East and Southeast Asia

1. East and Southeast Asia By: Haley and Jack

2. Geography of East Asia • East Asia occupies most of the Asian continent, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and south of Russia • The Himalayas and the Kunlun Shan mountains run through the western area. Between these mountain ranges and towards the east, lie many lowlands. Most Asians live in these low fertile plains. • Asia’s islands are also part of the Ring of Fire.

3. Water Ways in East Asia • The HuangHe is China’s major river. It flows eastward into the pacific ocean and carries very fine, brown yellow soil that makes the land fertile. This river also regularly floods the land and is called “China’s sorrow”. • The Chang Jaing is Asia’s longest river. They are currently working on building a huge dam, that will become the worlds largest dam when it is finished in 2011. It will help prevent flooding and supply hydroelectric power.

4. Geography of Southeast Asia • Southeast Asia lies south of china. • The mainland includes: Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. • The islands are: Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines. • There are many mountain ranges that run side by side with fertile plains that separate the ranges. • Volcanoes and earthquakes are often common in the southeast.

5. Major rivers in southeast asia • Most of the major rivers are located on the mainland. • Some of the rivers are the Irrawaddy, Salween, Chao Phraya, and the Mekong. • Warm temperatures and heavy rains make the rivers high and that region very populated.

6. East and Southeast Asia’s Climate Climate varies due to such large area. Towards the south there are tropical climates and semi-tropical climates. A bit more north there are warm, wet continental climates. Further north, weather is colder and dryer. By the time you get to Mongolia and Russia, you will have reached sub zero temperatures during the winter and cool summer temperatures.

7. History • China’s civilization began about 4,000 years ago in Haung He Valley. • Over time, cities, towns, villages, and developments were made and people were developing and creating, building and doing what they could to improve their technology and add to their knowledge. • Over time they also developed ways of living and culture which was adapted by the nations around them.

8. Culture • In 1979 China introduced the “one child policy.” This encourages families to only have one child to reduce birthrates and try to stop a rapidly growing population. • In both east and southeast Asia the population is unevenly distributed. People crowed together in river valley basins where there is fertile soil, or in cities, the center of industry. • Many people have also left their homelands to travel overseas. Most of the emigrants settle in the U.S. • Stilt homes can be found throughout the region.

9. Music, Art,and Writing Music • Traditional music varies, along with the many ethnic groups. • String instruments are also very popular. Art • The dances are very distinct. They use many hand an feet motions to describe the story that the dance tells. Writing • Indians originally taught the natives how to write. • They began writing about 100 years before paper was made; using carefully bound leaves. • When Europeans came they introduced writing using words that ended in constantans, not just vowels. • Many authors come from this region today.