Myanmar and Thailand Formerly Burma and Siam. Objectives Identify Myanmar and Thailand on a blank...

Myanmar and Thailand

Formerly Burma and Siam

Objectives

• Identify Myanmar and Thailand on a blank map.

• Explain how the physical geographies of these nations are similar.

• Identify where minority and majority groups live within these nations in respect to their physical geography.

• Discuss the instability of these nations using the word coup.

Terms and Places

Irrawaddy River is the large river in Myanmar.

A coup is when the military takes over the government.

Bangkok is the capital of Thailand.

Aung San Suu Kyi is (Ong Song Su Chi) Myanmar’s elected leader, now under house arrest.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY & POPULATIONS

Where are Myanmar and Thailand?

Mountains on Myanmar’s west separate it from India.

Mountains on the north separate Myanmar from China.

On the east of Thailand lies the communist countries of southeast Asia.

Myanmar and Thailand are the diving point between the Indian Ocean to the west and the South China Sea (part of the Pacific Ocean) to the east.

Both Myanmar and Thailand are built around river valleys.

Both Myanmar and Thailand originally located their capitals on the fertile delta regions at the mouths of these rivers.

Shan

Khorat

Both Myanmar and Thailand have fertile plateaus on their east.

Both of their population centers are at the river deltas.

However, Thailand has another population center along the coast of the Malay Peninsula.

Myanmar 261,228 sq miles

Thailand 198,117 sq miles

United States3,806,000 million sq miles

ETHNIC GROUPS

Myanmar used to be called Burma because the Burmese people are the majority.

The Burmese people live in the Irrawaddy River Valley, the best land.

The minority peoples live in the surrounding mountains and on the eastern plateau.

Thailand has fewer minorities.

Still, the Thai people hold the river valley and the minorities are in the highlands on the country’s edges.

Both Burmese and Thai have their own unique alphabet.

ECONOMY

Health and economy in Thailand is similar

to other East and Southeast Asian

countries. Myanmar’s health and economy is

poorer than most other East and

Southeast Asian countries.

Half of Myanmar’s economy is..

Thailand is the world’s #1 producer of computer hard drives.

Both nations have beautiful landscapes and temples that lure tourist dollars.

GOVERNMENT

However, both nations have experienced political unrest.

In Myanmar, the Buddhist monks have resisted the government there.

In 2005, Myanmar moved its capital to a brand new city.

Perhaps they thought Yangon – being on the coast – was vulnerable to foreign attack.

A

B

CE

ED

F

F

GG

H H

H

H H

I

Which nation is Thailand?

Thailand

Myanmar

Which nation is Myanmar?

Myanmar and Thailand each have coastline on what two oceans?

Indian and Pacific

Atlantic and Pacific

Atlantic and Indian

Which is the best description of how physical geography affected the growth of Myanmar and Thailand?

They both developed along river valleys.

They both developed on the edges of deserts.

They both developed along coastlines.

They both developed along mountain chains.

What is a coup?It is when a political party refuses to allow an election.

It is when the military takes over the government.

It is when a political party loses an election, but refuses to release power.

The majorities and the minorities live in similar places in both countries. Which of the below best describes where they live?

majority in countryside; minorities in the cities.

majority on the mainland; minorities on the islands.

majority in the central river valleys; minority in the mountains around the edges.

“Thailand.” Geographica. http://www.geographia.com/thailand

“Natural Resources.” World Explorer: Eastern Hemisphere. Prentice-Hall, 1998. pg. 552-553.

Topic: bamboo, fertile river valleys, Himalayan farmingVocab: surplus, cash crop, Thailand, Java

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