1. China’s Physical Geography

2. Taklimakan Desert

3. Taklimakan Desert
Means, “Land of irrevocable death”
Vast, sandy desert
Located N.W. China
Kunlun Mountains (Sian) to south
Tian Sian and Tarim River to North
105,000 square miles in central Tarim Basin
984 ft. high sand dunes
Space needle 605ft
Columbia tower 967ft

4. East China Sea

5. East China Sea
290,000 square miles
Largely shallow with 71% less than 650ft deep
Average depth = 1,145Ft
Weather dominated by monsoon wind systems

6. South China Sea

7. South China Sea
Covers 848,000 square miles
Located between S.E. Asian mainland and Taiwan, the Philippines and Borneo
S.W. part (from Gulf of Siam to Java Sea) is a submerged plain and generally shallow
N.E. part is deep basin
Depths up to 18,000 feet
Many islands dot sea

8. Mount Everest

9. Mt. Everest
Chinese call Zhumulong Mafeng
On border of China and Nepal in central Himalayas.
29,028 feet
Highest mountain in the world

10. Tian Shan

11. Tian Shan
Shan mean “mountain”
1,500 miles long from Pamir Mts through N.W. China to China-Mongolian border
Dry climate so snow line is usually above 11,000 ft.
Coal, iron, lead, zinc are mined
Grains are main crop in valleys

12. Turfan Depression

13. Turfan Depression
Also called Dzungarian Basin
Fault trough 650km long
Lowest point 505 ft below sea level
Lowest point in China
Intensely farmed
Famous for grapes
Melons, peaches, apricots, nuts, cotton, silk and wheat also produced

14. Mekong River

15. Mekong River 2,600 miles long
Headwaters in Tibetan Highlands, through Yunnan province, forms Myanmar (Burma)-Laos border, through Laos, to Cambodia, forming Mekong Delta (fertile region in Vietnam and spills into S. China Sea
Catfish = 118 inches, pounds

16. North China Plain

17. North China Plain
135,000 square miles
2nd largest plain
Flat and low (below 150 ft)
River channels are higher than surrounding area
Highest proportion of land under cultivation in all of China

18. Yellow River

19. Yellow River
Chinese call it Huang He
3,000 miles long
Headwaters in Kunlun Mts. Flows east into Yellow Sea
Dry, winter season, river is slow and most of riverbed is empty
In summer, river rages out of control
Since 2nd century B.C, river has flooded over 1,500 times with 9 major course changes
Diverted once on purpose to stall Japanese invasion in 1938

20. Yangzi River

21. Headwaters in Tibetan Highlands Flows east for 3,450 mi
Yangzi River
Also Yangtze
Headwaters in Tibetan Highlands
Flows east for 3,450 mi
Flows through China’s middle basin
One of world’s most productive agricultural regions
One of world’s most populated regions
Long used as a major east-west trade and transportation route

22. Gobi Desert

23. Gobi Desert
1,000 mi. on plateau with area of 500,000 sq. mi
East to West across S.E. Mongolia and N. China
Grassy fringe supports small population of nomadic Mongolian sheep/camel herders
Fierce sand and wind storms common

24. Yunnan Plateau

25. Yunnan Plateau
Eastern half is limestone contains canyonlike valleys, precipitous mts
Marked by numerous sinks, ravines, underground streams
Rugged terrain produces wide range of flora fauna

26. Sichuan Basin

27. One of most attractive regions 75,000 sq mi Surrounded by mountains
Sichuan Basin
Also known as Red Basin
One of most attractive regions
75,000 sq mi
Surrounded by mountains
Protect is against cold and North winds in winter
Very hilly (except for Chengdu plain)
Little arable land so farmers must build terraces on slopes to grow crops