1. South Asia Geography & Introduction

2. South Asia is also known as the Indian Subcontinent
Subcontinent- A large part of a continent that is set apart from the rest of the continent by a physical boundary

3. South Asia is divided from the rest of Asia by the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush Mountains

4. Himalayas
Hindu Kush Mountains

5. Mountains caused India to develop its own culture
But mountain passes and access to oceans connected India to the world

6. Largest Mountain in the World is Mount Everest

7. Northern Plains = Indo-Gangetic Plains
It is the most Populated area in India because it has fresh water and fertile soil
What river is this?
What river is this?
Indo-
Gangetic

8. Temperatures are mostly tropical, cooler in high elevations

10. Rivers are sacred to the people of India

11. Rivers can flood severely
Example: Bangladesh is on a Ganges River delta. It is fertile but has a lot of flooding = poor

12. Northern side of Himalayas gets almost no rain
(Plateau of Tibet and Taklamakan Desert in China very dry)

13. Natural Resources
iron
fertile land
coal
limestone
copper

14. Kashmir Valley famous for goats that produce wool for cashmere

15. Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face And stars fill my dream I'm a traveler of both time and space To be where I have been To sit with elders of the gentle race This world has seldom seen They talk of days for which they sit and wait All will be revealed Talk in song from tongues of lilting grace Sounds caress my ear…

17. India is the largest country in South Asia

18. …and its capital is New Delhi

19. India is 1/3 the size of the U.S. with 4 times the population
3.54 mil. sq. mi.
319 million
India
1.27 mil. sq. mi.
1.25 billion

20. Hindi is the most widely spoken.
Dozens of languages are spoken m but…
Hindi is the most widely spoken.

22. Hinduism is most common
Many different religions are practiced, but…
Hinduism is most common

23. Islam, although only 15% of the population, is the 2nd most common religion in India.