Asia

 

ASIA

1. Of all the seven continents, Asia is the most populous and the biggest.
2. According to UN, there are 48 countries in total (Taiwan (republic of China) and Palestine are not recognized by UN and are excluded (nonmember state))
3. Almost 60% of the world’s people live in Asia
4. Its area is about 44579000sq km
5. It covers one-third of the world’s land area and 8.7% of the earth’s total surface area
6. There are 100 people per square km on average in Asia

Asia is surrounded by ocean on three sides, the Pacific Ocean on the east, the Indian Ocean on the south and the Arctic Ocean on the north. It ranges from 10 S to 80 N latitude and 25 E to 170 W longitude.

Boundaries of Asia: Asia-Africa boundary

 The Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and the Suez Canal form the boundary between Asia and Africa. This makes Egypt a country that spans two continents, with the Sinai Peninsula in Asia and the rest of the country in Africa.

Asia-Europe boundary 

The Ural Mountains, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea mark the western border of Asia with Europe.

Eurasia 

• Asia and Europe are two continents that share the same tectonic plate.

 • The landmass that they make up together is called Eurasia, a supercontinent. 

• Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan are countries that lie across both continents. 

Asia Oceania boundary Australia and New Zealand belong to the Oceania continent, and are on different tectonic plates from Asia The boundary between Asia and the Oceania region is usually located somewhere in the Malay Archipelago. The Moluccas Island in Indonesia are often regarded as the edge of southeast Asia, with New Guinea, to the east of the island, being entirely part of Oceania Asia-North America boundary The Bering Strait and Bering Sea divide the landmasses of Asia and North America and also create the international border between Russia and the United States. This continental and national border splits the Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait, with Big Diomede belonging to Russia and little Diomede belonging to the U.S

Main Political regions

·         North Asia

·         Central Asia

·         Western Asia (the middle east or near east)

·         South Asia (India subcontinent)

·         East Asia (Far East )

·         Southeast Asia (East Indies and Indochina)

 Five major physical division 

• The Northern Lowlands

These lowlands are in north Asia along the Arctic Ocean. They stretch from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Bering Strait in the north-east.

They are the world’s largest continuous Plains. Ob, Yenisey and Lena are three rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean and have formed this plain. These lowlands are swampy and marshy and are also known as the Great Siberian plain.

The Tural Plain is the lowland around the Aral Sea.

Two rivers – Amu Darya and Syr Darya – drain it.

It is a region of inland drainage.

• The Central Mountains

Below the northern low lands, there is a great belt of Fold Mountains

From the Pamir Knot (in south of central Asia), mountain chains radiate in different directions: West- Hindukush; South West –Suleiman Range; North – Tien Shan; East- Himalayas, Karakoram and Kunlun.

The plateau of Tibet, surrounded by the Himalayas and Kunlun, is the world’s highest and largest plateau.

The highest peak in the world, Mount Everest, is in the Himalayas.

The Gobi desert, which is vast and cool, is in this region.

• The southern Plateaus 

The southern plateaus are south of the Central Mountain belts. Three major plateaus

Arabian Peninsula It is a peninsula in Western Asia between Asia, Europe and Africa on the Arabian Plate. The Arabian Plateau is steep. It is a dry desert region.

Plateau of Shan and the Plateau of Yunnan in China This plateau has a steep western slope and is drained by Salween, Mekong and Si Kiang rivers.

Plateau of Indian Peninsula The Plateau of Indian peninsula has a steep coast along the Arabian Sea and slopes gently towards the Bay of Bengal.

• The great river valleys 

These valleys are called the “cradle of civilization” because many civilizations have emerged in these valleys. This region has many renowned rivers that originate from the mountains covered with snow. 3 significant valleys in the region are

Mesopotamia (Tigris and Euphrates) The Mesopotamia Lowlands, also known as the Tigris Euphrates valley, are in Iraq

India (Indus and Ganges) The Indus Valley is created by the Indus river and its five tributaries- Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The Ganga Brahmaputra Valley is formed by the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and their other tributaries

China (yellow river) The Great Plains of China are created by three big rivers, namely Huang He (yellow river), Yangtze and Si Kiang. Some other valleys in the region are the Mekong Valley in the Indo China, Amur Valley etc.

• The ISLAND groups 

There are many island countries to the east and south East Asia. The Indonesia Archipelago is the biggest Archipelago in the world- it includes islands of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Bali and Timor. The Lakshadweep Island in the Arabian Sea and Andaman’s in the Bay of Bengal are part of India.