Topic 1/Weeks 1-2
Geography.
Continental vs. maritime. Volcanism. The fertile areas. Trade routes. Suitability for growing spices. Tsunami.
Minerals and oil. Coral reefs. Mekong and Tonle Sap.
Assignment 1: Based on mapping/geography.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_WkIb01bs8 [Nice pictures; very basic narrative on
geography, but good on religions.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJtGyOFKVa4v Spices; Islam. Iban of Sarawak.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zj8FOd60xs Climate, crops, food, main cities
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State
Area
(km2)[11
]
Populatio
n
(2014)[11]
De
nsit
y
(/k
m2)
GDP (nominal),
USD (2014)[11]
GDP
(nominal)
per capita,
USD
(2014)[11]
HDI (20
13)[12]
5,765
453,000
78
17,105,000,000
$37,759
0.852
Bandar Seri
Begawan
181,035
15,561,000
85
17,291,000,000
$1,111
0.584
Phnom Penh
14,874
1,172,000
75
4,382,000,000
$3,739
0.620
Dili
1,904,569
251,490,000
132
1,187,962,000,000
$4,723
0.684
Jakarta
Laos
236,800
6,557,000
30
11,206,000,000
$1,709
0.569
Vientiane
Malaysia
329,847
30,034,000
91
367,712,000,000
$12,243
0.773
Kuala Lumpur*
Myanmar
676,000
51,419,000
98
63,881,000,000
$964
0.524
Nay Pyi Daw
Philippine
342,353
101,649,000
338
278,260,000,000
$2,737
0.660
Manila
Singapore
724
5,554,000
7,671
289,086,000,000
$52,049
0.901
Singapore
Thailand
513,120
65,236,000
127
437,344,000,000
$6,703
0.722
Bangkok
Vietnam
331,210
92,571,000
279
187,848,000,000
$2,072
0.638
Hanoi
Brunei
Cambodia
East
Timor
Indonesia
s
* Administrative centre in Putrajaya.
Section 1: The Land
Peninsulas and Islands

Capital
Overview
o Eurasian, Philippine, and Indo-Australian tectonic plates
 Convergent; subduction, thrusting mountains up.
2
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

cordilleras-parallel mountain ranges and plateaus
archipelago-group of islands created from volcanic eruptions and
earthquakes
Southeast Asia located on the Equator
mountainous terrain and tropical climate
Indochina Peninsula and Malay Peninsula make up mainland
Malay Archipelago (East Indies) divides Indian and Pacific Oceans
Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East
Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, and Christmas Island.

Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as Indochina,
comprising Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, and West Malaysia;
o
o
Indonesia-largest island country with 13,677 islands (only 6,000 are
named and only 1,000 settled)
Philippines-11 islands have 95% land area (900 of 7,000 islands named)
Physical Features

Mountains
o dominate landscape
o most peaks below 10,000 feet
o create geographical and political barriers
o western and northern higlands separate region from India and China
o three cordilleras run north to south
 Arakan Yoma Range in western Myanmar
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Bilauktaung Rnage between Myanmar and Thailand
Annam Cordillera separating Vietnam from Laos and Cambodia
o island mountains form part of Ring of Fire
o Indonesian and Philippine islands marked by craters
o mineral-rich volcanic material breaks down and leaves rich, fertile soil,
making Southeast Asia highly productive agricultural area
Volcanoes of Indonesia and the Philippines
o 327 volcanoes stretch across Indonesia
o Java, home to 17 of Indonesia's 100 active volcanoes, is one of Ring of
Fire's most active areas
o 1883 eruption of Krakatau destroyed everything
 now monitor volcanic activity to be prepared
o 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo 20th century's most powerful
 55 miles north of Philippine capital Manila
 damaged town of Angeles
 foot deep layer of ash over U.S. Clark Air Force Base



Mayon volcano, Philippines. Perfect cone.
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Mt. Merapi (“Fire Mountain”), Java. 300 days per year smoke.
Rivers
o
o
o
o
waterways for transportation, communication, and food
silt and deposits of sediment creat fertile agricultural regions
mainland rivers originate in northern highlands and flow south to Gulf of
Thailand
 Irrawaddy in Myanmar
 Chao Phraya in Thailand
 Red in Vietnam
 Mekong between Thailand and Loas and through Cambodia and
Vietnam before emptying into South China Sea, where it adds 50
feet/year to shoreline from sediment
island rivers shorter and flow in various directions
 Indonesian rivers flow south to north
 Borneo's rivers flow from center outward
Natural Resources

Overview
o fossil fuels, natural steam, minerals, and gems
o flora-plants
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fauna-animals
among most diverse on earth and valuable natural resource
Energy Sources
o Coal in Indonesia, Vietnam (N), Philippines
o Oil:
 Malaysia; Brunei; Indonesia (esp. Aceh); Vietnam.
Minerals and Gems
o Tin: Indonesia and Malaysia world's leading producers
o Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam - sapphires and rubies
o Philippines - pearls from province of Sulu and island of Palawan; 1934
largest natural pearl 14 pounds from Palawan
o
o


o
"Grasberg mine" by Alfindra Primaldhi. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via
Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grasberg_mine.jpg#/media/Fil
e:Grasberg_mine.jpg
o Freeport McMoRan: Largest gold mine, 3rd largest copper mine in world.
In Western Papua, high up. 110,000 tons of waste per day. Ner Puncak
Jaya. 14,000’. 20,000 employees.
Flora and Fauna
o

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
o exotic and diverse
Fishing
o 2500 species of fish
Geography[edit]
See also: Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), List of Southeast Asian mountains and Zomia
(geography)
Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia and it also the largest archipelago in the world by
size (according to the CIA World Factbook). Geologically, the Indonesian Archipelago is one of the
most volcanically active regions in the world. Geological uplifts in the region have also produced
some impressive mountains, culminating in Puncak Jaya in Papua, Indonesia at 5,030 metres
(16,500 feet), on the island of New Guinea; it is the only place where ice glaciers can be found in
Southeast Asia. The second tallest peak is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia on the island of
Borneo with a height of 4,095 metres (13,435 feet). The highest mountain in Southeast Asia is
Hkakabo Razi at 5,967 meters and can be found in northern Burma sharing the same range of its
parent peak, Mount Everest.
The South China Sea is the major body of water within Southeast Asia. The Philippines, Malaysia,
Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam have integral rivers that flow into the South China Sea.
Mayon Volcano, despite being dangerously active, holds the record of the world's most perfect cone
which is built from past and continuous eruption.[29]
Boundaries[edit]
See also: Austronesia
Southeast Asia is bounded to the southeast by the Australian continent, a boundary which runs
through Indonesia. But a cultural touch point lies between Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian
region of the Papua and West Papua, which shares the island of New Guinea with Papua New
Guinea.
Climate[edit]
The climate in Southeast Asia is mainly tropical–hot and humid all year round with plentiful rainfall.
Northern Vietnam and the Myanmar Himalayas are the only regions in Southeast Asia that feature
asubtropical climate, which has a cold winter with snow. The majority of Southeast Asia has a wet
and dry season caused by seasonal shift in winds or monsoon. The tropical rain belt causes
additional rainfall during the monsoon season. The rain forest is the second largest on earth (with
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the Amazon being the largest). An exception to this type of climate and vegetation is the mountain
areas in the northern region, where high altitudes lead to milder temperatures and drier landscape.
Other parts fall out of this climate because they are desert like.
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