GEOGRAPHICAL

FEATURES
In this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Identify the location of Asia in the world and its
significance in the world stage;
2. Understand the role of the various physical
characteristics of Asia in shaping the sociocultural,
political and economic status of the various
regions in the continent;
Pre- Test:

Answer the question by answering the letter T if the

statement is correct and write the letter F if the statement is
not correct.
1. The Tibetan Plateau is usually considered
the largest and highest area ever to exist in
the history of earth. known as the “rooftop of
the world.
2. The Lake Baikal is the longest river in Asia
and the third longest in the world.
3. Yangtze rivers has an area of 234,000 square
kilometers that borders Iran, Oman, United Arab
Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and
Iraq.
4. The Himalayas can be found in Nepal.
5. The plateau is not uniformly flat, but contains some
high mountains and low river basins
 Asia is the largest of the world’s
continents, covering approximately 30
percent of the earth’s land area. It is
also the world’s most Populous
Continent, with roughly 60 percent of
the total population.
 Asia makes up the eastern portion of the Eurasian
supercontinent; Europe occupies the western portion. The border
between the two continents is debated. However, most
geographers define Asia’s western border as an indirect line that
follows the Ural mountains, the Caucasus mountains, and the
Caspian and black seas. Asia is bordered by the Arctic, Pacific,
and Indian Oceans.
Asia can be divided Into five major Physical regions:
Mountain Systems;
Plateaus and Plains,
Steppes, and Deserts;
Freshwater Environments;
Saltwater Environments.
MOUNTAIN
SYSTEMS
 The Himalaya Mountains extend for about 2,500
kilometers (1,550 miles), separating the Indian
subcontinent from the rest of Asia. The Indian
subcontinent, once connected to Africa, collided with the
Eurasian continent about 50 million to 55 million years
ago, forming the Himalayas. the Indian subcontinent is still
crashing northward into Asia, and the Himalayas are
growing about 5 centimeters (2 inches) every year.
 The Tien Shan Mountain system
stretches for about 2,400 kilometers
(1,500 Miles), Straddling the border
between Kyrgyzstan and China. The
name Tien Shan Means “Celestial
Mountains” In Chinese.
 The Ural Mountains Run For Approximately
2,500 Kilometers (1,550 Miles) In An Indirect North-
South Line From Russia to Kazakhstan. The Ural
Mountains are some of the world’s oldest, At 250
Million to 300 million years old. Million of Years of
erosion have lowered the mountains significantly, and
today their average elevation Is between 914 and
1,220 meters (3,000 to 4,000 Feet). The highest peak
is Mount Narodnaya At 1,895 Meters (6,217 Feet).
 PLATEAUS
AND PLAINS
 Plateaus
Asia is home to many plateaus, areas of relatively level high ground.
The Iranian plateau covers more than 3.6 million square kilometers (1.4
million square miles), encompassing most of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
the plateau is not uniformly flat, but contains some high mountains and low
river basins. The highest mountain peak is Damavand, at 5,610 meters
(18,410 feet). the plateau also has two large deserts, the dasht-e kavir and
dasht-e lut.
 The Deccan Plateau makes up most of the
southern part of India. the plateau’s average elevation
is about 600 meters (2,000 feet). it is bordered by three
mountain ranges: the Satpura range in the north, and
the eastern and western Ghats on either side. the
plateau and its main waterways—the Godavari and
Krishna rivers—gently slope toward the eastern Ghats
and the bay of Bengal.
 The Tibetan Plateau Is usually
considered the largest and highest area ever
to exist in the history of earth. known as the
“rooftop of the world,” the plateau covers an
area about half the size of the contiguous
united states and averages more than 5,000
meters (16,400 feet) above sea level.
 The West Siberian Plain, located in central
Russia, is considered one of the world’s largest areas
of continuous flatland. it extends from north to south
about 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) and from west to
east about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles). with more
than 50 percent of its area at less than 100 meters (330
feet) above sea level, the plain contains some of the
world’s largest swamps and flood plains.
STEPPES AND DESERTS
 Central Asia is dominated by a steppe landscape, a large
area of flat, unforested grassland. Mongolia can be divided into
different steppe zones: the mountain forest steppe, the arid steppe,
and the desert steppe. these zones transition from the country’s
mountainous region in the north to the Gobi desert on the southern
border with china.
 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. it holds roughly half as much
sand as Africa’s Sahara desert, even though it is 15
times smaller in size. the desert is known as the
empty quarter because it is virtually inhospitable to
humans except for Bedouin tribes that live on its
edges.
 The Karakum is a sand desert stretching for
350,000 km2 from the Caspian Sea to Pamir
foothills and from Amu Darya to Kopet Dag ridge.
Its name is translated as “black sands” (“kara” -
black, “kum” - sand). The dessert corresponds to its
gloomy name, because some of its parts were
previously completely waterless for hundreds of
kilometers, and anyone who tried to cross it, found a
terrible death under the scorching sun of Asia.
 The Kyzylkum Desert is one of the
largest desert in Asia and the 15th largest in the
world. The vast landscape stretches across
Kazakhstan and most of Uzbekistan. It is
notorious for being desolate and unforgiving.
Few have attempted to traverse the 115,830
square miles (300,000 square km) of desert.
FRESH WATERS
 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
freshwater, 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. it drains one-fifth of
the country’s land area, is home to one-third of its
population, and contributes greatly to china’s
economy.
 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.
SALT WATERS
 The sea of Okhotsk covers 1.5
million square kilometers (611,000
square miles) between the Russian
mainland and the Kamchatka peninsula.
the sea is largely frozen between October
and march. large ice flows make winter
navigation almost impossible.
 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 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 Lanka, and Burma. Many
large rivers, including the Ganges and
Brahmaputra, empty into the bay. the briny
wetlands formed by the Ganges-Brahmaputra on
the bay of Bengal is the largest delta in the
world.
AQUATIC FLORA AND FAUNA
 Lake Baikal’s age and isolation make it a
unique biological site. Aquatic life has been able to
evolve for millions of years relatively undisturbed,
producing a rich variety of flora and fauna. The
lake is known as the “Galápagos of Russia”
because of its importance to the study of
evolutionary science. It has 1,340 species of
animals and 570 species of plants.
Hundreds of Lake Baikal’s species are endemic,

meaning they are found nowhere else on earth. The

Baikal seal, for instance, is one of the few freshwater

seal species in the world. the Baikal seal feeds

primarily on the Baikal oil fish and the Omul. both

fishes are similar to salmon, and provide fisheries for

the communities on the lake.

The Sundarbans is a wetland area that forms at the
delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. The
Sundarbans is a huge mangrove forest. Mangroves are
hardy trees that are able to withstand the powerful,
salty tides of the Bay of Bengal as well as the
freshwater flows from the Ganges and Brahmaputra.
In addition to mangroves, the Sundarbans is forested
by palm trees and swamp grasses.
 Self- Evaluation

1. By Using A Graphic Organizer Enumerate Asia's Landforms and Describe.

2. By Using a Graphic Organizer Enumerate Asia's Aquatic Flora and Fauna
3. Identify the location of Asia in the world and its significance in the world stage;
4. As an Asian what are the various physical characteristics of Asia in shaping the our
sociocultural political and economic status of the various regions in the continent;