Countries of South Asia

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Countries of South Asia

• India
• Pakistan
• Bangladesh
• Sri Lanka
• Bhutan
• Nepal
• Maldives

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Physical Geography of South Asia
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Geographical Facts

• South Asia is a large landmass that extends
  southward from the continent of Asia into the
  Indian Ocean.

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Population Facts

• Nearly 1.5 billion people (2010 census)
• 20 of world pop.

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Physical Geography

• India is a huge peninsula separated from the
  Asian mainland by the Himalayan Mountains.

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Maldives

• consists of 1,200 coral islands, none of which
  covers more than 5 square miles

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Bangladesh

• Bangladesh has the largest river delta in the
  world, where the Ganges River and the
  Brahmaputra River empty into the Indian Ocean.

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Sri Lanka

• large island off the southeastern coast of India
• Largest exporter of tea in the world

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Nepal and Bhutan

• small countries are tucked away high in the
  Himalayas.

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Mountains and Plateaus of South Asia
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The Himalayas

• -system of parallel mountain ranges extending
  across southern Asia.

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The Himalayas

• -created by the collision of tectonic plates.
• -Mount Everest is the tallest peak in the world
  at 29,029 feet above sea level.

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The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everest
as seen from the International Space Station
looking south-south-east over the Tibetan
Plateau. Four of the world's fourteen
eight-thousanders, mountains higher than 8000
meters, can be seen. The South Col Route is
Mount Everest's most often used climbing route.
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The last rays of sunlight on Mount Everest on May
5, 2007.
Mount Everest north face from Ronguk monastery in
Tibet.
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Aerial view of Mount Everest from the south, with
Lhotse in front and Nuptse on the left
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The Hindu Kush Mountains

• The Hindu Kush Mountains form the northern
  border between Pakistan and the Eurasian
  countries.

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Karakorum Mountains

• This range meets the Himalayan range in the
  northernmost part of South Asia.
• The combination of these ranges create a
  formidable barrier between the Indian
  subcontinent and the rest of Asia.

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Vindhya Mountains

• This range lies across the center of the Indian
  subcontinent. These mountains have created a
  barrier between the people in the northern part
  of India and those in the south.

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The Ghats and the Deccan Plateau

• The Deccan Plateau, Western Ghats and the
  Eastern Ghats form a triangle at the southern tip
  of the subcontinent.

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Major River Systems

• The sources of the major rivers are found in the
  Himalayan Mountains.
• Three Great Rivers of South Asia
• The Indus River
• The Ganges River
• The Brahmaputra River

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The Indus River

• the site of some of the earliest civilizations in
  South Asia.
• It flows mainly through Pakistan and empties into
  the Arabian Sea.

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The Ganges River

• considered a sacred river to the people in South
  Asia.
• carries fertile soil from the mountains into the
  floodplains of the great river.
• The Indo-Gangetic Plain is the huge alluvial
  plain created by the flooding of the Indus and
  Ganges rivers. It is the largest continuous
  alluvial plain in the world.

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Indo-Gangetic Plain

• The population densities reach more than 1,000
  people per square mile

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The Brahmaputra River

• flows out of the mountains near Nepal and joins
  the Ganges to create the broad delta along the
  Bay of Bengal

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Natural Resources

• Fertile soil
• hydroelectricity
• Fish and other seafood
• Oil and Natural gas
• Minerals iron ore, manganese, chromite, coal,
  gypsum, copper, gold, and mica.
• Graphite (Sri Lanka)
• Precious and semi-precious stones (sri Lanka)
• Timber

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Ch. 24-2 Climate

• The coldest climates are found in the highlands.
  
• Desert climates are found along the Indus River
  and to the east of the Indus in the area called
  the Thar Desert

Bhutan
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The Thar Desert
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Thar Desert - India
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Tropical Climate

• -found along the western coast of the Indian
  subcontinent and in the southwestern part of Sri
  Lanka.

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Monsoon

• -the most important climate feature of South
  Asia.
• A monsoon, or seasonal wind, shapes the climate
  in most of the sub continent.

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Winter Monsoon

• Between October and May
• blows from the north bringing cold, dry,
  continental air from the European continent.

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Summer Monsoon

• Between June and September
• blows from the south and southwest carrying warm
  moist air onto the subcontinent.

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• During the Summer monsoon season, heavy rain
  falls which provides the region with the largest
  portion of its yearly precipitation.

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• Monsoon rainfall is heaviest in the eastern part
  of South Asia .
• Shillong, a village in northeast India receives
  over 450 of rainfall each year.

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• The rainfall brought by the monsoon is critical
  to the survival of the people living in South
  Asia.
• Each year, millions of people wait and watch for
  the signs for the coming of the monsoon.

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• The annual monsoon not only brings the much
  needed rainfall for successful agriculture but it
  also causes catastrophic flooding that causes
  death and destruction every year.

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The Deccan Plateau remains High and Dry

• The monsoon rains do not affect all areas of
  South Asia equally. The Deccan Plateau receives
  very little rainfall.