THE REGIONS OF ASIA

It is common practice in geographic literature to divide Asia into large regions, each grouping together a number of
countries. These physiographic divisions usually consist of North Asia, including the bulk of Siberia and the
northeastern edges of the continent; East Asia, including the continental part of the Far East region of Siberia, the
East Asian islands, Korea, and eastern and northeastern China; Central Asia, including the Plateau of Tibet, the
Junggar and Tarim basins, Inner Mongolia, the Gobi, and the Sino-Tibetan ranges; Middle Asia, including the Turan
Plain, the Pamirs, the Gissar and Alay ranges, and the Tien Shan; South Asia, including the Philippine and Malay
archipelagoes, Indochina and peninsular India, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and the Himalayas; and West (or
Southwest) Asia, including the West Asian highlands (Anatolia, Armenia, and Iran), the Levant, and the Arabian
Peninsula. Sometimes the Philippines, the Malay Archipelago, and the Indochinese Peninsula, instead of being
considered part of South Asia, are grouped separately as Southeast Asia. Yet another variation of the basic
categories is commonly made to divide Asia into its cultural regions.