SE Asia, Oceania, Australia and Antarctica Study Guide
Use pages 678-687 to answer the following questions:
1) What is the major river located in Indochina?
Mekong River
2) What physical feature borders the coastline of NE Australia?
Great Barrier Reef
3) Which SE Asian nation has the highest percentage of ethnic Chinese in its population?
Singapore
4) Which climate dominates Australia? What is the cause of this?
Desert, rain shadow effect (Great Dividing Range)
5) What climate dominates most of the islands located north of Australia? Why?
Tropical wet, it is on the equator
6) What religion is the most common on the mainland?
Buddhism
7) Which country in the region is primarily Roman Catholic?
Philippines
8) What are the US possessions in Oceania? How are they administered?
Midway Island and Wake Island, they are administered by the navy
9) What other countries have interests in Oceania?
France, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain
10) How is the US territory of Guam governed?
It has a governor and a legislature
11) When did the first European explorer reach Antarctica?
1895
Chapter 30 (page 688)
12) The two subregions of SE Asia are the southeastern corner of the Asian mainland and the great number of
islands
13) Most of the islands of SE Asia are found in archipelago, a set of closely grouped islands, which sometimes form a
curved arc.
14) The group of Pacific Islands are called Oceania.
15) Why does the number of islands in Oceania change?
Erosion causes some to vanish while other forces create new ones; rising sea levels also cause islands to
vanish
16) What type of climate is found in year-round rainy areas?
Tropical wet
17) What type of weather do monsoons shape?
Wet and dry climates
18) What is the hot desert in the region called? What is the White Desert?
The Outback, Antarctica
19) In 1859, Thomas Austin released 24 rabbits into Australia so he could hunt them. The rabbits wiped out native
plants and destroyed crops, causing some of Australia’s native animals to become endangered.
20) In the 1940s and 1950s, the US conducted 66 tests in the Pacific. Bikini Atoll was the site of US atomic-weapons
tests. The government chose this location because it was far away from shipping and air travel routes.
Chapter 31 (page 704)
21) Who brought Islam to SE Asia?
Merchants from Arabia and India
22) Which three ways did colonialism change SE Asia?
Set up centralized, bureaucratic governments, forced colonies to produce commodities that would benefit
Europe and it sparked nationalism
23) What is the main source of livelihood in SE Asia?
Agriculture
24) How has ASEAN helped the countries in the region?
It promotes economic growth and peace in the region that allows it to be competitive on the global market
25) Which country is a center of finance in the region?
Singapore
26) Why do the people build their houses on stilts?
Protection against floods
27) How are the three regions of Oceania divided?
Physical geography and culture (Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia)
28) Why did many island societies decline?
They died of diseases
29) Subsistence activities are those in which a family produces only the food, clothing and shelter they themselves
need.
30) Which industry has increased because of jet travel?
Tourism
31) What was Sydney, Australia used as in 1788?
Penal Colony- a place to send prisoners
32) Who are the original inhabitants from Australia? New Zealand?
Aboriginals, Maori
33) What is the British Commonwealth?
Free association of Great Britain and several of its former colonies
Chapter 32 (page 726)
34) How have the indigenous people been able to claim their land back from the government?
They were given citizenship; the Land Rights Act of 1976 gave them the right to claim land in the Northern
Territory; Mabo Case recognized Aboriginal people owned land before the British arrived; Wik Case said they
could claim land under pastoral leases
35) What Push factors cause people to leave rural areas?
Lack of resources, Scarcity of land and the population growth that has led to smaller plots of land
36) What pull factors draw people to the city? Find a factory job, education and government services