Geography of Asia- 1 - Notes | Study Geography for UPSC CSE - UPSC

• Area: 43,608,000 million sq. km (30% of the total laud surface of the earth.)

• Latitudes: 10°11’S to 81°12'N

• Longitude: 26°2' E to 169°40' W in the east crossing 180' longitude.

• North-South Extent: 6,440 km

• East-West Extent: 9,650 km

• Only some of the Indonesian group of islands is located to the south of the equator in the southern hemisphere.

• The largest continent in the world.

• 13 times larger than India

• Most Northernmost point: Mys Dezhneva Russia

• Most Southernmost point: Pulau Pamana

• Most Easternmost point: Mys Dezhneva Russia

• Most Westernmost point: Bozca Adasi Turkey.

• Highest point: Mt Everest Nepal

• Lowest point: Dead sea Israel/Jordan

• Highest temperature: Tirat Tsvi Israel

• Lowest temperature: Verhoyansk Russia

Regional Divisions of Asia
Asia can be divided into six physiographic divisions:

• Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
• Eastern Asia: China, Hong Kong, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Macau, Mongolia, Taiwan
• Northern Asia: Russia
• South-eastern Asia: Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam.
• Southern Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
• Western Asia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, State of Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

• The Northern Lowlands

• The Central Mountains

• The Central and Southern Plateaus

• The Peninsulas

• Deserts

• The Great River Plains

• Island Groups

The Northern Lowlands

The Northern Lowlands are the extensive plain areas that comprise of several patches of lowlands of this large continent.

The major lowlands are:

Great Siberian plain

• It extends between the Ural Mountains in the west and the river Lena in the east. It is the largest lowland in the world covering an area of 1,200,000 square miles approx.

Manchurian Plain

• It is the area adjoining the Amur river and its tributaries of the northern part of China with an area of 135,000 square miles approx.

Great Plains of China

• It is contributed by two major rivers of China, Hwang Ho, and Yangtze river, which covers an area of 158,000 square miles approx.

Tigris-Euphrates plains

Ganga plains

• The river Ganga is the most important river which flows through India and Bangladesh.

• The river Ganga rises in the Indian state of Uttarkhand and flows south and east through Gangetic plains, and finally discharges itself into the Bay of Bengal.

• It is the largest river in India, and it is the most sacred river to Hindus.

• The most important tributaries of Ganga are the Yamuna, Chambal, the Gomati, the Ghaghara, the Ramganga, the Mahanadi, the Kosi, the Gandak.

Irrawaddy plains

• At 2,170 kilometers (1,340 miles), the Irrawaddy river is the largest in Myanmar (Burma). 

• Most of the 47 million in the country live on or near the Irrawaddy. 

• Its tributaries flow from the eastern margins of the Tibetan plateau and, although not directly fed by glaciers, originates high in the same mountains as the other rivers we have described here.

• These are the prominent and extensive mountain ranges that cover the parts of Central Asia.

• They consist of Pamir and Tian Shan ranges and extending across portions of Afghanistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

• These mountain ranges are designated as biodiversity hot spots by Conservation International, which covers several montanes and alpine ecoregions of Central Asia.

• It encompasses several habitat types, including montane grasslands and shrublands, temperate coniferous forests, and alpine tundra.

• A mountain knot is a junction of two or more mountain ranges. 

The two main mountain knots in Asia are:

• The Pamir Knot is the junction of five mountain ranges they are the Sulaiman, the Hindu Kush, the Kunlun, the Karakoram, and the Himalayan ranges. Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world in the Himalayan range.

• The Armenian Knot is connected to the Pamir Knot by the Elburz and the Zagros Ranges that originate in the Armenian Knot. The Tien Shan and the Altai are other mountain ranges in Asia.

• Mount Everest (8848 m), Nepal-Tibet, China border

• K2 (8,61,1 m), Pakistan-China

• Kangchenjunga (8,586 m), Nepal-Sikkim (India).

• Lhotse (8,516 m), Nepal-Tibet, China

• Makalu (8,462 m), Nepal-Tibet, China

• Cho Oyu (8,201 m), Nepal