Southern and Eastern Asia

Huang He (Yellow River)• The Yellow River or

Huang He is the second-longest river in China (after the Yangtze River)

• sixth-longest in the world at 3,398 mi

• The Yellow River is called "the cradle of Chinese civilization"

Yellow River in China

Yellow River• The name "Yellow

River" describes the perennial yellow color of the muddy water in the lower course of the river

• The Yellow River is notable for the large amount of silt it carries—1.6 billion tons annually

Huang He (Yellow River)

Yellow River

Gobi Desert• The largest desert

region in Asia. • It covers parts of

northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia.

• This desert is the fourth largest in the world.

Gobi Desert• The Gobi is most

notable in history as part of the great Mongol Empire, and as the location of several important cities along the Silk Road.

Gobi Desert – Silk Road Trade Route

Gobi Desert• The word

Gobi means "desert" in Mongolian.

• The Gobi is a cold desert, and it is not uncommon to see frost and occasionally snow on its dunes.

Gobi Desert

Gobi Desert• The Gobi Desert is the

source of many important fossil finds, including the first dinosaur eggs.

Gobi Desert - Desertification• Currently, the Gobi desert

is expanding at an alarming rate, in a process known as desertification

• The expansion is particularly rapid on the southern edge into China

• This loss of farmland has caused an estimated $50 billion in losses each year for China's economy

Gobi Desert - Desertification• Dust storms,

which were once a rarity, are springing up all over China, and could cause even further damage to China's agriculture economy

Sandstorms in China

Sandstorms in China

Growing desert due to desertification

Desertification can affect Standard of Living

• Two main causes of desertification are Drought and Over-Grazing

South China Sea• The South China

Sea is a marginal sea south of China.

• It is a part of the Pacific Ocean

• It is one of the largest sea bodies after the five oceans.

South China Sea• It is an extremely significant body of water in a

geopolitical sense. It is the second most used sea lane in the world

• Hong Kong is a major city

Hong Kong

Hong Kongone of the most

densely populated areas

in the world

Sea of Japan• The Sea of Japan is a

marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bordered by Japan, Korea, North Korea and Russia

• Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure

Sea of Japan - Economy• The areas in the

north and the southeast are rich fishing grounds.

• Japan ranked second in the world behind China in tonnage of fish caught

• Japan has more than 2,000 fishing ports

Sea of Japan - Tsukiji fish market• The Japanese

fishing industry, has long been centered on the Tsukiji fish market, in Tokyo, which is one of the world's largest for seafood.

Mekong River• The Mekong is one of the world’s major rivers.

• It is the 11th-longest river in the world

• Its estimated length is (2,703 mi)

Mekong River

Mekong River in Vietnam

Mekong River

Yellow Sea• The Yellow Sea is the name

given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean.

• It is located between mainland China and the Korean peninsula.

• Its name comes from the sand particles that color its water, originating from the Yellow River

Yangtze River• is the longest river in Asia and

China, and the third-longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America.

• It has traditionally been considered a dividing line between North and South China

• Yangtze is historically, culturally, and economically important to China

Yangtze River in Shanghai, China

Yangtze River in Shanghai, China

Yangtze River

Pollution is a big problem!!!

What is water pollution?• Water pollution is

the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans and groundwater).

• Water pollution can lower a countries standard of living

Water pollution is a growing problem is China and it can affect the standard of

living

Causes of water pollution• Households, industrial and agricultural

practices produce wastewater that can cause pollution of many rivers.

• Sewage is the term used for wastewater• There are billions of people on Earth, so

treating sewage is a big priority. • Sewage disposal is a major problem in

developing countries as many people in these areas don’t have access to sanitary conditions and clean water.

Dangers of water pollution• Virtually all types of water pollution are

harmful to the health of humans and animals.• Water pollution may not damage our health

immediately but can be harmful after long term exposure.

• Different forms of pollutants affect the health of animals in different ways:

Trying to clean water pollution

Yangtze River – Three Gorges Dam• It is the largest hydro-

electric power station in the world.

• The costs and benefits of the dam are the subject of debate. Although there are economic benefits such as flood control, clean hydroelectricity

• Relocation of 1.24 million people.

• Cost $25 Billion

Yangtze River

Remember the Role Dams play and how they can effect the

people down river.

Water storage behind a dam

Bay of Bengal• The Bay of Bengal is a

bay that forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean.

• Many major rivers of India flow west to east into the Bay of Bengal: in the north, the Ganges River

Bay of Bengal- major

seaports

Bay of Bengal

Indian Ocean• The Indian Ocean is the

third largest of the world's oceanic divisions,

• covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface.

• It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oil fields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia.

Indian Ocean

Taklamakan Desert • A desert in Central Asia• Taklamakan is known as one of the largest sandy

deserts in the world • Ranking 15th in size in a ranking of the world's

largest non-polar deserts

Taklamakan Desert

Taklamakan Desert - Climate• Taklamakan is a cold

desert. Given its relative proximity with the cold to frigid air masses in Siberia, extreme lows are recorded in wintertime, sometimes well below (−4 °F)

Taklamakan Desert – Dust Storm

Lungs Full of Dust

• Where dust is born. The GOCART model identified 10 main sources of dust: 1) the Salton Sea, 2) Patagonia, 3) the Altipläno, 4) the Sahel region, 5) the Sahara Desert, 6) the Namibian desert lands, 7) the Indus Valley, 8) the Taklimakan Desert, 9) the Gobi Desert, and 10) the Lake Eyre basin

The Himalayan Mountains • The Himalayan

mountain system is the home to the world's highest peaks

• The Himalayan system includes over 100 mountains exceeding 7,200 meters

• The Himalayan system, which stretches across six countries: Bhutan, Tibet, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Himalayan Mountains – Impact on Climate

• The Himalayas have a profound effect on the climate of the Indian subcontinent

• They prevent frigid, dry Arctic winds from blowing south into the subcontinent, which keeps South Asia much warmer than corresponding temperate regions in the other continents

Mount Everest - 29,035 ft

Climbing Mt. Everest

Climbing Mt. Everest – The SummitTop of the World

The Himalayan Mountains• They are the source of three of the world's major river

systems, the Indus, the Ganges, and the Yangtze.• Approximately 1.3 billion people live in the drainage

basin of the Himalayan rivers.

Pass in Ladakh with the typical Buddhist prayer flags

Indus River

The Indus River

Ganges River

The Ganges River• is the major river in

India and drains into the Bay of Bengal through its vast delta

• The Ganges and its tributaries drain a large – about one million square kilometers – and fertile basin that supports one of the world's highest-density human populations

• http://www.galenfrysinger.com/varanasi_river_bathing.htm

The Ganges River• Situated on the banks of River Ganges, Varanasi is considered by some to be the most holy city in Hinduism

• According to Hindus the river Ganga (feminine) is sacred. It is worshiped by Hindus and personified as a goddess, who holds an important place in the Hindu religion

• http://www.galenfrysinger.com/varanasi_river_bathing.htm

The Ganges River• Hindu belief holds that bathing in the river

(especially on certain occasions) causes the forgiveness of sins and helps attain salvation

The Ganges River• Many people believe that this will come from

bathing in the Ganga at any time.

The Ganges River• People travel from distant places to immerse the

Cremation and ashes collection ashes of their family / kin in the waters of the Ganga

The Ganges River• The sacred practice of depositing human remains in

the Ganges also poses health threats because of the unsustainable rate at which partially cremated cadavers are dumped. In Varanasi, some 40,000 cremations are performed each year, most on wood pyres that do not completely consume the body. Along with the remains of these traditional funerals, there are thousands more who cannot afford cremation and whose bodies are simply thrown into the Ganges. In addition, the carcasses of thousands of dead cattle, which are sacred to Hindus, go into the river each year.

The Ganges River - Economy• The Ganges Basin

with its fertile soil is instrumental to the agricultural economies of India and Bangladesh

• The Ganges and its tributaries provide a perennial source of irrigation to a large area.

• Chief crops cultivated in the area include rice, sugarcane, lentils, oil seeds, potatoes, and wheat

The Ganges River - Economy• Along the banks of

the river, the presence of swamps and lakes provide a rich growing area for crops such as legumes, chillies, mustard, sesame, sugarcane,

The Ganges River - Pollution• The tremendous

life that the Ganges supports is also the source of its greatest threat: pollution.

The Ganges River - Pollution• The majority of the

Ganges’ pollution is organic waste—sewage, trash, food, and human and animal remains.

• Sewage systems designed near the turn of the 20th century today do little more than channel waste into the river.

Korean Peninsula• The Korean Peninsula

is a peninsula in East Asia.

• It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia

• Until the end of World War II, Korea was a single political entity whose territory roughly coincided with the Korean Peninsula.

Korean Peninsula• Since end of the

Korean War in 1953, the northern half has been occupied by North Korea, while the southern half has been occupied by South Korea.

• Mountains cover 70 percent of the Korean Peninsula

North Korea• northern half of the Korean

Peninsula, with its capital and largest city being Pyongyang.

• To the south, separated by the Korean Demilitarized Zone, lies South Korea, with which it formed the Korean Empire until its occupation and division following World War II.

• Government is organized as a dictatorship

The Division of Korea• In the aftermath of World

War II, Soviet Union and United States troops controlled the northern and southern halves of the country respectively. The two Cold War rivals established governments sympathetic to their own ideologies, leading to Korea's division into two political entities: North Korea and South Korea.

The world's tallest flagpole, flying the North

Korean Flag

Population Distribution…Where people live and why?

Population Density Map of China