Download South, Southeast, and East Asia

South, Southeast,
and East Asia
Physical Characteristics
 Mountains influence the region
population settlement patterns
ability of people to move
climate
 Mountains
Himalayas
Western and Eastern Ghats
Mount Fuji-Japan
 Varied climate regions--ranging
from tropical wet to humid
continental
 Many natural hazards-monsoons, typhoons, volcanoes,
and earthquakes
 Monsoon--a seasonal shift in
the prevailing winds that
influences large climate
regions
 Typhoon--a destructive
tropical storm occurring in the
western Pacific Ocean or the
China Sea, similar to a
hurricane
 Influence of water--(rivers,
seas, and ocean currents) on
agriculture, trade, and
transportation
 Important bodies of water-Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Bay
of Bengal, Ganges River, Indus
River, Brahmaputra River, Pacific
Ocean, Yangtze River (Chaing
Jiang), Mekong River, Yellow
River (Huang He)
 Area have abundant arable
land
 areas of loess
 Plateau of Tibet hard to live on
 Gobi Desert--second largest in
the world
Economic Characteristics
 Varied economies in the region
ranging from
subsistence/commercial
agriculture to high-tech
industrial manufacturing
 Active participation in global
markets
 Many newly industrialized
countries--South Korea,
Taiwan, Singapore
 Japan is the economic leader
of the area
 China is in a transition period-from a centrally planned
economy to more of a tradition
free market economy
 Agricultural advancements and
technology are enabling greater
food production-- “Green
Revolution”
 Environmental degradation
 deforestation
 fishing is important
 Many countries are members
of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) which was set up
with the US
 main crops are rice and
tropical crops such as
bananas
Cultural Characteristics
 Areas of extremely dense and
sparse population
 severe contrast between rural
and urban areas
 serious religious conflicts-primarily between Hindus and
Muslims
 deep respect for ancestors
 Religious diversity-Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism,
Christianity, Taoism, Shinto,
Confucianism are the major
religions
 India has a strict caste
system--(similar to a class
structure) once born into a
caste it is next to impossible
to move out of that caste
 Cultural heritage
Silks
Batik
wood and ivory carving
ideograms--unique
alphabets
jewels
 Important cities--Tokyo,
Japan; Beijing, China; New
Delhi,India
 Cultural landscape--Taj
Mahal, Angkor Wat, Great
Wall of China, floating
markets, mosques,minarets,
pagodas, temples and
shrines, terraced rice fields
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
Great Wall of China
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
Batik
Himalayas
Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji—outside of Tokyo
Mt. Fuji
Himalayas—Mt. Everest
Gobi Desert
Buddha
Buddha in New Delhi
Shinto Shrine
Temple
Pagoda
Pagoda
Temple