SOUTH ASIAPhysical Features

Map of South Asia

Mountains Separate the Indian subcontinent from the rest of Asia Hindu Kush

Northwest- it divides subcontinent from central Asia Rugged mountain range Khyber Pass-

Khyber Pass begins about 10 miles outside the Pakistani city of Peshawar in the northwest frontier province and ends on the Afghan border at Torkham.

Because it is the main connection between Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent, the route through the Khyber Pass constitutes one of the major means of access to Central Asia. 

Eastern & Western Ghats Low mountains that separate India’s east and west coast

Khyber Pass

Mountains Himalayas

Himalayas, Sanskrit for ‘abode of snow’ Stretch 1,500 miles Along the northern border of Indian subcontinent Formed by collision of two massive tectonic plates The Himalayas cover approximately 75% of Nepal The Himalayas are the source for the Indus, the Yangtze

and the Ganges and Brahmaputra. All three are major river systems for the continent of Asia

Home to the world’s highest mountains Mount Everest-Highest mountain in the world

Measures 29,035 feet K2

Northern Pakistan World’s second highest peak

Bodies of water-Rivers

Originated in the Himalayas Massive amounts of water from the mountains

melting snow and glaciers Floods surrounding land leaving rich soil

deposits and fertile plains Ganges River

Flows across northern India into Bangladesh Joins other rivers (Brahmaputra) and creates huge deltas Ganges Plain-India’s farming heartland

Indus River Fertile plain-Indus River Valley

One home to earliest Indian civilizations Today one of Pakistan’s most densely populated area

Bodies of water-Rivers

Brahmaputra River Flows east and southwest into Bay of

Bengal Forms the largest delta with the Ganges-

has some of the world’s richest farmland

Bodies of water-Oceans

Indian Ocean covering approximately one-fifth of the total ocean

area of the world South of India

Bay of Bengal large but relatively shallow embayment of the

northeastern Indian Ocean, It is bordered by Sri Lanka and India to the west,

Bangladesh to the north, and Myanmar (Burma) and the northern part of the Malay Peninsula to the east.

Arabian Sea Northwestern part of the Indian Ocean covering a total area of about 1,491,000 square miles

Bodies of Water Gulf of Khambhat

indenting northward into the coast of Gujarat state, western India

trumpet-shaped gulf of the Arabian Sea Gulf of Mannar

inlet of the Indian Ocean, between southeastern India and western Sri Lanka.

the gulf is noted for its pearl banks and sacred chank (a gastropod mollusk).

Landforms Thar Desert

The Great Indian Desert 200 - 1500 feet in elevation. up to 127ºF in July

Deccan Plateau Located in South India 31,800 square miles in size. 2,000 – 8,000 feet high

Climates Arid

receives less than 10 inches of rainfall in an entire year. Deserts are areas that are arid.

Semiarid Characterized by relatively low annual rainfall of 10 to 20 inches having scrubby vegetation with short, coarse grasses; not

completely arid. Tropical Wet

high temperatures year round large amount of year round rain

Tropical Wet and Dry Large amounts of rain during summer season There is a dry season in the winter

Humid subcontinental hot, usually humid summers and mild to cool winters.

Climate Physical Features affect the climate Variety of climates In Himalayas

Highland climate brings cool temperatures to much of Nepal and Bhutan

Plains south of Himalayas Humid sub-tropical climate

Population

Population

Natural Resources Variety of Natural Resources

Agricultural and mineral resources are most plentiful

Perhaps most important is the regions fertile soil Farms produce many different crops

Tea, rice, nuts, jute(plant used for making rope)

Timber and livestock Particularly in Nepal and Bhutan

Natural Resources South Asian’s depend or rivers

Irrigation, transportation, drinking and household water

Mineral resources Iron ore, coal-India Natural Gas Reserves-Pakistan Gemstone-Sri Lanka