Asia : Location, Physical and Political Features (Excursions)
Workout
A. Fill in the blanks.
1. The Southern Plateau is made of hard Crystalline rocks.
2. The Mekong river originates in the Yunnan province of China.
3. The Mongolian Plateau is located in East Asia.
4. Asia is the largest continent and covers 30 per cent of the total land area.
5. The Northern Lowlands are drained by the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena.
B. Choose the correct answer.
1. Georgia is a country in _______ .
a. Central Asia. [✓]
b. South Asia. [ ]
c. East Asia. [ ]
d. Southeast Asia. [ ]
2. The _______ is located between the Eastern and Western Ghats of India.
a. Tibetan Plateau. [ ]
b. Plateau of Mongolia. [ ]
c. Plateau of Anatolia. [ ]
d. Deccan Plateau. [✓]
3. The Arctic Ocean lies to the _______ of Asia.
a. east. [ ]
b. west. [ ]
c. north. [✓]
d. south. [ ]
4. The Northern Lowlands consist of the West Siberian Plain and ________ .
a. Coastal Plain. [ ]
b. East Siberian Plain. [ ]
c. Turan Plain. [✓]
d. None of the above. [ ]
C. Name the following.
1. Pearl of the east.
= Sri Lanka.
2. An ancient civilization in Asia.
= Mesopotamia.
3. The highest volcano in the world.
=Ojos del Salado.
4. The longest river in Asia.
= The Yangtze River.
5. A mountain range that separates Asia from Europe.
= Ural Mountains.
D. Give reasons for the following.
1. The Great River Basin is thickly populated.
= The Great River Basin is thickly populated because all the river basins of Asia are extremely fertile and are used extensively for agriculture. The Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra basin and the Yangtze-Huang Ho basin are some of the most densely-populated regions in the world.
2. The Ob-Yenisei-Lena river basin plain is a swampy region.
= The Ob-Yenisei-Lena river basin plain is a swampy region because they are the three longest rivers in Russia. These rivers originate from southern Siberia and form large basins in the regions, through which they flow. The rivers flow northwards and into the Arctic Ocean.
3. The plateau of Anatolia is known as Asia Minor.
= The plateau of Anatolia is known as Asia Minor because it forms the westernmost, protruding part of Asia and makes up major part of modern-day Turkey. The Suliman Range radiates south-westward from the Pamir Knot and continues as the Kirthar and Zagros ranges. These mountains enclose the Iranian Plateau and converge at the Armenian Knot.
E. Complete the following table.
=
|
Political division |
Any four countries |
|---|---|
|
East Asia |
China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea. |
|
Southeast Asia |
Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Thailand. |
|
South Asia |
India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan. |
|
Southwest Asia |
Iraq, Iran, Oman, Syria. |
|
Central Asia |
Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Georgia. |
|
North Asia |
Russia. |
F. Answer these questions in brief.
1. State the latitudinal and longitudinal extent of Asia.
= Asia is located in the northern hemisphere, except for a few islands of the Indonesian archipelago, which are in the southern hemisphere. It lies between latitudes 10°S to 80°N and longitude 25°E and 170°W. Asia lies almost entirely in the eastern hemisphere except for a few parts of Asian Russia that are located in the western hemisphere.
2. Define an intermontane plateau with example.
= Plateaus that are located in the middle of mountain ranges are called intermontane plateau. Examples - Tibetan Plateau, the Bolivian Plateau are examples of intermontane plateaus.
3. Where are the following located with reference to Asia?
a. Mekong river.
= The Mekong river originates in the Yunnan Province of China. It flows southward, forming the border between Mayanmar and Laos. It flows through Cambodia and southern Vietnam before emptying into the South China Sea.
b. Ural Mountains.
= Asia is separated from Europe by the Ural Mountains. It is located to the west of Asia.
c. Indian Ocean.
= It is located to the extreme south of India.
d. Plateau of Mongolia.
= The Mongolian Plateau is located in East Asia. It is surrounded by Tien Shan and the Altai mountains on the west and the north, respectively. Some parts of the Mongolian Plateau form a part of the Gobi Desert.
e. Tibetan Plateau.
= Tibetan Plateau is located to the southwestern China. It is located between the Kunlun Mountains, Himalayas and Karakoram Ranges. To the west of the Pamir Knot lies the Hindu Kush Range.
4. Trace the path taken by river Mekong in Asia.
= In Southeast Asia, Mekong, Salween and Irrawaddy are the main rivers that form large plains. The Mekong river originates in the Yunnan province of China. It flows southward, forming the border between Myanmar and Laos. It flows through Cambodian and southern Vietnam before emptying into the South China Sea.
G. Write short notes on the following.
1. The Central Mountain System.
= In the central part of Asia lie a complex system of fold mountain ranges and inter-montane plateaus. These fold mountain ranges appear to radiate in different directions from a single point called the Pamir Knot, which is located near Tajikistan in Central Asia.
To the east and north of the Pamir Knot, extend the Kunlun and Tien Shan mountains, respectively. The Himalayas emerge from the Pamir Knot and then extend towards the southeast in an arc-like shape along the northern extent of India. They turn southwards into Myanmar as the Arakan Yoma Range. The Karakoram Range extends towards the southeast between Kunlun and Himalayan mountain ranges.
2. The Northern Lowlands.
= The northern part of Asia is made up of the world's largest continuous lowland called the Northern Lowlands. The western part of this lowland is called the West Siberian Plain. The stretch of low-lying land extends from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Bering Strait in the northeast and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Central Mountains in the South.
This region contains a majority of the world's swamps and floodplains. This is because most of the rivers in this region are frozen at their mouths. These lowlands are triangular in shape and widest in the west. The northern lowlands are drained by three long rivers - the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena. To the south of the West Siberian Plain is the Turin Plain. It is drained by the rivers Amu Darya and Syr Darya, both of which flow into the Aral Sea.