Physical Geography of East Asia: Major Characteristics and Climate Types

1. Thursday 10-05-2012 • On your desk:Ch 27 notes, pen/pencil • Warm-up: Current Events: Take notes on CNN student news.

2. Physical Geography of East Asia

3. Major Geographic Characteristics of East Asia World’s MOST POPULOUS REGION One of the world’s earliest culture hearths Population concentrated in the East, in river basins, coastal areas, and special economic zones

4. Sub-regions of East Asia CHINA PROPER-Eastern half; the core of China XIZANG (TIBET)- Tall mountains and high plateaus; sparsely populated XINJIANG- Vast desert basin and mountain rims; gateway to the Islam world MONGOLIA- Mostly desert The JAKOTA TRIANGLE Japan, South Korea, Taiwan

5. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY LONGITUDINAL EXTENT (East to West) Comparable to the U.S. LATITUDINAL RANGE (North to South): Comparable to Northern Quebec to Central Caribbean Bordered by oceans, high mountains, steppe country, and desert

6. Rivers • Huang He - Yellow • Chiang Jiang- Yangstze

11. Notice location of the 2 rivers….. Compare them to next slide.

13. Gobi

16. Karst Landscape

17. Eastern China

18. Northern China: The Great Wall

19. Tibet

20. CLIMATE CLIMATE TYPES INCLUDE: B (Dry); C (Humid temperate); D (Humid cold); and H (Unclassified Highlands) Includes the largest area of highland climate in the world Desert conditions prevail in the Northern and Western interior Coastal, peninsular, and insular East Asia have more moderate climates than the interior regions

21. Step terraces are designed to allow water to flow by gravity through all the fields, generally reentering a stream at a lower level.

22. Rice Fields

23. XIZANG (TIBET) A harsh physical environment Sparsely populated Came under Chinese control during the Manchu Dynasty in 1720 Gained separate status in the late 19th Century China’s Communist regime took control in the 1950s Cornerstone of Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, and monasteries Now an autonomous region

24. The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, is the ceremonial home of the 14th Dalai Lama, now in exile in India.

25. Highland Pasture in Tibet

26. XINJIANG Comprises one-sixth of China’s total land area A region of high mountains and basins Chinese only account for 40% of the population Muslims account for half of the population Has extensive reserves of oil and natural gas

27. MONGOLIA Steppe and desert physical environment Sparsely populated with an estimated 2.5 million inhabitants Part of the Chinese empire from late1600s until 1911 Functions as a buffer state between Russia and China Economy is focused on herding and animal products

30. THE JAKOTA TRIANGLE CHARACTERISTICS Small, Confined land area (Japan and Taiwan are islands and the Koreas are on a Peninsula) Hazardous region- earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons Great cities and high-tech industry Enormous consumption of raw materials, but few raw materials produced locally Global links and rapid development

32. Mt. Fuji

33. Known Hazards for this Region Earthquakes Tsunamis Volcanic Activity (Japan) Typhoons Floods Drought

34. Natural Resources • China rich in resources • Oil, coal, metals

36. Three Gorges Dam

37. Homework: • Study for Map Test!! • Also prepare for a class debate/discussion: • On a sheet of paper, make a T-chart: • Title: Effects of China’s 3 Gorges Dam (positive/negative on either side of T) • Read p.628-630- take notes on T chart

38. Objective: I can use a decision making process to consider advantages and disadvantages of the Three Gorges Dam to evaluate the effectiveness of a solution. Process: On a sheet of paper, make a T-chart: Title: Effects of China’s 3 Gorges Dam (positive/negative on either side of T) Read p.628-630- take notes on T chart Next class : On sticky note, make an overall decision more positive or more negative—say WHY you chose your decision Put sticky note on the continuum on front board. Be ready to defend your decision.