Points to know on East Asia
Physical Geography and Human Adaptation
Topography – where is the Tibetan Plateau, how did it form, why is Japan mountainous and why does it have numerous earthquakes and volcanoes?

Where? Behind the Himalayan Mountains
How?
Japan Mountainous… there are 3 plates (Eurasian plate, Pacific Plate, Philippine plate) Eurasian and pacific plate collide
^^^^ collision creates earthquakes and volcanoes

Climate – what kind of climate characterizes this region, which ends of China are drier/wetter, warmer/colder?

Very Similar to U.S , same latitude and shape
Dry  West, Cold  North, Wet  East, Hot  South
More rain fall in eastern China

Forests – how much of this region has been deforested and why is this the case, where are the remaining forests?

Most of the Region has been deforested, which then was replaced with agriculture

Deserts – where are China’s deserts located and why are they there?

Where? Western China
3 most common- Gobi, Taklimakan, Tibetan Plateau
West has a drier climate

Rivers – what are China’s two main rivers, what have they been used for in the past, what problems do they create, what is the Three Gorges Dam and what it is supposed to do?

Yangtze and Yellow River
Three Gorges Dam- Largest damn worldwide, stores water for irrigation

Northern Chinese Plain – what is its historical significance (and how is this like Europe)?

Great Wall of China, to prevent invasion
Northern European Plain, from France into China

Isolation – what physical features isolate East Asia from other world regions?

Mountain border/ocean border: separates eastern from western
Desert/mountain/ocean borders: isolates from their neighbors

Population – what is the relationship between the environment (climate, mountains, deserts) and population distribution in East Asia?

Population follows the climate closely
Most populated- Eastern China (people live where it rains)
Magnolia is lowest populated country

Farming – what are the major crops in this region and where are they located?

Rice: Southern Grown, wet crop
Wheat: grown northerly, dry crop

Oil and gas – where are coal, oil and gas deposits located in this region, how abundant are they?

Oil, Natural gas, lots of coal
Air is not great in China due to coal power plants (degrades quality of health)
Meets energy needs, w/ renewable energy- lots of wind energy

Environmental problems – what sort of environmental problems does this region face and why?

Region has no oil and has to import their goods
Lots of coal ( very abundant) and natural gas

Area and Population
Ethnic nations – how ethnically homogenous are East Asian countries?

Technically tend to be ethnically united

Populations – roughly how many people live in China, who do China and Japan rank in terms of population size and how will they rank in 2050, are China, Japan, and South Korea growing or shrinking, is East Asia as a whole growing or shrinking?

China- 1,329 mil.  Doubled pop from 1950-2007  now shrinking
South Korea  shrinking
East Asia  shrinking region in 2040

Aging and baby booms – which countries are aging most rapidly, what sort of problems does this pose for them, which country has a problem with its baby boom and what is the problem it faces?

Sex ratio – what is a skewed sex ratio, which country has a skewed sex ratio, how did it come about?

Skewed sex ratio- more of one gender than another
China- 116(M): 100(W)

Cultural and Historical Geography
Language families – what are the major language families and where are they located?

Sino-Tibetan: China, Korea
Japonic: Japan
Turkic: Magnolia

Main religions – what are the main religions of China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan and North Korea?

China: Christian/ Muslim
Japan: Shinto/ Buddhist
South Korea: Christian/Buddhist/none
Mongolia: Buddhist
Taiwan: Buddhist/ Taoist
North Korea: Buddhist/ Confuses

Buddhism – what are the two main types of Buddhism, what other religions does it mix with?