World Geography / Unit 10: East Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania
10.1 Physical Geography of East Asia
Notes
East Asia includes China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
- China's west has the Tibetan Plateau, the "roof of the world," and the Himalayas. Deserts include the Gobi (China and Mongolia) and the Taklamakan.
- China's major rivers: the Yangtze (Chang Jiang, the longest in Asia) and the Huang He (Yellow River). Their eastern plains are very fertile and heavily populated. The Mekong also begins on the Tibetan Plateau.
- Japan is an archipelago of four main islands (Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku), mountainous and volcanic. Mount Fuji is its highest peak. It lies on the Ring of Fire, so earthquakes and tsunamis occur.
- The Korean Peninsula has mountains in the east and rice plains in the west and south.
Practice
Which is the longest river in Asia?
The Yangtze flows from the Tibetan Plateau to the East China Sea.
Why are earthquakes and volcanoes common in Japan?
Plate boundaries near Japan cause frequent seismic activity.
Which desert lies partly in Mongolia and partly in northern China?
The Gobi is a cold desert.
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