1. East Asia
Physical Geography

2. Relative Location

3. Introduction East Asia is the most populous region in the world
China is the most populous country, and the oldest continuous national culture
China and Japan have been rivals from time to time
East Asia has experienced colonization, and has seen both internal and international conflict
Japan is extremely wealthy, but poverty may be found in parts of the region
Eastern China is undergoing rapid economic development
East Asia is one of the core areas of the world economy and an emerging center of political power

4. Some of the top physical features of this region…

5. 1. China is home to some of the world’s largest cold deserts.
Gobi (largest desert in Asia)
Taklimakan (the sea of death)

6. 2. Three major rivers are a lifeline to Asia
Yangtze (longest)
Huang He (Yellow)
Mekong
All greatly influence the way people live in Asia!
D. Pearl River- Increasing in Importance as China grows, modernizes and industrializes

7. Chinese civilization began on the Yellow River
Loess – fertile topsoil spread by wind; largely agricultural society

8. 3. China’s civilization developed over a long period in considerable isolation, protected by physiographic barriers and by sheer distance from other cultures.

10. 4. Mountains & Plateaus are major feature of topography
Himalayas & Tibetan Plateau
4/5th of Japan is mountainous terrain, thus not a lot of arable land. (WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???)
Korea also features many mountainous areas.

11. Tibetan Plateau
All told, some two billion people in more than a dozen countries—nearly a third of the world's population—depend on rivers fed by the snow and ice of the plateau region.

13. 5. China’s enormous population is strongly concentrated in the
country’s eastern
regions. Western areas remain comparatively empty and unproductive.
WHY?

15. …and in Japan
Most of the population lives in coastal plains and/or river valleys.
Kanto Plain very crowded (area around Tokyo)
20,000 ppl. Per sq. mile

16. Cost of living in Japan…

17. Subway pushers in Tokyo!

18. 6. East Asia features many islands & archipelagos
-Chain of islands
Japan is an archipelago of over 3000 tiny islands.

19. 7. The Ring of Fire is a narrow band of volcanoes that nearly encircles the Pacific Ocean. 75% of world’s active volcanoes are here.

20. Mt. Fuji

21. Jan earthquake

22. Tsunami of 2011

23. 8. “The Land of Rice & Fish”
Rice is a staple
90% of this crop is grown in East Asia & consumed there.
The majority of people in E. Asia eat rice 2 or 3 times a day.
______
North of the Yangtze River, the climate is more suited for wheat growing
The close access to water=diet of fish.
WHY???

24. Terrace Farming

25. 9. China is so large and diverse and its divided into regions
East
South central
North
Northeast
Northwest
Southwest

26. 10. Natural Resources vary greatly according to region
China: very rich in natural resources
Oil, coal, iron, etc.
Japan is limited in natural resources & is dependent on other nations