Climate and Vegetation Main Ideas• East Asia has a dry highland

climate in the west.

• The region has a humidclimate in the east.

Places & Termstyphoon

Taklimakan Desert

Gobi Desert

Connect to the Issuespopulation To feed itspopulation, East Asian countrieshave had to farm in highlyproductive ways.

A HUMAN PERSPECTIVE Kublai Khan was the ruler of the MongolEmpire (which included China) in the 13th century. In 1281, the GreatKhan sent a huge fleet against Japan. A typhoon—a tropical storm thatoccurs in the western Pacific—swept across the Sea of Japan and sank theMongol ships or dashed them against the rocky Japanese shore. Thetyphoon had changed the course of history. Typhoons occur in parts ofEast Asia, but in other ways the weather is similar to that of the UnitedStates. Both are at the same latitude, and both have similar climate zones.

High Latitude Climate ZonesThe climates in the highest latitudes present a serious challenge to allbut the most hardy nomads and herders. These zones generally haveseverely cold climates. In addition, they tend to be very dry.

SUBARCTIC Subarctic climate zones occur in a small sliver alongMongolia’s and China’s northern borders with Russia. The summers inthese areas range from cool to cold. The winters are brutally cold, test-ing the survival skills of the inhabitants. The climate is generally dry.

The typical vegetation of this region is the northern evergreen forest.Varieties of mosses and lichens also grow on rocks and tree trunksthroughout subarctic zones.

HIGHLAND Highland climates are found mostly in western China. Thetemperature in highland zones varies with latitude and elevation. In gen-eral, the farther north the latitude and the higher the elevation, the cold-er the climate. The severe climateand topography of the westernhighlands are two of the reasonsthat the area is sparsely populated.

The vegetation in the highlandsalso varies with elevation. Forestsand alpine tundra are the typicalvegetation. Vast tundras reach asfar as the eye can see. Tundras haveno trees, and the soil a few feetbelow the surface is permanentlyfrozen. In this environment, onlymosses, lichens, and shrubs cangrow. Because of the cold and thedifficulty of growing crops, fewpeople scratch out a living here.

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTINTERACTION A 78-year-oldwoman tends sheep from theback of a camel in a semiaridzone typical of Mongolia. What does the occupation ofsheepherding and livestockgrazing suggest about thevegetation in Mongolia?

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ALBERTA

EASTERN MONTANA

COLORADO

EASTTEXAS

IDAHO

IDAHO

GEORGIA

KANSAS

KENTUCKY

MAINE

MAINE

NEWJERSEY

VIRGINIAMONTANA

WYOMING

MINNESOTA

NEBRASKA

NEVADA

NORTH DAKOTA

OKLAHOMA

PUERTORICO

SO

UTH

EASTE

RN

CO

ASTA

L STA

TES

TENNESSEE

WYOMING

OKLAHOMA

Tropic of Cancer

30°N

20°N

40°N

110°E

90°E 100°E80°E

120°E 130°E

140°E

YellowSea

Sea ofJapan

East ChinaSea

PACIFIC

OCEAN

South ChinaSea

Tropical wet

Desert

Semiarid

Humid subtropical

Humid continental

Subarctic

Highland

Labels indicate similar climates in North America

0

0 250 500 kilometers

250 500 miles

Two-Point Equidistant Projection

N

S

E

W

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Mid-latitude ZonesMid-latitude zones are much more comfortable to live in because of theirmoderate climates. The land is productive, and the rainfall is sufficientfor agriculture. An important resource of these zones is their forests.

HUMID CONTINENTAL Northeastern China, North Korea, northernSouth Korea, and northern Japan all have humid continental climates.The forests of the region are mainly coniferous in the humid continen-tal zone. Temperate grasslands ideal for grazing are also found in theseareas. However, over the years agriculture has transformed the land-scape and replaced many of the forests.

HUMID SUBTROPICAL Southeastern China, southern South Korea,southern Japan, and northern Taiwan are in a humid subtropical zone.The forests in such zones are both deciduous and coniferous. Thebroad-leafed, deciduous trees are usually found in the north. The conif-erous forests are especially typical of areas with sandy soils in thesouth. However, loggers and farmers have greatly reduced the forests inthe southeast.

Dry ZonesDry zones of the region include both steppes and deserts. There is rela-tively little vegetation. These zones are not well suited to agriculture

Climate Comparison, East Asia and North America

SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting MapsREGION The southern coast of China is comparable in climateto which area of the United States?

REGION Which country in the region has a climate similar tothe state of Georgia in the United States?

Connect tothe Issuespopulation

Why might most of EastAsia’s populationbe centered inthe mid-latitudezones?

A. AnswerClimate andvegetation arebest for growingcrops.

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and so have not been much settled by people. Instead,nomads have used the semiarid areas to graze livestock.

SEMIARID Parts of the Mongolian Plateau make up thesemiarid zones of the region. The vegetation of semiaridzones consists mainly of short grasses, which providefood for grazing animals and livestock.

DESERT Most of the deserts in the region are found inthe west central area of the mainland. The TaklimakanDesert is located in western China between the TianShan and Kunlun Mountains. The Gobi Desert is locatedin northern China and southeast Mongolia. The Gobi isa prime area for finding dinosaur fossils, since thou-sands of these animals roamed through the region mil-lions of years ago.

Tropical ZonesThe tropical zones of East Asia contain mainly wet cli-mates. The most common vegetation is the rain forest.

TROPICAL WET The tropical climate zone in East Asia isfairly small. It includes a small strip of land along China’ssoutheastern coast, the island of Hainan, and the southerntip of Taiwan. These areas have high temperatures, heavyrainfall, and high humidity every month of the year. Thetropical rain forest in these places is made up of talldense forests of broadleaf trees.

In the next section, you will read how human-environment inter-actions affect the quality of life in rural China and urban Japan.

Places & TermsIdentify each of thefollowing places andterms.

• typhoon

• Taklimakan Desert

• Gobi Desert

Taking Notes PLACE Review the notes youtook for this section.

• What types of climate arefound in East Asia?

• What vegetation characterizesthe western reaches of China?

Climate

Vegetation

Main Ideas a. In what ways are the

climates of the UnitedStates and China similar?

b. What effect might severeweather (such as typhoons)have on crops?

c. What has been the humanimpact on mid-latitudeclimate zones in the region?

Geographic ThinkingMaking Inferences Howmight the climate andvegetation of East Asia haveaffected patterns of settlementin the region? Think about:

• the impact of deserts,steppes, and tundra onpatterns of settlement

See SkillbuilderHandbook, page R4.

EXPLORING LOCAL GEOGRAPHY East Asia has many kinds of climate. Pair with a partner and make a poster that shows the climate of East Asia in which you would most want to live.Include photographs, postcards, maps, and charts. Is there any location in the United Statesthat is similar to your preferred climate?

EAS

T A

SIA

Typhoons in East AsiaA typhoon is a storm that occursin the western Pacific. It is a kindof tropical cyclone or hurricane.The word has its source in theChinese word taaifung, whichmeans “great wind.” Typhoons aremade up of circular winds movingaround the center of the storm.They can be 300 miles or moreacross.

Typhoons begin near the equator and gather force as theymove to the west. As a typhoonmoves onto land, huge waves ofwater often batter the shore. Thepicture below shows the 17-mile-wide eye of a typhoon.

MakingComparisons

Why might the dry zones of theregion be lessdensely populated?B. Answer Dryzones are not well suited toagriculture.

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