1. Physical Geography of Southeast Asia, Oceania and Antarctica

2. Mainland and Islands
Southeast Asia consists of two distinct sub-regions:
Asian Mainland
Islands

3. Peninsulas and Islands
Two Peninsulas
Indochinese Peninsula
Malay Peninsula

4. Archipelagos
Philippines
7,000 islands
Indonesia
Over 13,000 Islands

5. Rivers and Coastlines Rivers: Mekong River
Begins in China and crosses several Southeast Asian nations
Forms a boundary between Myanmar and Laos and between Laos and Thailand

6. Landforms of Oceania
Estimate: more than 20,000 island not including Philippines and Indonesia.
New Zealand
Australia
Micronesia
Melanseia

7. Oceania’s Many Islands
High Islands
created by Volcanoes
Low Islands (Atolls)
created by coral reefs

9. New Zealand Two Islands North Island South Island Hilly mountains
Volcanic plateau
Fertile farmland
Forests
rivers
South Island
Southern Alps
360 glaciers

10. Australia Smallest continent on earth Great Dividing Range Few Rivers
Outback
Great Barrier Reef
1,250 mile chain of more than 2,500 reefs and islands
400 species of coral
Tasmania

11. Antarctica Mountains Transantarctic Mountains East Antarctic Plateau
Technically a desert

13. Neutral Antarctica
Antarctica is the largest supply of fresh water in the world.
Many geologists believe there is a wealth of mineral resources below the ice.
In 1991, 26 nations agreed not to mine Antarctica for 50 years.

15. Climate and Vegetation
Tropical Climate Regions
Myanmar
Thailand
Vietnam
Oceania
Characterized by high temperatures, over ” of rain per year

16. Wet and Dry Seasons Myanmar Thailand Laos Cambodia Vietnam
Characterized by wet and
dry monsoon seasons. Constant hot temperatures, rainfall varies with season. Landforms affect precipitation such as mountains.

17. Moderate Climate Regions
Australia
New Zealand
Characterized by bands of varied moderate climate zones such as humid subtropical and Marine West Coast

18. Hot and Cold Deserts Australia (hot) 1/3 of Australia is desert
Antarctica (cold)
Characterized by less than 10” of rainfall a year

19. Human-Environment Interaction
Navigating the Pacific
Pacific Islanders relied on the stars as a guide but they made charts out of sticks and shells
Voyaging canoes were developed with double hulls to allow the boats to carry a heavy load and remain stable in the open water.
For use in lagoons, the Pacific Islanders developed outrigger canoes to help balance the canoe.

21. Invasion of Rabbits
In 1859, Thomas Austin released 24 rabbits in Australia because he wanted to be able to hunt rabbits as it was an English Tradition.
As a result, the rabbit population grew exponentially . One pair of rabbit alone produced 184 descendants in one year. There were no natural predators in Australia to control the population. By 1900 there were over 1 billion rabbits in Australia

22. Control Measures
The rabbits began to destroy crops and wiped out native plants. Other native animals became endangered as their food sources were depleted
In order to control the rabbits, the brought in foxes but the introduced foxes threatened the natural wildlife as well as domestic animals.

23. Rabbit Rebound
The government acted by infecting the rabbits with a contagious disease that proved fatal to 90% of the rabbit population but over time, the surviving rabbits developed an immunity to the disease and their population quickly rebounded.

24. Nuclear Testing
In the 1940s the United States conducted nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands.
The Bikini Atoll was the designated test site.
The U.S. removed 167 inhabitants and conducted over 60 nuclear tests.

25. Long Term Effects
The testing vaporized several small islands and contaminated the entire area with high levels of radiation.
In the 1960s, the U.S. government declared the Bikini Atoll safe for human habitation however, after the people moved back, many became ill or died.
In 1978, doctors discovered dangerous levels of radiation ins the islanders bodies and they were again removed from the islands

26. The End