Leyte Normal University

Tacloban, City

WRITTEN REPORT IN
ASIAN STUDIES
MTh 1:00-2:30pm

TOPIC:
GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT OF ASIA

Submitted to:
PROF. JOEY NIVAL LIANZA

Submitted by:
GERALDINE D. BALBADA S311

Date Submitted:
May 28, 2020
 GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT OF ASIA

A. VIEWS ABOUT ASIA

Asia is the world’s largest and most diverse continent. It occupies the eastern four-
fifths of the giant Eurasian landmass. Asia is more a geographic term than a
homogenous continent, and the use of the term to describe such area always carries
the potential of obscuring the enormous diversity among the regions it encompasses.
Asia has both the highest and the lowest points on the surface of the Earth, has the
longest coastline of any continent, is subject overall to the world’s widest climatic
extremes, and, consequently, produces the most varied forms of vegetation and
animal life on Earth. In addition, the peoples of Asia have established the broadest
variety of human adaptation found on any of the continents.
The name Asia is ancient, and its origin has been variously explained. The Greeks
used it to designate the lands situated to the east of their homeland. It is believed that
the name may be derived from the Assyrian word asu, meaning “east.” Another
possible explanation is that it was originally a local name given to the plains of
Ephesus, which ancient Greeks and Romans extended to refer first to Anatolia
(contemporary Asia Minor, which is the western extreme of mainland Asia), and
then to the known world east of the Mediterranean Sea. When Western explorers
reached South and East Asia in early modern times, they extended that label to the
whole of the immense landmass.

B. GEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ASIA

Continent

The continent of Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent with over
4 billion people calling Asia home. Asia also contains the world's most populous
country, China, and the world's largest country, Russia. Asia borders Africa and
Europe to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east.
The continent of Asia is so large and diverse that it often is divided into sub-regions
(North Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia).
 ASIAN REGIONS (with countries and capitals)

North Asia or Northern Asia refers to the vast northern part of Asia east of the Urals,
also known as Siberia. The 13 million km² (5.1 million sq mi) region is bordered in
the north by the Arctic Ocean, in the west by European Russia, and in the east by the
Bering Sea. Siberia shares international borders with Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and
China in the south.

Approximately 36 million people live in Northern Asia (in 2019).

NORTH ASIA
Country Capital
Russia Moscow

The term Western Asia refers to the western part of Asia, which includes the
Arabian Peninsula and most countries of the Middle East.
There are 19 countries in Western Asia (the United Nations geoscheme lists only
eighteen). Except for Armenia, Georgia, Israel, and the Republic of Cyprus, these
are all countries with a majority Muslim population.
Approximately 276 million people live in the region (in 2019).

WESTERN ASIA AND MIDDLE EAST

Countries Capitals
Armenia Yerevan
Azerbaijan Baku
Bahrain Manama
Cyprus Nicosia
Georgia T’bilisi
Iran Tehran
Iraq Baghdad
Israel Jerusalem
Jordan Amman
Kuwait Kuwait City
Lebanon Beirut
 Oman Muscat
Qatar Doha
Saudi Arabia Riyadh
State of Palestine Jerusalem
Syria Damascus
Turkey Ankara
United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi
Yemen Sanaa

The term Central Asia refers to a region in Asia between the Caspian Sea and
Western China. Central Asia includes Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, which are all predominantly Muslim
countries and, with the exception of Afghanistan, were all former Soviet republics.
In 2019 an estimated 72 million people live in Central Asia.

Central Asia
Countries Capitals
Afghanistan Kabul
Kazakhstan Nur-Sultan
Kyrgyzstan Bishkek
Tajikistan Dushanbe
Turkmenistan Ashgabat
Uzbekistan Tashkent

Conventionally East Asia or Eastern Asia refers to the eastern part of the Asian
continent plus the island nation of Japan.
The United Nations geoscheme lists five sovereign countries plus the Chinese
Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, as well as the Republic
of China (Taiwan) with an uncertain political status.
Approximately 1.6 billion people live in Eastern Asia (in 2019)
 East Asia
Countries Capitals
China Beijing
Hong Kong Victoria
Macau Macau City
Japan Tokyo
North Korea Pyongyang
South Korea Seoul
Mongolia Ulaanbaatar
Taiwan Taipei

South Asia or Southern Asia refers to the southern part of central Asia. The region
is bounded by the Indian Ocean in the south and includes the Himalaya in the north.
There are eight sovereign countries in Southern Asia. The geoscheme of the United
Nations includes Afghanistan in Southern Asia.
In 2019 an estimated 1.9 billion people live in South Asia.

South Asia
Countries Capitals
Bangladesh Dhaka
Bhutan Thimphu
India New Delhi
Maldives Male
Nepal Kathmandu
Pakistan Islamabad
Sri Lanka Colombo

Southeast Asia refers to the part of Asia that includes the Indochinese Peninsula and
the nations of Maritime Southeast Asia. The region is situated in the southeastern
part of the continent, south of China, east of India, and to the north of Australia.
According to the United Nations Population Division, approximately 662 million
people live in Southeast Asia (in 2019).
 Southeast Asia
Countries Capitals
Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan
Cambodia Phnom Penh
Indonesia Jakarta
Laos Vientiane
Myanmar Naypyidaw
Philippines Manila
Singapore Singapore City
Thailand Bangkok
Timor Leste Dili
Vietnam Hanoi
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur

Location

Asia is bounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, the
Indian Ocean to the south, the Red Sea (as well as the inland seas of the Atlantic
Ocean—the Mediterranean and the Black) to the southwest, and Europe to the west.
Asia is separated from North America to the northeast by the Bering Strait and from
Australia to the southeast by the seas and straits connecting the Indian and Pacific
oceans. The Isthmus of Suez unites Asia with Africa, and it is generally agreed that
the Suez Canal forms the border between them. Two narrow straits, the Bosporus
and the Dardanelles, separate Anatolia from the Balkan Peninsula.
The land boundary between Asia and Europe is a historical and cultural construct
that has been defined variously; only as a matter of agreement is it tied to a specific
borderline. The most convenient geographic boundary—one that has been adopted
by most geographers—is a line that runs south from the Arctic Ocean along the Ural
Mountains and then turns southwest along the Emba River to the northern shore of
the Caspian Sea; west of the Caspian, the boundary follows the Kuma-Manych
Depression to the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait of the Black Sea. Thus, the
isthmus between the Black and Caspian seas, which culminates in the Caucasus
mountain range to the south, is part of Asia.
The total area of Asia, including Asian Russia (with the Caucasian isthmus) but
excluding the island of New Guinea, amounts to some 17,226,200 square miles
(44,614,000 square km), roughly one-third of the land surface of Earth. The
islands—including Taiwan, those of Japan and Indonesia, Sakhalin and other islands
of Asian Russia, Sri Lanka, Cyprus, and numerous smaller islands—together
constitute 1,240,000 square miles (3,210,000 square km), about 7 percent of the
total. (Although New Guinea is mentioned occasionally in this article, it generally is
not considered a part of Asia.) The farthest terminal points of the Asian mainland
are Cape Chelyuskin in north-central Siberia, Russia (77°43′ N), to the north; the tip
of the Malay Peninsula, Cape Piai, or Bulus (1°16′ N), to the south; Cape Baba in
Turkey (26°4′ E) to the west; and Cape Dezhnev (Dezhnyov), or East Cape (169°40′
W), in northeastern Siberia, overlooking the Bering Strait, to the east.

Topography

Asia has the highest average elevation of the continents and contains the greatest
relative relief. The tallest peak in the world, Mount Everest, which reaches an
elevation of 29,035 feet (8,850 meters); the lowest place on Earth’s land surface, the
Dead Sea, measured in the mid-2010s at about 1,410 feet (430 meters) below sea
level; and the world’s deepest continental trough, occupied by Lake Baikal, which
is 5,315 feet (1,620 meters) deep and whose bottom lies 3,822 feet (1,165 meters)
below sea level, are all located in Asia.
Those physiographic extremes and the overall predominance of mountain belts and
plateaus are the result of the collision of tectonic plates. In geologic terms, Asia
comprises several very ancient continental platforms and other blocks of land that
merged over the eons. Most of those units had coalesced as a continental landmass
by about 160 million years ago, when the core of the Indian subcontinent broke off
from Africa and began drifting northeastward to collide with the southern flank of
Asia about 50 million to 40 million years ago. The northeastward movement of the
subcontinent continues at about 2.4 inches (6 cm) per year. The impact and pressure
continue to raise the Plateau of Tibet and the Himalayas.
Asia’s coastline—some 39,000 miles (62,800 km) in length—is, variously, high and
mountainous, low and alluvial, terraced as a result of the land’s having been uplifted,
or “drowned” where the land has subsided. The specific features of the coastline in
some areas—especially in the east and southeast—are the result of active volcanism;
thermal abrasion of permafrost (caused by a combination of the action of breaking
waves and thawing), as in northeastern Siberia; and coral growth, as in the areas to
the south and southeast. Accreting sandy beaches also occur in many areas, such as
along the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Thailand.

The mountain systems of Central Asia not only have provided the continent’s great
rivers with water from their melting snows but also have formed a forbidding natural
barrier that has influenced the movement of peoples in the area. Migration across
those barriers has been possible only through mountain passes. A historical
movement of population from the arid zones of Central Asia has followed the
mountain passes into the Indian subcontinent. More recent migrations have
originated in China, with destinations throughout Southeast Asia. The Korean and
Japanese peoples and, to a lesser extent, the Chinese have remained ethnically more
homogeneous than the populations of other Asian countries.

Climate

CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
The enormous expanse of Asia and its abundance of mountain barriers and inland
depressions have resulted in great differences between regions in solar radiation,
atmospheric circulation, precipitation, and climate as a whole. A continental climate,
associated with large landmasses and characterized by an extreme annual range of
temperature, prevails over a large part of Asia. Air reaching Asia from the Atlantic
Ocean, after passing over Europe or Africa, has had time to be transformed into
continental air—i.e., air that has often lost much of the moisture it absorbed over the
ocean. As a result of the prevalent eastward movement of the air masses in the
midlatitudes, as well as the isolating effect of the marginal mountain ranges, the
influence of sea air from the Pacific Ocean extends only to the eastern margins of
Asia. From the north, Arctic air has unimpeded access into the continent. In the
south, tropical and equatorial air masses predominate, but their penetration to the
centre of Asia is restricted by the ridges of the moutainous belt stretching from the
highlands of West Asia through the Himalayas to the mountains of southern China
and Southeast Asia; in the winter months (November through March), such
penetration is further impeded by the density of the cold air masses over the interior.

The contrast between the strong heating of the continent in the summer months (May
to September) and the chilling in winter produces sharp seasonal variations in
atmospheric circulation and also enhances the role of local centres of atmospheric
activity. Winter chilling of the Asian landmass develops a persistent high-pressure
winter anticyclone over Siberia, Mongolia, and the Plateau of Tibet that is normally
centred southwest of Lake Baikal. The area affected by the anticyclone is
characterized by temperature inversions and by very cold, calm weather with little
snowfall. The winter anticyclone is fed by subsiding upper air, by bursts of Arctic
air flowing in from the north, and by the persistent westerly air drift that accompanies
the gusty cyclonic low-pressure cells operating within the Northern Hemisphere
cyclonic storm system. The high pressure propels cold, dry air eastward and
southward out of the continent, affecting eastern and southern Asia during the
winter. Only a few of the winter cyclonic lows moving eastward out of Europe carry
clear across Asia, but they do bring more frequent changes in weather in western
Siberia than in central Siberia. The zone of lowest temperature—a so-called cold
pole—is found in the northeast, near Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon, where
temperatures as low as −90 °F (−68 °C) and −96 °F (−71 °C), respectively, have
been recorded.
The outward drift of winter air creates a sharp temperature anomaly in eastern and
northeastern Asia, where the climate is colder than the characteristic global average
for each given latitude. On the East Asian islands, the effect of the winter continental
monsoon is tempered by the surrounding seas. As the air masses pass over the seas,
they become warmed and saturated with moisture, which then falls as either snow
or rain on the northwestern slopes of the island arcs. Occasionally, however, strong
bursts of cold air carry cold spells as far south as Hong Kong and Manila.
THE POLAR FRONT
Cyclonic storms form and move eastward through the zone where the temperate and
tropical air masses are in contact, called the polar front, which shifts southward in
winter. The winter rainy season in the southern parts of the West Asian highlands,
which is characteristic of the Mediterranean climate, is associated with that
southward movement of the polar front. In northern areas of West and Middle Asia,
the effect of cyclonic action is particularly strong in the spring, when the polar front
moves north and causes the maximum in annual precipitation to occur then.
During the northern winter, South and Southeast Asia are affected by northeasterly
winds that blow from high-pressure areas of the North Pacific Ocean to the
equatorial low-pressure zone. Those winds are analogous to the trade winds and are
known in South Asia as the northeast (or winter) monsoon. The weather is dry and
moderately warm. Rainfall occurs only on the windward side of maritime regions
(e.g., Tamil Nadu state in southeastern India and southern Vietnam). Some of the
cyclonic storms that move eastward through the Mediterranean Basin during the
winter are deflected south of the Plateau of Tibet, crossing northern India and
southwestern China. Such storms do not often bring winter rain, but they create short
periods of cloudy, cool, or gusty weather and are accompanied by snow in the higher
mountain ranges.
In summer the polar front shifts northward, causing cyclonic rains in the mountains
of Siberia. In West, Middle, and Central Asia, a hot, dry, dusty, continental tropical
wind blows at that time. Over the basin of the Indus River, the heating creates a low-
pressure area. Known as the South Asian (or Iranian) low, it appears in April and is
fully developed from June to August. The onset of monsoon in India and mainland
Southeast Asia is related to changes in the circulation pattern that occur by June—
specifically, the disintegration of the southern jet stream and the formation of low
pressure over southern Asia. The monsoon air masses flow into that monsoonal low-
pressure zone from a cell of high pressure just off the eastern coast of southern
Africa. Because of the Coriolis force (the force caused by the Earth’s rotation), winds
south of the Equator change direction from southeast to southwest in the Arabian
Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The southwest monsoon bursts upon the Malabar Coast
of southwestern India in early June and gradually extends northward over most of
the Indian subcontinent and mainland Southeast Asia. It brings considerable rainfall,
which in most of those areas accounts for 80 to 90 percent of the total annual
precipitation.
In eastern Asia the Pacific Ocean polar front creates atmospheric disturbances during
the summer. From a summer high-pressure centre over the western Pacific, the warm
and moist summer monsoon blows from the southeast toward the continent. To the
south of latitude 38° N, where the warm Kuroshio (Japan Current) approaches the
coast of Japan, the summer monsoon brings protracted rains and high humidity;
together with high temperatures, that creates a hothouse atmosphere. Becoming
chilled as it passes over cold ocean currents to the north, that air brings fogs and
drizzling rains to northeastern Asia.

Landforms

Asia, the world’s largest continent, contains a variety of notable geographic

landforms, including the highest and lowest points on Earth, Mount Everest and the
Dead Sea, respectively. It also holds the title of longest coastline of any continent.
The extreme landforms on the continent have long captivated the attention of locals
and tourists alike, drawing visitors from all around the world to explore.

 Mount Everest and the Himalayas, Nepal

Located on the border of Tibet and Nepal, Mount Everest holds the title of world’s
highest mountain at an official 29,029 feet high. The mountain is named for surveyor
Sir George Everest, but Nepalis refer to it as Sagarmatha, while Tibetans know it is
Chomolungma. Sir Edmund Hillary was the first Englishman to climb the peak,
along with Nepali Tenzing Norgay, in May 1953. The cost of hiking the world’s
highest peak comes with a hefty price tag, in excess of $100,000 in some cases. This
includes a fee to Nepal for a permit, oxygen and other gear, and experienced guides
to lead you up the mountain. Everest is surrounded by the Himalayas, a mountain
range that covers 153,295,000 square miles and runs through India, Nepal and
Bhutan, with the Tibetan Plateau forming the northern boundary.
  Mount Fuji, Japan
Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest and most well-known volcano, last erupted in 1707.
Before that, its intermittent eruptions created basaltic lava flowers that blocked water
drainages from the Misaka Mountains to its north, creating the Fuji Five Lakes, now
a popular tourist destination. Reaching 12,388 feet, the volcano beckons mountain
climbers from around the world. The official climbing season is in July and August
when Fuji is snow-free and has mild weather, though some mountain huts stay open
for climbers through mid-September, when temperatures at the summit can drop
below zero
 Tibetan Plateau, Tibet China
It is a vast high plateau of southwestern China. It encompasses all of the Tibet
Autonomous Region and much of Qinghai province and extends into western
Sichuan province and southern Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang. The
region lies between the Kunlun Mountains and its associated ranges to the north
and the Himalayas and Karakoram Range to the south and southwest,
respectively; it extends eastward to the Daxue Mountains and, farther south, the
northern and central portions of the Hengduan Mountains. The plateau, which
has an area of about 965,000 square miles (2,500,000 square km), is a region of
tangled mountains and uplands that are generally above 13,000 to 15,000 feet
(4,000 to 5,000 metres) in elevation.
  Gobi Desert, Mongolia
Gobi, also called Gobi Desert, great desert and semidesert region of Central Asia.
The Gobi (from Mongolian gobi, meaning “waterless place”) stretches across huge
portions of both Mongolia and China. Contrary to the perhaps romantic image long
associated with what—at least to the European mind—was a remote and unexplored
region, much of the Gobi is not sandy desert but bare rock. It is possible to drive
over this surface by car for long distances in any direction: northward toward the
Altai and Hangayn mountain ranges, eastward toward the Da Hinggan (Greater
Khingan) Range, or southward toward the Bei Mountains and Huang He (Yellow
River) valley. To the west, beyond the southwestern limit of the Gobi, lies another
arid expanse—the Tarim Basin of the southern Uygur Autonomous Region of
Xinjiang—which encompasses the Takla Makan Desert and is enclosed by the Tien
Shan ranges to the north and the Kunlun and western Altun mountains to the south.
  Ural Mountains, Russia
A belt of low mountains and plateaus 1,150 to 1,500 feet (350 to 460 metres) high
flanks the Ural Mountains proper along the eastern edge of the Russian Plain. The
north-south spine of the Urals extends about 1,300 miles (2,100 km) from the Arctic
coast to the border with Kazakhstan and is extended an additional 600 miles (1,000
km) into the Arctic Ocean by Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago that consists of two
large islands and several smaller ones. Although the Urals form the traditional
boundary between Europe and Asia, they do not significantly impede movement.
The highest peak, Mount Narodnaya, reaches 6,217 feet (1,895 metres), but the
system is largely composed of a series of broken, parallel ridges with summits
generally between 3,000 and 5,000 feet (900 and 1,500 metres); several low passes
cut through the system, particularly in the central section between Perm and
Yekaterinburg, which carry the main routes from Europe into Siberia. Many districts
contain mineral-rich rocks.
 WATERFORMS

 Yangtze River, China

China is home to the world’s third-longest river, the Yangtze, which runs more than
3,900 miles through the country. It originates in the Kunlun Mountains and flows
into the East China Sea, spawning more than 700 tributaries on its way. It’s known
by at least five other names, depending on where you are in China, including Chang
Jiang (Long River), Tongtian He (River to Heaven) and Jinsha Jiang (Golden Sand
River). More than 350 million people reside in the areas near the Yangtze, using the
water to fish, transport cargo and irrigate agricultural land. In the past, the river
flooded yearly, destroying land and risking lives. A project completed in 2009
created a dam and a 5 trillion gallon reservoir that controls flooding, produces
hydroelectric power and makes the river more navigable.
  Lake Baikal, Russia

Russia is home to the world’s oldest and deepest lake, which contains more than 20
percent of the world’s unfrozen freshwater reserve. Lake Baikal reaches depths of
5,577 feet and contains a variety of plant and animal species, including the Baikal
seal. The lake formed more than 25 million years ago during the Palaeozoic,
Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras; however, the tectonic plates under the lake are still
moving. Because of its location in Siberia, tourism isn’t extensive; however, there
are tours available that include a stop at the lake, including one from the website
Gobaikal.com. Train rides through Siberia also give tourists a look at the expansive
body of water.
  The Dead Sea, Israel
The world’s lowest point on a landmass, the Dead Sea is located 1,368 feet below
sea level in Israel. It has the highest concentration of salt in the world at 340 grams
per liter of water, because the amount of water that evaporates from the sea is higher
than what flows in. This high level of salinity means that no life can live within the
sea, hence its name. However, it is considered to have healing abilities by some
because of the concentration of salt and minerals, as well as the black mud on the
sea bed. The area surrounding the Dead Sea is welcoming to visitors, including a
variety of accommodation such as hostels, hotels and campsites, as well as
restaurants and organized tour.
  Indus River
Indus River, Tibetan and Sanskrit Sindhu, Sindhi Sindhu, or Mehran, great trans-
Himalayan river of South Asia. It is one of the longest rivers in the world, with a
length of some 2,000 miles (3,200 km). Its total drainage area is about 450,000
square miles (1,165,000 square km), of which 175,000 square miles (453,000 square
km) lie in the ranges and foothills of the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, and the
Karakoram Range; the rest is in the semiarid plains of Pakistan. The river’s annual
flow is about 58 cubic miles (243 cubic km)—twice that of the Nile River and three
times that of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers combined. The river’s conventional
name derives from the Tibetan and Sanskrit name Sindhu. The earliest chronicles
and hymns of the Aryan peoples of ancient India, the Rigveda, composed about 1500
BCE, mention the river, which is the source of the country’s name.
  Yellow River, China
Yellow River, Chinese (Pinyin) Huang He or (Wade-Giles romanization) Huang Ho,
also spelled Hwang Ho, English Yellow River, principal river of northern China,
east-central and eastern Asia. The Yellow River is often called the cradle of Chinese
civilization. With a length of 3,395 miles (5,464 km), it is the country’s second
longest river surpassed only by the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) and its drainage
basin is the third largest in China, with an area of some 290,000 square miles
(750,000 square km).
The river rises in southern Qinghai province on the Plateau of Tibet and crosses six
other provinces and two autonomous regions in its course to the Bo Hai (Gulf of
Chihli), an embayment of the Yellow Sea of the North Pacific Ocean. In its lower
reaches it is a shifting, turbulent, silt-laden stream that often overflows its banks and
sends floodwaters across the North China Plain. For that reason, it has been given
such names as “China’s Sorrow” and “The Ungovernable.” The Mandarin Chinese
word huang (“yellow”) is a reference to the fine loess sediments that the river carries
to the sea.