EAST ASIALAND AND WATER

EAST ASIA• Mongolia• China• Taiwan• North Korea• South Korea• Japan

LAND USE AND WATERSECTION 1

OBJECTIVES1.Learn about the

landforms and water bodies found in East Asia.

2.Find out where most of the people in East Asia live.

KEY TERMS1.Plateau2.Fertile3.Archipelago4.Population Density

A raised area of level land bordered on one or more sides by steep slopes or cliffs.

PLATEAU

Able to support plant growth.

FERTILE

A group of islands.

ARCHIPELAGO

The average number of people living in a square mile or square kilometer.

POPULATION DENSITY

MAP MASTER: EAST ASIA PHYSICAL MAPhttp://phschool.com/ (WEB CODE lcp-6110)

Place/Landform Typical ElevationManchurian PlainKorean PeninsulaNorth China PlainTaklimakan DesertTaiwan

LANDFORMS AND WATER BODIES• China takes up most of East Asia’s land, and

mountains and plateaus (raised areas of level land bordered on one or more sides by steep slopes or cliffs) make up much of China’s landscape.

• The other countries of East Asia also have mountains, but only China and Mongolia have wide plains and plateaus.

• Japan, Taiwan, North Korea, and South Korea have narrow plains that lie mainly along coasts and rivers.

THE HIMALAYAS• When the Indian subcontinent slammed

into Asia about 50 million years ago, the Himalayan Mountains and the Plateau of Tibet were created.

• The Himalayas extend along the border of China and Nepal.

• The Plateau of Tibet is a huge highland area that lies in western China, north of the Himalaya Mountains.

THE HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS

THE PLATEAU OF TIBET

ISLAND LANDSCAPES• Earthquakes also shaped the islands of

Japan by forced some parts of the country to rise and other parts to sink.

• Erupting volcanoes piled up masses of lava and ash, forming new mountains.

• Japan’s Mt. Fuji (12,388 ft) is actually a volcano that has not erupted since 1707.

MT. FUJI

CHINA: MORE THAN 1 BILLION PEOPLE• China is the most populous nation in the world.• Mountains (in the south and west) and deserts

(the Gobi Desert) make up more than two thirds of China’s land.

• China’s two most important rivers are the Chang and the Huang.

• The Huang River runs through the fertile (the soil is capable of supporting abundant plant growth) North China Plain and supports over 100 million people that live along its banks.

THE GOBI AND THE CHANG AND HUANG

MAP MASTER: EAST ASIA POPULATIONphschool.com (Web Code lcp6111)

1. What is the topic of the map?2. What three symbols are used to represent population density in

cities? Which would you use to identify cities with a population of 7,000,000 people?

3. In general, what do the colors on the map represent? Specifically, what do the different shades stand for (these will be numbers)?

4. How many people per square kilometer live in the most densely populated part of Mongolia?

5. Where in this region are there urban areas with 5,000,000 or more people?

JAPAN: AN ISLAND COUNTRY• Japan is an archipelago, or group of islands, in the

western Pacific Ocean.• Japan has 4 main islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku,

and Kyushu) and more than 3,000 smaller islands.• The largest and most populated island is Honshu. • Honshu is the home of most of Japan’s major cities,

including its capital city of Tokyo.• Every major Japanese city is located on the coast, and

most of Japan’s citizens live on the coasts as well.• Nearly 80% of the country is mountainous.

THE KOREAS• The Korean Peninsula extends

south into the Yellow Sea between China and Japan.

• A peninsula is a piece of land nearly surrounded by water.

• Since 1953, Korea has been divided into two separate countries, North Korea and South Korea.

POPULATION IN EAST ASIA• The population of East Asia is spread unevenly

across the land, with few people living in the deserts, plateaus, and mountains.

• Most of the people live in the coastal areas, where living and growing food are easier.

• The coasts have a very high population density, or average number of people living in a square mile.

• The North China Plain, however, also has a high population density because its land is better suited for human settlement, it is level, and it has fertile soil.

POPULATION DENSITY OF EAST ASIA

POPULATION IN EAST ASIA• In East Asia, level ground must be shared

by cities, farms, and industries.• Almost half the population of Japan is

crowded onto less than 3% of the country’s land.

• In China, most of the population is located in the eastern half of the country, where the plains and coastal areas are located.