ASIA
1. Geographical Position. Seas of the Arctic Ocean that Wash theShores of Asia
Geographical Position and Size of Asia. Asia is the largest part of the world. Its area is 43,900,000 square kilometres, i.e., a little less than one-third of the land surface of the globe
2. Seas of the Pacific Ocean
The eastern coast of Asia is washed by the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by chains of large and small islands that separate some of the outlying seas from the ocean.
3. Seas of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans
Seas of the Indian Ocean. The waters of the Indian Ocean wash the coasts of Asia in the south. That ocean is linked with the South China Sea by the Strait of Malacca.
Relief
4. Northern and South-Western Asia
Relief Peculiarities of Asia. Asia reaches higher altitudes than any other part of the world. Three-fourths of its territory consists of vast tablelands, uplands and lofty mountains.
5. Central Asia
Central Asia consists of a number of vast tablelands and uplands surrounded by mountains.
6. Eastern and Southern Asia
Relief of Eastern Asia. Along the coasts bordering the Pacific Seas, both on the mainland and on the adjacent islands, are ranges of young mountains. They run across Kamchatka and from there southward across the Kuril Islands.
7. Weathering
Changes in Land Surface. The earth's surface has not always been the same. It has been undergoing constant change.
8. Earthquakes and Volcanoes. Minerals
Earthquake Regions of Asia. Earthquakes are most frequent and violent along the Pacific coast of Asia: on the Kuril, Japanese, Philippine and Sunda Islands.
Climate
9. Northern Asia
Climatic Contrasts. Asia extends from the equatorial regions in the south to the high-latitudinal regions of the Arctic in the north. It includes, therefore, all the climatic zones of the Northern Hemisphere.
10. South-Western and Central Asia
The Climate of South-Western Asia. The climate of South-Western Asia varies with the latitude, the distance from the sea and the altitude.
11. Eastern and Southern Asia
The Climate of Eastern Asia. Eastern Asia faces the Pacific Ocean, and its climate depends largely on the seasonal changes of the monsoon winds. Monsoons are winds with periodic alternations of direction. In summer the land heats more rapidly than the sea.
Inland Waters
12. Rivers and Lakes of Northern Asia Undrained Areas
Rivers are unevenly distributed in Asia. In the wetter regions flow large and deep rivers. In the dry regions of Central and Southwestern Asia, on the other hand, rivers are few and shallow. The greater part of the large rivers rise in the high mountains and branch off in different directions towards the seas that wash the coasts of Asia.
13. Rivers of Eastern and Southern Asia
Rivers of Eastern Asia. The rivers of Eastern Asia empty their waters into the seas of the Pacific Ocean. The full-bodied Amur rises east of Lake Baikal and falls into the straits that separate Sakhalin from the mainland.
Natural Zones
14. Tundras, Forests and Steppes
The natural zones of Asia vary with the climate and relief. There are cold northern tundras and gloomy taiga forests, grass-covered steppes and dry deserts, savannahs and lush tropical forests.
15. Deserts and Semideserts
Deserts and semideserts cover the vast areas of Central Asia, the Turan Lowland, the central part of the Plateau of Iran, the Peninsula of Arabia and the lowland bordering on the Indus River.
16. The Subtropics. Forests of the Torrid Zone. Savannahs
The Subtropical Regions. The coastal belts of Asia Minor facing the seas have a Mediterranean climate and a subtropical vegetation similar to that of Southern Europe: evergreen shrubs and trees such as myrtle, oleander, laurel and evergreen oak.
Population of Asia
Quantity and Density of Population. Asia, the largest of the parts of the world, has also the largest population.
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