Asia

Asia is the largest and most populated continent. It has nearly one third of the world's total land area and is home to more than half the Earth's people.

It has the Earth's highest point (Mount Everest) and lowest point (the Dead Sea). Asia also includes some of the world's wettest, driest, hottest, and coldest places.

The world's major religions—Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism—all began in Asia as well.

Today, though many people are farmers and live in small villages, Asia also has enormous cities, including some of the world's largest: Beijing, China; Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; and Delhi, India.

Overview

With an area of more than 17 million square miles (44 million square kilometers), Asia stretches from the Arctic Ocean to the equator. It is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean, to the south by the Indian Ocean, to the southwest by the Mediterranean and Black seas, and to the west by Europe. In the southwest, a narrow isthmus, or neck of land, joins Asia to Africa.

The main geographic features of South, Southeast, and East Asia are great mountains, high plains, and islands.

Northern Asia, also called Siberia, is part of Russia. Siberia has mostly frozen plains and swampy forest. Because of the extreme cold, few people live there. Most of central Asia consists of desert, but in the north are vast grasslands

Land and Climate

Because of the wide variety of climates and physical features, there are many types of plants. In northern Siberia lichens, mosses, and some wildflowers grow. To the south are evergreen forests and grasslands. China has the most varied vegetation of any country in the world. Palm trees and bamboo grow in the southern parts of China, South Korea, and Japan. In South and Southeast Asia rain forest is the main natural vegetation, though large areas of trees have been cut down to make room for farming. In the mountains of Southwest Asia there are forests of beech trees, evergreens, hollies, and creepers.

Asia's animals are as varied as its plants. Northern Asia has polar bears, walruses, moose, and reindeer, while wild camels roam the Gobi. Asia's reptiles include crocodiles, king cobras, and komodo dragons. Animals found only in Asia include the orangutan, giant panda, Asian elephant, Siberian tiger, Bengal tiger, and Indian rhinoceros. However, the population of many animals in Asia has been reduced because of the destruction of animal habitats and uncontrolled hunting.

Plants and Animals

Many different groups of people live in Asia. Arabs, Jews, Iranians, and Turks are among the peoples of Southwest Asia. South Asia is home to Indian peoples. Southeast Asia's many peoples and cultures have been influenced by India and China. The main peoples in East Asia are the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. Northern Asia includes various Asian groups, as well as Russians and other Europeans

Throughout the 20th century, as Asia became more industrial, people moved from villages into towns and cities, where they hoped to find work and better services for their families. In China, Vietnam, and Nepal, however, less than 40 percent lived in cities. The lives of some groups of people had hardly changed for centuries. Yet others saw their countries change greatly in a short space of time due to the arrival of Western culture and industrial methods. One of the problems faced by Asia at the beginning of the 21st century was the fast rate at which its population was increasing. This population increase caused problems such as food, housing, and land shortages for the Asian people.

People

Kiyomizu Temple

Mekong River

Tian Shan Mountains

Vietnamese Rice Paddy

Asia." Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 4  Jan.  2012.<http://www.school.eb.com/elementary/article?articleId=346086>.

Bibliography