Geography - Summer Exam

Gobi Desert - 1.295 million km²

Seas and Oceans

Pacific Ocean - 165.2 million km²

Caspian Sea - 3.626 million km²

Arabian Sea - 3.862 million km²

Indian Ocean - 73.56 million km²

Rivers

Yangtze - 6,300 km

Ganges - 2,525 km

Indus - 3,200 km

Euphrates - 2,800 km

Mountain Ranges

• Himalayas - Mt. Everest - 8,848m
  
• Ural - Mt. Narodnaya - 1,855m
• Caucasus - Mt. Elbrus - 5,642m
  

Mountains

• Everest - 8,848m
• K2 - 8,611m
• Ararat - 5,137 (Volcano)

Plateau

Central Siberian Plateau - 3.5 million sq km - 4,649m

5000 yrs ago

The great Indus Valley civilisation began the Indus River, in what is now Pakistan

Between 1206 - 1368

The Mongol Empire began

Around 1453

The Silk Road ended. Rulers in Turkey banned trade in the West due to the Crusades

By 1910

Foreigners had taken control of several Asian countries

In 1947

India gained Independence from Britain.

Today

Trade between and the rest of the  Silk Road is thriving and our modes of trade are far more advanced.

Population Density - How many people there are in a certain area, compared to other areas.

Population Distribution -How people in a country are spread around.

Asia's High Density Areas

• Avaliable Water
• Access to raw materials
• Good Transport Links
• Job opportunities
• Fertile Land (for farming)

Asia's Low Density Areas

• Sparce building material
  
• Difficult to commute
• Extreme Climate
• Unfertile Land

Explaining Asia's Population Distribution

• The most densely populated are Eastern China, Northern India and the Indian Coastline
• These areas all have at least 445 people per square mile
• This can be explained by the fact that large cities like Hong Kong and Beijing are in Eastern China, and Northern India has alluvial soil, so farms can thrive there.
• The most sparcely populated areas are Mongolia, Central China and Laos.
• This is most likely because of the extreme climates and bad transport links.
  

Tundra

• Bitterly Cold
  
• Ground is frozen in winter
• Ground thaws in summer
• In summer, ponds form and low plants grow

Taiga

• Thick coniferous forest, spruce and fir trees
  
• Winters are long and cold
• Summers are short, warm and damp.

Steppes

• Plains of grassland
  
• Summers are hot
• Winters are cold
• There are few trees because there is not enough rain to support them.

Temperate Forest

• Much wetter than Steppes
  
• Deciduous trees
• Summers are hot
• Winters are cold - V. Cold in some areas
  

Cold Desert

• Summers are hot
  
• Cloudless skies means cold nights
• Winters are V. Cold (-40°C or less)

Hot Desert

• Very hot in the day
• Cold at night
• Vegetation is sparce since there is so little rain

Mountain

• The higher you are, the colder it gets
  
• After a certain point, it is too cold and dry for trees
• Very tall glaciers

Tropical

• Near the Tropics (Cancer, Capricorn)
  
• Tropical Rainforest
• Mangrove Swamps

Waves are caused by wind energy moving through the surface of the water.

Tides are caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon, which causes the oceans to bulge out in the direction of the moon.

Wave energy depends on three factors:

• Strength of wind
• Wind Duration (how long the wind has been blowing for)
• Fetch - The distance of open water the wind blows across

• Hydraulic action. Air may become trapped in joints and cracks on a cliff face. When a wave breaks, the trapped air is compressed which weakens the cliff and causes erosion.

• Abrasion. Bits of rock and sand in waves grind down cliff surfaces like sandpaper.

• Attrition. Waves smash rocks and pebbles on the shore into each other, and they break and become smoother.

• Solution. Acids contained in sea water will dissolve some types of rock such as chalk or limestone.

• Traction - large material is rolled along the sea floor.

• Saltation - beach material is bounced along the sea floor.

• Suspension - beach material is suspended and carried by the waves.

• Solution - material is disolved and carried by the water.

When the sea loses energy, it drops the sand, rock particles and pebbles it has been carrying. This is called deposition. Deposition happens when the swash is stronger than the backwash and is associated with constructive waves.

Deposition is likely to occur when:

• waves enter an area of shallow water.
• waves enter a sheltered area, eg a cove or bay.
• there is little wind.
• there is a good supply of material.

• Temperature is measured in Celsius (°C) using a thermometer

• Precipitation is measured using a rain gauge. This is a funnel inside a container with measurements up the side

• Wind speed can be measured using an anemometer. The strength of the wind is measured on the Beaufort scale.

• Cloud cover is measured in units called oktas. Each okta represents one eighth of the sky covered by cloud.

• Air pressure is measured by a barometer

Air Pressure - The weight of air in the atmosphere pushing down on the Earth's surface

High Pressure - Descending air creates high pressure at ground level

Low Pressure - Rising air creates low pressure at ground level

The greater the pressure difference, the stronger the wind

Isobar - A line joining points of equal air pressure

When Isobars are close together, air pressure is changing rapidly and there will be strong winds.

The lower the number on the Isobar, the lower the pressure

Air Masses - A body of air with uniform levels of temperature and humidity

Types of air masses:

Tropical Maritime (mT) - South Atlantic Ocean - Warm and Wet

Tropical Continental (cT) - N. Africa and S. Europe - Warm and Dry

Polar Maritime (mP) - N. Atlantic - Cold and Wet

Polar Continental (cP) - N. Europe - Cold and Dry

Arctic Maritime (mA) - Arctic Ocean - V. Cold and Somewtimes Wet

Relief Rainfall - when air has been blown over the sea and is then forced up over an area of high land. This causes the air to cool and the moisture in the air condenses and rain falls.

Frontal Rainfall -Frontal rainfall occurs when warm air is forced to rise over cold air. The moisture in the warm air condenses as it cools which causes clouds and rain.

Convectional Rainfall - Occurs mostly in tropics where it is hot. When air is hot is rises and cools and condenses forming rain. If the air is hot enough, it rises very quickly and can cause thunderstorms.

Depression - A weather system made up of a warm front chased by a cold front

Occluded Front -When the cold front catches up with the warm front

Anticyclone in summer:

• The sun is strong, few clouds
• No clouds means no rain
• Evenings can be cool because there is no cloud to trap the heat in
• Because the ground is cold at night, there may be morning dew or fog
• Inland, on very hot days there may be tall, black clouds, which can lead to storms and flooding

Anticyclone in Winter:

• Few clouds, so the days are clear, cold and bright
• Water vapour condenses and freezes onto surfaces, giving frost
• Water also condenses into dust, giving fog
• As the sun goes down, it can get very cold and water on the ground may freeze
• Cars may lose grip on icy roads, pipes may burst and homes may be flooded.