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Asia, largest of the Earth’s seven continents, lying almost entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. With outlying islands, it covers an estimated 44,391,000 sq km (17,139,000 sq mi), or about 30 percent of the world’s total land area. Its peoples account for three-fifths of the world’s population; in 2008 Asia had an estimated 4.05 billion inhabitants.

Most geographers regard Asia as bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the Bering Strait and the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the southwest by the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. On the west, the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia is drawn at the Ural Mountains, continuing south along the Ural River to the Caspian Sea, then west along the Caucasus Mountains to the Black Sea.

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Height Depth below sea level

Continent Highest elevation Meters Feet Deepest elevation Meters Feet

Africa Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

5,895 19,340 Lake 'Asal, Djibouti 153 502

Antarctica Vinson Massif 4,897 16,066 Hollick-Keyon plateau 12,468 8,097

Asia Everest, China-Nepal

8,850 29,035 Dead Sea, Israel/Jordan

408 1340

Europe El'brus, Russia 5,642 18,510 Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan/ Russia/ Kazakhstan/ Turkmenistan/ Iran

28 92

North America

McKinley (AK), United States

6,194 20,320 Death Valley (CA), United States

86 282

Oceania Jaya, New Guinea

5,030 16,502 Lake Eyre, South Australia

16 52

South America

Cerro Aconcagua, Argentina

6,960 22,834 Valdés Peninsula, Argentina

40 131

Named after the Greek word meaning “between the rivers,” Mesopotamia occupied the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that now constitutes the greater part of Iraq. The Sumerian civilization, which began in the region in about 3500 BC, built a canal system and the world’s first cities..

Cradle of Civilization Known as the “cradle of civilization,” Mesopotamia served as the site for some of the world’s earliest settlements.

Indus Valley Civilization In the Indus valley area now known as Pakistan, an advanced Bronze Age culture rose up about 2500 BC and lasted for 1000 years. Scholars do not know how it began or whether its people were related to those who now occupy Southwest Asia. Nomadic tribes called Aryans invaded the Indus River valley, probably from the region north of the Caspian Sea, in 1500 BC. The Aryan culture became dominant in the area, eclipsing that of its predecessors.

Chinese Civilization The Shang dynasty was centered in the Huang He (Yellow River) Valley of the North China Plain. The dynasty arose in about 1570 BC and was the supreme Chinese state until it was conquered by the Zhou in about 1045? BC. It was the first Chinese civilization to develop a comprehensive writing system and to leave a written record

Roman, Han, and Gupta Empires, AD 100-300 During the 2nd through the 4th centuries, three major empires had developed in Europe and Asia. Nomadic invasions from central Asia destroyed or reduced those empires after the 4th century.

Asian Empires These maps show the extent of the major Asian empires of medieval times. The Mongol Empire was one of the largest land empires in history, reaching from Manchuria and the Korea Peninsula to the Danube River in Europe.

DESERTS and MOUNTAINS

Syrian Desert, desert of the northern Arabian Peninsula, including northern Saudi Arabia, northeastern Jordan, southeastern Syria, and western Iraq.

Beehive Houses in Syria Villages of houses built of dried mud in the shape of beehives are found at the edge of the Syrian Desert in Syria.

Garagum, desert in Central Asia, occupying most of Turkmenistan; its name is Turkic for “black sands.” The desert covers about three-fourths of Turkmenistan.

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert, located in Mongolia and northern China, is a windswept, nearly treeless wasteland. It covers more than 1,300,000 sq km (500,000 sq mi) and ranks as the coldest, most northern desert in the world. The terrain consists mostly of dry, rocky, sandy soil. Only 5 percent of the desert is covered with sand dunes.

Takla Makan Desert Located in northwestern China, the Takla Makan is the driest desert in Asia.

Saudi Arabian Desert Vast desert areas cover much of the southern reaches of the Middle East.

Mount Everest Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, with a height of 8,850 m (29,035 ft), rises in the Himalayas on the frontier of Nepal and Tibet. Numerous groups tried to reach the summit before the successful attempt by two members of a British expedition on May 29, 1953.

Sunlit Himalayas Local people hold sacred the glorious peaks of the Himalayas. In Sanskrit, Himalaya means "snow abode" (hima is "snow", and alaya is "abode"). A relatively young mountain chain made up of the world's highest peaks.

Karakoram Range The Karakoram Range is part of the western Himalayas. The range contains approximately 60 peaks averaging 6,600 m (22,000 ft) in height. Among them is the world’s second tallest mountain, K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen).

Fuji, Japan This dormant volcano, Fuji, is Japan’s highest mountain, as well as its most famous peak.

Many shrines and temples are located on Fuji’s slopes, and it is a frequent subject in Japanese art and literature.

Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun Mountains are a prominent range in western China. India claims a western portion of the mountains.

RIVERS

World's Longest Rivers Approximate Length

Nile, Africa 6,695 km/4,160 mi

Amazon, South America 6,400 km/4,000 mi

Yangtze, Asia 6,300 km/3,900 mi

Mississippi-Missouri-Red Rock, North America

5,970 km/3,710 mi

Yenisey-Angara, Asia 5,550 km/3,450 mi

Huang He (Yellow River), Asia 5,464 km/3,395 mi

Ob'-Irtysh, Asia 5,410 km/3,362 mi

Río Paraná-Rio Grande, South America 4,500 km/2,800 mi

Amur-Shilka, Asia 4,416 km/2,744 mi

Lena, Asia 4,400 km/2,700 mi

Congo, Africa 4,374 km/2,718 mi

Mackenzie-Peace-Finlay, North America 4,241 km/2,635 mi

Mekong, Asia 4,200 km/2,610 mi

Niger, Africa 4,180 km/2,600 mi

Yangtze River, China The Yangtze River in central China flows swiftly through China’s Sichuan Province on its descent from the Kunlun Mountains. Tourists are attracted to the beauty of the Yangtze Gorges, which extend about 320 km (about 200 mi) near the border of Sichuan and Hubei provinces.

GANGESA branch of the Ganges River winds its way to the Bay of Bengal at sunset in southern Bangladesh. The Ganges Delta has dozens of separate mouths on the Bay of Bengal and is more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) wide, constituting most of Bangladesh's coastline.

Tigris River, Iraq The Tigris River as it flows through Iraq. Present-day Iraq occupies the greater part of the ancient land of Mesopotamia, the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Euphrates River, Syria The rivers in Syria, southwestern Asia, are essential to the country’s agricultural communities. Here, Syria’s longest river, the Euphrates, runs through Karkemish. The river, because of its size, supplies much of the water needed to irrigate the country’s large land tracts.

Jordan River The Jordan River originates in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains on the Lebanon-Syria border, following a 322-km (200-mi) course south through Israel and Jordan to the Dead Sea. Inhabitants of the region use the largely unnavigable river for generating hydroelectricity and for irrigation. The Jordan is mentioned in the Bible as the baptism place of Jesus Christ.

Dead Sea Salt Beds, Israel The Dead Sea, between Jordan and Israel, has grown smaller over the last 10,000 years due to evaporation, which removes water faster than precipitation can replenish it. The resulting salt deposits form an enormous salt reserve

a saltwater lake seven times

more salty than the ocean

The Great Wall of China winds through the countryside northeast of Beijing. The wall was originally a series of fortifications, which were joined together in the 3rd century BC.

Changbai Shan, Jilin The peaks of the Changbai Shan rise above Jilin Province in northeastern China. The mountains separate China’s Dongbei Pingyuan (Northeast China Plain) from North Korea.

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