Geography of East AsiaChina, Japan, and Neighbors

China’s Geography• Wide variety of land, size of the US, • Deserts, mountains, fertile fields, coastal

plains• Separated from India by Himalayas • Divided by diagonal line—Arid China and

Humid China

• 3 major rivers, all start in west and flow east

• Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers

• All often flood

• Taklimakan Desert —NW China, sandy and many storms

• Gobi Desert —N. Central China and Mongolia, mostly rocky with extreme temp. changes

Japan’s Geography

• Archipelago nation, 4 large islands, most important is Honshu (Tokyo), others –Hokkaido, Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa

• Most of the land is mountainous

• Many earthquakes and volcanoes due to plate tectonics

• 1500 minor earthquakes a year

• Mt. Fuji –tallest mountain, and active volcano –part of the Ring of Fire

Where did the earthquake hit?

• Climate is effected by monsoons and typhoons –hurricane like storms in the Pacific

Southeast Asia• Large peninsula east of

India and south of China, also island nations in the South China Sea

• Major countries: Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines

• Many jungles, very tropical