Chapter 27: The Physical Geography of East Asia

1
Chapter 27 The Physical Geography of East Asia

• A Rugged Terrain

2
Landforms and Resources

• The Great Wall of China was built to protect
  China from invaders crossing the Steppes of
  Central Asia. It stretches from the Yellow Sea
  to the Gobi Desert making it thousands of miles
  long. It remains one of the largest building
  feats in history.

3
Mountains and Plateaus

• Kunlun Mts.- Located in the west of China
• The source of 2 of Chinas great rivers
• Qinling Shandi Mts.- Divide the northern part of
  China from the south

4
Plateaus and Plains

• Gobi Desert- stretches from northwest China in
  Mongolia.
• Covers more than 500,000 sq. miles (larger than
  TX and CA combined!)

5
Peninsulas and Islands

• The eastern coast of China features several
  peninsulas
• Shandong
• Leizou
• Macao- owned by Portugal until 1999
• Peninsulas make it possible for several major
  port cities to develop

6
Islands

• Isolation of islands has permitted them to
  develop in great security and peace unlike some
  parts of the mainland
• Developed trading economies
• Hainan
• Hong Kong- became independent from Britain in
  1997
• Japan
• Taiwan

7
River Systems

• Huang He (Yellow River) of northern China
• starts in the Kunlun Mts. And empties into the
  Yellow Sea
• Get their names from the yellow silt found in the
  river
• Also called Chinas Sorrow because of the
  terrible floods that it has caused

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River Systems Contd

• The Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) is the longest
  river in all of Asia
• Means long river
• Flows about 3,900 miles from Tibet to the East
  China Sea
• Major trade route since ancient times
• Floods frequently

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River Systems Contd

• The Xi Jiang (West River)-runs through south of
  China
• Joins with 3 other rivers to form an estuary
  (where the rivers current meets the oceans
  tides) between Hong Kong and Macao
• Important mineral resources found in the rivers
  valley

10
Resources

• Limited land for agriculture due to mts.
• Population concentrated in the East where river
  basins are located
• Great for growing rice
• Large energy reserves of petroleum, coal, and
  natural gas
• River systems provide crop irrigation,
  hydroelectric power and transportation

11
High Latitude Climate Zones

• Severely cold, dry climates
• Subarctic-occur in small area along Mongolias
  and Chinas northern borders w/ Russia
• Cool to cold summers
• Brutally cold winters
• Highland-found mostly in western China
• Temp varies with latitude and elevation
• The higher north the lat. the higher the elev.,
  the colder the climate

12
Mid-Latitude Zones

• Moderate climates make this area more comfortable
  to live in
• Humid Continental- NE China, N Korea, N. South
  Korea and N Japan
• Coniferous forests
• Temperate grasslands (good for grazing)
• Humid Subtropical-SE China, S South Korea, S
  Japan, N Taiwan
• Deciduous and coniferous forests

13
Dry Zones

• Not well suited for agriculture
• Not much settled by people
• Semiarid- made up of parts of the Mongolian
  Plateau
• Short grasses-good for grazing
• Desert- mostly found in west central area of the
  mainland.
• Taklimakan Desert- located in W China between the
  Tian Shan and Kunlun Mts
• Gobi Desert- located in N China and SE Mongolia
• Prime area for finding dinosaur fossils.

14
Tropical Zones

• Contain mainly wet climates
• Most common vegetation is the rain forest
• Small

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Human-Environment Interaction
16
The Three Gorges Dam

• Being built on the Chang Jiang in China
• Help control flooding along the river
• Generate power
• Allow ships to sail farther into China
• Will be the worlds biggest dam
• 600ft high and a mile long
• At least 1,000 towns and villages will disappear
  under the water of the reservoir
• Will cost 75 billion

17
The Use of Urban Space in Japan

• More than 60 of the Japanese population live on
  only 3 of the land
• Highly polluted
• Small houses
• One- BR apartments for a family of four!
• Landfill- a method of solid waste disposal in
  which trash is buried between layers of dirt