ARALING PANLIPUNAN

(Asia: Political Divisions, Location, and Physical Features)

ASIA
- the largest of all the seven continents & constitutes 1/3 of the land area
- the most populous continent
- Most mountainous continent
- Asia has the highest point on Earth – Mount Everest (8.848m)
- The lowest point- Dead Sea (400m below sea level)
- The highest and the largest plateau in the world- The Plateau of Tibet
- World’s deepest lake- Lake Baikal (1637m)
- Verkhoyansk in Russia is the coldest inhabited in the world
- Cherrapunjii in India has the world’s highest average rainfall
ASIA POLITICAL DIVISIONS
- Asia is divided in 49 political countries which range in size from large to small.
- Japan, North Korea, South Korea, China, Taiwan make-up East Asia
- Whereas South East Asia comprises of Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand,
Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, layoffs, Indonesia, and the Philippines
- Indian sub-continent or South Asia includes the countries of India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan
- South west Asia includes Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, United Arab
Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, and Turkey
- Russia spans the continents of Europe and Asia the part in Asia is often
referred to as Asiatic Russia. 15 independent republics formed in 1991 when
USSR collapsed are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan
ASIA LOCATION
- Asia lies in Northern Hemisphere between 10 °S to 80 °N and in the Eastern
Hemisphere between 25 °E and 170 °W
- Asia is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean in the North, the Pacific Ocean in the
East, and the Indian Ocean in the South. In the West, the continent of Asia is
separated from Europe by the Low Ural Mountain, The Ural River and the
Caspian Sea
 - Asia is washed by the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red sea
- The small Sinai Peninsula connects Asia to Africa
- In the East the Bering strait separates Asia from North America
- Asia has a smooth coastline w/ many wide openings. Along the east coast of
China Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the Sea of Japan. In the north-east is the sea of
Okhotsk and the Bering Sea
- In the south there are two big bays- The Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
The Arabian Sea extends into Asia as the Persian Gulf
PHYSICAL FEATURES
- In south-east and east Asia are the island countries like Japan, Philippines, and
Indonesia. The island of Taiwan lies of to the China coast while Sri Lanka is in
India’s southern tip and Bahrain is an island in the Persian Gulf
- Asia can be divided in 5 physical division: The Northern Lowlands: the central
mountain belt, the Southern Plateaus, the great river valleys, and the Island
groups
- The Northern Lowlands are made up of Siberian Plain which is the greatest
continuous low-land,
- Siberian Plain is bordered by the Ural Mountains In the west where it is the
widest.
- The lowlands are drained by three long rivers: the Ob, the Yenisei, and the
Lena which makes the land marshy and swampy
- The Turan Plain is drained by two rivers, The Amu Darya (2090km) and Syr
Darya (1770km) which flow in the Aral Sea. These two rivers make this an area
of inland drainage
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