East Asia has diverse physical features ranging from high mountain ranges like the Kunlun Mountains to vast deserts like the Gobi and Taklimakan. Major river systems that dominate the geography include the Huang He, Yangtze, and Xi Rivers. The region has a variety of climate zones from subarctic in the north of China and Mongolia to humid subtropical in southern China, Korea, and Japan. Natural resources are abundant and include minerals, forests, freshwater, and petroleum.

1. EAST ASIA

2. Countries and Capitals Beijing, China Tokyo, Japan Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Pyongyang, North Korea Seoul, South Korea Taipei, Taiwan

3. Physical Features Altai Mountains Mongolian Plateau Gobi Desert Plateau of Tibet Junggar Basin North China Plain Mount Gongga Shan Manchurian Plain Kongur Mt. South China Sea East China Sea Yellow Sea Sea of Japan Korea Bay Pacific Ocean Gulf of Tonkin Tarim He River Yellow River (Huang He) Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) and the Three Gorges Dam Taiwan Strait Mt. Fuji Yalu Jiang River

4. Major Cities Hong Kong Kyoto Shanghai

5. Landforms and Resources East Asia has high mountains, vast deserts, cold climates, Pacific waters, mostly rugged terrain formed by collision of tectonic plates Major mountain ranges: Kunlun Mountains - west of China - source of Huang He and Yangtze; Qinling Shandi Mountains - southeastern and east central China - divides northern par of China from the south East Asia also has some low basins and barren deserts - Tarim Pendi Basin and Taklimakan Desert and Gobi Desert - 500,000 square miles

6. Peninsulas and Islands Shandong Peninsula, Leizhou Peninsula, Macao Peninsula Why are peninsulas important? Islands: Hainan, part of Hong Kong, Japan is an island nation

7. River Systems Huang He - 3,000 miles long, yellow silt and particles of soil make it the Yellow river, many floods in river Chang Jiang - aka Yangtze River, longest river in all of Asia - 3,900 miles; from Tibet to East China Sea; major trade route; floods frequently Xi Jiang - aka West River, south of China; joins with three other rivers Other rivers: Yalu Jiang - part of North Korea

8. Resources Land and Forests - because of abundant mountains, agriculture is limited; b/c of this China’s population is located in east where river basins are located; in mountainous west regions population is spread out; forests are also abundant - forest reserves in China, Japan, Taiwan, North and South Korea Mineral and Energy Resources - petroleum, coal, natural gas in China; Korea - coal reserves; Japan - fish, coal; mineral resources - China has iron ore, tungsten, manganese, molybdenum, magnesite, lead, zinc, copper; North and South Korea have tungsten, gold, silver reserves; Japan has lead, silver, coal Water Resources - China’s systems provide crop irrigation, hydroelectric power, transportation, electricity; also, water resources provide fish, vegetation

9. CLIMATE AND VEGETATION High Latitude Climate Zones : Subarctic zones - Mongolia’s and China’s northern borders with Russia; summers cool to cold, winters brutally cold; climate is dry; vegetation - evergreen forest - mosses, lichens Highland zones - western China; farther north the latitude equals higher elevation equals colder climate; vegetation - alpine tundra, tundras have no trees, soil a few feet below surface is frozen, only lichens, mosses, shrubs grow

10. Mid-Latitude Zones: Humid Continental - Northeastern China, North Korea, northern South Korea, northern Japan; forests are mainly coniferous, temperate grasslands ideal for grazing (agriculture has transformed land) Humid Subtropical - Southeastern China, southern South Korea, southern Japan, northern Taiwan; forests are deciduous and coniferous

11. Dry Zones: Semiarid - Mongolian Plateau - short grasses, which provide food for grazing Desert - found in west central area - Taklimakan Desert, Gobi Desert (can find dinosaur fossils)

12. Tropical Zones: Tropical Wet - along China’s southeastern coast, the island of Hainan, southern tip of Taiwan; high temperatures, heavy rainfall, high humidity