Basic Facts about Asia

Approximately 17,085,000 sq. miles or equivalent to 43,998,929 sq. km.(largest continent)

Coastline- 80,205 miles (129,077 km.)

Estimated population (2011) 3,879,740,877

Elevation: Highest- Mt. Everest- 29,028 ft. (8,848 meters) above sea level

Lowest- Dead Sea Shore- 1,310 ft. (399 meters) below sea level.

Largest population: China-1,336,718,015 (2011)

Smallest countries in area are Bahrain, the Maldives and Singapore

Largest Lake- Caspian Sea

Deepest Lake- Lake Baikal

The Asian continent . . .• largest – 17 M sq. miles; 1/3 of the total land surface of the globe

• irregular shape but a huge portion of the Asian land mass is very much compact

• islands can also be found scattered throughout the Asian continent

• Asia’s winding coastlines touch the Indian and Pacific oceans as well as many seas. Within Asia’s vast land area are mountains, deserts, plains and great rivers.

• Climate – diverse: cold highlands and hot deserts in North & West Asia, mild climates in the East & tropical climates in the South.

Environment of Asia

Asia is a land of contrast. The chief mountain ranges traverse the Asian continent from the Pamirs in the center to the east, northeast, or southeast and to the west, northwest or southwest.

Altai Mountain Ranges form a lofty range that runs northwest across the borders of Western Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Oldest mountain in Asia and contain deposits of lead.

Elburz Mountain Ranges stand along Iran’s northern border

Mt. Damavand at 18,386 ft. is found in the Elburz Ranges.

Himalaya Mountain Ranges are the highest mountain system in the world. (Himalaya sanskrit language which means “ The House of Snow” or the “Snowy Range”

Among the Tibetans Mt. Everest is “Chomulungma” meaning “Goddess Mother of the World’

It forms a barrier that separates Northern India from the plateau of Tibet in China.

The Karakoram or Mustagh Range is the northwestern extension of the Himalayas.

Hindu Kush is a chain of mountains in Central Asia. “kush” means “death” because of their dangerous passes. It is also called “ Caucasus” by the historian of Alexander the Great.

The Pamirs is a huge region where the Himalayas, Hindu Kush, Kunlun, and Tien Shan mountains meet.

Mt Everest, 28,250 ft., is the highest peak of the Himalayas which lies between Tibet and Nepal.

Other high peaks: Mt Kailas 22,028 ft. lies in Tibet.Tibetans called it “Kong Rimpoche” the Mountain of Precious Snow. Malaku I (27,834 ft.) Malaku II (25,130 ft.) Dhanlagiri (26,810 ft.) Manga Parbat (26,660 ft.) and Mt. Karmet (25,447 ft.)

The Pamir Knot is the “Roof of the World”. The Pamirs lies in the Central Asia, China, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. It covers 36,000 square miles(93,200 sq.km.) at an average height of 13,500 ft. to 15,000 ft. above sea level.

Karakoram Mountain is a range of mountains in Kashmir in Northwestern India, which also extends to Tibet and China.

Stanovoy Mountains are mountain ranges in Siberia extending about 1,000 miles from the northern end of Lake Baikal, northeast to the Sea of Okhotsk

Yablonovy Mountains lie east of Lake Baikal in Siberia. The range extends northeast from Mongolia for about 1,000 miles until it joins the Stanovoy Mountains.

Gobi Desert is a windswept, nearly treeless desert that stretches across part of Southern Mongolia and of Northern China. The Gobi has long heat waves in summer and cold waves in winter.

Kara Kum is a large desert that comprises most of Turkmenistan and covers 135,000 sq.miles.

Kyzyl Kum is a desert that lies in Southern Kazakhstan and Northern Uzbekhistan.

Takla-Makan Desert lies in Northwestern China between the Tien Shan and Kunlun mountains.

Rub ’al Khali Desert in the Southeast interior of the Arabian Peninsula. Virtually without water and uninhabited.

Asia’s River Systems

The river systems in Asia play a very crucial role in the life of its inhabitants. It was along these river banks where the first people in the area settled down and established the first communities which later grew into city-states.

These city-states became the center of Asian civilization.

Amur River is found in Eastern Siberia and formed by the joining of the Argun and Silka Rivers.

Brahmaputra River rises on the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet. Flowing through Northeast India and Bangladesh , it joins the Ganges River with which it shares the Ganges Delta.

Euphrates River is the longest river in the Southwest Asia. It rises at a mountainous area of Eastern Turkey and flows southeast through the country into Syria. It cuts across Iraq after leaving Syria and joins Tigris.

Ganges River is the greatest waterway in India and one of the largest in the world. It is very important among the Hindus because it plays a very crucial part in their religious rituals. It is likewise an important trade area.

Huang Ho (Yellow River) is the second largest river in China. It is called “ China’s Sorrow’ because of the many floods which brought death and hunger to the people living along its banks. The river cannot be used by ships because the upper part is too swift and the middle and lower part are too shallow.

Indus River is the great river of Pakistan. Indus River rises in Tibet , north of the Himalayas at an elevation of 18,000 ft. and travels west and southwest for 1,800 miles, and empties its water into the Arabian Sea.

Irrawady River is the chief river in Burma, (Myanmar), flowing about 1,250 miles southward. The city of Rangoon or Yangoon lies near the Irrawady River.

Lena River is the chief waterway of the eastern part of Siberia. The river rises on the slopes of Baikal Mountains and flows northwest for 2,730 miles.

Mekong River is the largest stream in the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. The river crosses Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and empties into China Sea. Ships can sail about 350 miles up to Mekong.

Ob River is one of the chief rivers of North Asia. It rises in the Altai Mountain of Western Siberia and flows northwestward for 2,268 miles before it empties into the Arctic Ocean through the Gulf of Ob.

Salween River is an important river in Myanmar. It rises in Eastern Tibet and flows through Eastern Burma to the Bay of Bengal. The river is 1,500 miles long and drains Eastern Burma and Western Thailand.

Tigris River is a major river of Southwestern Asia and it is about 1,180 miles long.It rises from the mountain over the terrain of Eastern Turkey and follows the course of the Euphrates River.

Yangtze River drains an area of more than 1 million sq. miles in Siberia. It travels 2,543 miles from its origin in the Sayan Mountains of Southern Siberia to its mouth on the Arctic Coast.

Best known landforms and bodies of water in Asia

Mt. Everest- the World’s tallest mountain

Gobi desert of Mongolia

Rub’ al Khali Desert : Empty Quarter of Arabian Peninsula

Takla-Makan Desert of China

Yangtze River in China

Ganges River of India

Indus River of Pakistan

Map of Indus River

Huang Ho River (Yellow River)- China’s Sorrow

Some 10 million people drowned or died of famine & disease as the result of the catastrophic floods (1887-1943).

Mekong River of Southeast Asia

Amur River in Eastern Siberia

Asia’s Climate

Tundra Temperate forest (mostly coniferous taiga

on the mainland) Grassland steppe Desert and arid regions

High plateau steppe or ice desert Subtropical rain forest Tropical monsoon rainforest