Chapter 23

Section 1

China

China

• Capital: Beijing

• Population: 1,313,973,713

• Environmental Issues: air pollution, water shortages

• Natural Resources: coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas

People’s Republic of China

• Covers – 3,600,930 square miles

• 4th largest country in the world (behind Canada, Russia, United States)

Mountains

Geography Features

• Mountains

• Cover 1/3 of China

• Can be found in western China and along the southern border with Nepal

• Has the largest plateau in the world

The Plateau of Tibet

• Called the “Roof of the World”

• Averages above 13,000 feet above sea level

• Has shrubs and grasses cover the country side

• Home to Pandas and other rare animals

Deserts

• Taklmakan– Isolated area of China that has some of the

highest temperatures in the world

– Sandstorms may last several days and create large sand dunes

• Gobi– Found in Northeastern China

– Made up of rock and gravel instead of sand

– There are extreme temperature ranges in this region

Plains and Highlands

• Plains can be found along the coast of the North and South China’s Seas– Fertile fields– Home to 90% of China’s population

Rivers

• Huang He River– Also know as the Yellow River– Chinese call this river “China’s Sorrow”

because the flooding of this river has cost thousands of people their lives and has caused a lot of property damage.

• Chang Jiang River– To help Control flooding – China has begun

construction of the largest dam in the world.– Called the Three Gorges Dam– Will provide electricity for industries

• Xi River– Found in southern China

Climates

• Similar to the United States

• Has a wide variety of climate areas

• Location, elevation, and wind currents affect climate

• Monsoons greatly affect climate

• Monsoons create typhoons in coastal areas.