Transcript Physical Geography of South Asia

South Asia: The
Land
Ch. 23 Sec. 1
Separate Land
• Mountains form a border
from the rest of Asia
Making a subcontinent
• Large, distinct landmass that’s
joined to a continent
• Half the size of continental
U.S.
Separate Land
• 3 bodies of water
border the
subcontinent:
–Arabian Sea W
–Bay of Bengal E
–Indian Ocean S
INDIAN OCEAN
The Himalaya
• Formed when the Indian
subcontinent collided with Eurasian
plate (~50 mil. yrs ago)
–On own Indian plate, used to be
connected to Africa or own continent
–Mt. Everest (highest point on Earth):
29,035 ft.
–Still growing! (0.5 cm per yr)
Continental Convergence
Rich Ganges plain
Dry Tibet plateau
Other Northern Mts.
• Karakoram Mts. (most N)
• 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 Pak. & Afgh.)
–Protected region from outside influence
Khyber 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 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
Southern Highlands
• Eastern and Western Ghats
–Eroded mts. (why?)
• Triangle of rugged ‘hills’
–W.G. formed from super
continent (~300 mil. yrs ago)
–W.G. are a biodiversity hotspot!
Pangaea: 300
million years ago
Eastern Ghats
Western Ghats
In WG: about
6,000 plant
species and
1,250 animal
species47%
endemic!
Southern Highlands
• Deccan Plateau
–Once covered in lava (eruptions
occurred ~65 million yrs ago)
now has rich black soil, BUT…
–W.G. prevent rain from reaching
D.P.  very arid
Deccan Traps:
volcanic feature
eruption/release of
gases killed dinos??
Southern Highlands
• Karnataka Plateau
–S. of Deccan P.
–Receives rain
instead  lush and
green
–Lots of spices,
plantations, rain
forests
Islands
• Sri Lanka broke away from the
Indian mass
• Maldives are small coral atolls
(26)
–Create over 1,000 islets (200
inhabited- 300 ppl/island)
–Smallest in Asia (115 sq mi)
–330,000 ppl live here
Water Systems
• Rivers are the most impt. to
life
• All start in the Himalaya
• 3 main rivers:
–Indus
–Brahmaputra
–Ganges
Indus River
• Mainly thru Pakistan,
empties into Arabian Sea
• Waters orchards,
transportation route
• One of earliest
Indus Valley
Civilization
civilization sites
Brahmaputra 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 River
• Most impt. by far
• Begins in ice cave in Himalaya
–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
Varanasi/ Benares
Delta of Ganges &
Brahmaputra
Indo-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 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 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 Resources
• There are oil reserves, but still
depend on imported oil
• There’s natural gas & uranium
(can build nuc. weapons)
• Most still depend on
hydroelectricity, fuel wood, &
coal
Natural 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 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