CONTINENTS OF THE WORLD

Asia and Europe

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 ASIA
• Asia, the world’s largest and most diverse 
continent. It occupies the eastern four-fifths
of the giant Eurasian landmass. Asia is more
a geographic term than a homogeneous
 continent, and the use of the term to
describe such a vast area always carries the
potential of obscuring the enormous diversity
 among the regions it encompasses. Asia has
both the highest and the lowest points on the
surface of Earth, has the longest coastline of
any continent, is subject overall to the world’s
widest climatic extremes, and, consequently,
produces the most varied forms of vegetation
and animal life on Earth. In addition, the
peoples of Asia have established the
broadest variety of human adaptation found
on any of the continents.
RESOURCES
The immensity of the continent and its
geologic diversity explain the mineral wealth
of Asia, which includes reserves of almost
every important mineral. Abundant reserves
of coal, petroleum, natural gas, uranium,
iron, bauxite, and other ores are either
being exploited or awaiting development;
much wealth also remains to be surveyed.
However, at times the inaccessibility of
some of these reserves has constituted a
barrier to their exploitation.
 People
• Fossil evidence indicates that Asia has been under
occupation by human species for at least one million
years and most likely longer. The first humans in Asia
 may have descended from groups of the extinct species 
Homo erectus that migrated to the continent from Africa.
There is much debate as to whether modern Asian
peoples evolved from those early humans or represent
the descendants of anatomically modern peoples who
migrated out of Africa beginning about 100,000 years ago.

• Asian people are progenies of an umpteen number of

ethnic races. It contains countries like India, Pakistan,
Myanmar, China, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri
Lanka and the developed countries of Japan and Russia. 

• Asian people are known all over the world for their strong
cultural values and intelligent minds. This continent has
given birth to many famous scientists, celebrities and
politicians.
LANGUAGE AND RELIGION
• The languages of Asia are richly diverse. The vast majority of the people of continental Asia speak a
language in one of three large language families. The first, Altaic, consists of the Turkic, Mongolian,
and Manchu-Tungus (Tungusic) subfamilies. The second, Sino-Tibetan, includes the Chinese and 
Tibeto-Burman languages. Finally, the Indo-European family consists of the Indo-Aryan, Iranian,
and Slavic languages, as well as Armenian.
• Asia also speaks many languages and here is a handy list of the biggest languages:
• China – Mandarin/Cantonese
• India – Hindi, English
• Malaysia – Malay (Bahasa)
• Indonesia – Bahasa (Indonesian)
• Singapore – English
• Taiwan – Mandarin
• Nepal – Nepalese
• Thailand – Thai
• Vietnam – Vietnamese
• Cambodia – Khmer
RELIGION
• Asia is the birthplace of all the world’s major religions and hundreds of minor ones. Like all forms of 
culture, Asian religions may be considered geographically in terms of both their places of origin and
their distribution.
• Asia is the largest and most populous continent and the birthplace of many religions including 
Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism,
and Zoroastrianism. All major religious traditions are practiced in the region and new forms are
constantly emerging. Asia is noted for its diversity of culture. Islam and Hinduism are the largest
religions in Asia with approximately 1.2 billion adherents each.
 CLIMATE
• The enormous expanse of Asia
and its abundance of mountain
barriers and inland depressions
have resulted in great differences
between regions in solar radiation
, atmospheric circulation,
precipitation, and climate as a
whole. A continental climate,
associated with large landmasses
and characterized by an extreme
annual range of temperature,
prevails over a large part of Asia.
 River system
• Since ancient times, rivers have played a crucial role
in the development of human society. These rushing
streams of water bring with them the element
necessary to grow crops while also providing a
supply of relatively clean drinking water. Even
technological advancements have moved us beyond
the need to build cities near water sources, rivers
and waterways still continue to be a critical part of
major societal institutions, from the production of
electricity to access to food sources.
• Asia is a massive continent with rivers interlinking all
over its sizable landmass. Historically, its major
rivers have played an essential role in providing
freshwater, fertile soil, food, and transportation to
people many generations past. Even now, the
benefits of good land to farm, transportation, and
potential energy gathered from watermills still act as
an incentive to live near rivers. 
 Flora
• Flora – vegetation cover
• Vegetation in asia = extraordinarily diverse, intimate relation to
variations in soil and climate.
• In the far north of the continent (Siberia) tundra and taiga
vegetation predominate =>mosses and lichens, coniferous
forest of larch, pine, fir, and spruce. South of the taiga,
grasslands occur in great east-west bands. These blend (mix)
to the south into a desert scrub where aridity increases, as in
the intermountain basins of the highland core and its
peripheries, and in much of south-west Asia.
 WILDLIFE
• Fauna – animal life The Tibetan yak is most closely related to the African buffalo, the American
bison, and the European bison. The yak, found only in several isolated localities high on the Tibetan
plateau at altitudes of 4,000 to 6,000 m, is considered an endangered species (Figure 5).
• The northern regions = brown bear, otter, lynx, ermine and wolf, in addition to a vast amount of bird
species. The steppe and semi-arid regions support antelope and numerous rodent species = hare
(rabbit) and field mouse. Freshwater fish are found in all parts of the continent = Lake Baikal is
notable for its distinctive fauna, although severe industrial pollution has threatened the survival of
many species. Highlands = Wild sheep and goats and Tibet is the home of the wild yak. Hot desert
regions of SW and SAsia = wildlife is scarcer (rare), where the most famous animal = the Asian lion
is virtually extinct. Jackals and hyenas, however, are common in these regions.
MINERAL RESOURCES
• Asia has enormous reserves of coal,
amounting to nearly three-fifths of the world’s
total, but they are unevenly distributed. The
largest reserves are found in Siberia, the
Central Asian republics, India, and especially 
China; Indonesia, Japan, and North Korea
 have smaller but nevertheless economically
important reserves. China has chiefly high-
grade coal reserves.

• Enormous coal reserves are found in North

and Central Asia, and some 200 fields have
been worked throughout the region. Most of
the known coal supplies of North Asia lie in 
Siberia, but the total extent and quality of
Siberian deposits have not been fully
explored.
Countries and Capital as well as
the Currency
Important facts About Asia:
•The polymath Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali poet, dramatist, and writer from
Santiniketan, now in West Bengal, India, became in 1913 the first Asian Nobel laureate.
•.The highest point in the World, is Mount Everest (8,848 m), situated in the Tibetan
region of the Himalayas.
•The longest river in Asia and third longest in the World is the Yangtze (6,211 km) which
flows through China.
•The largest desert in Asia is the Gobi desert measuring 281,800 km².
•All the popular religions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Budism) are rooted in Asia.
•90% of the rice on the earth is consumed in Asian countries
•Contrary to common belief, most of the tigers live in Asia, not in Africa.
• Indonesia is the largest country composed of islands. There are 17,508 islands
around the country and 6,000 of these islands are inhabited by people.
•From the 7,000 year old Sumer civilization in Mesopotamia to the 6,000 year old Indus
Valley Civilization in India, ancient culture is rich in Asia.
• India is known to be the Highest producer of mangoes in the world, with close to 12
million tons each year.
• In Vietnam, people measure their age according to the number of Vietnamese New
Years (aka Tets) they have lived. This brings it to the fact that all Vietnamese share the
same birthday.
•The first ever farmers and merchants were Asians.
• Asians were the first to use ‘writing’ as an activity.
MARAMING
SALAMAT SA
PAKIKINIG