East Asia

Physical Geography

2

Relative Location

Introduction– East Asia is the most populous region in the world

• China is the most populous country, and the oldest continuous national culture

– China and Japan have been rivals from time to time

– East Asia has experienced colonization, and has seen both internal and international conflict

– Japan is extremely wealthy, but poverty may be found in parts of the region

– Eastern China is undergoing rapid economic development

– East Asia is one of the core areas of the world economy and an emerging center of political power

Some of the top physical

features of this region…

1. China is home to some of the world’s largest cold deserts.

– Gobi (largest desert in Asia)– Taklimakan (the sea of death)

2. Three major rivers are a lifeline to AsiaA. Yangtze (longest)B. Huang He (Yellow)C. Mekong All greatly influence the way people live in Asia!

D. Pearl River- Increasing in Importance as China grows, modernizes and industrializes

Chinese civilization began on the Yellow River

• Loess – fertile topsoil spread by wind; largely agricultural society

3. China’s civilization developed over a long period in considerable isolation, protected by physiographic barriers and by sheer distance from other cultures.

4. Mountains & Plateaus are major feature of topography

• Himalayas & Tibetan Plateau

• 4/5th of Japan is mountainous terrain, thus not a lot of arable land. (WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???)

• Korea also features many mountainous areas.

Tibetan Plateau All told, some two billion people in more

than a dozen countries—nearly a third of the world's population—depend on rivers fed by the snow and ice of the plateau region.

•

5. China’s enormous population is strongly concentrated in thecountry’s eastern regions. Western areas remain comparatively empty and unproductive. WHY?

…and in Japan• Most of the

population lives in coastal plains and/or river valleys.

• Kanto Plain very crowded (area around Tokyo)

• 20,000 ppl. Per sq. mile

Cost of living in Japan…

Subway pushers in Tokyo!

6. East Asia features many islands & archipelagos

-Chain of islandsJapan is an archipelago of over 3000 tiny islands.

7. The Ring of Fire is a narrow band of

volcanoes that nearly encircles the Pacific

Ocean. 75% of world’s active

volcanoes are here.

Mt. Fuji

Jan. 1995 earthquake

Tsunami of 2011

8. “The Land of Rice & Fish”

• Rice is a staple• 90% of this crop is grown in

East Asia & consumed there.• The majority of people in E.

Asia eat rice 2 or 3 times a day.______• North of the Yangtze River, the

climate is more suited for wheat growing

______• The close access to water=diet

of fish.

WHY???

Terrace Farming

9. China is so large and diverse and its divided into REGIONS

• East• South central• North• Northeast• Northwest• Southwest

10. NATURAL RESOURCES VARY GREATLY ACCORDING TO REGION

• China: very rich in natural resources– Oil, coal, iron, etc.

• Japan is limited in natural resources & is dependent on other nations