World Geography / Unit 10: East Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania
10.6 History, Hazards and Environment
Notes
- Colonial history: the Netherlands ruled Indonesia, France ruled Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, Britain ruled Myanmar and Malaysia, Spain and then the United States ruled the Philippines. Most gained independence in the 20th century.
- The Korean Peninsula has been divided since 1945; the Korean War (1950-53) ended in a ceasefire.
- The Pacific Ring of Fire brings earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis (the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami struck Indonesia especially). Typhoons hit East and Southeast Asia, often in late summer.
- Environmental concerns: air pollution in big cities, loss of rainforest to palm oil plantations, coral reef damage and sea-level rise for low islands.
Practice
Which country was ruled by the Netherlands before independence?
The Dutch East Indies became Indonesia after 1945.
Tropical cyclones that strike East and Southeast Asia are usually called
In the northwestern Pacific they are called typhoons.
A threat especially serious for low Pacific atolls is
Their land is only a few feet above sea level.
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