1. Chapter 27:
The Physical Geography of
East Asia
A Rugged Terrain

2. Landforms and Resources
 The Great Wall of China was built to
protect China from invaders crossing the
Steppes of Central Asia. It stretches from
the Yellow Sea to the Gobi Desert making
it thousands of miles long. It remains one
of the largest building feats in history.

3. Mountains and Plateaus
 Kunlun Mts.- Located in the west
of China
– The source of 2 of China’s great
rivers
 QinlingShandi Mts.- Divide the
northern part of China from the
south

4. Plateaus and Plains
Gobi Desert- stretches from
northwest China in
Mongolia.
–Covers more than 500,000 sq.
miles (larger than TX and CA
combined!)

5. Peninsulas and Islands
 Theeastern coast of China features
several peninsulas
– Shandong
– Leizou
– Macao- owned by Portugal until
1999
 Peninsulasmake it possible for
several major port cities to develop

6. Islands
 Isolation of islands has permitted them to
develop in great security and peace unlike
some parts of the mainland
 Developed trading economies
 Hainan
 Hong Kong- became independent from
Britain in 1997
 Japan
 Taiwan

7. River Systems
 Huang He (Yellow River) of
northern China
– starts in the Kunlun Mts. And
empties into the Yellow Sea
• Get their names from the yellow silt
found in the river
– Also called “China’s Sorrow”
because of the terrible floods that it
has caused

8. River Systems Cont’d
 The Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)
is the longest river in all of Asia
– Means “long river”
– Flows about 3,900 miles from Tibet
to the East China Sea
– Major trade route since ancient times
– Floods frequently

9. River Systems Cont’d
 TheXi Jiang (West River)-runs
through south of China
– Joins with 3 other rivers to form an
estuary (where the river’s current
meets the ocean’s tides) between
Hong Kong and Macao
– Important mineral resources found in
the river’s valley

10. Resources
 Limited land for agriculture due to mts.
 Population concentrated in the East
where river basins are located
– Great for growing rice
 Large energy reserves of petroleum,
coal, and natural gas
 River systems provide crop irrigation,
hydroelectric power and transportation

12. High Latitude Climate Zones
 Severely cold, dry climates
 Subarctic-occur in small area along
Mongolia’s and China’s northern borders w/
Russia
– Cool to cold summers
– Brutally cold winters
 Highland-found mostly in western China
– Temp varies with latitude and elevation
• The higher north the lat. & the higher the elev., the
colder the climate

13. Mid-Latitude Zones
 Moderate climates make this area more
comfortable to live in
 Humid Continental- NE China, N Korea,
N. South Korea and N Japan
– Coniferous forests
– Temperate grasslands (good for grazing)
 Humid Subtropical-SE China, S South
Korea, S Japan, & N Taiwan
– Deciduous and coniferous forests

14. Dry Zones
 Not well suited for agriculture
 Not much settled by people
 Semiarid- made up of parts of the
Mongolian Plateau
– Short grasses-good for grazing
 Desert- mostly found in west central area of
the mainland.
– Taklimakan Desert- located in W China
between the Tian Shan and Kunlun Mts
– Gobi Desert- located in N China and SE
Mongolia
• Prime area for finding dinosaur fossils.

15. Tropical Zones
 Contain mainly wet climates
 Most common vegetation is the
rain forest
 Small

16. Human-Environment Interaction

17. The Three Gorges Dam
 Being built on the Chang Jiang in China
 Help control flooding along the river
 Generate power
 Allow ships to sail farther into China
 Will be the world’s biggest dam
– 600ft high and a mile long
 At least 1,000 towns and villages will disappear
under the water of the reservoir
 Will cost $75 billion

21. The Use of Urban Space in Japan
 Morethan 60% of the Japanese
population live on only 3% of the land
– Highly polluted
 Small houses
 One- BR apartments for a family of
four!
 Landfill- a method of solid waste
disposal in which trash is buried
between layers of dirt

24.  Write ½ to 1 page paper using this topic:
 How would your life be different if you
lived in a crowded city like Tokyo, which
has a population density of 9500 people/ sq.
mi versus living in Friendswood? Think
about transportation, housing, sanitation, etc
when writing your paper