CHAPTER 1

A. A Glimpse of Asia’s Geography

B. The People of Asia
Group Members:
Arianne Lyn Gravador
John Kenneth Sarmiento
Jubert Chavez San Vicente
Karl Darwin Abogado
Lyka Zantua
Marjorie Carillo
Mark Joshua Surla
Romalie Mae Lelis
Roshell Escalante
Yna Marie Lobos
 Learning
Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Discuss the Land formation of Asia and its
Physical Environment
2. Identify the different groups of people in Asia.
LAND FORMATION
OF ASIA AND ITS
PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT
 SIZE AND LOCATION
Asia is the largest of the world’s seven continents. It covers almost one -third of the earth’s land surface.
Her total land area is approximately 44,000,000 square kilometers, which is bigger than the combine
areas of North and South America or more than four times the size of Europe. The widest distance in
Asia that extends from east to west measures the Indian Ocean, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the
west by the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea. She is separated from the Europe
by the Ural Mountains, from North America by the Bering Strait, and from Africa by the Suez Canal.

The northernmost point of Asia is the Cape Chelyuskin in Russia; the southernmost point is the Tanjong
plain in Malaysia; the easternmost point is Cape Dezhnev in Russia; and the westernmost point is Cape
Baba in Turkey.
On a world map, Asia stretches from 1°16’ north latitude near Singapore to 77°4’ north latitude at Cape
Chelyuskin, Siberia and from 26°4’ east longitude at Cape Baba to 169°40’ west longitude at Bering
Strait. .
 PHYSICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
MOUNTAINS. From Asia’s heartland radiate mountain ranges in nearly all directions. Among them are the
mighty Himalaya, Hindu Kush, Kunlun, Altai, and the Zagros. In Western Asia are the Ural Mountains and the
Caucasus Range.
The Himalaya is the highest mountain system in the world. The term Himalaya is Sanskrit for “The House of
Snow.” Mt. Everest on the Nepal-Tibet border is the highest mountain in the Himalaya system, with an elevation
of 8,853 meters above sea level. Among the Tibetans, Mt. Everest is “Goddess Mother
of the World.”
 Hindu Kush is a chain of mountains in Central Asia. The name Kush, which means
“death”, was probably given to the mountain because of its dangerous passes. The Hindu
Kush, called “Caucasus” by the historians of Alexander the Great, is the westward
continuation of a huge region called the Pamir Plateau.
The Pamir is where the Himalaya, Hindu Kush, and Kunlun meet. It is one of the
highest plateaus in the world.
The Kunlun Mountains extends about 3,700 kilometers from the Pamir highlands in
Central Asia to Central China.
The Altai forms a lofty mountain range runs northwest across the borders of Western
Mongolia and the state of Kazakhstan.
The Zagros Mountains extend south and east from the borders of Turkey and the
Commonwealth of Independent States to the Persian Gulf. It is the chief mountain system
of Iran.
Volcanic mountains also abound in most areas of Asia, particularly in the countries of
Japan and the Philippines. The perfect coned-shaped Mt. Fuji is found in Japan, while Mt.
Mayon, a near-perfect cone-shaped volcano, is in the Philippines. The Taal Volcano,
which lies within a lake, can also be found in the Philippines.
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL
It is in Asia where all kinds of climates are experienced, from
the freezing zone of Siberia’s Arctic region to the burning
heat of Central Asia’s deserts. Siberia holds the records of the
lowest temperature known to man--90°below zero Fahrenheit,
registered in 1892. The Persian Gulf is one of the hottest
place in the world, having recorded 49°C or 120°F on land
and 36°C or 96°F in water.
 The enormous expense of Asia and its abundance of mountain
barriers and inland depression have resulted in great differences among
regions as to conditions of solar radiations, atmospheric circulation,
and climate as a whole. A continental climate, associated with large
land masses and characterized by an existing annual range of
temperature, prevails over a large part of Asia
Rainfall is extremely scare in Central Asia, abundant in Southeast
Asia, and relatively little in West Asia. India holds the world’s record
of the heaviest 24-hour rainfall.
PENINSULAS AND
ISLANDS
The main types of land formation in Asia are
peninsulas and islands. A Peninsula is a long
projection of land into water, connected to the
mainland by an isthmus. An island, on the other
hand, is a tract of land that is totally surrounded by
water. The Peninsulas in Asia are the Korean,
Malay, Indian, and Arabian.
 DESERTS
Approximately one-third of Asia is desert area, measuring some 16.8
million square kilometers. Deserts have very little rainfall and very
highwater evaporation rate. One million square kilometers of desert
are located in the Arabian Peninsula. The largest desert in Arabia is
Rub’al Khali. The great Indian desert called Thar is the largest in
Asia, while China’s Gobi Desert is the most famous. One of the driest
deserts on earth is Kara Kum in Turkmenistan, Central Asia. Water in
arid region is more precious than gold.
 VOLCANOES
There are many volcanoes in Asia. There are 165
volcanoes in Japan alone, 54 of which are active. The
Philippines is of volcanic origin. There are 54 volcanoes in
the country but only 11 is active. Mayon Volcano is
considered one of the most beautiful in the world because
of its almost perfect cone, while Taal Volcano is reported to
be the smallest volcano in the world.
 RIVERS
Asia is gifted with rivers that serve as highways of
commerce and communications. Three of into the Pacific
Ocean-the Amur, Huang Ho or the Yellow River, the
Yangtze, and the Si Kiang River. The Mekong is a mighty
river that runs through three of Asia’s “rice bowls”
{Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam} and joined the South
China Sea. The twin, Tigris and Euphrates, flow down into
the Persian Gulf. The great rivers of Siberia-Ob, Yanisei,
and Lena drain into the Arctic Ocean.
 REGIONS IN ASIA
West Asia often called the Middle East [located between Europe and Asia] or Near East [because of
its proximity to Europe] includes Turkey, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates, North Yemen and South Yemen.

Central Asia includes Russian Asia Siberia and the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan,
Kirgiztan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmen Republic.
South Asia composes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal
and the Maldives.

East Asia or also called the Far East [again for Europeans, farthest east part of Asia from Europe]
includes China, Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia, North Korea, and South Korea.

Southeast Asia composes Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Burma, Singapore, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Laos and Brunei.
B. The People of Asia
 All races of man are found in Asia. The Yellow or
Mongoloid is found in China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and
Taiwan. Indonesians, Filipinos, Malaysians, Cambodians
[Khmers] belong to the brown race. The Tamils of India and
Sri Lanka, the Atis [Negritos] of the Philippines, and the
Semangs of Indonesia are black people. Indo -Europeans or
Aryans, a branch of the Caucasian race, are the dominant race
in India, Iran, and Afghanistan. Another Caucasoid branch,
the Semitic race [Israelis, Arabs, Syrians, and Kuwaitis] is
dominant in mostly West Asian countries.
East Asia [ China, Japan, Mongolia, the Koreas and
Taiwan] and South Asia [ India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka and Afghanistan] account to more than haft of the
world population. These regions are the densest clusters of
population in the world.
Asian Contribution to
Humanity
Asia has contributed the most to the world history. Asian contribution to
the world are as follows:
.

1. Birthplace of humankind. Artifacts of prehistoric man have been

discovered by archaeologist in Indonesia, Asia-the “Java Man”
[Pithecanthropus erectus] and “Peking Man” in China [Sinanthropus
Pekinensis], both of whom lived as far bac 750,000 years ago. Although
older relics of manlike creatures have been found in East Africa [“Lucy”,
dating 4 million years ago], anthropologist now claim that man, or Homo
sapiens, first emerged and evolved in central of western Asia before the
Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon of Europe.
2. Asia is the cradle of civilization..The world’s earliest civilizations emerged in the Tigres -
Euphrates river valley of Mesopotamia [Sumerian], the Indus River Valley of India[ Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro] and the Huang Ho River Valley of China. Chinese Civilization is the world’s
oldest continuing civilization.

3. Asia is the birth site of world’s great religions. Hinduism [Brahmanism], the world’s oldest
existing religion and Buddhism began in India. Judaism and Christianity originated in Palestine
and Islam in Arabia. Other minor religions are also Asian in Origin: Confucianism and Taoism in
China; Shinto in Japan, and Zoroastrianism in Persia [Iran]
4.Asia introduced the first discoveries and inventions. The ancient Sumerians invented the
plow and the wheel and were credited to introduce the first system of writing called cuneiform
[ from Latin ‘cuneus’ meaning wedge and ‘forma’ form]. Babylonian astronomers devise the
Twelve Signs of the Zodiac. The Hittites of Asia Minor were the first people in history to mine
iron ore and to make extensive use of iron for tools and weapons. The Lydians introduce the
first system of currency through the use of gold and coins. The ancient seafaring Phoenicians
invented the alphabet, which was later improved and adopted by the Greeks. The
mathematicians of ancient India actually invented the numerical system that we call Arabic-1
to 9 and the zero. This numerical system came to be known as the ‘Arabic numerals’ because
the Arabs introduced them in Europe. The compass, manufacture and use of gun powder, the
use of rockets, printing and paper money originated from the ancient Chinese. Also, the use of
silk, ceramics, and tea originally came from Chinese.
5. Asia produced the first empire [Akkadian Empire] under Sargon, and the great leaders of antiquity.
Among them, notably Hammurabi [ Code of Hammurabi] and Nebuchadnezzar [Hanging Gardens] of
the Babylonian Empire, Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire, King David and his son Solomon of
Israel, Emperor Shih Huang Ti [Great Wall] ang Yung -Lo of China, Emperor Justinian of the Byzantine
Empire [Turkey], Saladin of the Third Crusade, Asoka of India, Haroun al -Rashid of the Caliphate of
Baghdad, Sultan Suleiman, the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire; and Emperor Mutsushito [Meiji
Restoration] of Japan. Through the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan, Asia produced the world’s largest
land empire in history- the Mongol Empire, overshadowing that of the Greek and Roman Empires.
Other great Asians military and political leaders who were feared but respected by their foes during
their time were Attila the Hun, known as the ‘Scourge of God’, Kublai Khan of Mongol [Yuan] dynasty
ruling China [Cathay], Tamerlane of Samarkand, Hideyoshi of Japan; Ho Chi Minh and Vo Giap of
Vietnam, Mao Ze Dong , Chu The and Chou En Lai of China, and Mohandas Gandhi of India.
Lastly, the greatest religious leaders of the world who had left lasting influence on humanity were all
Orientals. Jesus Christ [Jew] is Asian. Abraham and Moses were Israelites [Hebrews]. Confucius, Lao
Tzu and Mencius were Chinese. Gautama Buddha was Indian [Nepalese], and Mohammed was an
Arabian.
THANK YOU