Introducing the Region: Physical Geography

Monsoon Asia begins at the western borderof India. From there, it reaches east to

the Pacific Ocean. In the north, it spreadsacross China to the Korean Peninsula. A largepeninsula south of China includes Vietnam,Laos, Cambodia, andThailand.This peninsulais ringed by the South China Sea, the Gulf ofThailand, and the Bay of Bengal.

This region has several countries madeup of many islands.They include Japan, thePhilippines, and Indonesia. Sri Lanka, Brunei,and EastTimor are other island nations.

The countries of Monsoon Asia are oftengrouped into three subregions.These smallerregions are South Asia, East Asia, andSoutheast Asia.

Physical Features of Monsoon Asia

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390 Unit 7

Physical Features

Mountains are the most commanding featureof Monsoon Asia's landscape. The ruggedHimalayas form India's northern border.Theyinclude Mount Everest, the world's highestmountain. Like other mountains, theHimalayas were formed when sections ofEarth's crust, called plates, collided.The twoplates that came together to create theHimalayas are still colliding. As a result, themountains are getting higher. But mountainbuilding is a slow process. Mount Everestgrows about half an inch a year.

South Asia

India makes up most of South Asia. Manypeople call India a subcontinent. Mountainsand ocean separate India from the rest ofAsia, so it is almost like a small continent.

Three important rivers begin in theHimalayas.They are the Indus, the Ganges,and the Brahmaputra.The Ganges andBrahmaputra meet to form one of the world'slargest river deltas.Then they empty intothe Bay of Bengal.

The Ghats are another mountain rangein India. The Eastern and Western Ghats runparallel to India's coasts. Between them liesthe Deccan Plateau.The Deccan Plateaucovers most of southern India's interior.

East Asia

East Asia's landscape is diverse. Mountainssurround the Plateau ofTibet.The Huang Hebegins on this plateau. So does the Chang

Elevation Profile of Monsoon Asia20,000

The Himalayas are the world's highest mountain chain.

Jiang (Yangtze), the third longest river inthe world. Both rivers run east across Chinabefore emptying into the Pacific.

North of theTibetan Plateau lie theTaklamakan and Gobi deserts.The Gobi isone of the world's largest deserts. Accordingto legend, an angry Mongolian chief createdit. He turned the land to desert when Chinesewarriors forced him to leave this area.

The hilly Korean Peninsula and the chainof islands that make up Japan are also partof East Asia. Japan's islands were formedby volcanoes.

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is not one big landmass.Instead, it is made up of peninsulas andislands. For example, the Malay Peninsulajuts out into the South China Sea.

Thousands of islands dot the seas ofSoutheast Asia. Some, like Borneo, are fairlylarge. Others are so small that they just looklike specks on a map.

Chang Jiang(Yangtze River)

Monsoon Asia 391

Climate

As the name of this region suggests, theclimate of much of Asia is shaped by mon-soons. Monsoons are strong winds that cre-ate the rainfall patterns in this region. In sum-mer, monsoons blow from the ocean towardthe land, bringing clouds that are heavy withrain.

In areas affected by monsoons, summersare very wet and winters fairly dry. Mumbai,India, for example, has a monsoon climate.It gets more than 70 inches of rain betweenJune and September. But the same city getslittle or no rain from December to April.

South Asia

South Asia's climate ranges from arid totropical.The northwest part of the subconti-nent is dry. So is part of the Deccan Plateauin central India.

The Himalayas have a highlands climate.In a highlands zone, the climate gets colderas elevation increases.The Himalayas arevery high and very cold. Snow covers thehigher peaks throughout the year. In fact, theword Himalaya means "House of Snow."

Tropical climates dominate the rest ofSouth Asia. A tropical wet climate makesthe west coast hot and rainy all year long.Much of interior South Asia is tropical wetand dry.The area has one rainy season andone dry season.Temperatures remain fairlyhigh year-round. Finally, north central Indiahas a humid subtropical climate, with hot,humid summers and mild winters.

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East Asia

Like South Asia, East Asia has a variety ofclimates. A highlands climate is found in thePlateau ofTibet. Arid and semiarid areasborder this landform.They include the GobiandTaklamakan deserts.

The Korean Peninsula has a humidcontinental climate. People there endure hot,steamy summers.Then they face very coldwinters. Parts of Japan and eastern Chinaexperience a humid subtropical climate.Theyhave hot, steamy summers and mild winters.Rain falls fairly evenly throughout the year.

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is tropical. Most areas nearestthe equator have a tropical wetclimate. It is hot and rainy all yearin the Philippines, Singapore, andmost of Malaysia and Indonesia.Other parts of Southeast Asiahave a tropical wet and dryclimate.The weather is hot allyear with both rainy and dryseasons in most ofThailand,Cambodia, and southern Vietnam.

The mountain regions of Japan havesevere winters with heavy snow.

392 Unit?

Vegetation

The vegetation in Monsoon Asia varies asmuch as the region's climate does. In thedrier parts of the region, only desert scrubsurvives. But in the tropical zones, lush plantsthrive and form thick rainforests.

Elevation also has a big effect on MonsoonAsia's plant life. Remember that in a high-lands climate, temperature varies with eleva-tion. Vegetation varies with elevation as well.The region's highest mountains are so coldthat they are covered by ice and snow. Verylittle can grow in this ice cap vegetation zone.

South Asia

The plant life of South Asia varies with theclimates and the altitude.The driest landsupports only desert scrub. Tropical grass-land covers much of central India. Mixedforest appears on the lower slopes of theHimalayas. In the tropical climate zones,broadleaf evergreen forest is common.

East Asia

Because East Asia has so many climatezones, this subregion supports many differenttypes of plant life.

The Plateau ofTibet and mountainousparts of China support highlands vegetation.The large deserts are home to desert anddesert scrub vegetation. Much of the northernpart of this subregion is too dry for trees. Butgrasses grow well there.

The warmer and wetter areas of East Asiasupport forests. Northeast China, the KoreanPeninsula, and Japan are covered with mixedand deciduous forest. Many pines grow onJapan's mountains and along its seashores.

Much of southeastern China has a humidsubtropical climate. Broadleaf evergreenforests thrive where it is warm and rainy.

Southeast Asia

Just about all of Southeast Asia is warmand wet. Rainforests and tropical grasslandcover most of this region. Over time, much of^^^^^^^ the rainforest has been cleared

to raise crops that do well inthe tropics. People grow rice,sugarcane, tea, and rubber.

Many types of bamboogrow well here. Bamboo is agrass. But unlike most grasses,it can grow to huge sizes.Some types of bamboo mayreach over 100 feet high andhave stems a foot in diameter.Bamboo stems are made intoeverything from houses totools. Bamboo probably hasmore uses than any otherplant in tropical areas.

Tibet is often called the "Roof of theWorld." Yaks graze in the highlandmeadows on the Plateau ofTibet,which lies more than 10,000 feetabove sea level.

Monsoon Asia 393

Introducing the Region: Human Geography

There are 23 countries in Monsoon Asia.Some, like China, are very old. Others, like

EastTimor, are quite new.Much of Monsoon Asia is densely settled.

China is the world's most populous country.It has more than 1.3 billion people. India is aclose second with more than a billion people.

With so many people, it is no surprisethat some of the world's largest and mostcrowded cities are found in Monsoon Asia.They include Calcutta and Mumbai, India;Dhaka, Bangladesh; Shanghai, China;Seoul, South Korea;Tokyo, Japan; Manila,Philippines; and Jakarta, Indonesia.

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394 Unit?

History

Some of the world's earliest civilizationsarose in Monsoon Asia. At different times,rulers united parts of the region into empires.Later, European countries colonized muchof the region. In modern times, most Asianpeoples have gained their independence.

Early Times

East Asia's first civilization took root in theHuang He valley. China was split into manykingdoms early in its history.

In 221 B.C.E., one of these kingdoms, theQin, united China.The name China comesfrom the word Qin. The first ruler of thisempire, the Emperor Qin, built China's firstGreat Wall. From the first emperor untilmodern times, China was ruled by a series ofdynasties, or ruling families. When one familylost power, another rose to take its place.

South Asia's first civilization arose in theIndus River valley around 2500 B.C.E. One ofits main cities was Mohenjo-daro. As manyas 40,000 people lived there.The people ofMohenjo-daro enjoyed comforts that werevery advanced for that time. Their homes hadindoor bathrooms that drained into a citysewer system.

No one knows how the Indus Valleycivilization ended. But by 1700 B.C.E., it hadvanished. For centuries after that, South Asiawas a land of small kingdoms.

In the 320s B.C.E., a powerful family calledthe Mauryas saw how weak these kingdomswere. The Mauryas conquered most of them

and united India into one empire.TheMauryan Empire lasted for about 130 years.

Conquests and Colonies

After the Mauryan Empire fell, India oncemore broke apart.Then in 1526, invaders fromCentral Asia conquered India.The invaders,called Mughals, united India as a new empire.The Mughals ruled India into the early 1700s.

Starting in the late 1400s, Europeanscolonized many parts of Monsoon Asia.The Spanish set up trading posts in thePhilippines.The Dutch started colonies inIndonesia.The British began businesses inIndia. By the late 1700s, the British ruledmost of India.

In the 1800s, France joined the race forcolonies.The French took over much ofSoutheast Asia. They controlled the areathat is now Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

The Modern Era

In the last half-century, most colonies inMonsoon Asia freed themselves fromEuropean control. India gained its independ-ence from Great Britain in 1947.The Frenchleft Southeast Asia in the 1950s.

Parts of Monsoon Asia have prospered inrecent years. Japan is now one of the world'sleading industrial countries. Other areas, suchas South Korea,Taiwan, and Singapore, havealso developed modern industrial economies.

However, Monsoon Asia has developedunevenly. Some people live very well. But inmany parts of the region, most people stilllive in poverty.

Monsoon Asia Timeline Early Times Conquest and Colonies I I Modern Era

2500-1700 B.C.E.Rise and fall of civilization

along Indus River

3000-1700 B.C.E. Civilizationarises along Huang He

320s B.C.E. Mauryas unite India

1565-1571 Spain conquers the Philippines -

I ILate 1400s-mid 1900s European colonization -

1757 British colonize India -

221-210 B.C.E. Emperor Qin unites China

1945-present Industrialization of Asia Q

I1947 India wins its independence O

Monsoon Asia 395

Population

About 3.7 billion people live in MonsoonAsia. That is more than half the world'speople. China, India, and Indonesia are threeof the world's five most populous countries.

Monsoon Asia is mostly rural. However,cities are growing quickly. Every year, largenumbers of people leave the countryside tolook for work in cities. As a result, many citiessuffer from overcrowding.The people wholive there are often unemployed and poor.

Monsoon Asia is a region with manyreligious traditions. In India and Nepal,most people are Hindu. Islam also has manyfollowers in Monsoon Asia. In fact, Indonesiahas the world's largest Muslim population.Nine out of ten people there are Muslim.

Monsoon Asia: Urban and Rural Population, 2000

| Urban, 35.6%

<Rural, 64.4%

10% of= the total

population

Buddhism is the main religion inSoutheast Asia. Most people in Japanpractice Shinto or Buddhism. Confucianismbegan in China about 2,500 years ago. Itsinfluence is still felt today. Christianity alsohas followers in Monsoon Asia, especiallyin the Philippines.

Monsoon Asia: Major Religions

No religion, 21.3%

Other, 2.4%

Christianity, 7.2%

Buddhism, 12.1%

Indigenous, 14.2%

Islam, 14.9%

Hinduism, 27.!

Judaism, 0.1%

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Sources: Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, "World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision" and "World UrbanizationProspects: The 2003 Revision." esa.un.org/unpp. "Religion." Eni-\t-lontpdia Britannica. 2005. Encyclopaedia Britannicu Premium Service, www.britannica.com.

396 Unit 7

Economic Activity

The economy of Monsoon Asia is a mix ofold and new. Most people still work to feedthemselves by farming and fishing. At thesame time, parts of the region have becomeimportant centers for industry and finance.

The many people of Monsoon Asia wholive near the seacoast have always fishedfor food. But fishing has also become a bigbusiness in Asia. Commercial fishing isdifferent from traditional small-scale fishing.Commercial fishing boats can gather hugeamounts of fish in their nets. Most of whatthey catch is processed, packaged, and sentall over the world.

Resources

Monsoon Asia is rich in resources. NorthernChina has large coal deposits. It producesmore coal than any other country on Earth.Southeast Asia has much of the world's tin.Petroleum reserves lie beneath Indonesia.In addition, the region's many rivers are wellsuited for hydroelectric power.

An Indian villager watches over his fishing nets.Fishing is a major part of Monsoon Asia's economy.

Land Use

Most people in Monsoon Asia still live offthe land. Some are subsistence farmers.They grow enough to feed their families.Rice is the staple for many of them. Othersare commercial farmers.They grow cropsfor export, including tea, cotton, spices,and tobacco.

More than 90 percent of the world's rubberis produced in Southeast Asia. Rubber comesfrom the sap of the rubber tree. To get thesap, a rubber tapper cuts a diagonal shavingof bark from the tree. A metal spout and cupare attached to the bottom of this cut. Sapoozes from the cut and drips into the cup.Tappers collect about a teacup of sap eachtime they tap a tree.

China's commercial fishing industry isamong the world's largest. Indonesia exportslarge amounts of shrimp and tuna. India,Japan, and South Korea also have largefishing industries.

Nomadic herders live in some remoteparts of Monsoon Asia.Their lives are similarto their ancestors' lives.They herd cattle,goats, sheep, and yaks. Other parts ofMonsoon Asia, however, have boomingmodern economies. International trade isstrong inTaiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, andSouth Korea. China makes machinery, as wellas consumer goods. Japan is a world leaderin the production of cars and electronics.

TheThree Gorges Dam in China will be completed in2009. It will produce more hydroelectric power thanany other dam in the world. This power will supportthe growth of industry across China.

Monsoon Asia 397