Chapter 27, section 1

1. Landforms Mountains and Plateaus
a. Mountain ranges of the region
i. There is limited contact in the region due to high mountains
ii. The Kunlun Mountains: located in the west of china, and are the source of two rivers the Yellow and Yangtze
iii. The Qinling Shandi Mountains: divide the north and south of China
b. Plateaus and Plains:
i. The terrain of China is some of the roughest in the world
ii. Although few flat surfaces exist, the region restricted movement.
iii. The region has lowland basins and barren deserts
iv. These include the plateau of Tibet, the Tarim Pendi Basin and the Taklimakan Desert.
v. Theses areas are sparsely populated
vi. One of the largest deserts in the world, the Gobi, goes from China to Mongolia, covering 500,000 miles
2. Peninsulas and islands
a. Coast of China
i. The east coast of China features several peninsulas
ii. Because of this China has a long coastline, with many big trade cities appearing in the area.
iii. Bordering China is the Korean peninsula, with North and South Korea on it.
b. The islands of east Asia
i. A big feature of the area is the continental shelf
ii. the isolations of islands has created a security and peace on the islands than on the mainland.
iii. The islands include Hainan and parts of Hong Kong.
iv. Hong Kong used to be a British Colony
v. The small nations of east asia are mostly on the islands
vi. Japan is an island nation with big economic power.
vii. Taiwan is a separate island that is still claimed by China
3. River systems
a. The Huang He
i. The Huang He: (or yellow river) of north China starts in the Kunlun mountains
ii. Another name of the river is China’s sorrow, because of the floods it caused
iii. Called Yellow because of its silt
iv. 3,000 miles loong
b. The Chang Jiang
i. The Chang Jiang: (or long river)
ii. 3,900 miles long
iii. A major trade route
iv. Floods frequently
c. Xi Jiang
i. The Xi Jiang (west river)
ii. In the south of China
iii. Flows east and joins with the pearl river to flow into the sout china sea.
iv. Forms an estuary between Hong Kong and macao
4. Resources of East Asia
a. Land and forests
i. Agriculture is limited
ii. China is mineral rich
iii. As are North and South Asia
iv. This is why the population of China is mostly in the east, where food can be grown
v. Rice growth is very productive
vi. Forests are also abundant in China
b. Minerals and energy
i. China has large energy reserves of petroleum, coal, and natural gas
ii. Korea has coal reserves
iii. China’s abundance in resources has allowed it to be self-sufficient
c. Water resources
i. China’s long river systems are important to its trade
ii. They provide crop irrigation, hydroelectric power, and transportation
iii. To stop flooding, the government has created the three gorges dam
iv. People in east asia look to the sea for food
v. Japan has the largest fishing industry
5. Summary:
a. This section went over the landforms and resources of east Asia. It talked about river systems and peninsulas, energy reserves and massive seafood industry.