The Amazing Pysical Geography of East Asia

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

I don't know why this thread hadn't been posted sooner! I found the geography of Eastern Asia very interesting. From the Gobi desert to the rivers of China to the Ring of Fire where Japan lies. Of course, I need to mention Mount Everest. In this discussion, please post any responses regarding the physical geography of East Asia. This would be a good place to post website on any tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes in the area. I found this siteinteresting in showing the major earthquakes which have hit Japan: http://www.drgeorgepc.com/EarthquakesJapan.html

[Anonymous]

You're abslutely right, the geography of East Asia is incredible. Just in the Eastern half of China the variety of terrain is amazing. Just north of Beijing are steep and jagged mountains that flaten out into the Gobi desert as you travel Westward. A desert that is gradually moving East. South west of Beijing are open plains with gently rolling hils that transform into other worldly limestone peaks and rainforest to the South. Then if you head further West you encounter the growing mass of the Himalayas, with breathtaking valleys and alpine plateas. The varieyt is quite impressive and quite a treat for the traveler.

David Dandridge

[Anonymous]

I created a webquest that anyone may borrow to use in their classroom. Please juct click on the geography webquest link:

http://international.ucla.edu/asia/lessons/kmilton/assignments.htm

[Anonymous]

I was surprised at how much seismic activity (4 earthquakes) Japan had in the two years prior to the 1995 Kobe earthquake!

[Anonymous]

I agree that East Asia has one of the best geographies in the world.Talk about the Islands, forests,volcanoes,rivers, the people, the cities, to mention afew. One such country is N.Korea: Despite it's politics and human rights violations, N. Korea is still a tourist and vacational destination: Talk about its geography, the people,the beaches and the historical sites are all very attractive.

[Anonymous]

Greetings,

Asia is a tremendous continent with a vast array of physical geographic features. The mysterious mountain peaks of southern China, to the archipelagos in S. Asia, terraced fields, tropical rain forest, steppe, desert, long coastlines, peninsulas, numerous islands, towering peaks, volcanoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, rivers, Asia has it all. It is amazing to see how the people of Asia have adapted to so many different areas. Its huge population manages to live on such a small percentage of land because so much of the continent is uninhabitable. Huge populations live so densely in such compact areas. It is difficult for us Americans to imagine because we live in such a wide spread land. It is also amazing to see such resource poor countries such as Korea, Taiwan, and Japan do so well economically in the world market. Asia is truly an remarkable continent.

John Yamazaki

[Anonymous]

North Korea's terrain was mentioned, but the South is also very beautiful. Seoul itself is a huge sprawling mess of a city, but the mountains that surround it are very lovely. There is something about Seoul at night that is very beautiful...I can't quite put my finger on it. If you go, make sure to spend a couple of days at Mt. Sorak-san. This is a traditional vacation area for many Koreans when the leaves begin to change color in the autumn. It is absolutely gorgeous and very relaxing. Head south toward Pusan and you will not believe you are in the same country- wide open fields, and it looks like you have travelled back in time. The accents are quite different as well. After a while you can discern the Seoul accent quite easily. Another very popular destination is Cheju-do, and island that is very popular with Korean honeymooners, and famous for its women divers (I believe they dive for abalone). Just a fabulous place to visit.
If you visit Korea, try not to go during the summer months as it gets monstrously hot. Winter can be brutal as well. Time your trip for early spring or early summer (May is lovely).

[Anonymous]

Speaking of Geography, I was just notified today from the National Geograhic Society that out of over two thousand schools in California competing in the National Geographic Bee that a Grade 5 student from Arilington Heights has been selected to compete in Sacramento for the state title. Only a hundred schools were selected for the April 4,2008 competition. I would like to give a shout -out to Alexus Reyes for a grand endeavor and to continue... and the East Asian Seminar at USC for improving my global awareness.

[clay dube]

Berkshire Publishing has come out with an Encyclopedia of China that some schools might want for their reference collection. The attached pdf is a free coloring map of China. Here's their description:
"What better way to spend an end of the year class period than learning China's geography, in color? The physical process of filling in spaces with color is not only fun. It also increasing mental retention of information. Knowing that teachers are looking for new ideas and enjoyable activities that will be educationally meaningful, especially at the end of the school year, Berkshire's talented young designer Anna Myers, herself half Chinese-American, came up with a beautiful map and key with traditional ink drawings and Chinese cut-paper designs."

The Encyclopedia has some free articles, so it's worth a visit.

http://www.berkshirepublishing.com/brw/product.asp?projID=65

[Anonymous]

Tried out an interesting assignment in my Environmental Studies class a few weeks ago. Ever since my focus has been on East Asia, I decided to have my students focus there as well. I assigned them a study of Mt. Everest. They were to analyze the various routes for climbing the mountain, the political problems surrounding such an undertaking, and what the effect has been on the mountain since so many more people are making the climb.

What they discovered was interesting to all of us. One of my students said "What a mess it's becoming!" The mountain has trash piles, and it's only recently that people have to pack out what they pack in. One of my girls was horrified at how many climbers have died on the mountain and their bodies have never been found.

All in all there was a great deal learned about many aspects of life in the area, geography, and how not to treat a mountain.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the map Prof. Dube...will def. use it as a resource in my class!

[Anonymous]

I think a great film to watch is Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for the geography or Hero. Both films really highlight the geographic and climatic diversity of China.

[Anonymous]

I am finally teaching units on China and Japan! To start off my unit on China, I focused on geography.

A beautiful documentary that exposes students to the diversity of Chinese geography, which I use to start off my unit on China is Wild China. I use the film to reinforce the student's knowledge of what geography is, and how it impacts the daily life.

1. I show a powerpoint to give an idea of what natural features will be shown in the film
2. show clips of the movie, students are given a worksheet, to answer questions as they watch
3. students use the worksheet to create an illustrated map of china
4. students use worksheet and tree map to write a 5 paragraph essay about how geography impacts daily life.

I have attached the different lessons in pdf format if you have any questions, please email me at [email protected]
[Edit by="rgama on Feb 19, 2:05:47 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

here is the powerpoint about China's geography, but I had to break it into 2 parts, file too big.

[Anonymous]

here is part 2- China's geography powerpoint

[Author]

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