weather and heavy rains by July

By fall, winds increase and become typhoons, or hurricanes occurring in Pacific

Winter… icy cold winds and blizzard snow

Climate Affects…

Influences everything!!! Natural Vegetation Agriculture What People Can Grow How Often They Can Plant How Easily and When They Can Harvest Foods They Eat Clothes They Wear EVERYTHING!!!EVERYTHING!!!

Climate Affects… Vegetation

Plant life must be strong! Able to withstand…

seasonal changes temperature extremes rain extremes

Bamboo grows fast in wet season can survive dry season

Shrubs low bushes that don’t

require much water; survive in the deserts

Deciduous Forests trees that leaf and berry

then drop them

Climate Affects… The Life of the People

What People Can Grow Temperature extremes and amount of

precipitation limits Certain plants need specific amounts

How Often They Can Plant How Easily and When They Can

Harvest Wet seasons irrigate soil (good thing) But can also cause floods that wipe

out crops (bad thing Foods They Eat

Rice needs warmth grown in south People in southern Asia eat more

In north, its cooler grain and wheat grow better People here eat more dishes with

noodles Clothes They Wear

Temperature extremes dictate the layers North is cooler… people wear more South is warmer… thinner materials

East Asia: Physical Geography

Natural Resources

Using East Asia’s Resources

Many found in East Asia Lands and waters filled

w/ huge variety Some too hard or

expensive to get Gold, sliver, copper Coal, iron (together

they make steel) Hydroelectricity Oil

est. 74 billion barrels below Takla Makan Desert

Minerals Koreas

Limited mineral resources Coal, iron, tungsten, graphite N. Korea- developing nationdeveloping nation,

country w/ little industry or technology

S. Korea- developed nationdeveloped nation, country w/ many industries and a well developed economy Exports Exports many manufactured

goods, sells them to other nations Japan

Modern industrial nation Has few mineral resources of own

(must import) China

Large supply of nat’l resources Mined copper, tin, and iron for

2,000 years Huge oil reserves One of world’s largest supplies of

coal

Forests

Parts covered w/ large forests BUT…

Like most other countries, they cut w/o care

New programs to plant trees might bring them back but will take quite a while!!!

For Now… must importimport, or buy from other countries

Waters

Rugged mts. and heavy rainfall perfect for hydroelectricityhydroelectricity- power plants that use running water to create electricity

Pacific Ocean Huge resource for food

Where cold and warm water currents meet, tiny plants thrive Attract a variety of fish Fishing is a huge industry!!!

Poles, nets, huge fishing boats AquacultureAquaculture (sea farming)

In shallows, people raise fish in cages Reefs provide beds for shrimp and oysters Lakes and Rivers provide fish too

Twice as many freshwater fish caught in East Asia than the rest of world

Fertile Lands: A Valuable Resource Huge pop. means must use

ALLALL land for farming Much not farmable

10% in China 11% in Japan 14% in Korea

So use the unusable Terrace farming

Notches cut into mts. Sides of roads and

railroad tracks Double-cropDouble-crop, or grow 2

crops on same land in-between them

Livestock is rare Crops take up less room