Southeast Asia!
This region has 13 countries:
Indonesia
Indonesia
Palau
Micronesia
Malaysia
Kalimantan
Thailand
Cambodia
Burma
Vietnam
Cambodia
Philippines
West Papua
Laos
Indonesia
Indonesia
Palau
Micronesia
Malaysia
Kalimantan
Thailand
Cambodia
Burma
Vietnam
Cambodia
Philippines
West Papua
Laos
Physical Features:
(Region of Peninsulas and islands.)
Indochina
The large mainland peninsula
Extends to the south of China
Occupied by Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Sprouts a long thing peninsular appendage shared by outlying parts of Burma and Thailand, a part of Malaysia, and city-state Singapore.
Archipelago:
A series of large and small islands
Fans to the south and east of the mainland
Grouped into the countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Resulted from the same forces from the tectonic plates that formed India
Major Rivers:
Irrawaddy and the Salween
o In Burma
Chao Phrya
o In Thailand
The Mekong
o Flows through Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam
The Black and Red Rivers
o Northern Vietnam
Tectonic Plates:
Eurasian/ Indian-Australian/ Philippine Plate
The curve formed by Sumatra, Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands (from Bali to Timor), and New Guinea conforms approximately to the shape of the Eurasian Plate’s leading edge.
The Indian-Australian Plate causes lots of earthquakes and volcanoes because its plunging beneath the edge of the Eurasian Plate.
Philippine Plate also caused a lot of earthquakes and volcanoes in the Philippines, because the Philippine Plate is also pushing into the Eurasian Plate.
The volcanoes of the Philippines are a part of “The Pacific Ring of Fire”
Volcanoes and mudslides that occur in the aftermath of these plates pushing against each other endanger many lives of Southeast Asians.
Volcanoes here also create new land, and provide minerals that can enrich the soil for farmers.
Earthquakes are problematic because they set off major tsunamis.
Sundaland:
Continental Shelf
Now submerged
Southeast Asian peninsulas and islands were above sea level during the recurring ice ages of the Pleistocene epoch, during which much of the world’s water was frozen in glaciers.
The exposed shelf, know as Sundaland, allowed ancient people and Asian land animas to travel south to what is now the islands of Southeast Asia.
Climate:
Tropical climate of Southeast Asia is distinguished by continuous warm temperatures in the lowlands, consistently above 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The rainfall is a result from the two major processes in this region that are the monsoons (seasonally shifting winds) and the intertopical convergence zone (ITCZ)
Religions:
Hinduism- first arrived with Indian traders thousands of years ago, when it was more widespread, but now it’s only found in small patches, mainly on the islands of Bali and Lombok east of Java.
Buddhism- dominant in the mainland, especially in Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia. Vietnam
Confucianism- Vietnam
Taoism- Vietnam
Islam- dominant in Indonesia (worlds largest Islam country)
Christianity- Roman Catholicism predominant religion in Timor-Leste and in the Philippines (introduced by Portuguese and Spanish colonists)
Animism- indigenous belief system. This belief systems takes many different forms but in general such natural features as tree, rivers, crop plants, and the rains all carry spiritual meaning and to mark the passing of the seasons.
They all originated outside of the region except the Animist belief systems.
Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism came to this region from china.
All religions have undergone change as a result of their exposure to one another, Muslims and Christians believe in spirits and practice rituals that have their roots in animism.
Role of Gender:
In the region it is fairly common for a newly married couple to live with the wife’s parents. This custom has a range of behavioral rules that empower the woman in a marriage.
Family is headed by the oldest living male, usually the wife’s father. When he dies he passes his wealth and power to the husband of his oldest daughter, not to his own son.
Men work primarily in agriculture and manufacturing, but are increasingly finding jobs in the service industry. They have a higher rate of paid employment then women do in the home, in the informal economy, and in traditional agriculture. Woman’s wages average only about half of those of men.
Environmental Issues:
Deforestation:
Southeast Asia has the second highest rate of deforestation
Environmentalists estimate that 13 to 19 square miles of Southeast Asia’s rainforests are destroyed each day.
Due to companies that have legal rights to log the land over a period of 25 years
Indirectly deforestation in Southeast Asia is linked to population growth and poverty.
Mining:
Mechanical strip-mining is probably the extractive activity that most disrupts the land.
Extracts such minerals as copper, silver, and gold.
The land is cleared of forest cover, and heavy equipment then peels away the layers of soil and rocks until the desired mineral is exposed.
A reason why mining companies are interested in Southeast Asia is because there are no environmental regulations enforced there.
GDP and HDI:
Southeast Asia has greatly varying GDP per capita figures.
GDP per capita are very high for some countries like Singapore and Brunei.
Rankings are moderate in Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
And for others like Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam it’s very low.
Singapore’s HDI ranking is very high at 25 where as Cambodia (130), Laos (133), and Burma (129) all rank far lower.
(Region of Peninsulas and islands.)
Indochina
The large mainland peninsula
Extends to the south of China
Occupied by Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Sprouts a long thing peninsular appendage shared by outlying parts of Burma and Thailand, a part of Malaysia, and city-state Singapore.
Archipelago:
A series of large and small islands
Fans to the south and east of the mainland
Grouped into the countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Resulted from the same forces from the tectonic plates that formed India
Major Rivers:
Irrawaddy and the Salween
o In Burma
Chao Phrya
o In Thailand
The Mekong
o Flows through Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam
The Black and Red Rivers
o Northern Vietnam
Tectonic Plates:
Eurasian/ Indian-Australian/ Philippine Plate
The curve formed by Sumatra, Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands (from Bali to Timor), and New Guinea conforms approximately to the shape of the Eurasian Plate’s leading edge.
The Indian-Australian Plate causes lots of earthquakes and volcanoes because its plunging beneath the edge of the Eurasian Plate.
Philippine Plate also caused a lot of earthquakes and volcanoes in the Philippines, because the Philippine Plate is also pushing into the Eurasian Plate.
The volcanoes of the Philippines are a part of “The Pacific Ring of Fire”
Volcanoes and mudslides that occur in the aftermath of these plates pushing against each other endanger many lives of Southeast Asians.
Volcanoes here also create new land, and provide minerals that can enrich the soil for farmers.
Earthquakes are problematic because they set off major tsunamis.
Sundaland:
Continental Shelf
Now submerged
Southeast Asian peninsulas and islands were above sea level during the recurring ice ages of the Pleistocene epoch, during which much of the world’s water was frozen in glaciers.
The exposed shelf, know as Sundaland, allowed ancient people and Asian land animas to travel south to what is now the islands of Southeast Asia.
Climate:
Tropical climate of Southeast Asia is distinguished by continuous warm temperatures in the lowlands, consistently above 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The rainfall is a result from the two major processes in this region that are the monsoons (seasonally shifting winds) and the intertopical convergence zone (ITCZ)
Religions:
Hinduism- first arrived with Indian traders thousands of years ago, when it was more widespread, but now it’s only found in small patches, mainly on the islands of Bali and Lombok east of Java.
Buddhism- dominant in the mainland, especially in Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia. Vietnam
Confucianism- Vietnam
Taoism- Vietnam
Islam- dominant in Indonesia (worlds largest Islam country)
Christianity- Roman Catholicism predominant religion in Timor-Leste and in the Philippines (introduced by Portuguese and Spanish colonists)
Animism- indigenous belief system. This belief systems takes many different forms but in general such natural features as tree, rivers, crop plants, and the rains all carry spiritual meaning and to mark the passing of the seasons.
They all originated outside of the region except the Animist belief systems.
Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism came to this region from china.
All religions have undergone change as a result of their exposure to one another, Muslims and Christians believe in spirits and practice rituals that have their roots in animism.
Role of Gender:
In the region it is fairly common for a newly married couple to live with the wife’s parents. This custom has a range of behavioral rules that empower the woman in a marriage.
Family is headed by the oldest living male, usually the wife’s father. When he dies he passes his wealth and power to the husband of his oldest daughter, not to his own son.
Men work primarily in agriculture and manufacturing, but are increasingly finding jobs in the service industry. They have a higher rate of paid employment then women do in the home, in the informal economy, and in traditional agriculture. Woman’s wages average only about half of those of men.
Environmental Issues:
Deforestation:
Southeast Asia has the second highest rate of deforestation
Environmentalists estimate that 13 to 19 square miles of Southeast Asia’s rainforests are destroyed each day.
Due to companies that have legal rights to log the land over a period of 25 years
Indirectly deforestation in Southeast Asia is linked to population growth and poverty.
Mining:
Mechanical strip-mining is probably the extractive activity that most disrupts the land.
Extracts such minerals as copper, silver, and gold.
The land is cleared of forest cover, and heavy equipment then peels away the layers of soil and rocks until the desired mineral is exposed.
A reason why mining companies are interested in Southeast Asia is because there are no environmental regulations enforced there.
GDP and HDI:
Southeast Asia has greatly varying GDP per capita figures.
GDP per capita are very high for some countries like Singapore and Brunei.
Rankings are moderate in Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
And for others like Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam it’s very low.
Singapore’s HDI ranking is very high at 25 where as Cambodia (130), Laos (133), and Burma (129) all rank far lower.
References:
map from: http://sh1.webring.com/people/mj/james_shum/sin-hkg/images/southeast_asia_map.jpg
Pulsipher, A. & Pulsipher, L. (2008) World Regional Geography: Global Patterns, Local Lives (4th Edition) New York: W.H. Freeman Company
top photo of the swamp from: http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/4107/PreviewComp/SuperStock_4107-32582.jpg
mountain picture from: http://www.pandaw.com/images/Borneo_RainForest.gif
elephant picture on top from:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nPXY0mrwHJs/R1Vyy2029LI/AAAAAAAAAF0/R9ftWqIkSeA/s320/white_elephant.jpg
Pulsipher, A. & Pulsipher, L. (2008) World Regional Geography: Global Patterns, Local Lives (4th Edition) New York: W.H. Freeman Company
top photo of the swamp from: http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/4107/PreviewComp/SuperStock_4107-32582.jpg
mountain picture from: http://www.pandaw.com/images/Borneo_RainForest.gif
elephant picture on top from:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nPXY0mrwHJs/R1Vyy2029LI/AAAAAAAAAF0/R9ftWqIkSeA/s320/white_elephant.jpg
