CHAPTER 41

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CHAPTER 41INTRODUCING EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
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I. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• A. Landforms
• 1. East and Southeast Asia extends from
• Burma to Japan.
• a. Russia to the north
• b. India to the southwest
• c. Indian Ocean to the south
• d. Pacific Ocean to the east

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• 2. Mountainous volcanic islands line
• East and Southeast Asia to the north
• and south.
• a. Form part of the Pacific Ring of
• Fire.
• b. Worlds largest concentration of
• active volcanoes.
• 3. Rugged mountains, plateaus, and hills
• dominate the region.
• a. Himalayas form a boundary
• between East Asia and South Asia.

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• b. The Kunlun, the Qun Ling, and the
• Greater Khingan ranges all lie within
• China.
• c. Plateaus are very dry with extremely
• cold winters.
• d. Tarim Basin, between the Kunlun
• and the Tian Shan ranges, drops
• below sea level.
• e. The Gobi is part of the plateau of
• Mongolia.

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• 4. The regions river valleys are the most
• densely populated places on Earth.
• a. Rivers provide good soil for farming
• and transportation.
• b. The regions rivers include two of
• the worlds longest Huang He
• (Yellow River) in northern China
• and the Chang (Yangtze) in central
  
• China.
• 5. Lowland areas include the North China
• Plain, the Manchurian Plain, and the
• Sichuan Basin.

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• B. Climate
• 1. The climates of areas outside the river
• valleys and plains cannot support high
• population density.
• a. Gobi and Taklimakan deserts have
• hot summers and bitterly cold
• winters.

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• b. Highland climates of interior East
  
• Asia and the severe subarctic
• climate along the borders of
• Mongolia, China, and Russia are
• too cold for human settlement.
• 2. The region does have other climates.
• a. Humid-continental in parts of
• northeastern China, North Korea,
• and northern Japan.

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• b. Humid-subtropical climate in
• southern Japan, South Korea,
• Taiwan, and southern China.
• c. Humid tropical climate on the
• western islands of Indonesia and
• the coasts of Southeast Asia.
• d. Tropical-savanna climate on some
• of the eastern islands of
  Indonesia
• and the interior mainland of
• Southwest Asia.

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• C. Rainfall
• 1. Extremes of rainfall characterize much
• of East and Southeast Asia.
• 2. Much of the rainfall is seasonal due to
• the monsoon system.
• a. Winter months are dry, while
• summer months are humid and
• rainy.
• 3. The island nations of the region receive
• rain even during the winter.

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II. ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

• D. Agriculture
• 1. Most of the people of the region are
• involved in agriculture.
• 2. In humid-tropical and humid
• subtropical climates, rice is the
• principal food crop.
• a. Rice and other crops are grown in
• water-covered fields called
• paddies.

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• b. These fields produce most of the
• regions food.
• 3. In tropical climates, export crops such
• as rubber, tea, coffee, coconuts,
• sugarcane, and various spices are
• grown.
• 4. In the humid-continental and steppe
• climates, wheat is the main food crop.
• 5. In the deserts and high-plateau areas,
• herders keep flocks of sheep and other
• animals.

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• E. Fishing
• 1. Aquaculture is an important local
  activity.
• a. Seafood is commercially farmed in
• protected bays and river mouths.
• b. Local food supply depends upon
• freshwater fish.
• 2. Several nations in the region have huge
  
• fishing fleets.
• F. Forests
• 1. The regions forest resources are
  divided
• into two types

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• a. Middle-latitude forests
• b. Tropical forests
• 2. The tropical rain forests of Thailand,
  
• Indonesia, Burma, and the
• Philippines have been depleted by
• logging.
• G. Mineral and Energy Sources
• 1. Some of the regions most abundant
• mineral resources are tin, tungsten,
• coal, and iron ore.

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• a. More than half of the worlds tin is
• found in the region.
• b. The region also holds more than one-
• third of the worlds supply of
• tungsten.
• 2. Indonesia, Brunei, and Malaysia are
• major producers and exporters of
• petroleum.
• 3. Melting snow from high mountains and
• large quantities of rainfall provide
• dependable sources of hydroelectricity.

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• H. Industrialization
• 1. Japan is the regions major economic
• force and also a leader in foreign
• investment and international banking.
• a. Is also a major exporter of
• automobiles and high tech
  electronic
• products.
• 2. Rapid industrialization characterizes
• several other nations of the region.
• a. Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and
• South Korea are called the Four
• Dragons.

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• b. Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia
• are called the Little Dragons.
• 3. Some nations of the region, however,
• remain isolated and poor.
• 4. Rapid industrialization has a great
• effect in the region.
• a. Large-scale movement of people
• from rural areas to cities,
  resulting
• in growth of shantytowns, sewage
• problems and traffic congestion.

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• b. Severe industrial pollution of rivers
• and coastlines.
• c. Air pollution

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III. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

• A. Population and Culture
• 1. Roughly 1/3 of the worlds
• population live in East and Southeast
• Asia.
• 2. Population growth in much of the
• region continues at a rapid rate.
• a. Some nations have programs to
• control their population growth.
• 3. A tremendous variety of cultures
• exists among the regions peoples.

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• B. Language
• 1. Hundreds of different languages are
• spoken throughout the region.
• 2. Some, like Chinese, are character-
• based instead of small alphabet
• letters.
• 3. Some countries have adopted one
• official language to unify the people.
• 4. English has become the business
• language of many nations throughout
• the region.

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• C. Religion
• 1. Most of the worlds major religions are
• represented in the region.
• 2. Islam is the main religion in Indonesia,
• Malaysia, and Brunei.
• 3. Christianity is practiced primarily in
• the regions of East and Southeast Asia
• that were once controlled by European
• countries.
• 4. Buddhism is the major religion in
• Thailand, Burma, Tibet, Laos,
• Cambodia, Vietnam, and Mongolia.

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• 5. Chinas religions are a mixture of
• Buddhism, Taoism, and
• Confucianism.
• 6. The Japanese mainly practice Shinto
• and Buddhism.
• D. Colonial History
• 1. In the eighteenth and nineteenth
• centuries, many parts of East and
• Southeast Asia came under the
• control of foreign countries.

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• a. Great Britain-Burma, Malaysia,
• Singapore, Brunei, and Hong
• Kong.
• -Hong Kong switched over to
• Chinas control in 1997.
• b. Netherlands-Indonesia
• c. France-Cambodia, Laos, and
• Vietnam.
• d. Portugal-small possessions on
• island of Timor, and Macao.
• e. The United States-Philippines

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• 2. China was also a target of foreign
• control.
• a. Europeans dominated its coastal
• ports in the nineteenth century.
• b. Japan invaded China in the 1930s
• and 1940s.
• 3. During World War II, Japans empire
• included most of East and Southeast
• Asia.

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• E. Post-World War II
• 1. After World War II, the countries in
• the region sought independence.
• a. Maps of the region were redrawn to
• include the new nations of the
• Philippines, Indonesia, Burma,
• Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
• b. The Peoples Republic of China
• was established in 1949.

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• 2. In the early 1950s, the Korean War
• pitted South Korean, U.S., and United
• Nations forces against North Korea and
• China.
• 3. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the
• Vietnam War ended in the unification of
• North and South Vietnam under a
• Communist government.
• F. Political Geography
• 1. Political systems vary widely
• throughout the region.

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• 2. Today, tensions among the nations of
• the region continue.

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• POSSIBLE ASSIGNMENTS
• 1. Video tapes on Buddhism and Hinduism
• 2. Map of the Far East
• 3. Videodisc
• a. Japan Wks. (pg. 118, 119)
• b. China Wks. (pg. 124-126)
• c. Philippines Wks. (pg. 136-138)
• d. Thailand Wks. (pg. 143, 144)
• 3. 2 page typed paper on any country of the
• Far East.
• 4. Building Voc, Recalling and Reviewing,
• Thinking Critically. (pg. 505)
• 5. Section Review (pg. 499, 502, 504)