Download - Asia Pacific Region
Asia Pacific RegionBasic Geography
Largest continent and largest oceanTallest mountain to deepest ocean trenchLargest country to smallest island nation
Tundra to hot desert to tropical rainforestMost densely populated to least densely populated
Huge language groups to small threatened languagesEconomic/political power to economic/political irrelevance
Ancient cultures to recent colonisationsDiversity of landform, flora, fauna, peoples and cultures
Asia – 30% of earths land surface and 60% or the population - arctic to the equator, mainland, subcontinent and archipelago
Diversity of LandformsHighest mountains, cold high plateaux, huge river valleys, plains and deltas, cold dry inland deserts
Himalayas,Tibetan plateau, Hindu Kush –high altitudes, harsh winters, glaciers, river source, climate control (monsoon)
Mountains, snow, glaciers, waterfalls, lakes, fast flowing rivers and inhabited valleys
Many large rivers and plains that flood often resulting in damage but also new fertile soil for the intensive farming
Hot and cold deserts – sand, rock and tundra
Volcanoes both active and dormant – fertile soils and occasional natural disasters
Intensive agriculture, both commercial and subsistence. Rice the main food crop, commercial crops such as tea.
Megacities – dual economies, crowding, shortage of land
Many cultures, ethnic groups, languages, customs, traditions, religions, food styles, architectural styles, histories
Pacific – 30% of the world surface, an ocean of small islands, less than 1% of world’s population
Thousands of small islands and a few large – low coral atolls, higher volcanic and continental islands
Movements of people into and across the Pacific
Language and cultural groupings