South Asia: The South Asia: The Land- Part IILand- Part II

Ch. 23 Sec. 1

Western Ghats

Eastern Ghats

Southern HighlandsSouthern Highlands

• Karnataka Plateau–S. of Deccan

–Receives rain instead lush and green

–Lots of spices, plantations, rain forests

Karnataka PlateauKarnataka Plateau

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7a/India_Geographic_Map.jpg

IslandsIslands• Sri Lanka broke away from the

Indian mass

• Maldives are small coral atolls (22-26) –Create over 1,000 islets (250

inhabited)–Smallest in Asia–350,000 ppl live here

Indus RiverIndus River• Mainly thru Pakistan,

empties into Arabian Sea

• Waters orchards, transportation route

• One of earliest

civilization sitesIndus Valley Civilization

Brahmaputra RiverBrahmaputra River• Winds thru Himalaya, India, &

Bangladesh• Meets w/ Ganges R. to form a

delta at Bay of Bengal• Major inland waterway, travel

from bay 800 miles• Provides 50% of hydroelectricity

to Bangladesh

Ganges RiverGanges River• Most important by far• Begins in ice cave in Him.,

–About 1,560 miles long–Basin about 400,000 sq. miles

• Keeps size during dry season, but floods during summer monsoons

• Revered as sacred by Hindus

Indo-Gangetic PlainIndo-Gangetic Plain• AKA- North Indian River plain• River creates world’s longest

fertile, alluvial plain–Over 1/7 of world population

lives here–Grasslands/forest cleared for

crops (rice, sesame, sugarcane, jute)

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources• Water:

–Fertile soil, drinking H20, transportation, hydroelectricity, & fish

–Countries work together to harness power (India & Bhutan)

–Build dams for power & open up new farmland consistent irrigation

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources

• Water cont’d–Challenges

•Dams threaten to flood settlements resistance

•The Tarbela Dam (Pakistan) will be unusable soon from built up silt

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources

• There are oil reserves, but still depend on imported oil

• There’s natural gas & uranium, too

• Most still depend on hydroelectricity, fuel wood, & coal

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources

• India exports 90% of world’s mica (makes electrical equip.)

• India- leading exporter of iron ore

• Sri Lanka- a top exporter of graphite (lead)–Also a variety of precious stones

Natural ResourcesNatural Resources• Timber

–Nepal & Bhutan are covered with conifers (valuable hardwoods)• Overcutting is major prob.

soil erosion

–India has prized sandalwood

–Sri Lanka banned timber exports in 1977 to protect environment