Short Notes - World Geography (Asia)
Category : UPSC
World Geography (Asia)
- Largest of all continents.
- Stretches from 10°S and 8°N latitude l: and 25°E to 170°W longitude.
- World's highest point- Everest.
- World's lowest point- Dead Sea.
- Important Mountains - Himalayas, Karakoram, Kunlun Tienshan, Altai, Elbruz, Sulaiman, Zagros, Urals, Yablonovy, Hindukush.
- Important Lakes: Lake Baikal Onega, Ladoga and Peipus in Russia, Lake Akan, Mashu, Bima, Shikotsu in Japan, Qinghai and Khanka in China, Dal, Chilka, Vembanad, Pulicat and Sukhna in India, Lake Matano and Toba in Indonesia, etc.
- Important Plateaus: Anatolia plateau, Plateau of Iran, Arabia, Tibet, Tarim Basin, Mongolia, Deccan, etc.
- Rivers: Salween, Hwang-Ho, Amur, Ganga, Indus, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Yangtse, Si-Kiang, Lena, Ob, Irrawady.
- Deserts: Gobi, Taklamakan, Ordos, Karakum, Kyzyl kum, Thar, Dash-e-Lut, Dash-e-kavir.
Climate:
- In summer the Sun shines directly over the Tropic of Cancer, making the interiors of Asia very hot.
- Because of the warm rising air, low pressure develops over vast area.
- Moist winds from the sea all around are sucked into these low pressure centres. These are the 'Summer Monsoon' winds which bring rain to most parts of South and South East Asia.
- In winter the Sun shines over the Tropic of Capricorn.
Natural Vegetation
- Equatorial Forests: Mahogany, ebony, rosewood and palms.
- Tropical Forests: Teak; sal, rosewood, banyan.
- Deserts: Cacti, shrubs and thorny bushes.
- Steppes: Dry grasslands (from Ukraine to Lake Balkash and Siberia).
- Mediterranean Woodlands (Cedars, grapes and citrus fruits)
- Temperate forests (Oak, Camellia, Camphor, Bamboo and Mulberry)
- Taiga (temperate grasslands): spruce, fir, cedar, larch and pine.
- Tundra: Snow covers most of the time; grass, shrub, moss, lichens.
- Minerals: Oil, Natural gas.
Iron ore, Tin, Coal, Mica, Lead, Bauxite and Chromite.
Races
- The Arabian groups - includes Arabs, Iranians, Jews, Turks.
- The Indian groups - include people of Indian subcontinent,
- The Mongoloid group – includes Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and people of South East Asia.
