Geography of South Asia

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Geography of South Asia

• Mr. Kevin Nolen
• Penncrest High School
• Media, PA

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Plate Tectonics Theory
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Gondwanaland

• Southern supercontinent.
• Started to break up 175 million years ago.

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The Indian Subcontinent
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The Indian Subcontinent

• A part of Gondwanaland broke off and collided
  with Eurasia.
• The Himalayas and Hindu Kush were formed.

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The Indian Subcontinent

• A subcontinent is a large landmass that is
  smaller than a continent.

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Isolating Factors

• Northern Mountains
• Hindu Kush
• Himalayas
• Water
• Arabian Sea
• Indian Ocean
• Bay of Bengal

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Regions of Asia
Note Definitions of regions tend to vary a bit.
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South
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Regions of Asia

• Central Asia includes Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
• Southwest Asia, better known as the Middle East,
  includes Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

• North Asia is Russias Siberia.
• East Asia includes China and Japan.
• Southeast Asia includes Vietnam and Indonesia.
• South Asia includes India and Pakistan.

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Northern Asia
Central Asia
East Asia
Southwest Asia
South Asia
Southeast Asia
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South Asia
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Countries of South Asia

• Afghanistan
• Pakistan
• India
• Nepal
• Bhutan
• Bangladesh
• Sri Lanka
• Maldives

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Major Geographic Regions
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Major Geographic Regions

• Northern Mountains
• Northern Plains
• Deccan Plateau.

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Northern Mountains
Northern Plains
Deccan Plateau
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Northern Mountains

• Himalayas
• Hindu Kush

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Himalayas

• 1,500 mile long chain of mountains.
• Include tallest mountains in the world.
• Create a massive wall separating South Asia from
  East Asia.

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Mount Everest

• Tallest mountain in the world at 29,000 feet.
• First climbed by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and
  Sherpa Tenzing Norgay from Nepal.

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Hindu Kush

• Smaller in area than the Himalayas, but almost as
  high and just as rugged.
• Located mostly in Afghanistan.
• The word kush means death.

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Khyber Pass

• Best known pass through the Hindu Kush.
• For centuries, traders and invaders traveled
  through this pass.

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Kashmir

• Isolated valley in northern India.
• Famous for the production of a fine wool.
• Split between India, Pakistan and China.

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Plaines of the Indus Ganges Rivers

• Large plain formed by the Indus, Ganges and
  Brahmaputra Rivers.
• Most fertile and densely populated part of South
  Asia.

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Indus River

• Largest river of Pakistan.
• The word indus means river.
• Indias name comes from this river.

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Ganges River

• Largest river in India.
• Most holy river of Hinduism.
• Joins with Brahmaputra to create an enormous
  delta in Bangladesh.

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Brahmaputra River

• Large river that starts in Tibet (China).
• Runs through India and Bangladesh.
• Name means Son of Brahma.

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Thar Desert

• Large desert in India and Pakistan.

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Deccan Plateau

• Large plateau (an elevated flat or hilly
  landmass)
• Bordered by mountains
• Vindhyas
• Western Ghats
• Eastern Ghats

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Western Ghats
Windward Side
Leeward Side
The Western Ghats create a rain shadow.
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Review
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Q What large landmass split up millions of years
ago, resulting in Indias collision with the rest
of Asia?
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Q What two terms are used to describe this
region of the world?
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Q What five physical features isolate South
Asia? Hint two landforms and three bodies of
water.
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Q What is the name of the territory in northern
India that is claimed by both India and Pakistan?
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Q What is the name of the famous mountain pass
through the Hindu Kush mountains?
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Q What geographic term is used to describe a
landform that is low in elevation and relatively
flat?
A Plain
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Q What is the large plain in the northern part
of South Asia?
A Indo-Gangetic Plain
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Q What three rivers form the Indo-Gangetic
Plain?
A Indus, Ganges Brahmaputra
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Q What geographical term is used to describe the
landform formed at the mouth of a river?
A delta
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Q Which country is largely composed of the huge
delta formed by the Ganges and Brahmaputra?
A Bangladesh
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Q Which two rivers combine to form the largest
delta in South Asia?
A Ganges Brahmaputra
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Q What two names are used to describe the large
desert located in South Asia?
A Thar Great Indian Desert
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Q In which two countries is the Thar Desert
located?
A India Pakistan
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Q What geographic term is used to describe an
elevated area that is relatively flat?
A plateau
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Q What is the name of the large plateau in
central India?
A Deccan Plateau
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Q What mountain chain has the biggest influence
on the amount of precipitation the Deccan Plateau
receives?
A Western Ghats
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Q What geographic term is used to describe when
one side of a mountain receives a lot of moisture
and the other side almost none?
A rain shadow
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Review Countries
Afghanistan

• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• Bhutan
• India
• Maldives
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka

Pakistan
Nepal
Bhutan
India
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Maldives
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Review Bodies of Water

• Arabian Sea
• Bay of Bengal
• Indian Ocean

Bay of Bengal
Arabian Sea
Indian Ocean
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Review Rivers
Indus

• Brahmaputra
• Indus
• Ganges

Ganges
Brahmaputra
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Review Physical Features

• Deccan Plateau
• Himalayas
• Hindu Kush
• Indo-Gangetic Plain
• Thar Desert
• Western Ghats

Hindu Kush
Thar Desert
Himalayas
Indo-Gangetic
Deccan Plateau
Western Ghats
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