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South Asia
Physical Geography
What countries are considered part
of South Asia?
India
 Pakistan
 Nepal
 Bhutan
 Bangladesh
 Sri Lanka
 Maldives

Subcontinent
South Asia is sometimes called a
subcontinent – a large landmass that is
smaller than a continent.
In fact, it is often called the Indian
Subcontinent because India dominates
the region.
How does the size of South Asia
compare to that of the United States?
Is the population of South Asia greater
or less than the U.S.?
India has 3 times the population of
the USA!!!!!!
South Asia (all those countries in the first slide
put together) has more than 1 billion
inhabitants – 1/5 of the world’s population.
What can you say about the
population density of South Asia?
What is the world’s tallest mountain?
Mt. McKinley’s in Alaska but it’s not the tallest!
What two countries is Mr. Everest in?
What are
South Asia’s
highest
mountains?
Starts with
an “H”
Hit f5 to
make it full
screen.
The land now called the Indian Subcontinent was
once part of East Africa. It split off from Africa and
started drifting towards Asia. When the two land
masses collided, the land in the collision zone was
forced upward to form the Himalayas.
These mountains are still rising and scientists
predict that as the two tectonic plates continue to
push against each other, India will eventually
become one huge mountain range.
What
island
lies off
the coast
of India?
What is the longest river in India?
South Asia’s two longest
rivers – it’s a tie!!
Ganges River

It flows from a glacier in the Himalayas to
the Bay of Bengal

The Ganges is not only an important water
source but a sacred river.

According to Hindu beliefs, it is a life
giving river and they believe the river has
healing powers
Pollution
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The Ganges is one of the most polluted rivers in
the world
Raw sewage and industrial waste
Dead animals float in the water and even human
corpses are thrown in
As a result the water is poisoned with toxic
chemicals and deadly bacteria
Many people who drink or bathe in the water
become ill with stomach or intestinal diseases
According to many Hindu believers, the river is
too holy to be harmed by pollution.
What is
the
general
elevation
pattern
from
south to
north?
Gradual increase moving towards the
What is
the
general
elevation
pattern
from east
to west?
Elevation is lowest on the coasts and
How does
the
elevation
pattern of
Sri Lanka
compare to
the rest of
South
Asia?
Very similar, except there are no high
Sri Lanka
Lies off the southern tip of India
 Lush and tropical
 Center of the island dominated by
mountains

More than 1200
islands
Only about 200
are inhabited
None of them
rise more than
6 feet above
sea level
The Maldives Archipelago
The first great civilization of South
Asia developed along the Indus
River more than 4,000 years ago
What appear to be the natural boundaries
of the Indus Valley civilization?
Mountain ranges,
Thar Desert,
Arabian Sea
To what physical feature does the
civilization appear to conform?
Indus River
What
country
dominates
South Asia?
Interesting Fact
Until about 1960, Bhutan
was a kingship forbidden to
outsiders. At that time only
about 100 western visitors
had been to Bhutan. This
isolationism was helped by
its borders being made up
of jungles or mountains.
In which country are the most religions
practiced?
Which religion is predominant in India?
Which religion is predominant in Pakistan?
What is the predominant religion in Sri
Lanka?
Where is the highest population
density? Why?
What areas have the least amount
of economic activity? Why?
What is the major economic activity
in this region?
Half of the
climate zones
that exist can
be found in
South Asia – 6
zones.
This means that
Asians must
adapt to widely
varying
conditions.
See the cold,
mountainous
area?
That’s the area
of the
Himalayas
where snow
exists year
round
The lower
elevations of the
mountain range
are much warmer
and are humid
subtropical.
The Semi arid
regions have high
temperatures and
light rainfall.
What would be
the driest area?
Where would the
wettest area be?
For example,
“west” or
“southeast” or
whatever.
Monsoons and Cyclones

Monsoons are seasonal winds
October – February dry winds blow
 June – September winds blow in from the
Southwest bringing moist ocean air
 Cyclones is a violent storm with fierce
winds and heavy rain.

What is the main vegetation region?