World Geography

Asia
Asia is the world largest continent, having an area of 44,444,100 sq km.

It covers 8.8% of the Earth’s total surface area with a population of 4.4 billion which is
60 % of the world’s total population.

It is a continent of contrast in relief, temperature, vegetation and people also.

Asia is to the east of the Suez Canal, the Ural River, and the Ural Mountains, and
south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas.

It is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian
Ocean and on the north by the Arctic Ocean.

The earth’s highest and lowest places are both in Asia:

• The highest place on earth: Mount Everest

• The lowest place on earth: Dead Seashore

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Regional Divisions of Asia
Asia can be divided into six physiographic divisions:

Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Eastern Asia: China, Hong Kong, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Macau, Mongolia,
Taiwan

Northern Asia: Russia

South-eastern Asia: Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,

Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam.

Southern Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka.

Western Asia: Armenia, Azerbaijana, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, State of Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United
Arab Emirates, Yemen.

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Major Physical Divisions of Asia
• The Northern Lowlands
• The Central Mountains
• The Central and Southern Plateaus
• The Peninsulas
• Deserts
• The Great River Plains
• Island Groups

1. The Northern Lowlands

The Northern Lowlands are the extensive plain areas that comprise of several patches
of lowlands of this large continent.

The major lowlands are:

Great Siberian plain

• It extends between the Ural Mountains in the west and the river Lena in the
east. It is the largest lowland in the world covering an area of 1,200,000 square
miles approx.

Manchurian Plain

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 • It is the area adjoining Amur river and its tributaries of the northern part of
China with an area of 135,000 square miles approx.

Great Plains of China

• It is contributed by two major rivers of China, Hwang Ho and Yangtze

river which covers an area of 158,000 square miles approx.

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Tigris-Euphrates plains

Ganga plains

Irrawaddy plains

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2. The Central Mountains

• These are the prominent and extensive mountain ranges that cover the parts of
Central Asia.
• They consist of Pamir and Tian Shan ranges and extending across portions of
Afghanistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
• These mountain ranges are designated as biodiversity hot spots by Conservation
International which covers several montanes and alpine ecoregions of Central
Asia.
• It encompasses several habitat types, including montane grasslands and
shrublands, temperate coniferous forests, and alpine tundra.
• A mountain knot is a junction of two or more mountain ranges. The two main
mountain knots in Asia are:
• The Pamir Knot is the junction of five mountain ranges they are the
Sulaiman, the Hindu Kush, the Kunlun, the Karakoram, and the Himalayan
ranges. Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world in the Himalayan
range.

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 • The Armenian Knot is connected to the Pamir Knot by the Elburz and
the Zagros Ranges that originate in the Armenian Knot. The Tien Shan
and the Altai are other mountain ranges in Asia.

Peaks of Asia

• Mount Everest (8848 m), Nepal-Tibet, China border

• K2 (8,61,1 m), Pakistan-China
• Kangchenjunga (8,586 m), Nepal-Sikkim (India).
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 • Lhotse (8,516 m), Nepal-Tibet, China
• Makalu (8,462 m), Nepal-Tibet, China
• Cho Oyu (8,201 m), Nepal

Mountains-Ranges

3. The Central and Southern Plateaus

Plateaus are the land areas having a relatively that surface considerably raised above
adjoining land on at least one side, and often cut by deep canyon.

Major Plateaus of Asian Continent –

Plateau Location Types

Ladakh Between Karakoram and Himalaya mountain ranges Intermontane

Tibet Between Kulun and Himalayan Mountain range Intermontane

Situated on the southeast of the Tibet Plateau and separated from

Yunan Piedmont
Szechuan Basin extensive fertile land by the range of Mountains

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 Well connected to the range of mountains such as The Himalayas with
Pamir the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and the Hindu Kush ranges on all Intermontane
sides

Armenian Present in between Caspian and the Black Sea Piedmont

Present in between Zagros Mountains, Caspian Sea, Turkmen-Khorasan

Iranian Piedmont
Mountain Range

Surrounded by the Greater Hinggan Mountains in the east, the Yin

Mongolian Mountains to the south, the Altai Mountains to the west, and the Sayan Intermontane
and Khentii mountains to the north

Stretched in the Pegu Yoma and Arkan Yoma in the eastern part of
Shan Intermontane
Myanmar,

Extended in between the Western Ghats in the west and the Eastern
Ghats in the east of
Deccan Intermontane
Indian Subcontinent, it almost touches the southern tip of India and in
north covered by the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges

Enclosed between Pontic mountain ranges in the South and Taurus in

Anatolian Volcanic
the southwest

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4. Peninsulas
A peninsula is a mass of land surrounded by water but attached to the mainland.
The Deccan plateau region is also a peninsula. The major peninsulas of Arabia, India,
and Malay are in southern Asia. The Kamchatka peninsula lies in northeastern Asia.

5. Deserts
Asia has some big deserts such as the Gobi, the Takla Makan, the Thar, the Kara-
Kum, and the Rub-al-Khali Deserts.

The Rub’ al Khali desert, considered the world’s largest sand sea, covers an area
larger than France across Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

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6. (a) Islands of Asia
Asia also has a cluster of islands, also called an archipelago. An archipelago
sometimes called an island group or island chain, which is formed close to each other
in large clusters. Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Andaman, and Nicobar are some
examples of archipelagos.

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6. (b) Drainage of Asia
The drainage of Asia consists of mighty oceans, extensive seas, lengthy rivers, and their
tributaries and distributaries, major lakes, etc.

Oceans: Asian continent is surrounded by three major ocean from three sides such as

The Pacific Ocean – It covers the eastern part of Asia where major rivers of eastern Asia
drain, such as Menam Mekong, Xi Jiang, Chang Xiang, Huang Ho, and Amur.

The Indian Ocean – It covers the southern part of Asia and the major rivers that flow
into the Indian Ocean are Tigris, Euprates, the Indus, the Ganga, Brahmaputra,
Irrawaddy, Salween.

The Arctic Ocean – It covers the Noth east part of Asia and consists of three major
rivers such as Ob, Yenisey, and Lena.

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Seas:
As the continent is covered by sea from its three sides, It has also characterized by the
long stretch of bay and gulf.

Major seas contributing to Asian Drainage are Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Banda
Sea, Barents Sea, Bering Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, East Siberian Sea, Java Sea,
Kara Sea, Laccadive Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk. The South China Sea and
the Yellow Sea.

Name Location Part of Ocean

Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, and East Siberian Sea North of Russia Arctic Ocean

Bering Sea Northerst of Russia Pacific Ocean

Sea of Okhotsk East of Russia Pacific Ocean

Sea of Japan West of Japan Pacific Ocean

Yellow Sea West of Korea Pacific Ocean

East China Sea East of China Pacific Ocean

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 South China Sea South of China Pacific Ocean

Sulu Sea West of the Philippines Island Pacific Ocean

Celebes Sea North of Celebes Island Pacific Ocean

Banda Sea East of Celebes Island Pacific Ocean

Flores Sea South of Celebes Sea Pacific Ocean

Molucca Sea East of Celebes Island Pacific Ocean

Java Sea North of Java Pacific Ocean

Timor Sea Northwest of Australia Pacific Ocean

Arafura Sea North of Australia South Pacific Ocean

Bay of Bengal East of the Indian Peninsula Indian Ocean

Arabian Sea West of the Indian Peninsula Indian Ocean

Red Sea Separates Asia from Africa Indian Ocean

Lakes:
Major lakes of Asia are

• Lake Baikal, Onega, Ladoga, and Peipus in Russia;

• Lake Akan, Mashu, Biwa, Shikotsu in Japan;
• Qinghai Lake, Lake Khanka in China;
• Dal Lake, Chilka, Vembanada, Pullicat and Sukhna in India;
• Lake Matano and Toba in Indonesia, etc.

Baikal is the deepest lake in the world. It is in Southern Siberia, Russia.

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Freshwater

• Lake Baikal, located in southern Russia, is the deepest lake in the world,
reaching a depth of 1,620 meters (5,315 feet). The lake contains 20 percent of
the world’s unfrozen fresh water, making it the largest reservoir on Earth. It is
also the world’s oldest lake, at 25 million years old.
• The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the
world (behind the Amazon of South America and the Nile of Africa). Reaching
6,300 kilometers (3,915 miles) in length, the Yangtze moves east from the glaciers
of the Tibetan Plateau to the river’s mouth on the East China Sea. The Yangtze is
considered the lifeblood of China.
• The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers begin in the highlands of eastern Turkey and
flow through Syria and Iraq, joining in the city of Qurna, Iraq, before
emptying into the Persian Gulf. The land between the two rivers, known as
Mesopotamia, was the center of the earliest civilizations, including Sumer and
the Akkadian Empire.

Saltwater

• The Persian Gulf has an area of more than 234,000 square kilometers (90,000
square miles). It borders Iran, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq. The gulf is subject to high rates of evaporation,
making it shallow and extremely salty.
• The Sea of Okhotsk covers 1.5 million square kilometers (611,000 square miles)
between the Russian mainland and the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• The Bay of Bengal is the largest bay in the world, covering almost 2.2 million
square kilometers (839,000 square miles) and bordering Bangladesh, India, Sri

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 Lanka, and Burma. Many large rivers, including the Ganges and Brahmaputra,
empty into the bay.

Straits:
The important straits in Asia are the Strait of Malacca, Bering Strait, etc.

Name Separates Connects

Bering Strait Asia and North America East Siberian Sea with Bering Sea

La Parouse Strait Sakhalin Island and Hokkaido Island Sea of Okhotsk with Sea of Japan

Tata Strait Eastern Russia and Sakhalin Sea of Okhotsk with Sea of Japan

Korea Strait South Korea and Kyushu (Japan) Yellow Sea with Sea of Japan

Formosa Strait (Taiwan East China Sea with South China

Taiwan and China
Strait) Sea

South China Sea with Pacific

Luzon Strait Taiwan and Luzon (Philippines)
Ocean.

Borneo (Kalimantan) and Celebes

Makassar Strait Celebes Sea with Java Sea.
Island

Sundra Strait Java and Sumatra Java Sea with India Ocean

Malacca Strait Malaya Peninsula and Sumatra Java Sea with Bay of Bengal

South China Sea with strait of

Strait of Jahore Singapore and Malaysia
Malacca

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 Strait of Hormuz UAE and Iran Persian Gulf with Gulf of Oman.

Strait of Bosporus Asia and Europe Black Sea with Sea of Marmara.

Sea of Marmara with

Strait of Dardanelles Asia and Europe Mediterranean
Sea

Resources
Asia’s climate can be most generally divided into three zones:

• North/central,
• Southwest
• Southeast

North/central Zone–

• The continent’s north/central zone is affected by cold and dry Arctic winds,
especially the Siberia region of Russia.
• Hardier grains, such as barley, buckwheat, millet, oats, and wheat, are grown
in the central and southern areas of this zone, where permanent frosts inhibit
plant growth.
• Animal husbandry is also very important in this zone. In Mongolia, for example,
75 percent of agricultural land is allocated to the rearing of livestock, such as
sheep, goats, and cattle.

Southwest–

• The southwest zone is a dry, hot region that stretches from the Gobi Desert
in Mongolia through Pakistan, Iran, and into the Arabian Peninsula.
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 • This zone has very few areas with enough moisture and precipitation to produce
crops. Grains, such as barley and corn, are the principal irrigated crops of some
countries.
• Dates, figs, apricots, olives, onions, grapes, and cherries are the most
important of these fruit and vegetable crops.

Southeast–

• The southeast zone is greatly affected by the summer monsoon season.

• Rice is one of Asia’s most important agricultural commodities and a major food
staple of the entire continent.
• Many regions where rainfall is less, grow a large amount of wheat.
• Southeast Asia is also a major producer of tropical fruits, such as mango, papaya,
and pineapple. India is the world’s largest mango-producing nation,
accounting for roughly 40 percent of total global output.

Mining:

• China, India, Russia, and Indonesia are the continent’s most productive
mining economies. These countries extract many of the same minerals.
• China is the world’s largest producer of aluminum, gold, tin, and coal.
• India is also a major producer of aluminum and iron ore, along with other
minerals such as barite (used in drilling fluids), chromium (used in steel
production and dyes), and manganese (used in steel production).
• Russia is a major producer of coal, tungsten (used in steel production),
diamonds, iron, and steel.
• Indonesia is a major producer of coal, gold, copper, and tin.

Drilling:

• Countries on the Arabian Peninsula have the world’s largest deposits of oil
and natural gas. These fossil fuels are drilled for energy and fuel.
• The oil found throughout the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East is of the
highest quality: light sweet crude.
• Light sweet crude oil is used to make gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuels.
• In 2010, Saudi Arabia was the world’s largest manufacturer of petroleum liquids,
producing 10.07 million barrels of liquid fuels every day. (An oil barrel is 159 liters
or 42 gallons.) It also has the world’s largest oil reserves, at roughly 250 billion
barrels.
• Russia has oil reserves in Siberia and massive natural gas reserves
throughout the Arctic.
• Russia and Iran have the world’s largest reserves of natural gas, while the US
produces the most.

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 Africa
Africa is the second largest continent in the area (30,330,000 sq Km) which covers
6% of Earth’s total surface area and 20.4 % of its total land area.

Africa is sometimes nicknamed the “Mother Continent” as it’s the oldest inhabited
continent on Earth. Africa is the only continent which is traversed by the equator,
the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer.

Greenwich Meridian passes through the western part of Africa. It is the only continent
where the 0° latitude meets the 0° longitudes, these lines meet at the Gulf of
Guiana.

Algeria is Africa’s largest country by area, and Nigeria by population. Seychelles is

the smallest country in Africa.

Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined with Asia at its northeast
extreme end by the Isthmus of Suez 163 Km wide. It is bounded by the Red Sea along
the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and
the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

It is divided in half almost equally by the Equator. Africa has eight major physical
regions: the Sahara, the Sahel, the Ethiopian Highlands, the savanna, the Swahili
Coast, the rain forest, the African Great Lakes, and Southern Africa.

It has fully recognized 54 sovereign states.

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Alphabetical list of countries in Africa –

Regional divisions of Africa

The physiographic divisions of Africa are into the following six regions:

• Northern Africa

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 • Northeast Africa
• Eastern Africa
• Central Africa
• Southern Africa
• Western Africa

Northern Africa
It extends from Algeria in the north, through, the Canary Islands, Santa Cruz de
Tenerife, Ceuta, Egypt, Libya, Madeira, Melilla, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia, It
reaches up to Western Sahara.

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Northeast Africa
It is also called the horn of Africa which extends several hundred kilometers into the
Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It contains countries
such as Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

Eastern Africa
The extensive area stretches from the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa to
Mozambique including Burundi, Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius,
Mayotte, Mozambique, Réunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Sudan, Tanzania,
Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Central Africa
It is a large landmass situated exactly in the middle of the continent covering Angola,
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé, and Príncipe.

Southern Africa
It is the southernmost part of the continent and covers the countries such
as Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland.

Western Africa
It is situated roughly at 100° E longitude covering countries like Benin, Burkina Faso,
Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania,
Niger, Nigeria, Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

Major Physical Divisions of Africa

The major physical divisions of African continent are:
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 • The Plateau
• The Fold Mountains
• Deserts
• Rivers
• Islands

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The Plateaus
The vast African continents are famous for its saucer-shaped and steep-
edged plateaus that are facing towards the coast and extending from Guinea coast to
Somali Land and north Sahara to the Cape Province. These are divided into three
groups:

South African plateau –

The South African plateau as far as about 12°S, bounded east, west, and south by bands
of high ground which fall steeply to the coasts. The South African plateau is
connected towards the northeast with the East African plateau.

East African plateau –

The East African plateau, with probably a slightly greater average elevation, and
marked by some distinct features. It is formed by a widening out of the eastern axis of
high ground, which becomes subdivided into a number of zones running north and
south and consisting in turn of ranges, tablelands and depressions.

Ethiopian Highlands –

The third division of the higher region of Africa is formed by the Ethiopian Highlands,
a rugged mass of mountains forming the largest continuous area of its altitude in the
whole continent.

Plateaus –

1. Katanga Plateau: Farming, ranching, resource-rich – copper and Uranium

deposits
2. Ethiopian Plateau: Lake Tana (Source of Blue Nile), cooler despite close to the
equator
3. Great Karoo: Semi-desert region
4. Bie Plateau: Important for copper, Agriculture and cattle rearing
5. Adamawa Plateau: Savannah vegetation, Bauxite deposits

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Mountains

• Africa is famous for its newly formed folded mountains.

• Prominent mountain ranges with some of the very high raised mountain peaks
are the specialty of African Continents.

Some of the well known mountain ranges are:

Atlas Mountains –

• It is situated on the northwestern part of the continent stretching over an area of

2400 km towards the southwest direction across Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.
• The range is again subdivided into high, medium, and Anti – Atlas group. The
Jebel Toubkal is among such highlands or mountain whose height is 4165 m
from sea level.
• It is a physical separator between the extensive coasts of the Mediterranean and
the Atlantic Sea and the Sahara Desert.

Ruwenzori Mountains –

• Stretching over an area of 240 sq. miles the range borders Uganda and Congo
(Kinshasa) and thought to be the “Mountains of the Moon.
• Mount Stanley at Margherita Peak (5,119 m is the highest pick of this mountain
system.
• It is a gigantic horst of six separate glaciated masses which falls steeply
westward to the Western Rift Valley.

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Mount Elgon –

• It is an extinct volcanic mountain situated in the northeast part of lake Victoria

on the Uganda – Kenya border.
• The height is about 4,321 km from the mean sea level.
• As a volcanic mountain it has a crater which is 610 m deep and 8 km across.

Tibesti Mountains –

• These are mostly situated in the northern part of Chad and spread west into
northern Niger and the Southern border area of Libya.
• They have a volcanic origin.
• The highest peak is 3,415 m. from mean sea level.

Ahaggar Mountains –

• The Ahaggar Mountains, also known as the Hoggar, is a highland region in

central Sahara, or southern Algeria near the Tropic of Cancer. They are located
about 1,500 km south of the capital, Algiers. Mount Tahat is the highest peak (2,
918 m).
• It has a volcanic formation.

The Drakensberg –

• These mountains are the highest in Southern Africa rising up at Thabana

Ntlenyana at 3,482 m (11,422 ft) in height.
• They are located in the eastern part of South Africa, running from some 1,000
km.
• The highest peak is Thabana Ntlenyana at 3,482 m (11,422 ft). It is also the highest
peak of Lesotho.

Mount Kenya –

• Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya, and the second-highest in Africa
(after Mount Kilimanjaro). The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (5,199m
– 17,058 ft), Nelion (5, 188m – 17,022 ft) and Lenana (4,958 – 16,355 ft).
• Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around 150
km (95 miles) north-northeast of Nairobi.

Kilimanjaro –

• Kilimanjaro with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawensi, and Shira, is an inactive
stratovolcano in north-eastern Tanzania.
• Kilimanjaro is the tallest free-standing mountain rise in the world rising 4,600 m
(15,100 ft) from its base and includes the highest peak in Africa at 5,895 meters
(19,340 ft).

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The Deserts

Sahara desert

• The Sahara, the largest hot desert in the world, stretches across the entire width
of North Africa. It covers an area of approx. 3,320,000 sq. miles.
• The major countries contributing their land to Sahara deserts are Libya, Algeria,
Egypt, Tunisia, Chad, Morocco, Eritrea, Niger, Mauritania, Mali, and Sudan.
• The principal topographical features of the Sahara include shallow, seasonally
inundated basins (chotts and dayas) and large oasis depressions; extensive
gravel-covered plains (serirs or regs); rock-strewn plateaus (hammadas);
abrupt mountains; and sand sheets, dunes, sand seas (ergs) and Oases( lush
green area).

Nubian Desert

• The Nubian Desert is the eastern region of the Sahara desert, between the Nile
and the Red Sea. There is virtually no rainfall here, and there are no oases. It is in
Egypt. It covers an area of 1,54,000 sq. miles approx.
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Namib desert

• Namib is a cool coastal desert in southern Africa. The Namib Desert is believed
to be as old as 55 million years; thus, it is the oldest desert in the world.
• The high sand dunes of the Namib Desert and the point where the desert meets
the sea are the key attractions of this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kalahari Desert

• The Kalahari Desert lies in the south and the Namib Desert is along the south-
west shore of Africa. It covers an area of 3,50,000 sq. miles and encroaching parts
of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Angola, and Zimbabwe.
• San People have lived in the difficult terrain of the Kalahari Desert.
• Famous for Dimond mining.
• Okavango Delta
• It is one of the very few major interior delta systems that do not flow
into a sea or ocean.
• This delta comprises permanent marshlands and seasonally flooded
plains.
• The delta covers part of the Kalahari Desert and owes its
existence to the Okavango (Kavango) River.
• It is home to some of the world’s most endangered species of large
mammal, such as the cheetah, white rhinoceros, black rhinoceros,
African wild dog and lion.

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 • Sahara Desert– Largest hot desert – subtropical HP zone, Tuareg tribes
• Namib desert -Off-shore trade wind + cold Benguella current, sandy
desert, Hottentots tribes
• Kalahari Desert -Rain-shadow effect, stony-rocky desert. Bushmen tribe (the
oldest surviving tribal group of Africa)
• Nubian desert -Separated by Libyan desert by Nile river rocky desert

The Islands
There are very few islands near Africa.

• Madagascar (Malagasy) in the Indian Ocean is the largest island in Africa.

• To the north-west, in the Atlantic Ocean are the Canary Islands.
• West of Africa in the South Atlantic Ocean is the island of Saint Helena where
Napoleon died in exile.
• Zanzibar belongs to Tanzania and is closer to the Indian Ocean.

• Madeira – Portugal
• Canary – Spain
• Cape Verde
• Mauritius
• Reunion – France
• Comoros – France
• Seychelles

Islands between Africa and Latin America –

• All of them –British overseas territories

• Ascension Islands– UK military base
• St. Helena Islands – the exile of Napoleon
• Tristan De Cunha Island – the most remote island of the world

The Rivers of Africa

The most important ones are the Nile, the Congo, the Niger, and the Zambezi.

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River Nile –

• This is the longest river in the world.

• It starts from many streams in the equatorial rainforest of the Lake Victoria and
Ruwenzori Mountain (the mountains of the moon) region.
• From Lake Albert, it flows as the White Nile.
• At Khartoum, it is joined by the Blue Nile which starts from Lake Tana on the
Ethiopian Highlands.
• The Nile flows from 3,000 kilometers through the dry Sahara Desert of Egypt and
enters the Mediterranean Sea.
• Egypt is called the gift of the Nile because without the river it would have been a
desert.
• Cotton cultivation,
• Petroleum at mouth, navigable, irrigation
• Aswan dam, lake Naseer
• Port Said and Alexandria at the mouth

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 • Cairo, Giza, Khartoum cities are on River Nile

River Congo or Zaire –

• The Congo is the second-longest river in Africa.

• It starts from the south-west of Lake Tanganyika and flows into the Atlantic
Ocean.
• The Zaire basin is one of the wettest regions of the Earth and is covered with
dense impenetrable jungle.
• The river and its network of tributaries are not navigable because of rapids and
waterfalls caused by the descent from the plateau to the coast.
• Origin: Katanga Plateau
• Boyoma waterfall
• Pigmy tribes
• Petroleum reserve at the mouth
• Crosses equator twice

River Niger –

• This river is the chief river of West Africa. It rises from the Fout Djllon Mountain
quite close to the sea but flows north and then turns south again to form a wide
arc.
• Finally, it joins the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean.

River Zambezi –

• River Zambezi flows into the Indian Ocean.

• The famous Victoria Falls at the head of a long gorge is on this river.

River Limpopo –

• River Limpopo also flows into the Indian Oceans, which crosses the Tropic of
Capricorn twice.

River Orange –

• This flows from the Drakensberg Mountains into the Atlantic Ocean.

Lakes of Africa

• Lake Victoria is the second-largest freshwater lake in the world. It is the largest
lake in Africa. It is situated on the block mountain between the two branches of
the Great Rift Valley. The Equator passes through it. It is the source of the white
Nile.
• The lakes of the rift valley. There is a string of lakes in the rift valley. Lake
Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa (Malawi) are the larger ones.

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 • Lake Tana is on the Ethiopian Plateau. It is the source of the Blue Nile.
• Lake Chad at the southern edge in the Sahara Desert is in a region of inland
drainage. Streams start from the surrounding hills and flow into this lake instead
of the sea. River Charl is the largest river in this area.
• Lake Nasser is on the river Nile. It is a man-made lake located between Egypt
and Sudan
• Lake Kariba is situated in the southernmost part of Africa a Zambezi river. It is
one of the biggest looks man-made like and it is the largest producer of
hydroelectricity in Africa.
• Lake Assal is situated in Djibouti and the lowest point in Africa

Famous Lakes of Africa –

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 Lake Elevation Lake Type

Victoria 11.33 m Tropical Lake

Tanganyika 773 m Rift Valley Lake

Malawi — African Rift Valley

Turkana 360 m Alkaline Lake

Lake Albert 615 m Western Rift

Lake Edward 912 m Drain North into Lake Albert

Lake Kivu 1460 m Ruzizi River

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Important Dams and Waterfalls
Dam/Falls River Country

Aswan Dam Nile Egypt

Kariba Dam Zambezi Zimbabwe and Zambia

Kainji Dam Niger Nigeria

Cahora Bassa Dam Zambezi Mozambique

Victoria Fall Zambezi Zambia- Zimbabwe

Boyoma Fall Zaire Democratic

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Climate
It is quite obvious that as a large continent Africa experiences a highly variable climate.

Keeping in view the prevailing weather conditions such as temperature, rainfall,

humidity etc the climatic zones of Africa are:

• Equatorial rainforest climate

• Temperate grasslands
• Mediterranean Hot Summer
• Hot Desert Climate
• Tropical Wet/Dry (Savanna) Climate

Natural Vegetation
There are extensive areas in Africa where few people live and where natural vegetation
and wild animals have not been disrupted by such activities as farming or the raising
of livestock. In some parts of the continent, large forest reserves have been established.

Tropical Rain Forests

• The large area of Africa is covered by tropical rain forests or selvas type of
vegetation covering less than a tenth of the continent with heavy rain
throughout the year. These forests contain several layers of vegetation.
• The top layer consists of the crowns of trees rising 125 to 250 feet (38 to 76 m) in
height; the lower layers are arranged according to their height like shorter trees,
shrubs, and vines respectively.
• They yield pulp, timber, and such cabinet woods as mahogany, ebony, and teak.
Oil palms, rubber-producing trees and vines, orchids, and lilies are among the
numerous kinds of plants found in these forests.

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Tropical Savannas

• Savannas, covering perhaps one-third of the continent, consist of areas mainly

growing grass.
• There are spots of woodlands, scattered trees, or shrubs, depending on the
length of the dry season. Coarse grasses up to 12 feet (3.7 m) high and large
woodlands of deciduous trees are found near the border of Tropical forest. They
even include many evergreens found in tropical rain forests, such as oil palms,
rubber trees, and African ebony trees.

• Away from the Equator to the north and south, rainfall decreases and there is a
zone where there is a definite dry season unlike the equatorial region where it
rains always.
• This is the Sudan type of climate and has tropical Grassland or Savanna
vegetation.
• This region continues over the Eastern Highlands and forms a wide area around
the equatorial forests.
• The grass is thick and coarse. In some places, there is the tall elephant grass.

Tropical Steppes and Deserts

• Increased aridity and longer dry seasons are the main features of tropical
steppes.
• These are regions that grow short grasses only.
• Thorny acacias, dwarf palms, and jujube trees are found here. Steppes bordering
on deserts no trees are spotted, rather widely scattered bunches of grasses grow.
• Vegetation at Oases includes date palms, fig-trees, willows, poplars, and
tamarisks.

Mediterranean Forests

• Mediterranean type of vegetation in Africa is found along the northern and

southern coast.
• Different variety of shrubs and small trees, both deciduous and evergreen are
grown.
• The plants are able to withstand long, dry summers with waxy, leathery leaves
and long taproots develop here.
• The northern region raises cork oak, olive trees, cedars, and pines; in the south,
laurels, cedars, and ironwood.
• Grasses and low flowering plants grow only during the rainy months.

Montane Forests

• The Montane vegetation of highlands, particularly in Ethiopia and the mountains

of the Great Rift Valley are such examples.
• Depending on elevation, latitude, and direction of the winds vegetation grows.
• The region under Montane forests yields valuable timber and cabinet woods
along with bamboo and wild varieties of coffee and banana. The slopes of the
mountain are covered with thick evergreen forests.

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 • The High Veld of southern Africa is temperate grassland between 3,500 and
11,000 feet (1,070 and 3,350 m) above sea level.

Mangrove Forests

• Mostly found along the African coast, but are most extensive along the Gulf of
Guinea.
• A variety of other trees tailored to life in muddy estuaries and tidal flats are found
other than Mangrove.
• Swamp and marsh also occur along the larger rivers and lakes of western and
central Africa. Papyrus, tall grasses and lotus are the most common plants.

Mineral reserve of Africa

• Petroleum
• Coal
• Iron
• Diamonds
• Gold
• Uranium, Platinum

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AGRICULTURE

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Some of the most famous tribes in Africa:

• Zulu, South Africa.

• Xhosa, South Africa
• Karo, Ethiopia.
• Hamar, Ethiopia
• Yoruba, Nigeria.
• Himba, Namibia.
• San Bushmen, Kenya
• Samburu, Kenya
• Maasai, Kenya, and Tanzania.
• Hadzabe, Tanzania

Sahel Region
Sahel region is an ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition in Africa between
the Sahara Desert to the north and Sudanian Savanna to the south. It stretches across
the south-central latitudes of Northern Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red
Sea.

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Geographic definitions of the Sahel region vary. Commonly, the Sahel stretches
from Senegal on the Atlantic coast, through parts of Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso,
Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Sudan to Eritrea on the Red Sea coast.

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 Europe
Europe is the second smallest continent, the smallest being Australia. Its area,
including the islands around the coast, is about 10 million square kilometers.

Europe is often described as a “peninsula of peninsulas.” A peninsula is a piece of land

surrounded by water on three sides. It is roughly three times the size of
India and smaller than China.

Location of Europe
• A large part lies in the temperate zone as it stretches from 35°N to 80°N latitude.
• Longitudinally, it stretches from 10°W to 60°E

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 • The Prime Meridian passes through London. Prime Meridian passes through
the UK, France, and Spain in Europe and Algeria, Mali, Burkina, Faso, Tongo, and
Ghana in Africa.
• In the north, though it stretches into the Arctic Circle, the Warm Gulf Stream
keeps the ports ice-free.
• The broad continent shelf on its west provides good fishing grounds and there
are sheltered harbors along the indented coastline.
• It has the longest coastline in proportion to size.

Boundaries of Europe
• To the east, it is separated from Asia by the Ural Mountain, Caspian Sea,
Caucasus Mountain, and the Black Sea.
• To the south is the Mediterranean Sea. The Aegean Sea and the Adriatic Sea are
two of its branches.
• To the west is the Strait of Gibraltar separating Europe from Africa and joining
the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean. The Bay of Biscay, the English Channel,
and the North Sea are parts of the Atlantic Ocean.
• Baltic Sea with two branches – the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland is an
inlet in the north. The Arctic Ocean to the north has a bay called the White Sea.

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 • The peninsula of Greece, known as the Balkan Peninsula, and Italy extends into
the Mediterranean Sea.
• In the southwest is the Iberian Peninsula which is made up of Spain and
Portugal.
• In the northwest is the Scandinavian, Peninsula consisting of Norway and
Sweden.

Physical Divisions of Europe

• Western Upland
• North European Plain
• Central Uplands or Plateau
• Alpine Mountain Systems
• Islands of Europe
• Drainage Pattern
• Gulfs and Bays

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Western Upland
It is also known as the Northern Highlands, delineates the western edge of Europe and
defines the physical landscape of Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark),
Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Ireland, the Brittany region of France, Spain, and Portugal.

These landforms are result of glaciations of hard rock in ancient times. Distinct physical
features such as marshlands, lakes, and fjords have been emerged with the recession
of glaciers form the highland areas.

The famous Norwegian Fjords which are Lyse fjord, the Geiranger fjord.

• A fjord is a long, deep, narrow body of water that reaches far

inland. Fjords are often set in a U-shaped valley with steep walls of rock on
either side.

North European Plain

It is the extensive low land spread along the bank of various mighty rivers such
as Rhine, Weser, Elbe, Oder, and Vistula. These river valleys are favorable for growing
seasonal crops.

It covers all most half of Europe. Bordered by Baltican White sea from north
and Black and Azov from the south the plain is gradually narrowed down towards the
west.

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The northern part of the land is characterized by diversified glacial landforms such as
Pipet Marshland, Valdai hills of western Russia, glacial lakes, etc.

Central Uplands or Plateau

These are the collection of distinctive landscapes of summits, steep slopes, valleys, and
depression which stretches across central Europe.

It extends from Belgium in the East to France in the West and from the Czech
Republic and south Germany in south to Switzerland and Austria in the North.

Except for some river valleys such as the Rhine, Rhone, Elbe, and Danube river valleys
all other areas of this division is sparsely populated.

Alpine Mountain Systems

These are located in south-central Europe, immediately north of the Mediterranean
Sea.

They extend for almost 700 miles in a crescent shape from the coastline of southern
France (near Monaco) into Switzerland, then through northern Italy and into Austria,
and down through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro
– then ending in Albania on the rugged coastline of the Adriatic Sea.

The highest point is Mont Blanc at 15,771 ft. (4,807m).

Mountains –

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The Ural Mountains:

• The Ural Mountains are a mountain range that forms part of the
natural boundary between Europe and Asia.
• The mountains run through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic
Ocean to the Ural River and Kazakhstan.
• From north to south, these are 2,200 km long and 80-120 km broad with many
parallel valleys.
• Several islands, such as Vaygach Island and the islands of Novaya Zemlya, are
a continuation of the Ural Mountains that run below the sea and emerge again
on the islands.
• The Ural Mountains are a rich source of minerals including coal, metal ores, and
precious stones, and mining in the region significantly contributes to Russia’s
economy.
• The highest peak in the range is Mount Narodnaya, which has an elevation of
1,894 m.

The Scandinavian Mountains:

• Scandinavia consists of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

• In fact, Scandinavia exists or Fenno-Scandia which continues into the east
through Finland to the Kola Peninsula in Russia.

The Old Mountain Blocks –

• These are Hercynian and Caledonian mountain chains.

• In the west, the Meseta of Spain, the Central Plateau of France, the Britanny
Peninsula, the Rhine Upland, the Block Forest, Vosges, Bohemian Plateau, and
Rhodope Mt, etc, are examples of these old mountains.

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The Alpine Mountain Ranges:

• The highest peak is (Mount Blanc 5,000 m).

• The mountain range runs in many branches.
• The main ones are the Alps, the Carpathians, the Balkans, the Caucasus, etc.
• Another branch is the Apennines (Italy, the Atlas (Africa, and the Sierra Nevada
Spain).
• Still another branch is the Dinaric and the Pindus mountain (Yugoslavia and
Greece) and enters through the Crete island into Asia.

Apennines:

• The Apennine Mountains are a range consisting of several sub-ranges that run
parallel to each other for approximately 1,200 km, along the length of
peninsular Italy.
• Como Grande is the tallest peak in the Apennines, with an elevation of 2,912 m.
• The Apennine Mountains contain pristine forests and montane grasslands, many
of which are protected by national parks.

The Pyrenees:

• The Pyrenees are half as Long and broad as the Alps and separate broadly
France from Spain.
• The highest peak is Pice de Aneto (3,404 m).

Balkan Mountains

• The Balkan Mountain are a mountain range is located in the eastern part of the
Balkan Peninsula, stretching for approximately 557 km from the Vrashka

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 Chuka Peak near the Bulgaria-Siberia border to Cape Emine along the coast of
the Black Sea.
• The highest peaks of the Balkan Mountains are located in the central part of
Bulgaria, the tallest of which is Botev Peak, with an elevation of 2,376 m.
• Several protected areas, such as Central Balkan National Park and Bulgarka
Nature Park, help conserve the ecosystem and landscapes within the Balkan
Mountains. Additionally, numerous caves within the range are a significant
tourist attraction in the region.
• The Balkan Mountains are closely connected to the history of Bulgaria and are
considered to have the nation and its people.

Caucasus Mountains

• Like the Urals, the Caucasus Mountains also form part of the boundary
between Europe and Asia. The mountain range has a length of approximately
1,200 km and stretches between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
• Europe’s highest peak, Mount Elbrus, which has an elevation of 5,642 m, is
located in the Caucasus Mountains. Additionally, all 10 of the tallest peaks in
Europe are located in the Caucasus Mountains, particularly in Russia, Georgia, or
along the Russia-Georgia border.

Islands of Europe
As surrounded by a number of seas from all sides, Europe is an island rich continent.
The British Isles is the largest and the most important group of islands consisting of
England, Scotland, and Ireland.
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Largest European islands by area are as follows:

• Great Britain
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Severny Island
• Spitsbergen
• Yuzhny Island
• Sicily
• Sardinia
• Nordaustlandet
• Cyprus

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Peninsula
Europe’s main peninsulas are the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan, located in southern
Europe, and the Scandinavian and Jutland, located in northern Europe.

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Drainage Pattern

• The rivers of Europe are perennial being fed by melting snow or by the rain
brought by the Westerlies.
• Many of them have their origin in the Alps.
• Rivers that flow into the Mediterranean Sea are Rhone (France) and Ebro
(Spain).
• River Po of Italy flows into the Adriatic Sea.
• The Danube, Dnieper, and Don flow into the Black Sea.
• Rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean are – Guadalquivir (Spain), Tagus and
Douro (Portugal), Loire and Seine (France), The Rhine Weser and Elbe
(Germany)
• Many rivers flow into the Baltic Sea.
• The Thames, the chief river of England, flows into the English Channel.
• Rhine and Danube are international rivers because they pass through many
countries.

The Rhine starts from the Alps in Switzerland and flows northwards through
Germany and enters the sea through Holland. It passes through heavily industrialized
regions and is used for transporting heavy goods. It is the busiest waterway in
Europe. Rotterdam, the largest part of Europe, is on its delta.

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The Danube is also an international river. It rises from the Alps in Germany and flows
through Austria, Hungary, Serbia, and enters the Black Sea in Romania. It is not as
important as the Rhine for international trade because of the Black Sea in the interior.

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Gulfs and Bays
These are the parts of large water bodies which are adjacent to a massive land may it
be continents or countries which are of economic importance for any human
civilization, As Europe is surrounded by
number of large water bodies such as the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, The North Sea
etc. there are a lot of Gulfs, Bay, and straits.

The Gulf of Finland is situated in the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea and extends
between Finland (to the north) and Estonia (to the south) all the way to Saint
Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the
gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn. The eastern parts of the Gulf
of Finland belong to Russia, and some of Russia’s most important oil harbors are
located farthest in, near Saint Petersburg.

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The Gulf of Bothnia situated in the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea and bordered
by Sweden at its western side and Finland at the eastern side.

The Gulf of Riga is a brackish water body which is considered as a sub-basin of the
Baltic Sea. The areal extent of the Gulf of Riga is approximately 16,300 km². It is also
called the Bay of Riga which is a very shallow water sea with a maximum depth of
67metres.

The Gulf of Lions extends from the easternmost spurs of Pyrenees and covers various
lagoons, the Rhone River delta, limestone hills of Marseille. It’s an embayment of the
Mediterranean coastline of Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence in France.

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FAQ
What are Scandinavian and Nordic countries?
‘Scandinavia‘ is commonly used for Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, the term
“Nordic countries” is vaguely used for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and
Iceland, including their associated territories of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the
Åland Islands.

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What are the smallest countries in Europe?
The European microstates or European ministates are a set of very small sovereign
states in Europe. The term is typically used to refer to the six smallest states in Europe
by area: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City.

Great Britain
Great Britain, also called Britain, island lying off the western coast of Europe and
consisting of England, Scotland, and Wales. The term is often used as a synonym for
the United Kingdom, which also includes Northern Ireland and a number of
offshore islands.

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What is the smallest country in the world?
Based on the landmass, Vatican City is the smallest country in the world, measuring
just 0.2 square miles, almost 120 times smaller than the island of Manhattan. Situated
on the western bank of the Tiber River, Vatican City’s 2-mile border is landlocked by
Italy.

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French islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans

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 North America
North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost
all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a northern subcontinent
of the Americas.

It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the
west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the
Caribbean Sea.

North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and
the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe.

• North America is the third largest continent after Asia and Africa. It covers an
area of nearly 24 million square kilometers.
• From south to north, it extends from 7°N to 85°N latitude and east to west from
20°W to 179° W.
• In other words, its northern boundary is only about 500 kilometers away from
the North Pole and its western boundary only 10 kilometers away from the
International Date Line.
• There are five time zones in North America.
• The Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle passes through the continent and the
100°W longitude cuts through the center of the continent.

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 North-America-Time-zone

US-Timezone

• This huge landmass includes three large countries – Canada, the United States of
America and Mexico, seven small states of Central America, and the islands of
the West Indies.
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 • The Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans surround North America in the east, west,
and north respectively.
• In the north-west, the Bering Strait separates it from Asia and in the south-east,
the Isthmus of Panama joins it to South America. North America has a smooth
coastline except for the existing in the north-west.

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Regional Divisions Of North America
Region-wise North America can be classified into the following parts which are listed
below:

• Western Region
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 • Great Plains
• Canadian Shield
• Eastern Region

Western Region
Young mountains rise in the west. The most familiar of these mountains are probably
the Rockies, North America’s largest chain. They stretch from the province of British
Columbia, Canada, to the U.S. state of New Mexico.

Great Plains
In the middle of the continent lies the Great Plain. Deep, rich soil blankets are large
areas of the plains in Canada and the United States. Grain is grown in this region called
the “Breadbasket of North America,” feeds a large part of the world. The Great Plains
are also home to rich deposits of oil and natural gas.

Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield is a raised but relatively flat plateau. It extends over eastern,
central, and northwestern Canada. The Canadian Shield is characterized by a rocky
landscape pocked by an astounding number of lakes.

Eastern Region
This varied region includes the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic coastal plain.
North America’s older mountain ranges, including the Appalachians, rise near the east
coast of the United States and Canada. These areas have been mined for rich deposits
of coal and other minerals for hundreds of years.

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Major Physical Divisions of North America
• The Western Cordilleras
• The Central Lowlands
• The Eastern Highlands

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The Western Cordilleras

• The parallel ranges of young fold mountains run from Alaska and extend into
South America as the Andes.
• As they resemble twisted cords they are known as Cordilleras.
• Fold mountains are formed when tectonic plates push the Earth’s crust and
force it to form ridges and valleys.
• Volcanic rocks from the base of fold mountains.
• The Cordilleras are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Mount St. Helena is in the USA.
• The snow-covered Cordilleras act as a barrier to moisture-laden winds and cause
relief rainfall.
• Some of the rivers flow westwards and some eastwards with the Cordilleras
acting as the water divide between them.
• Rocky Mountains, Alaska Range, Cascades, Sierra Nevada, and the Sierra Madre
are the chief ranges of the Western Cordilleras
• The Grand Canyon is a network of deep narrow valley cuts into the dry Colorado
Plateau.
• The Old Faithful” is a natural geyser (a hot waterspout). Once in every 90
minutes, the water from the geyser comes out roaring up to 60 meters high. It is
found in Yellowstone National Park.

The Central Lowlands

• These stretch from around the Arctic Shores and Hudson Bay to the Gulf of
Mexico.
• They are hemmed in by the Cordilleras in the west and the highlands in the east.
• In the west, they are known as high plains because of the greater altitudes.
• In the north, they form the Canadian Shield.
• The Canadian Shield is a peneplain with a number of lakes. They are large
enough to be called seas. They are the five Great lakes – Superior, Michigan,
Huron, Erie, and Ontario.
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 • Lake Winnipeg, Great Bear Lake, and Lake Athabaska are also on the Canadian
Shield.
• South of the Canadian Shield, the Central Lowlands are covered with layers of
sediment brought by glaciers and rivers. It is a very fertile region.

Great Lakes of USA –

Importance of great lakes region

• Glacial lakes
• The largest freshwater system
• Together – they hold 1/5 th of the earth surface’s freshwater
• Source of drinking water, irrigation, transport, sulfide and iron mining in the
periphery

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The Eastern Highlands

• They are old fold mountains that stretch from the valley of River St. Lawrence to
Southern USA.
• They are not high or as continuous as the Cordilleras.
• The highlands are also known as the Laurentian highlands in Canada and the
Appalachians in the USA and are less than 2,000 meters in height.
• Their eastern slopes facing the Atlantic Ocean are very steep causing waterfalls
in the streams that flow to the coast.

Canadian Shield –

The Canadian Shield is a raised but relatively flat plateau. It extends over eastern,
central, and northwestern Canada. The Canadian Shield is characterized by a rocky
landscape pocked by an astounding number of lakes.

Gulfs of North America

A gulf is a portion of the ocean that penetrates land which is very large in size, shape,
and depth. They are generally larger and more deeply indented than bays and often
make excellent harbors. Many important trading centers are located on gulfs.

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 • Gulf of Mexico
• Gulf of Alaska
• Gulf of California
• Gulf of St. Lawrence

Gulf of Mexico
It is an important economic site for three countries and surrounded by the United
States, Mexico, and the island nation of Cuba. As one of the biggest gulf, it has a
coastline of 5000 kilometers.

Gulf of Alaska
It is situated in the northwestern part of North America where two types of water run
into each other, a light, almost electric blue merging with a darker slate-blue.

Gulf of California
It separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. It has a coastline
of 4000 km( 2600 miles). It is considered to be one of the most diversified seas on the
planet and is home to more than 5,000 species of microinvertebrates.

Gulf of St. Lawrence

It is a water outlet of the North American Great Lakes via Saint Lawrence river. It’s a
semi-enclosed sea that covers 236,000 square kilometers (91,000 sq mi) and containing
about 35,000 cubic kilometers (8,400 cu mi) of water, which results in an average
depth of 148 meters (486 ft).

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Islands
The world famous islands of North America are:

Vancouver Island
It is situated on Canada’s Pacific Coast, is known for its mild climate and thriving arts
community. It is separated from British Columbia mainland by the Strait of
Georgia and Queen Charlotte Strait and from Washington by the Juan De Fuca
Strait.

Greenland
It is a massive island situated between Atlantic and Arctic oceans and 80% of its land is
covered by ice.

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Prince of Wales Island
It is one of the islands of the Alexander Archipelago in the Alaska Panhandle. This ranks
four among the island in size.

Hawaii Island
It is otherwise known as the Big Island provides a vast canvas of natural environment
and it is the largest island of the Hawaiian archipelago in the Central Pacific.

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Cuba Islands of Antilles
It is known as the sugar bowl of the World and its vast source of metallic resources
include cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, and copper. Other resources include timber,
petroleum, silica, salt, and arable land.

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Bermuda Island
It is the territory of the British Islands in North Atlantic and famous for its pink sand
beaches such as Elbow and Horseshoe Bay.

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Drainage Pattern
There are many rivers in North America. River of North America can be grouped
according to the seas they drain into, like

• Rivers draining into the Gulf of Mexico

• Rivers draining into the Atlantic Ocean
• Arctic Ocean drainage
• Pacific Ocean Drainage

1. The rivers draining into the Gulf of Mexico

These are the Mississippi, Missouri and their tributaries drain the whole of the lower
Central Lowlands. They start from the Western Cordilleras. The Ohino and Tennesse.
Rivers which are also tributaries of the Mississippi but have their source in the
Appalachians are exceptions.

2. Rivers draining into the Atlantic Ocean

River St. Lawrence is the large river of this group. In this group the smaller rivers of the
Fall Line can also be included.

3. Arctic Ocean drainage

River Mackenzie which has many shallow lakes on the Canadian Shield. River Nelson
flow into the Hudson Bay.

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4. Pacific Ocean Drainage

River Yukon in Alaska, Columbia, Fraser, and Colorado along the west coast. The
Colorado River cuts across the Colorado plateau and forms the world’s most famous
and attractive deep gorges, known as grand canons having nearly one km depth.
Among the other rivers, the Yukon, the Fraser, the Snake, the Humboldt, the
Sacramento, the San Joaquin, etc. are well known.

Seas in North America

Caribbean Sea
It is a sub-oceanic basin bordered by coasts of Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama; to
the west by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and the Yucatán
Peninsula of Mexico; to the north
by the Greater Antilles islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico; and to
the east by the north-south chain of the Lesser Antilles, consisting of the island arc that
extends from the Virgin Islands in the northeast to Trinidad.

Beaufort Sea
It is situated in the north of Canada and Alaska is known to be the marginal sea of
Arctic Ocean covering an area of 184,000 sq. miles and the average depth of 3,239 ft
(1,004 m).

Hudson Bay
It is known as the second largest bay in the world which encompasses an area of
1,230,000 square kilometer (470,000mi) and large body of Salt water.

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Labrador Sea
It is bordered by continental shelves and separates Canada from Green Land.

Bering Sea
It is situated on the extreme North of North America separating the continents of Asia
and north America.

Inland Drainage System

The Great Basin area in the Rocky Mountains (Middle) has rivers which do not reach
the coast, but terminate in the land. This is the Inland Drainage System.

The rivers are small, seasonal and end up in saline lakes.

Lakes in North America

• The Lakes of the Canadian Shield are freshwater bodies.
• The Great Salt Lake between the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada has a high salt
content and is an area of ‘Inland drainage’.
• Lake Erie in Ontario, Canada, and Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania in the
USA.
• Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada, and Michigan in the USA.
• Lake Ontario in Ontario, and New York in the USA.
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 • Lake St Clair in Ontario, and Michigan in the USA.
• Lake Superior in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin in the USA.

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Resources

Agriculture
From the freezing Arctic to the tropical jungles of Central America, North America
enjoys more climate variation than any other continent. Almost every type of
ecosystem is represented somewhere on the continent, from coral reefs in the
Caribbean to the ice sheet in Greenland. These differences contribute to North
America’s variety of agricultural industries, which are often divided by climate zone:

• tropical zone,
• subtropical zone,
• cool temperate zone,
• dry zone

Tropical Zone –

• Farmer’s harvest oranges, sugar cane, coffee, cocoa, and bananas. These crops
grow on coastal plains and humid mountain slopes. Cotton and hemp are
cultivated in the warmer and drier intermediate climate zone. These crops are
important exports for Central American countries.

Sub – tropical Zone –

• Fruits, vegetables, cotton, and tobacco are predominant in the warm, subtropical
zones of northern Mexico and the United States.
• Important agricultural areas in this zone include the Rio Grande Valley (citrus
fruits) in the U.S. state of Texas and Mexico, California’s Central Valley (fruits and
vegetables), the Gulf Coastal Plain (vegetables), and the sandy valleys of the
Appalachians (cotton and tobacco).
• These areas benefit from ample rain and warm air currents.

Cool Temperate Zone –

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 • Important agricultural areas in this climate include the Finger Lakes region of
New York in the U.S.; the Niagara Peninsula in the Canadian province of Ontario;
the Columbia River basin in the U.S. state of Washington and the Canadian
province of British Columbia; and the valleys of the Appalachians.
• These areas benefit from excellent drainage and predictable, established frosts.
• The Dairy Belt, Corn Belt, and Wheat Belt are three agricultural areas in the
continent’s cool temperate zones.
• Dairy animals, including cows, goats, and sheep, feed on the hay and hardy
small grains that thrive in New England and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
region along the Atlantic coast. This is the Dairy Belt.
• The Corn Belt, located between the Ohio River and the lower Missouri
River, receives ample water and strong summer sun, ideal for corn and
soybeans.
• West of the Corn Belt, the Wheat Belt stretches from the U.S. state of
Kansas through the Canadian Prairie Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan,
and Manitoba. This vast area of the Great Plains allows wheat to be
cultivated in both winter and spring.

Dry Zone –

• Dry zones, common in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, are ideally
suited for livestock ranching.
• Ranches with thousands of cattle are common in this region. Traditionally,
livestock fed on locally grown fodder such as prairie grasses. However, irrigation
for fruit and cotton farming has drained water supplies in the region.
• Native grasses cannot nourish the huge herds of livestock kept by ranchers.
Cattle, sheep, hogs, and other livestock are less likely to graze than to eat corn-
based feed.
• In fact, most of the corn grown in the Corn Belt is feeder corn used for livestock
feed.

Forestry
Forestry is the management, cultivation, and harvesting of trees and other vegetation
in forests. In the Pacific Northwest, for instance, logging companies harvest cedar, fir,
and spruce trees.

Lumber from these trees is exported around the world for construction. Some of the
continent’s largest paper mills are found in these temperate rain forests. In addition to
paper, paper mills produce cardboard and fiberboard.

Forestry is a major economic activity for much of North America. In the United States,
the timber industry is strong in the Pacific Northwest, the Gulf states, and South
Atlantic coastal plains. In Canada, forestry is a major industry in the provinces of
Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia.

Mining
North America is a leading producer of coal, used in energy production; bauxite used
to create aluminum; iron and copper, both used in construction; and nickel, used to
create steel, which North American companies export around the world. Gold and

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silver mines operate in the western part of the continent. Visitors to Crater of
Diamonds State Park, a mine in the U.S. state of Arkansas, can search for their own
diamonds.

Coal–

• Coal remains a primary industry for the U.S. and is often linked with states near
the Appalachians.
• Coal can be mined underground or in large, open pits. Around 20% of the
World’s Coal is mined in Pennsylvania, USA.

Metallic minerals–

• Large deposits of iron ore are found in the areas around Lake Superior and the
Eastern part of the Canadian shield. Iron is also found in the southern
Appalachians.
• The USA is one of the largest producers of copper in the world. It is mined
extensively around the great lakes and the Rocky Mountains.
• Mexico is the world’s largest producer of silver. Large deposits of silver are found
in the USA and Canada too. It is a byproduct of the Zinc industry as well.
Chihuahua is the largest silver mine in the World. It is in Mexico.
• Canada and the US produce a substantial amount of Gold which is mined in the
Rocky Mountains. California and Alaska saw the Gold rush in the early 1900s.
• Canada produces about 90% of the world’s Nickle.
• Canada is also the largest producer of Asbestos, Zinc, and platinum and the
second-largest producer of cobalt, Uranium, and radium. Note that China is also
one of the World’s largest producer of Asbestos.
• The USA is one of the world’s largest producer of Uranium and Sulphur.

Drilling
North America is home to vast deposits of oil and natural gas, which are drilled for
energy and fuel. Oil and gas extraction are key elements of North America’s economy.
The United States, Canada, and Mexico are among the world’s top oil producers.

The Athabasca tar sands, in the Canadian province of Alberta, are the world’s largest
reservoir of heavy crude oil. More than 20 national and international extraction projects
are established in the Athabasca tar sands.

Large reserves of Petroleum are found in North America in a great arc from Alaska to
Texas in the USA. The United States is the top oil-producing country in the world, with
an average of 17.87 million b/d, which accounts for 18% of the world’s production.

The U.S. overtook Russia in 2012 for the No. 2 spots and surpassed former leader Saudi
Arabia in 2013 to become the world’s top oil producer. Much of the increased U.S.
production is attributable to fracking in the shale formations in Texas and North
Dakota. The U.S. has been a net exporter of oil (i.e., exports exceed imports) since early
2011.

Mexico leads other North American countries as one of the top oil exporters in the
world, largely because of its reserves in and around the Gulf. (Although both the

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United States and Canada produce more oil than Mexico, they also consume far more.
Both countries are mostly importers, not exporters, of oil and natural gas.)

Important Industrial Centers of North America

United States of America:
West Coast Important Cities –

• Seattle – world’s largest aircraft assembly center. Lumbering, fish canning,

aluminum smelting electrical engineering are important industries.
• San Francisco – known as ‘The City of Golden Gate’. Famous for oil refining and
ship building.
• Los Angeles – known for its film industry – Hollywood.

Great Lake Region-

• Famous for heavy industries and iron and steel.

• Important cities – Chicago, Pittsburg, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, etc.
• Detroit – greatest automobile region of USA
• Akron – world’s largest synthetic rubber and tyre making center.
• Pittsburg – highest production of Iron and steel

Texas –

• Houston – Oil refinery, shipbuilding, chemical, and machinery are important

industries located here.

Canada

• Hamilton – located at the head of Lake Ontario. It is known as the Birmingham

of Canada. Center for iron and steelworks and engineering.
• Sudbury – Located on the shore of Lake Huron. It is one of the most productive
mining areas of Canada which yields nickel, Platinum, copper, etc.
• Arvida – Situated on Saguenay River. It has the largest aluminum smelter in the
world.
• Sarnia – Located on the shore of Lake Huron. It has the largest oil refinery in the
world.
• Ottawa – Paper and pulp and sawmilling

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 South America
South America is a long triangular shaped continent.

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 • It stretched from 12°N to 55°S latitude.
• The Equator passes through the northern part of the continent and the
Tropic of Capricorn runs roughly through the middle.
• Because of its tapering shape, a major part of the landmass is in the tropics.
South America lies on the west of the Prime Meridian. So the time at any place
on this continent will be some hours less than or behind the Greenwich Mean
Time.
• The 60° meridian divides the continent lengthwise into two halves. It is more
to the east compared to North America and is, therefore, closer to Europe and
Africa. South America is the fourth largest continent after Asia, Africa, and North
America.
• It is two-third the size of Africa and six times the size of India. The coastline of
South America is smooth with very few inlets except in the extreme south-west
where there are fiords and many small islands.
• Fiords are deep inlets of the sea into mountains land. There are a few large
islands off the coast of South America.
• The Galapagos Islands near the Equator and the Juan Fernandez Islands near
Central Chile are in the Pacific Ocean.
• The Tierra del Fuego is in the Southern Ocean and the Falkland Islands in the
South Atlantic Ocean. The island of Trinidad is near Venezuela in the North
Atlantic Ocean.
• The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world. South America’s three
southern countries – Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay – constitute a region
sometimes referred to as the Southern Cone because of its pointed, ice-cream-
cone-like shaped.
• Landlocked Countries – Paraguay and Bolivia

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South America includes 14 countries:

1. Argentina
2. Bolivia
3. Brazil
4. Chile
5. Colombia
6. Ecuador
7. Falkland Islands (United Kingdom) i.e. (British Overseas Territories)
8. French Guiana (France)
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 9. Guyana
10. Paraguay
11. Peru
12. Suriname
13. Uruguay
14. Venezuela.

Major Physical Divisions of South America

• The Pacific coastal strip
• Mountain Ranges
• The Central Lowlands
• The Eastern Highlands

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1. The Pacific coastal strip

• It lies in the west, between the ocean and the Andes. It is the longest coastal
plain in the Atlantic world.
• In most places, it is about 80 kilometers wide but in some, it is as narrow as 8
meters. The coastline of South America is smooth and regular. At the river
mouths, there are inlets that are used as harbors.
• The south-western coast of the continent has fiords or deep inlets of the sea.

Andes Mountains:

• Forms the second-highest mountain systems in the world and is next to the
Himalayas
• Mount Aconcagua is the extinct volcano lies in Argentina
• Mount Ojas del Salado is the highest active volcano in the world of Argentina
• Andes Mountains – A part of seven countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador,
Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Argentina.

2. Mountain Ranges

• The Andes stretches through the entire continent, running in the north-south
direction from Isthmus of Panama to Strait of Magellan.
• They are the continuous range of folded mountain systems that cover the entire
western coast of South America.

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 • The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world. The highest mountain of
this mountain range is Aconcagua, which stands at 6,962 meters (22,841 feet)
and straddles the Argentina-Chile border.
• They form a chain of ranges and knots with enclosed intermontane
plateaus namely in Ecuador and Bolivia.
• Being part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, there are many volcanoes and frequent
earthquakes in this region. Mount Cotopaxi and Mount Chimborazo are active
volcanic peak, which is the highest peak in South America.

Intermontane plateau – Bolivian plateau

Guiana Highlands:

an abundance of rain, tropical rainforest, gold, diamond, and iron ore reserve. World’s
highest fall – Angel’s fall on the Caroni River.

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Plateau of Mato Grosso:

Ancient erosional plateau, savannah, cattle raising, gold, and diamond reserve.

Plateau of Borborema:

Semi-arid, deciduous-thorny scrub

Brazilian highlands:

Lava plateau, Minas Garais region- iron and gold reserve.

3. The Central Lowlands

• They are formed by two great river systems – the Amazon- the Orinoco and the
Parana-Paraguay. The vegetation of the lowlands is given special names.
• The Orinoco Basin has dense tropical forests. The northern part is a plain covered
with savanna grass called the Llanos.
• The equatorial jungle of the Amazon Basin is called the selvas, a typical tropical
rain forest.
• The rich temperate grasslands around the mouth of the Parana-Paraguay is the
pampas.
• At the source of these rivers is a region scrub forest called the Gran Chaco.

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4. The Eastern Highlands

• These are plateaus made up of hard old rocks.

• The River Amazon separates them into the Guiana Highland to the north and
the Brazilian Highland to the south.
• They have been worn down by wind, rain, and rivers. They have steep cliffs along
the east coast and slope gently towards the Central Plains.
• The savanna grasslands of Brazilian Highlands are the Campos.
• Towards the Central Lowlands, it is known as the plateau of Matogrosso.
• The Eastern highlands consists of Igneous and Metamorphic rocks.

Highlands are split in to three regions:

1. Brazilian Highlands
2. Guiana Highlands
3. Patagonian Plateau

Guiana Highlands

• It is a geographically stunning part of Planet Earth, over 1,000 miles in length, the
Highlands stretch from southern Venezuela across the northern edge of South
America to the tip of Brazil.
• It consists of a vast plateau, one marked by deep gorges, tropical rain forests,
numerous rivers, and waterfalls. It’s famed for the highest waterfall in the world
(Angel Falls) at 3,212 ft (979 m) high. The highest point is Mt. Roraima on the
borders of Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela at 2,810 m.

Brazilian Highlands

• This highlands region is about 800 miles in length and runs through the
Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Goias, Bahia, and Sao Paulo in southeastern
Brazil. The magnificent landscape includes varied mountain ranges, namely the
Serra de Mantiquiera, Serra do Paranapiataba, Serra Geral, and Serra do Mar.

Patagonian Plateau

• It is located between the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean, and about 1,000 miles in
length; Patagonia stretches south from the Rio Negro river in southern
Argentina to Tierra del Fuego and the Strait of Magellan. It’s mostly rugged,
barren land, famed for its beauty and striking scenery.

Deserts of South America

• Patagonian Desert – the largest desert by area located in Argentina
• La Guajira Desert – a desert in northern Colombia and some of northwestern
Venezuela
• Atacama – a desert in Chile, the driest place on Earth.
• Sechura Desert – a desert located along a portion of the northwestern coast of
South America
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 • Monte Desert – in Argentina, a smaller desert above the Patagonian desert.

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Drainage System of South America
• The Amazon Basin
• The Rio de Plata Basin
• The Orinoco Basin
• The Sao Francisco Basin

The Amazon Basin

• It is the basin of River Amazon.

• Its length is second to that of the Nile river of Africa.
• It has the largest flow of water in the world.
• The river drains nearly 40 per cent of the area of South America.
• The major tributaries of the Amazon river are the Caqueta, the Jurua, the
Madeira, the Negro, etc.
• Equatorial rainforest
• Navigable till Manaus
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 • Petroleum at mouth
• Natural Rubber
• Amazon rainforest – deforestation due to cattle ranching and soya beans field.

The Rio de Plata basin

• This basin is second in size to that of the Amazon.

• The main rivers which form the Basin of Rio de Plata are the river Paraguay, the
Parana, and the river Uruguay.
• River Parana (4,879 km) rises from Minas Gerais from a water divide Carino.

The Orinoco basin

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 • This is considered to be the third-largest drainage system of South America.
• It rises in the Southern end of Sierra Parima near Mount Delgado Chalboud at a
height of 1000 meters.
• It traverses 2,740 km to meet the Atlantic ocean.
• The word the Orinoco means ‘a place to paddle’, i.e. a river where navigation is
possible.
• In the North, the Orinoco river passes through a zone called ‘Region of Rapids’
where there are enormous granite boulders.
• The world’s highest waterfall Angel (979 m) is situated on river Churun which is
a tributary of river Caroni which is further a tributary of river Orinoco.
• The Orinoco flows through the llanos (savanna grasslands) of Venezuela into the
(North Atlantic Ocean).

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Parana river system –

• From source to its junction with Paraguay – known as Alto Parana

• Numerous waterfalls in alto Parana – then navigable
• Useful for HEP, irrigation
• Wheat cultivation in Pampas region

Uruguay river system –

• Joins Parana river – to form Rio de la Plata estuary

• Important for irrigation and HEP
• Not useful for navigation due to numerous rapids

The Sao Fancisco basin

• The fourth-largest river system of South America is the river Sao Francisco which
is about 2,914 km in length. It flows within Brazil.
• It originates North-west of the city of Belo Horizonte.

Rivers of South America

• Amazon River
• Orinoco River
• Magdalene River
• Parana-Rio de la Plata
• Tocantins-Araguaia
• Sao Francisco River
• Paraguay and Uruguay Rivers.

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Important Lakes and Islands
NAME LOCATION

North of Venezuela, is one of the major oil producing

Lake Maracaibo (12,950 sq. km)
region.Largest lak of South America.

Lake Titicaca (12,500 feet Situated between Bolivia and Peru.Highest navigable lake in the
above sea level) world.

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 Lies in the Altiplano (high Plateau between the Andes mountain
Lake Popo
chain) in Bolivia.

Home of many unique species of reptiles (turtles), birds and

Galapagos Islands
fishes.

Galapagos Islands

Pantanal Wetlands
• It is the world’s largest tropical wetlands.

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 • It sprawls across three South American countries i.e. Bolivia,
Brazil, and Paraguay, and supports millions of people there, as well as
communities in the lower Rio de la Plata Basin.
• The Pantanal derives its name from the Portuguese word for ‘swamp’.
• It has the largest concentration of crocodiles in the world.
• Jaguars, the largest feline in the Americas, hunt caiman in the Pantanal, which
has one of the highest density of jaguars anywhere in the world.
• The Pantanal is also home to the biggest parrot on the planet, the hyacinth
macaw.
• The areas that are protected include parts that fall under an agreement
called Ramsar that requires national governments to conserve and wisely use
wetlands and some that are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Biosphere
Reserves.
• The Pantanal is bounded by the Chiquitano dry forests to the west and
northwest, by the Arid Chaco dry forests to the southwest, and the Humid
Chaco to the south.
• Less than 5% of the Pantanal is protected, with parts that fall under an Ramsar
agreement, and some that are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Biosphere
Reserves.
• Around 95% of the Pantanal is under private ownership, the majority of which is
used for cattle grazing.

Latin America
Reference – Britannica

Latin America is generally understood to consist of the entire continent of South

America in addition to Mexico, Central America, and the islands of the
Caribbean whose inhabitants speak a Romance language.

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North And Central America

• Belize
• Costa Rica
• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Mexico
• Nicaragua
• Panama

South America

• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Chile
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• French Guiana (département of France)
• Guyana
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Suriname
• Uruguay
• Venezuela

Caribbean
countries

• Cuba
• Dominican Republic
• Haiti

dependencies and constituent entities

• Guadeloupe
• Martinique
• Puerto Rico
• Saint-Barthélemy
• Saint-Martin

Lithium Triangle
Lithium Triangle is an intersection of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, known for high
quality salt flats.

Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, Salar de Atacama in Chile, and Salar de Arizaro in Argentina
contains over 45%of known global lithium reserves.

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 • Beneath Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat lies the world’s greatest
lithium deposits.
• Bolivia, one of South America’s poorest countries, envisions development by
harvesting lithium on an industrial scale from underground saltwater brines.
• It can be mined from rock or processed from brine.
• Lithium dissolved in underground saline aquifers called “brine”, pumped to
the surface by wells and then allowed to evaporate in vast knee-deep ponds.
• Demand for electric vehicles and smart devices powered by lithium-ion
batteries gives an opportunity for development.

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 Australia and Oceania
Thousands of islands combine to form the Oceania region mostly covering the
Central and South Pacific Ocean.

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The region is dominated by the world’s biggest island and two other major
landmasses, micro-continent of Zealandia ( includes New Zealand) and the western
half of the island of New Guinea, made
up of the nation of Papua New Guinea. Oceania also includes three island
regions: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia (including the U.S. state of Hawaii).

It stretches from the Strait of Malacca to the coast of the Americas. The Tropic of
Capricorn divides it into almost two halves.

Australia is the world’s largest island and smallest continent. It is the only nation that
completely covers a continent. Its total area is nearly double that of India and Pakistan
combined. It lies entirely in the Southern Hemisphere and is aptly named – Austral
meaning south. It is located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, stretches west to
east from 114°E longitude to 154°E longitude and from 10°S to 40°S latitude.

The Tropic of Capricorn cuts the continent almost into half. Asia is the continent
nearest to Australia. The nearest point on the mainland of Asia is Singapore To the
west of Australia, Indian Ocean, to the south, the icy shore of Antarctica to the south-
east is New Zealand. To the north-west is the continent of Asia.

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Australia
Capital: Canberra

• It is the only continent which is also a country

• It lies between the Indian and the Pacific oceans
• It is surrounded by
• The Timor Sea in the North-West
• The Gulf of Carpentaria in the North,
• Great barrier reef in the north-east &
• Great Australian bight in the south
• To the southeast of the mainland lies the island of Tasmania

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Major states –

It has 6 states and 2 centrally administered territories.

Its 6 states are:

1. Western Australia
2. Queensland
3. South Australia
4. New South Wales
5. Victoria
6. Tasmania

• Australia is the most leveled and lowest of all the continents.

• There are no high mountains, deep valleys, or large rivers.
• Mount Kosciusko 2,230 meters above sea level, is the highest peak.
• The coastline is very smooth with no inlets except in the south. So there are very
few good harbors.
• As the smallest continent, Australia has no prominent physical division, yet
efforts have been made to divide it roughly into four categories, such as:

Major Cities in Australia

• Australia’s major cities include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide,

Cairns, Darwin, and Canberra, the capital.

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Physical Divisions
• Eastern Highland
• The Western Plateau
• Desert
• The Central Lowland
• The Great Barrier Reef

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Eastern Highland
This is a chain of hills and mountains which interrupts the leveled landform of
Australia. These are also known as the Great Dividing Range.

The Great Dividing Range

• It is, also known as the Eastern Highlands, is Australia’s most substantial

mountain range.
• The range stretches more than 3500 km from the northeastern tip of Queen’s
land, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through New South
Wales, then into Victoria and turning water, before finally fading into the central
plain at the Grampians in western Victoria.
• The Great Dividing Range does not consist of a single mountain range.
• It consists of a complex of mountain ranges, plateau, upland areas, and
escarpments with an ancient and complex geological history.
• The crest of the range is defined by the watershed or boundary between the
drainage basins of rivers which drain directly eastward into the Pacific Ocean,
and those rivers which drain into the Murray- Darling River system towards the
west.
• In the north, the rivers on the west side of the range drain towards the Gulf of
Carpentaria.

The Western Plateau

• This eroded plateau has undergone the process of erosion for a quite long
period. It is characterized by several ‘sinkhole’ a network of underground caves
which filled with water.
• The Western Plateau is also called the home for several deserts and the climate
is comparatively dry owing to the cold water current of western Australia. The
series of the desert in this region are:
• The ranges were originally home to Australian Aboriginal tribes such as the
Kulin.

Desert

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 • Gibson Desert – a central Australian desert
• Great Sandy Desert – a northwestern Australian desert
• Great Victoria Desert – the sixth-largest desert in the world by area, located in
south-central Australia.
• Simpson Desert – a central Australian desert
• Little Sandy Desert – a western Australian desert
• Strzelecki Desert – a south-central Australian desert
• Tanami Desert – a northern Australian desert
• Western Desert – a desert located in western Australia, comprising the Gibson,
Great Sandy, and Little Sandy deserts.
• Rangipo Desert – a barren light altitude desert on the North Island Volcanic
Plateau in New Zealand.

The Central Lowland

• The extensive patch of plain or low land has its existence between the Eastern
Highlands and Western Plateau.
• The patch is drained by two rivers such as Murray and Darling which also
facilitate the land with irrigation facilities for farming and other essential
activities.
• The area is also known as the Great Artesian Basin as it is covered by a number of
underground pressurized wells from which the water comes out automatically
to the surface. Yet they are not suitable for drinking as they are salty by nature.

The Great Barrier Reef

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 • This is the largest coral reef in the world.
• It lies along the east coast of Queensland, Australia, in the Pacific Ocean.
• It is about 2,000 kilometers long, in some places, it is as close as 16 kilometers to
the coast while in other places it is 200 kilometers away.
• It is one of the natural wonders of the world.
• It is formed by the tiny coral polyps.

The Islands of Australia & Oceania

• The islands situated surrounding the younger most continent in size are
collectively known as Oceania. Broadly it has been divided into three major
island groups Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
• Melanesia is otherwise known as Black Islands and congregated around north
and east of Australia. Some of the major islands are East Timor, Fiji, New
Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
• Micronesia which is also called as Little Islands is the agglomeration of islands
such as Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru,
Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and Wake Island.
• Polynesia is otherwise known as Many Lands which expand from islands of
Midway in the north to New Zealand in the south and include the series of
islands such as the American Samoa Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Niue,
Pitcairn, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Wallis and Futuna Islands.
• The islands of Oceania have been formed due to the differential activities of
volcanoes. The low islands of Micronesia have been formed by building up coral
reefs on the rim of the volcanic islands, hence giving it a shape of a Ring which is
known as Atolls. The atolls further encircle the lagoons which are characterized
by shallow pools of clear water at a very low altitude of just a few feet above sea
level.

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Drainage System
• Australia has low average rainfall.
• Being a hot dry country the rate of evaporation is high. So there is very little
water left to flow like a river to the sea.
• As a result of this, the total Australian continent is mainly drained by two of the
largest drainage basins Murray and Darling and an inland lake is also found
which is known as Lake Eyre Basin. Which accounts for an area for over 1 million
square kilometers.
• River Murray starts from the Snowy Mountains of the Great Dividing Range.

• Its tributaries are the Darling, Murrumbidgee, and Lachlan. Many dams have
been built across these to provide for irrigation and power generation.
• River Swan near Perth is also utilized in the same way.

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Climatic zones
There are generally four types of wind that prevail over Australian continent
throughout the year which affect the climate of the little continent to a large extent.

Seasonal change in the Temperate Zones

The coastal hinterland of New South Wales, much of Victoria, Tasmania, the south-
eastern corner of South Australia and the southwest of Western Australia are
contributing the temperate zones where the seasonal changes are as follows –

• Summer: December to February

• Autumn: March to May
• Winter: June to August
• Spring: September to November

• The two similarly affected areas to that of temperate zones are:

• The temperate grassland that surrounds the arid and semiarid desert areas in
the center and gradually percolates into the area north of Alice Springs in the
Northern Territory.
• Desserts are the arid and semi-arid areas of the center of the continent which
stretch across the vast amount of South Australia and Western Australia.

Seasonal change in the Tropical Zones

• There are three climatic zones in the tropical areas of Australia:

• Equatorial – the tip of Cape York and Bathurst and Melville Islands north of
Darwin.

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 • Tropical – across northern Australia including Cape York, the Top End of the
Northern Territory, land south of the Gulf of Carpentaria, and the Kimberley
region.
• Sub-tropical – the coastal and inland fringe from Cairns along the Queensland
coast and hinterland to the northern areas of New South Wales and the coastal
fringe north of Perth to Geraldton in Western Australia.

• These above-mentioned areas experience two exactly opposite spells of season

i.e. wet and dry seasons.
• The wet season is otherwise called as the monsoon season, which lasts about six
months, between November and March. The temperature ranges between 30
and 50 degrees Celsius and comparatively it is hotter than the dry season
because of the high humidity during the wet, which is caused by large amounts
of water in the air. It is also marked by heavy rainfall which leads to frequent
flooding. The dry season lasts about six months, usually between April and
October. Temperatures are lower and the skies are generally clearer during the
dry. The average temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius.

Natural Vegetation

Downs

• The temperate grassland of Australia known as downs is found in the Murray-

Darling basins of South-Eastern part.
• They are largely used for pastoral activity.
• Cultivation is profitably done in the down areas where Mitchel grasses grown.
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 • The Mitchel grasses grow even on the cracking clay soils, basaltic soils, and even
on skeletal soils.
• Similarly, Canterbury grassland is found in New Zealand.

The tropical Rain forest regions

• These are home to dense forests with coconut palms and mangroves growing
nearer the shorelines. High temperatures throughout the year with very little
rainfall.

The deciduous forest region

• It has a wealth of plant life and includes tall and short trees, shrubs, small plants,
and mosses. Four distinct seasons with warm summers and cold, wet winters.
The trees shed their leaves in autumn.

Savanna

• Very high temperatures all year and rain during the summer season only.

The dry desert and desert scrub region

• It is home to the eucalyptus as well as those plants that can survive the arid
conditions like cacti. Warm to high temperatures with very little rainfall. Hot
summers and cold winters with above-average rainfall.
• The varying climate of Australia is largely dependent on its size. The temperature
ranges below zero in the Snowy Mountains in southern Australia to extreme heat
in the Kimberley region in the north-west of the continent. Different climatic
zones are characterized by distinct climatic phenomena with prominent
seasonal changes.
• Four prominent seasons such as Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring are
experienced in the Temperate zone, Desert, and the Grassland climatic zones
but drastically it has changed to wet and dry seasons in the tropical north of the
continent which includes the Equatorial, Tropical and sub-tropical zones.

New Zealand
• Lying in the southwest Pacific, New Zealand consists of two main islands – the
North Island and the South Island. Stewart Island and many smaller islands
lie offshore.
• The North Island of New Zealand has a ‘spine’ of mountain ranges running
through the middle, with gentle rolling farmland on both sides.
• The central North Island is dominated by the Volcanic Plateau, an active
volcanic and thermal area.
• The massive Southern Alps form the backbone of the South Island. To the east
of the Southern Alps is the rolling farmland of Otago and Southland, and the
vast, flat Canterbury Plains.

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 • New Zealand sits on two tectonic plates – the Pacific and the
Australian. Fifteen of these gigantic moving chunks of crust make up the Earth’s
surface. The North Island and some parts of the South Island sit on the Australian
Plate, while the rest of the South Island sits on the Pacific. Because these plates
are constantly shifting and grinding into each other, New Zealand gets a lot of
geological action.

Physical features
Southern Alps

• The mountains of the South Island, includes the country’s highest peak, Mount
Cook (3,764 m).

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Mount Egmont

• An extinct volcano in south-west of North Island.

• Situated to the north of central volcanic plateau of North Island.

Wellington

• Situated on the southern tip of the North Island.

• Country’s capital and also the southernmost capital city of the world.
• An important sea port on the Cook Strait.
• Cattle rearing and dairy is the main economic activity around this city.

Auckland

• Biggest city of the country and also the largst port on the coast of North Island.

Christchurch

• Major industrial centre of the South Island.

Taranaki Plain of New Zealand

• Volcanic plain
• Volcanic peak – Mt. Taranaki
• More than 50% of the region has rich pastureland
• sheep and cattle rearing for Dairying, meat imp activities

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 Taranaki Plain
Canterbury Plain of New Zealand

• The most extensive plains, an example of Piedmont Alluvial plain crossed by

rivers cover 12,500 km of the South Island’s east coast.
• The chief farming region in New Zealand.
• Pastoral farming
• Predominantly sheep farming for lamb-wool
• then cattle rearing for meat then dairying

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 Antarctica

• It is the southernmost continent and lies entirely within the Antarctic Circle
spread around the South Pole.
• To the south of India, beyond the Indian Ocean lies the frozen continent of
Antarctica.
• The name means – opposite the Arctic.
• It separated from the rest of the world by the icy waters of the Southern
Ocean which comprises of the southern portions of the Indian, Atlantic, and
Pacific Oceans.
• Its area is over 14 million square kilometers.

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 • It is the fifth-largest continent.
• It is larger than Europe and is twice the size of Australia.
• The continent is a high plateau that is frozen throughout the year.
• There is no coastal plain.
• There are mountain ranges, peaks, a rift valley, and volcanoes.
• Two broad inlets, the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea and the Trans-
• Antarctic Mountains that cross the entire continent divide the land into West
Antarctica and East Antarctica.
• The former faces the Pacific Ocean. The Antarctic Peninsula points towards
South America. It is the continuation of the Andes Mountain range.
• East Antarctica, faces the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, Mount Erebus, an active
volcano, is actually of the Ross Sea.
• It is the only continent that is completely covered by permanent ice and snow
hence it is known as the white continent.
• In some places, its ice cap is 4,000 meters deep.
• The valleys between the mountain ranges are dry, windy, frozen and barren and
strangely called oases.

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Climate of Antarctica
• The climate of Antarctica is frozen cold because of its distance from the Equator
and because of the great height of the plateau.
• In the winter months of May, June, and July the sun never rises and the
temperature at the South Pole falls to minus 90°C.
• In the summer months of December, January, and February, the sun never sets
and their continuous daylight. The summer temperature is about 0°C.
• Extremely cold and icy winds blow throughout the year.
• There is a marked difference between the summer and winter temperatures.
• There is also a vast difference between the temperatures of the continental
interior.
• Most parts of the continent are dry with an average of 5 centimeters of rain
annually.
• Antarctica is a cold desert.
• Mosses and lichens which cling to rocky slopes are found along the coast.
• There are scattered clumps of coarse grass and flowering plants in a few places
where the climate is mild.

Aurora

• In winter, there is a continuous night for 3 months in the polar regions. Curtains
of brilliant colored lights appear on these dark nights. They are caused
by magnetic storms in the upper atmosphere.
• They are called Aurora Australis in the south and Aurora Borealis in the north.

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Minerals
• Scientific studies have shown Antarctica to be rich in gold, platinum, nickel,
copper, and petroleum.
• But by the international Agreement, this continent is to be used only by the
scientists to study the climate of the Earth and the origin of its crust.
• About 70 percent of the Earth’s supply of freshwater can be extracted from the
ice-caps of Antarctica.
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Expeditions of Antarctica
• In 1912, a dramatic contest to reach the South Pole was held by two teams. The
British team was led by Captain Robert F. Scott and the Norwegian team by
Roald Amundsen.
• The five British men reached the pole only to find the Norwegian flag flying at
the South Pole. They had been beaten by 34 days.
• Indian expedition to Antarctica had a 21 member team with Dr. S. Z.Quasim as its
leader. It left Goa on the 6th of December 1981 and landed on the frozen
continent on 9th January 1982.

• They set up a scientific station called Dakshin Gangotri laid plans for a second
base called Maitri and named a point Mount Indira.
• They left automatic weather recorders powered by solar batteries at the stations.
• The South Pole is 2,250 kilometers away from Dakshin Gangotri.

The Antarctic Treaty

• The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by
the twelve nations that had been active during the IGY (Argentina, Australia,
Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, United
Kingdom, United States, and USSR). The Treaty, which applies to the area south
of 60° South latitude, is surprisingly short, but remarkably effective. Through this
agreement, the countries active in Antarctica consult on the uses of a whole
continent, with a commitment that it should not become the scene or object of
international discord. In its fourteen articles the Treaty:
• stipulates that Antarctica should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes,
military activities, such as the establishment of military bases or weapons
testing, are specifically prohibited;
• guarantees continued freedom to conduct scientific research, as enjoyed during
the IGY;
• promotes international scientific cooperation including the exchange of
research plans and personnel, and requires that results of the research be made
freely available;

• sets aside the potential for sovereignty disputes between Treaty parties by
providing that no activities will enhance or diminish previously asserted
positions with respect to territorial claims provides that no new or enlarged
claims can be made, and makes rules relating to jurisdiction;
• prohibits nuclear explosions and the disposal of radioactive waste;
• provides for inspection by observers, designated by any party, of ships, stations
and equipment in Antarctica to ensure the observance of, and compliance with,
the Treaty;
• requires parties to give advance notice of their expeditions; provides for the
parties to meet periodically to discuss measures to further the objectives of the
Treaty; and
• puts in place a dispute settlement procedure and a mechanism by which the
Treaty can be modified.

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www.lotusarise.com
 Major Straits of the World
Strait: A strait is a thin channel of waterways i.e. narrow passage of water that
connects two seas or two other large areas of water.

The following are the main characteristics of a strait:

• Formed by natural processes

• Narrower than the seas it connects
• Navigable

Straits of the world are used by commercial shipping to travel from one sea or
exclusive economic zone to another and they are of immense strategic and
commercial importance. Straits serve as a channel through which ocean currents
pass, modifying the climate of that area.

1. Malacca Strait

Joins: Andaman Sea & South China Sea

Location: Indonesia –Malaysia

2. Palk Strait

Join: Palk Bay & Bay of Bengal

Location: India-Sri Lanka

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3. Sunda Strait

Join: Java Sea & Indian Ocean

Location: Indonesia

4. Yucatan Strait

Join: Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea

Location: Mexico-Cuba

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5. Mesina Strait

Join: Mediterranean Sea

Location: Italy-Sicily

6. Otranto Strait

Join: Adriatic Sea & Ionian Sea

Location: Italy-Albania

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7. Bab-el-Mandeb Strait

Join: Red Sea & Gulf of Aden

Location: Yemen-Djibouti

8. Cook Strait

Join: South Pacific Ocean

Location: New Zealand (North & South Islands)

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9. Mozambique Strait

Join: Indian Ocean

Location: Mozambique -Madagascar

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10. North Channel

Join: Irish Sea & Atlantic Ocean

Location: Ireland-England

11. Taurus Strait (Torres Strait)

Join: Arafura Sea & Gulf of Papua

Location: Papua New Guinea — Australia

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12. Bass Strait

Join: Tasman Sea & South Sea

Location: Australia

13. Bering Strait

Join: Bering Sea & Chuksi Sea

Location: Alaska-Russia

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14. Bonne-Fasio Strait

Join: Mediterranean Sea

Location: Corsika — Sardinia

15. Bosporous Strait

Join: Black Sea and Marmara Sea

Location: Turkey

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16. Dardanelles Strait

Join: Marmara Sea and Agean Sea

Location: Turkey

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17. Davis Strait

Join: Baffin Bay & Atlantic Ocean

Location: Greenland-Canada

18. Denmark Strait

Join: North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean

Location: Greenland-Iceland
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19. Dover strait

Join: English Channel & North Sea

Location: England-France
Strait of Dover or Dover Strait is the narrowest part of the English Channel

20. Florida Strait

Join: Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean

Location: USA-Cuba

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21. Hormuz Strait

Join: Gulf of Persia & Gulf of Oman

Location: Oman-Iran

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22. Hudson strait

Join: Gulf of Hudson & Atlantic Ocean

Location: Canada

23. Gibraltar Strait

Join: Mediterranean Sea & Atlantic Ocean

Location: Spain-Morocco

• The Strait of Gibraltar is located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.
• The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the
Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar and Peninsular Spain in Europe
from Morocco in Africa.
• The two continents are separated by 14.3 kilometers of the ocean at the Strait’s
narrowest point.
• The Spanish side of the Strait is protected under El Estrecho Natural Park.
• On the northern side of the Strait are Spain and Gibraltar(a British overseas
territory in the Iberian Peninsula); while on the southern side are Morocco and
Ceuta (a Spanish autonomous city in northern Africa).
• Due to its location, the Strait is commonly used for illegal immigration from
Africa to Europe.

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 • The Iberian Peninsula: The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme
south-west of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and
Gibraltar. At the nearest point, it is only 5 miles (8km) from the continent of
Africa.

24. Magellan strait

Join: Pacific and South Atlantic Ocean

Location: Chile

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25. Makkassar Strait

Join: Java Sea & Celebeze Sea

Location: Indonesia

26. Tsugaru Strait

Join: Japan Sea and Pacific Ocean

Location: Japan (Hokkaido-Honshu Island)

27. Tatar Strait

Join: Japan Sea & Okhotsk Sea

Location: Russia (East Russia-Sakhalin Islands)

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28. Foveaux Strait

Join: South Pacific Ocean

Location: New Zealand (South Island- Stewart Island)

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29. Taiwan Strait (Formosa Strait)

Join: South China Sea & East China Sea

Location: China-Taiwan

Bohai Strait

The Bohai Sea is connected to the Yellow Sea via the Bohai Strait.

The Bohai Sea is a marginal sea which is the north-western extension of the Yellow
Sea.

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30. Korea Strait

Join: East China Sea and Sea of Japan

Location: Japan and South Korea

31. Jamaica Channel

Join: The Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic

Location: Jamaica and Hispaniola

32. Ten Degree Channel

Join: The Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal

Location: Car Nicobar Islands and Little Andaman

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33. English Channel

The English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern
England from northern France and links to the southern part of the North Sea by the
Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busiest shipping area in the world.

34. Kerch Strait

• The Kerch Strait is a strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
• It separates the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea from the Taman Peninsula of
Russia’s Krasnodar Krai.
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35. Straits of Lombok

Join: Java Sea & Indian Ocean

Location: Indonesia (Bali and Lombok)

36. Bali strait

Join: Bali Sea & Indian Ocean

Location: Indonesia (Bali and Java)

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Isthmus: A narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two
larger areas of land. The Isthmus of Panama is a narrow strip of land at the
southernmost end of Central America. It lies between the Pacific Ocean and
the Caribbean Sea while linking North and South America.

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10 Important strategic Straits and Channels
• Strait of Gibraltar
• Bab-El Mendeb Strait
• Strait of Hormuz
• Strait of Malacca
• Bosporus Strait
• Bering Strait
• Strait of Magellan
• Strait of Messina
• Suez Canal
• Panama Canal

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