The Physical Geography of East Asia

1
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
• It stretches from the Yellow Sea to the Gobi
  Desert making it thousands of miles long.
• 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
• 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

8
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

9
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

15
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

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