Geography of China

Plateaus, Plains and Basins

Plateaus

The Plateau of Tibet“Rooftop of the World”

in SW China• ¼ of country• 13 – 16k ft avg. height• Only settled along

Brahmaputra River• Bordered by

Himalayas and Kunlun Mts.

Deserts

Taklimakan Desert• Vast, sandy desert, in

NW• Site of earliest contact w/

western civilization

Gobi Desert• NE China, small nomadic

Mongolian shepherds• Fierce winds removed

soils

The climate here is extreme. Temperatures reach +100° C. in summer, and -40 in winter. Precipitation averages less than 100 mm per year, while some areas only get rain once every two or

three years. Strong winds up to 87mph make travel dangerous in spring and fall. Great Gobi National Park is one of the largest World Biospheres, with an area larger than

Switzerland.

North China Plain

• Highest proportion of land under cultivation of any region of China

• Bordered by mountains and sea

• Yellow soil • Yellow river / Huang

He

Turpan Depression and Sichuan Basin

• Turpan Depression – A fault trough – lowest point in

China 502’ below sea level

– Oasis city– (Silk Road,

Farming)

The Flaming Mountains

• The Sichuan Basin – Hilly area surrounded by mts – farmed in terraces

Mountains

• China has three major mountain ranges

1.The Himalayas run north south and span over 2900 km

2.the Kunluns run east-west, as does the Tian mountain range, above and below the Taklimakan desert

Mt. EverestFacts About Mt. Everest Tallest mountain in the world.

Number of people to attempt to climb Mt. Everest: approximately 4,000.

Number of people to successfully climb Mt. Everest: 660.

Number of people who have died trying to climb Mt. Everest: 142.

Height: 29,028 feet, or 5 and a half miles above sea level. This is equivalent to the size of almost 20 Empire State Buildings.

Location: part of the Himalaya mountain range; straddles border of Nepal and Tibet.

Named for: Sir George Everest, a British surveyor-general of India.

Age: approximately 60 million years old.

Other names: called "Chomolungma" by Tibetans and Sherpas, which means "Mother Goddess of the Earth."

Countries visible from the summit: Tibet, India, and Nepal.

Himalayas from Air, Kunlun Mts

1500 mi, from Russia to China/Mongolia border.

Coal, iron, lead, zinc all mined here

Grain from the valleys

Tian Shan: Heavenly Mountains

Rivers and Seas

Mekong River

• 2600 mi long, begins in Tibetan Highlands and flows south to South China Sea

Yangzi River

• 3,450 mi long, begins in Tibetan Highlands and flows east to East China Sea.

• Waters China’s middle basin, +++ agriculture

• Major E-W trade route

Yangze River

Rivers and Seas

South China Sea

• 848,000sm• Located between SE

China, Taiwan, the Phillipines, and Borneo.

• Deepest in N.E.

East China Sea

• 290,000sm, part of Pacific

• Very shallow• Dominated by monsoon

wind system• E. of China N. of Taiwan

Yellow River and Yellow Sea

• 3000 mi from Kunlun Mts east

• Very fast summer currents

• Subject to flooding, has changed course 9 times

• Located between China and Korea, arm of the Pacific Ocean

• Connects w/East China Sea below Korea.

The Heavenly Mountain: Tian Zi