How geography shaped south Asia's history Physical Features

South Asia Subcontinent- a large landmass that is smaller than a continent South Asia is sometimes called a subcontinent or the Indian subcontinent South Asia includes the following countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives The region has more than one billion inhabitants- 1/5 of the world’s population

South Asia Millions of years ago, the land of South Asia was part of East Africa. It split off and drifted northward and collided with Central Asia The collision created the Himalayan Mountains. The Hindu Kush mountains are at the west end of the Himalayas.

What’s the name of the large mountain range in Asia? The Himalayas is a mountain range in Asia. It stretches across several countries including India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Bhutan and Nepal. The Himalayan range is home to some of the planet's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest and Karakora (K2). When translated, the Himalayas means the ‘abode of snow’! 60 million years old 29,029 feet

Physical and climatic barrier which keep India much warmer and wetter in the summer months than if no mountains were present. Protection from the cool, dry winds of the Tibetan Plateau.

The Himalayan Mountain Range is so large it can be seen from outer space!

Many people have tried to climb Mount Everest since then. Mount Everest is part of the Himalayas in Nepal and at 8,848m , it is not only the highest peak in the Himalayas, but the highest peak on the entire planet. It is over 60 million years old and it grows by about 0.6cm every year! The Nepalese call Mount Everest “Samgarmatha” which can be translated as “Goddess of the Universe” or “Forehead of the Sky.” Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first people to climb Mount Everest in 1953. Many people have tried to climb Mount Everest since then.

The northern plain Rivers, Deltas, and Plains Three great river systems Indus Ganges Brahmaputra Have their origins in the Himalayas Fertile plains These rivers provide crucial irrigation for agricultural lands Indo-Gangetic Plain- one of the worlds most fertile farming regions and one of the most heavily populated in India

Focus on the Ganges Why do Hindus visit the Ganges River? What do Hindus do in the river? From the Ganges River, who will bring the bodies to heaven?

The Ganges One of the most polluted rivers in the world. Raw sewage and industrial waste are dumped into this sacred river. Some people who bathe in the river develop life-threatening illnesses. Indian government has tried to solve this problem by calling for fewer treatment plants and tougher fines for dumping in the water. Too much time, effort, and money Hindus who bathe and drink the water often believe that the Ganges is too holy to be harmed by pollution. They believe “Mother Ganges” will fix it.

If you were an environmental representative, what would you suggest to solve the pollution problem in the Ganges River? Why?

Weather in India

The landscape India is made up of a wide variety of landscapes. It has wide plains like the Ganges Valley and high mountains like the Himalayas, which are the highest in the world. Because of this, the climate of India is quite variable. It ranges from permanent snowfields to tropical coastlands, to wide deserts and again to very fertile fields in the northeast.

The Asiatic Monsoon This is the name of the great wind system which dominates the Indian climate. It’s completely different from wind systems which dominate many other countries in the world. This is because the monsoon changes direction at different times of the year, whereas other wind systems tend to always blow in the same direction.

The monsoon season is from June to October From June to October the monsoon arrives from the southwest. On some mountain ranges facing the sea, rainfall can be very heavy indeed. The coolest, driest time over most of the country is from December to February, then from March to May the climate gets hotter and hotter until the monsoon arrives.

The amount of rainfall during the monsoon varies from year to year. In some years the rain will be torrential; in others it will be quite light, in which case the monsoon will be said to have “failed”.

Why is the monsoon season so important to people in India? The monsoon rains are really important for farmers – if their crops do not get enough water then they will die, and then there will not be enough food for people to eat. It’s also important to people in the cities because it helps provide their drinking water for the rest of the year. The economy revolves around the monsoon. If there isn’t enough rain, there are less crops for farmers to sell. A lot of the country’s economy is based upon farming.

The monsoon in 2012 was declared a “failed monsoon”. This meant that farmers were not able to grow as many crops and couldn’t earn enough money this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUOnPL1BCrU