China has a large variety of climates and landforms ranging from snow-covered mountains to warm beaches. Most Chinese people live in densely populated coastal plains in eastern China that make up only 3% of China's total land area. Major rivers include the Yellow River and Yangtze River. China has a large population and is a developing country with important natural resources like coal, iron ore, and copper that fuel its growing economy.

1. East Asia China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan

2. Developed or Developing Countries? Developed country —one with many industries and a well-developed economy. South Korea, Japan Developing country –one that has low industrial production and little modern technology. North Korea

3. What are the Main Physical Features of China? Land Forms: Himalayan Mountains Mt. Everest Gobi Desert Takla Makan Desert Plateau of Tibet North China Plain

4. Quick Facts: China is the 3 rd largest country in land area--after Russia (#1) and Canada (#2). China is mostly mountains, highland, and plateaus . Most people in China live on the lowland, coastal areas. These areas are very populated and crowded. plateau -a raised area of level land plain -a large area of mostly flat land loess -a brownish yellow fertile soil high population density -high number of people living in a square mile

5. What are the Important Water Features? Water: Yellow River (Huang He) Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) Sea of Japan Yellow Sea East China Sea South China Sea Pacific Ocean

6. Where Do Most People Live? Most people live on the level, coastal plains in the East. It is easy to farm and near many waterways. The coastal plain makes up only 3% of the total land of China. This land is shared by cities, farms, and factories! 75% of the Chinese live in rural areas. rural —in the country urban —in the city

7. Important Cities Beijing (Capital City) Shanghai (Important port) Guangzhou (Canton) Hong Kong (Former British colony)

8. Climate Climate affects what people grow, how often they can plant, and how easily they can harvest their fields of food. deciduous tree —trees that shed their leaves in the winter.

9. Climate China is a lot like the United States. It has a large variety of climates: snow-covered mountains, warm beaches, etc. Much of East China is humid subtropical . Much of the interior of China is arid or semi-arid and either very cold or very hot. The plateaus are a highland climate . humid subtropical —hot summers, cool winters and plenty of rain arid —dry semi-arid —partly dry highlands —cool and dry

10. Natural Resources Agriculture— They cut terraces into the hills to make land farmable. terrace --ledges They practice double-cropping to produce more crops. double-cropping —growing two crops on the same land in a single year. Wheat grows best in the North—cool climate. Rice grows best in the South—warm, wet climate.

11. Natural Resources Water— The Pacific Ocean is very important for food—FISH aquaculture —sea farming hydroelectric power —dams across fast rivers force water through turbines to produce electricity Minerals— Oil is drilled in the Takla Makan Desert . China has one of the world’s largest supply of coal . They also mine iron ore, tin , and copper .

12. History

13. Government

14. Japan Japan is made up of 4 major islands: Hokkaido Honshu Shikoku Kyushu It also has 3,000 small ones!

15. Japan Facts: Land Features Japan is an archipelago . archipelago —a group of islands Mt. Fuji is a dormant volcano located on Honshu.

16. Climate Japan and other parts of East Asia are affected by monsoons. monsoons —seasonal winds typhoons —violent storms that develop in the Pacific Ocean (like a hurricane in the Atlantic)

17. Japan Facts: All of its major cities are located on the coast. Tokyo is the capital city, located on the East coast of island of Honshu.