south asia: the land ch. 23 sec. 1. separate land mountains form a border from the rest of asia ...

South Asia: The South Asia: The LandLand

Ch. 23 Sec. 1

Separate LandSeparate Land• Mountains form a border

from the rest of AsiaMaking a subcontinent

•Large, distinct landmass that’s joined to a continent

• Half the size of continental U.S.

Separate LandSeparate Land• 3 bodies of water border the

subcontinent:–Arabian Sea West

–Bay of Bengal East

–Indian Ocean South

INDIAN OCEAN

Land of VarietyLand of Variety• Young, high mountains (in N)

& old, eroded mountains (in S)

• High deserts & rich, lush valleys (N)

• Flat plateaus & terraced foothills (S)

The HimalayaThe Himalaya• Formed when the Indian

subcontinent collided with Eurasian plate–Indian subcontinent used to be

connected to Africa, then broke away

–Mt. Everest (highest point on Earth): 29,035 ft.

–Still growing! (0.5 cm per yr)

Pangaea: 300 million years ago

Continental ConvergenceContinental Convergence

Other Northern Mts.Other Northern Mts.• Karakoram Mts. (most N)

-K2• Hindu Kush (NW)

–Complete the wall of mts. b/w S. Asia & the rest of Asia

–Narrow passes allowed few invaders in (Khyber Pass- b/w Pakistan & Afghanistan)

–Protected region from outside influence

KARAKORAM MTS.KARAKORAM MTS.HighestConcentrationof peaks overfive miles inheight to befoundanywhere onEarth!

Khyber PassKhyber Pass•Recorded use as far back as Alexander the Great!

•Many Afghan wars fought here

•Used by NATO forces now, Taliban attempts to blow up passes/bridges

Vindhya RangeVindhya Range• Caused by previous convergence

of plates not as tall as Himalaya

• Divides India into N & S regions (in Central India)–2 distinct cultures *

–Arid to NW

–Fertile to NE

Pangaea: 300 million years ago

Southern HighlandsSouthern Highlands• Eastern and Western Ghats

–Eroded mts. (why?)• Triangle of rugged ‘hills’• E.G. older than W.G. (formed w/ diff. super continents)

–W.G. formed as Deccan Plateau faulted from super continent (150 mil. yrs ago)

–W.G. are a biodiversity hotspot!

In WG: about 6,000 plant species and 1,250 animal

species47% endemic!

Southern HighlandsSouthern Highlands• Deccan Plateau

–Once covered in lava (eruptions occurred millions of yrs ago) now has rich black soil, BUT…

–W.G. prevent rain from reaching D.P. very arid

Deccan Plateau

Southern HighlandsSouthern Highlands

• Karnataka Plateau–S. of Deccan

–Receives rain instead lush and green

–Lots of spices, plantations, rain forests

IslandsIslands• Sri Lanka broke away from the

Indian mass

• Maldives are small coral atolls (22-26) –Create over 1,000 islets (250

inhabited)–Smallest in Asia–350,000 ppl live here

IsletIslet

Water SystemsWater Systems• Rivers are the most impt. to

life• All start in the Himalaya• 3 main rivers:

–Indus–Brahmaputra–Ganges

Indus RiverIndus River• Mainly thru Pakistan,

empties into Arabian Sea

• Waters orchards, transportation route

• One of earliest

civilization sitesIndus Valley Civilization

Brahmaputra RiverBrahmaputra River• Winds thru Himalaya, India, &

Bangladesh• Meets w/ Ganges R. to form a

delta at Bay of Bengal• Major inland waterway, travel

from bay 800 miles• Provides 50% of hydroelectricity

to Bangladesh

Ganges RiverGanges River• Most important by far• Begins in ice cave in Him.,

–About 1,560 miles long–Basin about 400,000 sq. miles

• Keeps size during dry season, but floods during summer monsoons

• Revered as sacred by Hindus

Delta of Ganges & Brahmaputra

Indo-Gangetic PlainIndo-Gangetic Plain• AKA- North Indian River plain• River creates world’s longest

fertile, alluvial plain–Over 1/7 of world population

lives here–Grasslands/forest cleared for

crops (rice, sesame, sugarcane, jute)

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources• Water:

–Fertile soil, drinking H20, transportation, hydroelectricity, & fish

–Countries work together to harness power (India & Bhutan)

–Build dams for power & open up new farmland consistent irrigation

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources

• Water cont’d–Challenges

•Dams threaten to flood settlements resistance

•The Tarbela Dam (Pakistan) will be unusable soon from built up silt

Actually began with treaty b/w India and Pakistan--- Pakistan gets stored water, independent of India’s control over upper river (1960)

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources

• There are oil reserves, but still depend on imported oil

• There’s natural gas & uranium, too

• Most still depend on hydroelectricity, fuel wood, & coal

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources

• India exports 90% of world’s mica (makes electrical equip.)

• India- leading exporter of iron ore

• Sri Lanka- a top exporter of graphite (lead)–Also a variety of precious stones

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources• Timber

–Nepal & Bhutan are covered with conifers (valuable hardwoods)• Overcutting is major prob.

soil erosion

–India has prized sandalwood

–Sri Lanka banned timber exports in 1977 to protect environment