South Asia Physical
Geography
South Asia Landforms
• Mountains separate South Asia from the
rest of Asia forming a subcontinent
• The Vindhya and Satpura Ranges divide
India’s Northern and Southern regions
South Asia Landforms
Mountain Ranges
• Himalaya- 1,500 miles long. Includes
the world highest mountains (Mount
Everest (Nepal) & Kanchenjunga).
Bhutan and Nepal are found in this
range
• Karakoram- connects with the
Himalaya in NW South Asia, which
in turn connects to the Hindu Kush
• Hindu Kush- runs through Pakistan
into Afghanistan. includes several,
wide, very high mountain passes
South Asia Landforms
• Indo-Gangetic
Plain
• Lies at the foot of
the Himalaya
• World longest
alluvial plain (area
of fertile soil
deposited by river
floodwaters)
South Asia Landforms
• The Himalaya, the Karakoram, and the Hindu Kush
form a mountainous barrier between the subcontinent
and the rest of Asia. Invaders, however, used crossing
places, such as the Khyber Pass, to enter the region.
South Asia Water Systems
• Ganges– 4,000 sq. miles
– Tributary for Nepal’s
rivers
• Indus- flow through
Pakistan and empties
into the Arabian Sea
• Brahmaputra- forms a
broad delta and empties
into the Bay of Bengal
South Asia Climate
•
Highlands Climate is found
in the mountainous
northern region
•
The western parts of South
Asia, like Pakistan,
experience Dry desert and
steppe climates
•
The mountainous Northern
region has a highland
climate.
•
The Eastern Part of the
Region experiences a
tropical savanna climate,
with wet and dry seasons
and a humid subtropical
climate
South Asia Water Systems
• Indian Ocean majorly impacts climate in
Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka
• Submerged volcanic cones form many
islands in the region including Maldives
South Asia Natural Disasters
• Cyclones- a storm with heavy rain and high winds
that blows in a circular pattern around a low
pressure area
• Tsunamis- huge seas wave caused by an
underground earthquake
• Monsoon (seasonal wind that brings warm, moist air
from the oceans in the summer and cool air from inland
in the winter)
South Asia Natural Resources
• India- iron, copper, gold,
timber. Petroleum is the
most valuable
• Pakistan & Bangladeshrice, copper, sugar cane,
fish
• Maldives & Sri Lankaeco tourism
• Nepal & Bhutan- coal,
iron, timber,
hydroelectric power
South Asia HEI
• High population is a threat to eco
systems. Air and water pollution are a
major issue
• No access to sanitation facilities make
clean water hard to come by
• Natural disasters plague the area