Geography of South Asia© Copyright 2008PJ Fields Rogers-Herr Year-Round Middle School

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erSouth Asia Geography

South Asia

Locating South Asia South Asia is the giant triangle extending out of the Asian continent into the Indian Ocean

Scientists believe that millions of years ago a huge

supercontinent, Pangaea, existed.

Internal forces reshaping Pangaea

• Over time it broke apart into separate continents.

• That is when, they think, the part of the earth’s crust containing what we now call South Asia collided with the rest of Asia.

Creating new landforms • The force of this huge collision pushed the

earth up and created high mountains where the two landmasses met.

• As you watch the animation identify the tectonic plates that collide.

• Predict what would happen if the two tectonic plates continue to push against each other.

“Fire Rim of the Pacific”

Earthquake Zones in India

2004 Earthquake In Indonesia:

Tsunami Devastates Indian Ocean Coastlines!

the Tsunami’s Devastation

100,000s dead!

South Asia• Because of its size, South Asia is often called a

subcontinent.

• Subcontinent: large landmass that is part of a continent, yet considered a separate region or entity.

• Turn to your neighbor and explain why South Asia is called a subcontinent.

Physical Features of the region• The geography of South Asia varies

greatly. • Mountains to the north and northwest.• Deserts to the west while dense forest

and hills can be found in the east.• Plateaus rise up in the southern tip.• Fertile plains neighbor the three major

rivers in the region.

•Hindu Kush mountains divide the subcontinent from Central Asia.

•The Eastern and Western Ghats separate India’s east and west coasts from the country’s interior.

•The Himalayas run along the northern border and are home to the world’s highest mountains.

Mountains

Hindu Kush Himalayas

Western Ghats Eastern Ghats

The Himalayas

The Himalayas

“land of snow”

“him” [snow]

“aalaya” [home]

Mt. Everest is 29,035 feet. It is the highest Mt. peak in the world.

Hindu Kush

The Khyber Pass

Plateaus and Desert

The Deccan is a hilly plateau located in the Southern tip of South Asia.

The Thar, or Great Indian Desert, is made up of rolling sand dunes. It lies in India and Pakistan.

Thar Desert

Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau

31,800 square miles in size.

Elevation range: 2,000 – 8,000 feet high.

From the Sanskrit word, “dakshina” [“the south”].

The Thar Desert

The Great Indian Desert

200 - 1500 feet in elevation.

up to 127ºF in July.

The Tibetan Plateau

The “Roof of the World.”

average elevation is 16,400 feet.

Valleys• Cedar in Chitral valley

is still used to make houses and coffins, following a tradition that dates back to the first Indus cities.

• Beyond the mountains in the background is the region of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, a source of the deep blue lapis lazuli.

• This was mined during the Indus period and traded throughout the Indus Valley and to far off Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Rivers and Plains

Three major rivers are found in the north.

The Indus River flows from the Himalayas and waters the north- west. This river has supported civilizations for centuries in what is called the Indus River Valley.

The Ganges also has its source in the Himalayas and waters the northeast creating the fertile soils that are found in the Ganges Plain. The Ganges is considered the holiest of rivers for many Hindus on the subcontinent.

Indus River

Ganges River

Rivers and Plain

The Brahmaputra river also waters the northeast. It merges with the Ganges to form a vast Delta. The Ganges and Brahmaputra fertilize North Indian Plain

The area between the Ganges and the Indus called the Indo-Gangetic plain is India’s farming heartland.

It feeds about half of the population of South Asia

Ganges Plain

Indus River

Ganges River Brahmaputra

Role of the rivers in the region• These rivers flood each year bringing

needed water and minerals to the surrounding plains.

“Mata Ganga” (Mother Ganges)

City of Varanasi

The Brahmaputra River System

1,800 miles long

Floods on the Brahmaputra: 2003

Flooding on the Brahmaputra

The Indus River System

1,975 miles long

Coast

• The coast of Sindh and Makran have bays and ancient Harappan sites have been located along the coast to the border of modern Iran.

• These coastal settlements were involved in fishing and trading, using the monsoon winds to travel back and forth to Oman and the Persian Gulf region.

Bodies of Water and Islands

Bay of Bengal

Arabian Sea

Indian Ocean

The Maldives

Sri Lanka

What are the countries that make up the region?

Pakistan

• Pakistan is shaded • Afghanistan and Iran are to the west.

• India to the East.• China to the North• Rugged Mountains

cover the northern and western part of the country.

Pakistan Country snap shot

• Pakistan has 40 of the world’s 50 highest mountains.

• K2 or Mount Godwin Austen is the world’s second highest mountain.

• The Baluchistan Plateau is in the Southwest.

• The Indus River flows through the Punjab and Sindh Plains.

• K2 Mount

http://www.fotopolis.pl/obrazki/k2_32s.jpg

Bangladesh

• Bangladesh is surrounded by India to the west, north, and east. Myanmar is to the southeast and the bay of Bengal is to the south.

• Plains cover most of the nation.

• Bangladesh is shaded

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/asia/bangladesh/

Bangladesh country snap shot• The rest of the

country is covered in lakes, swamps, marshes and two hilly areas.

• Three major rivers divide the nation into many plains and deltas.

• Bangladesh has a subtropical climate.

• The winter season is mild and damp.

• Summer is hot and damp.

• The country has heavy thunderstorms and high winds.

Nepal and Bhutan

• Nepal and Bhutan are two landlocked kingdoms in the Himalayas.

• Nepal has three major physical regions: mountain, hill and grasslands.

• Bhutan has glaciated mountain peeks in the north. Forests and black mountains cover the central area.

• The south has a mixture of valleys, hills and dense forests.

A country snap shot of Bhutan and Nepal• Nepal has a tropical,

subtropical, temperate, cold and subarctic and arctic climate.

• Bhutan experiences five distinct seasons: summer, monsoons, autumn, winter and spring.

• Bhutan climate varies with altitude; subtropical in the south, temperate in the highlands and polar type climate in the north.

• Bhutan experiences five distinct seasons: summer, monsoons, autumn, winter and spring.

Sri Lanka and the Maldives

• Two island nations are part of South Asia.

• Sri Lanka is mostly flat to rolling coastal plains.

• Mountains are situated in the south central region.

• Sri Lanka has a tropical climate and can be quite hot.

• The Maldives is an archipelago holding the record for being the flattest country in the world.

• The Maldives is warm year round determined by monsoons

India

• India occupies most of South Asia. It is one-third the size of the United States.

• This peninsula is bordered by Pakistan in the northwest; China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar border it in the northeast.

• India is the seventh largest country in the world and the second most populated.

• India is bordered in the north with the Himalayas.

India

• Kanchenjunga in the Himalaya is the highest point in India and the third highest mountain in the world.

• South of the Himalaya are the northern plains. The Brahmaputra, the Ganges and the Yamuna run through this region.

• India’s capital city, New Delhi, is located in the northern plains.

Geography of India

• South of the northern plains is the southern peninsula.

• The Deccan Plateau, which occupies most of the peninsula, is flanked by two mountain chains. The Western and Eastern Ghats run along India’s coastlines.

• Most of India has three main climates. The cool season, the hot season, and the rainy season.

• India’s climate is affected by the monsoon.