EAST ASIA – PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Ch 11 section 1: Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea

Region Overview…Shares latitudinal range with US, but extends

farther north & south so there are some climate similarities in far N and S between E. Asia & N. America;

Part of the region sits at the intersection of 3 tectonic plates so the area is geologically active (ie – numerous earthquakes, volcanoes);

Not mineral rich as a region, but certain areas have important mineral deposits.

JAPAN’S PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTSlightly smaller than California (Japan’s Pop =

128 million; California = 37 million);Temperate climate with extremes far north and

south;Because its an island, temps also vary N/SW

(Sea of Japan effect) to Pac. Coast (typhoons)85% mountainous + thickly wooded uplands2nd most heavily forested industrialized nation

(mild, rainy climate + strict conservation laws)Kanto Plain = largest lowland area- intensive

ag.One of the world’s most geologically active

nations

TAIWAN’S ENVIRONMENTSmall Island (size of Md.)Shape is similar to a large, tilted block;

central & east = very rugged; west is well watered plain;

Mild winter climate; susceptible to typhoons;Extensive forests

CHINA’S ENVIRONMENT…vast & diverse

Southern China – rugged mts./hills/lowlands. Very cold & dry in North (Daba Mts.); warm & wet south. Home of Yangtze R. so great farmland; Xi basin is densley populated; farthest south = maritime lifestyle

CHINESE ENVIRONMENTSNorth of the Yangtze: climate = colder/drier but

with abundant summer rainfall (except near Gobi Desert); North China Plain is large, fertile & crossed by Huang He River; overall precip. is low & desertification is a problem in places; seasonal water shortages farther north.

WESTERN CHINA: home to Loess plateau; then semiarid stretching to Tibetan Plateau.

FAR NORTHEAST: Manchuria – broad, fertile lowland between mts & lowlands; reaches to China’s border with North Korea.

KOREAN LANDSCAPESPeninsular Korea is sep. from China by

rugged mts. & rivers; Far North is like extreme northeast in USA in climate & southern tip is comparable to California. Koreas are mountainous with scattered, well-watered lowlands. South has more extensive lowlands than north which creates a big agricultural advantage for S. Korea. N. Korea has more abundant minerals, forests & hydroelectric resources. Upland S. Korea is very deforested.