Ch 26-2 East AsiaClimate and Vegetation

Coach Green’s World Geography Class

Climate Regions

• Climate Regions are dominated by Latitude and Physical Features

• Mountains, Highlands, Coastal Regions

• Dry Highlands and Grasslands dominate the north and west

• Humid and temperate forests dominate the south and east

Mid Latitude ClimatesMaps on Pg 652 & 653

•Lower southeast quarter of East Asia has humid subtropical climate

•Upper northeast quarter has humid continental climate

•Forest regions of mid latitude region is mixed coniferous and deciduous

•Bamboo, a tree like grass, is very important in the warmer area

Desert and Steppe Climates

•Desert and Steppe climates range across Mongolia and Northern China

•Any rain from the Pacific is blocked by the rain shadow effect caused by the surrounding mountains

•The Gobi Desert and Taklimakan desert are often cold and windy

•Grasses and sparse trees make up the vegetation

Highland Climates

Highland areas have cold climates due to high elevation

Highland climate in East Asia is found on the Plateau of Tibet

Home to meadows of dotted trees, flowers and grasses in the lower mountain areas

Colorful lichens and mosses grow above the timberline

The History of Rice and Soybeans

•Two of East Asia’s most important food crops

•Rice and Soy Beans have been grown in this region since 5000 B.C.

•Rice was very important to East Asia’s early civilization

•Soy beans, a great source of protein, was thought to be a 5th food group to live a long and healthy life

Dragon Backbone Rice Terraces

Monsoons

•Monsoons – Prevailing wind patterns that bring seasonal patterns to East Asia

•Monsoons blow in one direction for half of the year, and then switch directions

•April through October – strong down pour from the southeast to northwest

•November to March – cold arctic air from the northwest to the southeast

•Timely rains are very important to the economy of East Asia

Ocean Currents

•Ocean currents influence South Asia’s climate

•Japan Current – Kuroshio- brings warm water north during the winter months

•Kuril Current – brings cold water south and fog during the summer months

•Typhoons – violent tropical storm in the Pacific the blows across East Asia

•Typhoons are formed by ocean currents and winds

•High winds and torrential rainfalls

Open Note Quiz

• In what climate regions do most people in East Asia live in

• What part of east Asia is this ( North, South, East, West, Northwest, Southwest, etc)?

• What part of the region is steppe and Desert?

• What two foods are important to the region?

• What are monsoons? What months are the wet months of the region?

• What was the name of the terraces in the mountains that held the water?