Central Asia is a vast region with no access to the ocean. All sources include the following countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Many include Mongolia, part of China, Punjab, Kashmir and the north here. A specific feature of the Central Asia region is its inland location with mountains along the outskirts protecting its perimeter.
Central Asia includes desert and semi-desert plains, highlands and plateaus. Limited:
- in the East southern part Greater Khingan and Taihangshan ridge,
- in the South - the longitudinal tectonic basin of the upper Indus and Brahmaputra (Tsangpo),
- in the West and North, the border of Central Asia corresponds to the mountain ranges of Eastern Kazakhstan, Altai, Western and Eastern Sayan.
The area of Central Asia, according to various estimates, ranges from 5 to 6 million sq. km. The population of Central Asia consists of Mongolian peoples, Chinese, Uighurs, Tibetans, etc. The relief of Central Asia is distinguished by significant elevations, and two main tiers are distinguished. On the lower tier (500-1500 m relative to sea level ) the Gobi Desert, Alashan, Ordos, Dzungarian and Tarim Plains are located . The upper tier is the Tibetan Plateau, the average heights of which increase to 4-4.5 thousand m . And the highest points of the Tien Shan, Karakorum, and Kunlun mountains reach 6-7 thousand meters.
Central Asia is unevenly populated. People have developed mainly river valleys and intermountain gorges where there is water. In the north, areas with a favorable climate have large area, there is also a larger area of inhabited land (virgin lands of Kazakhstan). But overall within the region large areas have no permanent population at all. The reason for this is the lack of water.
Scientists believe that the first nomadic state in this region was created by the Scythians. Although who these Scythians were is still being debated. According to scientists, the Scythian tribes lived in a state of fragmentation. They created a power called the Xiongnu (209 BC - 93 AD), which was the first empire nomadic peoples peace.
Central Asia. Climate
In winter, anticyclones predominate in Central Asia, and in summer, low atmospheric pressure with a predominance of dry conditions prevails. air masses, who came from the ocean, but lost moisture on such a long journey. The climate is sharply continental, dry, temperature fluctuations are significant both during the season and during the day. Average temperatures in January on the plains are -10 to -25 °C, in July - from 20 to 25 °C). The annual amount of precipitation on the plains in some places is sometimes less than evaporation. Largest quantity precipitation falls in summer. IN mountain ranges there is more precipitation than on the plains. Central Asia is characterized by strong winds and sunny days (240-270 per year).
Vegetation
On most of the plains of Central Asia there is sparse vegetation cover, desert and semi-desert vegetation, its species composition poor Shrubs predominate. Significant areas of takyrs, salt marshes, and loose sands are completely or almost devoid of vegetation cover.
On the Tibetan Plateau, vegetation is often represented by creeping teresken shrubs, and in the hollows, which are sheltered from cold winds, by sedges, kobresias, reamuria, bluegrass, and fescue.
In the North, semi-deserts and deserts turn into steppes. Areas appear on the northern slopes of the mountains coniferous forests from spruce, fir, larch. Along the valleys of many transit rivers (Tarim, Khotan, Aksu, Konchedarya), in deserts and in foothill oases there are strips of tugai forests with a predominance of variegated poplar, oleaster and sea buckthorn. Along the banks of reservoirs there are reed and reed thickets.
Meso-Cenozoic tectonic movements the earth's crust, which appeared very actively both in geosynclines and on platforms, greatly changed the structural plan of Asia and largely smoothed out the differences in relief that are usually observed between land areas of ancient and young consolidation. They manifested themselves most strongly in the Alpine-Himalayan belt, where the highest ranges of the world arose; somewhat weaker, but also very active in the northern part of Central Asia, Northeastern and Eastern China and Indochina, and much less brightly in areas of the ancient Precambrian platforms of Arabia and Hindustan.
In addition to the formation of large endogenous megaforms of relief, they largely predetermined the direction of exogenous processes of relief formation, as they created sharp differences in the continental climate and flow conditions between the internal and marginal (southern and eastern) oceanic regions of Asia. Cenozoic folding and mountain building, which actively manifested themselves in various parts land, further complicated the structure and orography of Asia and created a geomorphologically unique belt of island arcs off the eastern shores of the Eurasian continent. Depending on the features of the geological structure and landforms, due to both endogenous and exogenous processes, eleven large morphostructural regions can be distinguished within foreign Asia.
In the south and southwest of the continent, plateaus and plateaus of the Arabian and Hindustan peninsulas are isolated, imprinting in the relief the processes of prolonged denudation under the conditions of the ancient Precambrian platform structure. In the north they are adjacent to narrow flat accumulative lowlands formed in the foothill troughs of the Alpine-Himalayan fold belt: Mesopotamian and Indo-Gangetic. To the north of them there is a wide belt of internal highlands formed by the cores of ancient Hercynian structures and the Alpine folded arcs bordering them. This belt is characterized by sharp geomorphological differences between the marginal mountain ranges, which reach significant heights and condense atmospheric moisture in quantities sufficient for the development of erosional forms, and lower drainless internal basins, occupied mainly by deserts, with their characteristic special denudation-accumulative forms of relief. This belt includes the relatively low Western Asian plateaus and the world's highest Tibetan plateau. Among the mountain arcs framing the interior highlands of Asia, the Himalayan Mountains stand out for their great length and especially significant height, representing an important geographical boundary between Tibet and Central Asia proper in the north and the Indo-Gangetic lowland in the south.
To the north of the Tibetan Plateau lie the mountains and plains of Central Asia proper. This territory is formed mainly by the most stable ancient folded structures of Asia, sections of the Precambrian platform, the Caledonides and Hercynides. This explains the predominance of vast plains and plateaus here. At the same time, active young movements of the earth's crust created in places high folded-block ridges, which predetermined the peculiar cellular structure of the surface and determined the significant height of the territory. The sharp continental climate and remoteness from the ocean limit the development of runoff and the removal of destruction products outside the region. This explains the widespread development here, as in the areas of the internal highlands, of peculiar denudation and accumulative relief forms. The mountains and plains of East and Southeast mainland Asia stretch from the borders with Russia in Northeast China to and including the Indochina lowlands in the south. The combination of vast low plains formed on ancient stable massifs and medium-high and low mountains corresponding to parts of the platform activated in the Mesozoic determines the great complexity of this vast structural and morphological region. Moderate vertical movements of the neotectonic stage only rejuvenated some mountain areas, raising them and deforming the ancient leveling surfaces. However, the denudation that continued from the Mesozoic managed to level the slowly rising land under conditions of abundant moisture, which explains the combination of young erosional forms with ancient ones and the preservation of peneplains in many mountainous areas. Another type of relief is characterized by low-lying plains, which are characterized by locally prominent hills and low mountains. The western part of Indochina is dominated by medium-altitude mountains of Alpine and Mesozoic age, which are a continuation of the structures of the Himalayas and southeastern Tibet. The deep intermountain Irrawaddy trough delimits these structures of different ages. In relief it corresponds to the lowland of the Irrawaddy River. From the east, Asia is bordered by the island arcs of the Eastern and Southeast Asia, which are in the stage of geosynclinal development, which is confirmed by the active seismicity and volcanism here, as well as the contrasting combination of the relief of mountainous islands and deep-sea oceanic depressions with depths of up to 11,000 m. The relief of the Arabian and Hindu peninsulas is characterized by the widespread development of peneplains that arose on crystalline and metamorphic foundation. The flat nature of the surface, clearly expressed in the inner parts of the peninsulas, is disrupted by young dislocations, which are especially pronounced along their western edges.
In the relief of Arabia and peninsular India, along with similarities, significant differences are found, which are predetermined by the peculiar history of the development of these large regions of Asia. Since the Mesozoic, on the Hindustan Peninsula, located in the area of influence of the Indian monsoons, such arid conditions as in Arabia have apparently never existed, therefore, erosional forms are clearly expressed in the relief of its surface. In Arabia active work water flows weakened as the dry climate developed, which became more and more noticeable from the Mesozoic, and especially from the end of the Paleogene. The Arabian Peninsula is characterized by a general slope of the surface from west to east, due to the sharp rise of its western edge. Its western parts, as well as the Red Sea coast, have a sharp fault relief. The height amplitudes are especially significant in the belt of horsts and grabens in the mountainous west, where massifs up to 3000 m high are adjacent to basins, the bottoms of which lie below ocean level (basin Dead Sea, for example, is located at an altitude of 748 m). The uplift of the western edge caused a monoclinal (sloping to the east) occurrence of the sedimentary layers of the platform, and the activity of water flows, still active in the period following the uplift, led to the formation of cuestas in the layers of Mesozoic and Paleogene marine sediments. However, erosion forms are not widely developed. Most of the peninsula is occupied by sandy deserts with characteristic dunes and ridges. In the western part of the peninsula, volcanic landforms that arose in the Neogene are common. They stretch in a strip of varying widths from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait along the Red Sea to the southern part of the Syrian semi-desert. In Yemen, lava outpourings created a plateau, which is dissected in the west and south by short but deep river valleys. To the north of Yemen, in the mountainous regions of Asir and Hijas, on fault lines running parallel to the fault basin of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea, there are cones of low volcanoes (up to 100-200 m in height). This entire belt of eruptions ends in the southwestern part of the Syrian semi-desert with the volcanoes of the Jebel Druz mountain group. In the northeast, the plateau borders on the Mesopotamian lowland, located in the area of the modern foothill trough in front of the Zagros Mountains. In the northwest, it is framed by the mid-altitude folded mountains of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. The relief features of the latter are already associated with the development of the geosynclinal zone of the Alpine-Himalayan belt. Peninsular India is predominantly a plateau country, with a surface heavily eroded by rivers.
Wide river valleys cross the peninsula from west to east according to the prevailing slope of the surface. Even where the uneven foundation of the platform is covered by trap eruptions, the once uniform surface has acquired a tiered structure in the process of erosion and uplift. Remnant massifs with steep slopes, flat peaks, and in some places with narrow ridges rise everywhere. In the central parts and in the east of the Deccan, where metamorphic and crystalline rocks emerge everywhere on the surface, the relief has the character of either flat, softly undulating or more dissected peneplain surfaces. These two most characteristic types of relief, stepped on the traps and wavy peneplain on the crystalline rocks of the basement, are opposed by the relief of the peripheral parts of the plateau, where block movements were most active. Thus, the Western and Eastern Ghats are oblique blocks with steep, sometimes steep slopes towards the ocean and gentle slopes towards the inner parts of the plateau. The Western Ghats from the sea look like a single ridge. Their peaks are of the same height, and their linear strike gives the entire system morphological uniformity. In the lower Eastern Ghats the massifs are separated by shallower river valleys and the entire system lacks uniformity of strike. The fault origin of the marginal uplifts of Hindustan is emphasized by the straightness of the coasts of the peninsula, Malabar in the west and Coromandel in the east. The Arabian and Hindu peninsulas in the north and northeast are bordered by the Mesopotamian and Indo-Gangetic lowlands stretched parallel to the mountain ranges. They occupy deep foothill troughs filled with thick alluvial sediments. In the eastern part of the Pre-Himalayan trough, their thickness reaches 8-9 km. With the exception of the horst uplift in the eastern part of the Indo-Gangetic lowland - the Shillong plateau and small outcrops in the Aravalli system near Delhi and in other places, bedrock (rocks do not come to the surface anywhere); This circumstance determines the exceptional flatness of the relief. The greatest unevenness is created here by rows of accumulative river terraces, sometimes washed away by lateral tributaries of the rivers. Erosion relief most characteristic of the Indus-Ganges watershed. The relief of the Western Asian and Tibetan plateaus was formed as a result of the multiphase development of the territory in the single Alpine-Himalayan geosynclinal zone of the Tethys. The arcs of the Alpine ridges form, as it were, wide ovals framing the ancient cores of the middle parts of the highlands. The Asia Minor Plateau is bordered by the Pontic and Taurus Mountains; Iranian Zagros, Mekran, Turkmen-Khorasan and Hindu Kush mountains; Tibetan Himalayas, Karakoram, Sichuan Alps and others.
V.V. Belousov explains the origin of these alpine arcs and the more ancient low areas between them as the result of the articulation of individual oval links, which experienced to some extent independent development. The places where neighboring ovals meet are marked by compression of mountain belts, an increase in mountain heights and, in places, volcanic activity (Armenian Highlands). Among the highest ridges and highlands are the Hindu Kush Mountains, reaching 5000 m in height, and, especially, the Pamirs, a number of peaks of which exceed 7000 m. Regional mountain ranges, due to their height and position, are moistened much more abundantly internal parts uplands, which explains their intense erosional dissection. Unlike marginal arcs, the inner parts of the uplands have a dry climate and are subject to intense physical weathering. The products of mountain destruction are not carried beyond the highlands. They gradually fill intermountain valleys and basins. Many of the basins have undergone a complex evolution: signs of wetter eras are clearly expressed here, when they were lake baths. Traces of high standing waters are imprinted in several tiers of terraces, forming wide concentric circles. A curious feature of the morphometry of the uplands is their increase from west to east. The average height of the Asian Minor Plateau is 600-800 m, and the marginal mountains are 1500-2000 m (Taurus in the south and Pontic in the north), the Iranian Plateau is 800-1000 m, and its marginal mountains (Elborz, Zagros, Hindu Kush and others) about 2500 m, the Tibetan Plateau - 4500-4600 m, and the regional mountains about 5000-6000 m (Himalayas, Kunlun). Unlike the Western Asian plateaus, the Tibetan plateau stands out not only for its grandiose average height, but also by the presence of numerous parallel mountain ranges in the interior of the highlands. These internal ridges seem to be piled up on the common high base of the highland, on its base. In the western and central parts of the highlands, the relative heights of the ridges are small (300-500 m and up to 1000 m). In its eastern half, where there is a well-developed network of rivers with access to the Pacific and Indian oceans, they reach 2000-3000 m. The Armenian Highlands differs significantly from the areas described above, the relief forms of which are largely due to the intense volcanic activity, which appeared quite recently in. Tertiary and especially Quaternary time. At the base of the highland lies a folded structure, with a distinct latitudinal extension of the ridges. Lavas that poured out from numerous craters covered the ancient relief of the highlands and, covering the structural irregularities of the foundation, created, together with block movements, due to which the modern relief acquired the character of a fine-cell or basin.
In the grandiose Asian mountain belt, it especially stands out central part with the highest ranges of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, Himalayas and the mountains of western Burma (Arakap-Yoma, Patkai). The most remarkable here are the Himalayas, which are a mountain arc about 2.4 thousand km long and up to 300-350 km wide. Many peaks of the Himalayas rise to 7000-8000 m or more, and Mount Chomolungma (Chomolungma), reaching 8848 m, is the highest peak on globe. The high altitude and abundance of precipitation falling on their slopes led to extensive glaciation and intensive development of erosion processes, which led to the formation of the deepest valleys on the Earth's surface (up to 4000-5000 m deep). The Quaternary glaciation, which left bright traces in the form of grandiose cirques and troughs, terminal and lateral moraines and other forms, was even more significant here than the modern one. The high altitude of the Himalayas is due to the young movements of the earth's crust, which have a vaulting character. The strip of maximum elevation coincides with the main ridges of the Himalayas, the Greater Himalayas. The ridges lying to the south of them are in the peripheral belt, which have not experienced such intense movements. Associated with this is a peculiar relief, which consists in the successive replacement of the lower ridges of the Siwalik foothill zone in the south by the higher ridges of the Small and then the Greater Himalayas. Due to difficult accessibility, the ridges of the high mountain belt of Asia have not yet been sufficiently explored and inhabited only in the lowest parts of the longitudinal valleys. In the Himalayas, human settlements and agricultural oases are concentrated in the widening of river valleys, which are believed to have been the bottoms of now drained lakes. North of Tibet, in Central Asia, predominates high plains, surrounded by mountains. These plains, occupied by the Taklamakan and Alashan deserts, semi-deserts and steppes of the Gobi and the Ordos plateau, represent in relief either ideally flat surfaces of sandy deserts, or small hills, or low mountains. In the eastern part they are bordered by the Greater Hangan, Khangai, Khentei and other ranges. The highest of them reach only 2500-2700 m above sea level, and their prevailing average heights are 1500-1800 m (up to 2000 m). The low height of the eastern marginal mountains is explained by the antiquity of their geological structure and the absence of intense young movements of the earth's crust in this part of Asia. On the contrary, on the western side the plains are bordered by high mountain ranges, among which the Kunlun and Tien Shan stand out with particularly significant heights. These mountain structures, like most of Central Asia proper, have a Hercynian structure, but in the formation of their modern relief, a much greater role than Hercynian folding was played by the movements of the earth’s crust in Tertiary and Quaternary times.
In their heights (maximum up to 7700 m) and the depth of vertical dissection, these ridges are almost not inferior to the highest mountain arcs of the Alpine-Himalayan fold belt. The Tien Shan, Kunlun with the adjoining ridges Nanshan, Kuruktag and others not only frame the plains from the west and southwest, but also separate them into separate flat basins of the Tarim, Dzhungar, and Tsaidam. The ancient folded base of these basins is covered by denudation products of neighboring ridges. It is to the cloak of this loose material that they owe their modern relief. Eastern mainland Asia, like Central Asia, is characterized by a combination of vast plains with mountainous countries. However, both the mountains and the plains lie low above ocean level. Lowland Plains North Eastern China and Eastern China, namely Songliao, the North China Plain and the plains in the lower reaches of the Mekong and Menama rivers in Indochina have absolute elevations of up to 200 m. Flat surface The lowlands are broken in places by low-lying lands and low hilly uplands, the folded base of which is Precambrian or Paleozoic in age. The direction of the mountains in Eastern China is predominantly from southwest to northeast. The exception is the Qin-Ling ridge, stretching from west to east. This is perhaps the only ridge that has a clearly defined linear extension; the rest of the mountain systems of Eastern China are essentially highlands without clear watersheds. The different extent of the mountains is believed to be due to the rigid structure of the Chinese Plate. Others are reflected in the modern relief structural features Chinese platform. These are primarily syneclises, represented on the surface by vast, gently sloping basins. Among them, the largest is the Red Basin or Sichuan Basin, located at the foot of the Sichuan Alps. Some syneclises were created by the destruction of surrounding uplifts and are currently not expressed in relief, for example, the syneclise at the base of the Loess Plateau. Vertical movements of the Tertiary and Quaternary times in Eastern mainland Asia, although they had a very significant impact on the rejuvenation of the previously created mountainous relief, were still not as energetic as in Central Asia. Their moderate manifestation is evidenced by mature erosional landforms and low relative heights. The relief and tectonics of the western half of the Indochina Peninsula are noticeably different from the considered areas of eastern mainland Asia. The age of the folded base of the territory here is predominantly Meso-Cenozoic (with the exception of the more ancient structure of the little-studied Shan Plateau).
The mountains of Western Burma are particularly young: the Patkai, Prakan-Yoma (Rakhaing) Pegu-Yoma ridges, as well as the intermountain tectonic trough occupied by the Irrawaddy Lowland. The above mountain ranges experienced major folding in the Cenozoic. They differ from the Himalayas by a significantly lower height, representing mostly medium-altitude mountains. Only Mount Sarmat reaches 3826 m in height. All mountainous region west of the Irrawaddy River did not experience glaciation, which is an equally important distinguishing feature. Mountain ranges arched to the west, making up a broad belt as a whole, stretch parallel to each other and are separated by deep river valleys, among which longitudinal ones predominate. In the south, this alpine belt of mountains, interrupted by sea straits, continues in the form of the small Andaman and Nicobar Islands, already part of the Java tectonic arc. To the east of the Alpine belt there is an equally wide belt of more ancient (Paleozoic and Mesozoic) structures central regions Indochina, which ends with the Malay Peninsula. It includes the Shan Karst Highlands, located in the central part of Indochina. Limestones, which predominate in the areas of these highlands, determined the widespread development of karst landforms. To the south are the so-called Central Cordillera, a mid-altitude mountainous region with a longitudinal type of dissection and heights not exceeding 2850 m, the southern parts of which are immersed in the sea due to recent subsidence. Far to the south, like an isolated island massif, rise the folded block mountains of Malacca (Mount Tahan up to 2190 m), which are obviously a residual massif that has not sunk into the sea, unlike the surrounding territories. Encircling the continent from the east and southeast in several gentle festoons, the island arcs of East Asia stretch. In some places they are represented by small islands on top of flooded mountain ranges, such as the Ryukyu Islands. In other cases, island arcs unite islands of large area. Volcanoes crown the folded base of the islands and form volcanic areas dominated by conical peaks, gradually turning into gentle slopes covered with lava flows. Being under the direct influence of the oceans, the islands receive a lot of precipitation and are therefore eroded by deep but short valleys of rivers and streams. The significant depth of the valleys can be explained by another reason: the proximity of the erosion base. In the group of Japanese islands, the axial ridges have heights of more than 2000 m, reaching 3776 m in Mount Fuji and 2000-2900 m in the Philippine Islands.
The most difficult terrain is the Malay Archipelago, in geological structure which involves both young folded and platform structures. Here chains of high volcanic cones are combined with massive folded-block ridges. The latter form a large northern half islands of Kalimantan (Borneo). It is here that the highest peak of the island arcs of Southeast Asia, Mount Kinabalu (4101 m), is located.
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Geographical location. Central Asia is located in the center of the Eurasian continent. In the north, this country borders on Siberia, in the east on East Asia, on the south on Southeast and South Asia, and on the west on Central Asia. Within this country are the mountains and plains of China and Mongolia. The Alpine-Himalayan seismic belt passes through the central and southern parts of the country. In the center and north are the Mongolian Altai, Tien Shan, Tibet and Karakoram.
The mountains are composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks, and the intermountain depressions and plains are composed of sedimentary rocks.
Central Asia is rich in mineral deposits.
Relief. The relief of Central Asia is distinguished by contrast and diversity. The highest mountain systems (Tibet; Karakorum; Eastern, or Chinese, Tien Shan; Altai (Mongolian); Kunlun Mountains) and vast arid plains (Taklamakan, Gobi) are located here.
The highest point in Central Asia - Mount Chogori (8611 m) is located in Karakoram. The lowest point in Central Asia is the Turfan Depression (-154 m), which is located in the Taklamakan Desert.
Climate. Within Central Asia, temperate and subtropical climatic zones are distinguished.
The Central Asian High (winter month) and Pacific air masses play a major role in shaping the climate of Central Asia.
The least humidified (no more than 100 mm/year) are Central Tibet, Taklamakan and Gobi. In the southeast of this physical-geographical country, on the eastern slopes of Tibet and Kunlun, precipitation falls up to 1000 mm/year.
In the north of the region, winter is cold (the average annual temperature in January is -24 °C). Summer is relatively cool ( average temperature July + 16 °C). In the center (Taklamakan Desert) the average temperature in January is -8 °C, and in July +24 °C. In the southern regions, in the mountains of Tibet, the average January temperature is -20 °C, and the average July temperature is +10 °C.
River network well developed in the mountains, and practically absent within the arid plains. The exception is the rivers of the internal basin, Tarim, Zulaiho, and others, which dry up in summer. The Tarim River flows into Lake Lop Nor, the outlines of which change from month to month and from year to year. The northern regions of Central Asia are rich in lakes, where Kukunor, Ubsu-nur, Orin-nur and others are located.
At the foot of Tibet, forest-steppe, steppe, semi-desert and desert zones are developed, which extend to absolute marks 4000 m. The peaks of the mountains (starting from a height of 6000 m) are covered with eternal snow and glaciers.
On the plains there are steppe and desert landscapes. Due to low population, anthropogenic landscapes are extremely rare. The population is concentrated in areas supplied with drinking water, as well as in areas where the mining industry is developing.
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Asia is one of the continents of the planet, on which there are many different countries with various climatic conditions, unique flora and fauna, as well as natural resources and important geographical objects. The flora and fauna of Asia are diverse and unique. Amazing natural landscapes: high mountains and steppes, hot deserts and wild jungles await the traveler who comes to this charming and slightly mysterious region for the first time. For centuries, animals have peacefully coexisted on this piece of land next to humans, are protected by law and are nearest neighbors residents of big and small cities.
Nature of different Asian countries:
Flora of Asia
In this region of Asia thanks to wet soils In the plains and highlands, as well as steppe regions and deserts, a fairly complex endemism has formed, with more than 550 endemic plants, especially in the highlands and rocks. Relict forests give way to meadow areas where oaks and hornbeams grow, ash forests are found, and in dry areas feather grass and wormwood grasses grow. In the southern part of the Caucasus Mountains there are evergreen shrubs: laurel, holly, boxwood, and ivy vines and wild grapes intertwine arches between the branches of trees.
In the ecosystem of the Western Asian Highlands there are belts with relict broad-leaved forests and woodlands; thorny bushes grow on the rocks, which shed greenery in the dry summer season.
The zone of Siberia and North-East Eurasia is quite diverse in terms of relief; here forest-swamp zones are located next to taiga, small-leaved, pine and birch forests, and tundra. In the extreme northeastern part, larch and cedar grow, lichens and deciduous forests with birches. The trees are mostly low, and the floodplains of rivers and lakes are surrounded by shrubby thickets of willow and alder. The taiga zone is almost completely covered pine forests and fir forests, the ground resembles a carpet of green moss and rare flowers of wintergreen and northern linnaea. The river valleys are occupied by meadows with various herbs; anemones and asters, meadow fescue and foxtail are occasionally found.
For territory Central Asia characterized by the dominance of saxaul deserts and semi-deserts, with high mountains Pamir and Tien Shan, as well as the picturesque Turan Plain. In the south of this region, tropical and subtropical savannas with grass pastures and thickets of shrubs are widespread, and the northern part, in addition to deserts, is occupied by dry feather grass, salt marsh and wormwood steppes. In the vicinity of the Tien Shan, cereal and turf steppes give way to mid-mountain meadows, deciduous, spruce and spruce-coniferous forests appear, and above the forests you can find lush green alpine meadows. On the slopes of the Pamirs wild hazel, pistachio trees, larch and shrubs grow, and high-mountain cushion trees, Himalayan cedar, maples and junipers are found.
The unique vegetation cover of this part of Asia is diverse; in the savannas of Hindustan there are many herbs that burn out during the dry period, there are shrubs and milkweeds, umbrella acacias and palm trees. The mountain slopes are covered with rare species of trees - teak, palms, bamboo, sandalwood and satinwood, and near the villages there are giant Indian fig trees and banyan trees. Cotton grows in the fields and plains, peanut, corn, and the banks of swampy rivers are hidden by mangroves. In the southern part of Hindustan, tropical plants are mixed with subtropical ones - lianas and camellias, evergreen oaks and acacias.
In the southwest of Sri Lanka grow rain tropical forests- the lungs of our planet - here you can see hevea and cashew. The slopes of the Sri Lankan mountains are covered with tea plantations, coffee trees, cardamom and black pepper are grown here, and the east coast is occupied by groves of coconut palms.
The predominant type of vegetation in the Asian region on the Korean Peninsula and eastern China are broad-leaved and mixed forests, which give way to taiga forests and meadows. In the mountainous regions of the northern Korean Peninsula, steppe plants give way to larches, birches and rowan trees, and the peaks are covered with dwarf cedar trees. Unique Feature flora This part of Asia consists of a large number of brightly flowering plants and herbs. Relict ginseng, azaleas and Japanese camellias mix with epiphytes and vines in deciduous forests. Common deciduous trees in Japan include dense canopy zelkovas, white and hardwood birches, ironwood trees and the rare ginkgo biloba. Also on the territory of the Japanese islands grow Japanese cedar and many other endemic plants that are not found (except for those introduced) on other continents.
Fauna of Asia
Western Asia - South Caucasus and Western Asian Highlands
The fauna of the South Caucasus and the nearest Western Asian highlands is represented by steppe species of animals: turtles, lizards, boa constrictors, snakes, insects and spiders. There are large animals - antelopes, roe deer, wild goats and foxes, as well as numerous representatives of the families of rodents, shrew mice and ground squirrels. The reed beds of the lowlands are home to wild boars and jungle cats, flamingos, pheasants and other species of birds nest, including the red-breasted goose and greylag goose, swans and ducks. The mountains of the South Caucasus are home to dangerous predators - tigers and leopards, and the forests of the Western Asian Highlands are home to deer, jackals, leopards, as well as endemic bird species such as the Hyrcanian jay.
Northern Asia - Siberia and northeast Eurasia
In the region of Northern Asia, the fauna is distributed into separate zones, in northeastern Siberia live white wolves and giant moose, ground squirrels and tarbagans, reindeer and musk oxen, wolverines and arctic fox live in the tundra, and Beringian bears and lynxes are often found among predatory animals .
Rare species of animals have become the main representatives of this harsh region - ermine and weasel, capercaillie and partridge, East Siberian wolf and sable, bighorn sheep - the main inhabitants of these places.
Flying squirrels, chipmunks and muskrats are found in the forest-swamp zone, and wood grouse, nutcrackers and jays predominate among taiga birds. In the Northern Eurasian zone wild fauna presented a large number bird populations: geese, swans, loons and ptarmigan. The harsh climate allows only adapted animals to survive: the white hare, foxes and martens.
Central Asia - Pamir, Tien Shan, Turan Lowland
Due to extremely unfavorable conditions for living organisms (lack of precipitation and moisture), the fauna of Central Asia is unevenly distributed throughout the region. In the Turanian deserts, gophers and jerboas, lizards, snakes, monitor lizards, bats and birds of prey live here. Many animal species are quite ancient and do not resemble their representatives from the southern Asian regions.
Rare birds with bright plumage (pink starling, roller, bee-eater) live in the oases and foothills, and Central Asian porcupines and steppe turtles are found near rare bodies of water. Closer to the mountains, the fauna becomes more diverse; there are roe deer and wild goats, mountain sheep, saiga and gazelle, mountain turkeys, geese and pheasants. Fur-bearing animals are no less common local residents They hunt foxes, marmots, martens and white beetles.
South Asia - the Hindustan Peninsula and the island of Sri Lanka (Maldives archipelago)
In South Asia, the fauna is in many ways reminiscent of the fauna of India: wild buffaloes and wild boars live in the riverine jungles, and elephants hide in the shade of tall bushes on the plains. On the islands of Sri Lanka and the Maldives there are lemurs and some species of pangolins. Among the predatory animals in this region, populations of Indian wolves, leopards, sloth bears and civet wild cats are widespread. South Asia is replete with such types of fauna as reptiles: different types crocodiles, poisonous and non-venomous snakes and turtles distinguish this part of the world from other continents.
The avifauna is also distinguished by a variety of birds with bright plumage, peacocks and combed chickens live in the forests, and flamingos, pelicans and long-legged herons nest near the rivers. There are no dangerous animals or reptiles in the Maldives archipelago, but flying foxes, fruit mice, many species of turtles, sharks and tropical fish live here.
Eastern Asia - Korean Peninsula, Japanese Islands, eastern China
The fauna of the region is represented by fairly common animal species for the entire continent. Representatives of different latitudes, taiga and subtropical, are found here. Ussuri tigers, brown and black bears, wolves, martens and weasels live in forest areas, and in the mountains there are antelopes, elk, roe deer, mountain sheep and water deer.
As for birds, flocks of red-legged ibises and herons live near rivers, and mandarin ducks can often be seen near lakes. Bustards and pheasants, owls, hawks and eagles live in the steppe zones of the region. The Japanese islands are home to giant salamanders, some species of cold-blooded endemic animals - snakes and frogs, and in rivers, lakes and artificial reservoirs the populations of fish and crustaceans are increasing every year.
Central Asia, including desert and semi-desert plains, plateaus and highlands. It is limited in the east by the southern part of the Greater Khingan, in the south by the longitudinal tectonic basin of the upper Indus and Brahmaputra. In the west and north, the border of Central Asia corresponds to the mountain ranges of Eastern Kazakhstan, Altai, Western and Eastern Sayan.
Relief. Central Asia is distinguished by high altitudes, and 2 main tiers of relief are clearly distinguished. The lower tier is formed by the Gobi, Alashan, Ordos, Dzungarian and Tarim plains, the prevailing heights of which are 500-1500 m. The upper tier is the Tibetan Plateau, within which the average heights increase to 4-4.5 thousand m. Plains and plateaus are separated from each other other linearly elongated mountain systems of the Eastern Tien Shan, Kunlun, Nanshan, Mongolian Altai, Karakorum, Gandhishan, etc. The highest point in Central Asia is Chogori, in the Karakorum (8611 m). The axial geological structure of Central Asia is the western continuation of the Sino-Korean platform. To the north, this group of massifs is framed by the Mongol-Kazakhstan, and to the south, by the Kunlun belts of Paleozoic folded structures. In the north of the Tibetan Plateau, within Changtang, Mesozoic folding appeared. The modern relief is characterized by a complex combination of gravelly and sandy plains (with areas of small hills), mountain ranges and massifs, the highest of which bear alpine landforms.
Climate. In winter, the Asian Anticyclone is located over Central Asia, and in summer there is an area of low atmospheric pressure with a predominance of moisture-depleted air masses of oceanic origin. The climate is sharply continental, dry, with significant seasonal and daily temperature fluctuations. Average temperatures in January on the plains are from -10 to -25 °C, in July from 20 to 25 °C (on the Tibetan Plateau about 10 °C). The annual precipitation on the plains usually does not exceed 200 mm, and areas such as the Taklamakan, Gobi, Tsaidam deserts, and the Changtan Plateau receive less than 50 mm, which is less evaporation. The greatest amount of precipitation falls in summer. In mountain ranges, precipitation is 300-500 mm, and in the south-east, where the influence of the summer monsoon is felt, up to 1000 mm per year. Central Asia is characterized by strong winds and abundance sunny days(240-270 per year).
A reflection of the dry climate of Central Asia is the significant height of the snow line, reaching 5-5.5 thousand m in Kunlun and Nanshan, and 6-7 thousand m on the Tibetan Plateau, in Changtan (its highest position on the globe). Therefore, despite the enormous height of the mountains, there is little snow in them, and intermountain valleys and plains are usually snowless in winter. Surface waters. Due to the dry climate, Central Asia has low water content. Most of the territory belongs to the area of internal drainage, forming a number of closed basins (Tarim, Dzhungar, Tsaidam, Great Lakes Basin, etc.). The main rivers of Central Asia - Tarim, Khotan, Aksu - originate in high peripheral mountain ranges, and upon reaching the plains, a significant part of their flow seeps into loose sediments of piedmont plumes, evaporates and is spent on irrigating fields; therefore, downstream, the water content of rivers usually decreases, many of them dry up or carry water only during the summer flood, caused mainly by the melting of snow and ice in the mountains of Central Asia. The driest areas of Central Asia are practically devoid of surface watercourses. Their surface is covered with dry riverbeds, in which water appears only after occasional rainfall. Only the outskirts of Central Asia have flow into the oceans, in the mountains of which the great rivers of Asia originate: the Yellow River, the Yangtze, the Mekong, the Salween, the Brahmaputra, the Indus, the Irtysh, the Selenge, and the Amur. There are many lakes in Central Asia, the largest of them is Lake Kukunor, and the deepest is Khubsugol. Largest number lakes - on the Tibetan Plateau. Many of them are the final floods of rivers (for example, Lop Nor), due to which their outlines and sizes often change depending on fluctuations in the water content of the rivers. Prevail salt lakes. The predominant soil types in the north are chestnut; in deserts Northwest China- gray-brown, desert, on the Tibetan Plateau - frozen soils of cold high-mountain deserts. In the depressions of the relief there are salt marshes and takyrs. In the upper mountain belt there are mountain-meadow and (in the north) mountain-forest soils. The soils of the plains of Central Asia are usually thin, almost devoid of humus, and often contain large number carbonates and gypsum; Large areas of sandy and rocky deserts are generally devoid of soil cover. In the mountains there are gravelly and coarse-skeletal soils. In most of the plains of Central Asia, the vegetation cover is sparse, the vegetation is desert and semi-desert, and its species composition is poor. Shrub vegetation predominates. Significant areas of takyrs and salt marshes. loose sands are devoid of vegetation cover. On the Tibetan Plateau, vegetation is often represented by creeping teresken shrubs, and in hollows sheltered from cold winds by sedges, kobresias, reamuria, bluegrass, and fescue. In the north, semi-deserts and deserts are replaced by steppes, the vegetation of which is dominated by feather grass, grass grass, chamomile, and wheatgrass. To the north on the mountain slopes there are areas of coniferous forests of spruce, fir, and larch. Along the valleys of many transit rivers (Tarim. Khotan, Aksu, Konchedarya), in deserts and in foothill oases there are strips of tugai forests with a predominance of variegated poplar, oleaster and sea buckthorn. Along the banks of reservoirs there are reed and reed thickets.
49. Features of the nature of Southeast China, North-East China and the Korean Peninsula.
IN Relief The region is dominated by mountains: in the north - the Greater and Lesser Khingan, in the south - the Liaoxi Highlands, in the east - the system of the Manchurian-Korean mountains. These mountain structures amphitheatrically cover the Songliao (Manchurian) plain and the Amur-Sungari lowland. The central parts of the lowlands, occupied by the floodplains of the Songhua, Nongjiang (Nonni), and Liaohe rivers, are flat and often swampy. In some places, chains of hills or low island ridges emerge to the surface, dividing the lowlands into a number of more or less closed parts. Along east coast The Korean Peninsula is home to the mid-altitude East China Mountains, which in their northern part are particularly rocky, steep, and have wild gorges with numerous waterfalls. Western part The peninsula has a low-mountain, hilly terrain. Quite significant areas here are occupied by plains. The climate is characterized by pronounced seasonality. Winter is cold and with little snow. Precipitation is 50-200 mm. Summers are warm (>20oC) and humid (60-65% of annual precipitation). Climate NE China is continental, which contributes to the preservation of permafrost in the north of the territory. The greatest amount of precipitation falls in the east, in the East Manchurian Mountains (>700mm per year). To the west, the amount of precipitation varies between 300-500mm. Coniferous-deciduous forests on brown podzolized soils cover the slopes of the East Manchurian Mountains. To the south they give way to broad-leaved trees on brown forest soils. On the Liaodong coast there are pine-deciduous trees, transitional to subtropical. On the Manchurian Plain, forests give way to forest-steppes and meadow steppes. In the East Manchurian Mountains up to 5 vertical zones– broad-leaved, mixed, coniferous forests, elfin woods and subalpine meadows. In the southern part of the Greater Khingan there are 2 zones - forest and forest-steppe. The Korean Peninsula is dominated by permanently moist mixed and deciduous forests. On extreme south The peninsula has evergreen forests of oak, magnolia, etc. The shrub layer is abundant and bamboos are numerous. IN South Korea– a belt of coniferous forests from Korean cedar, Korean spruce, etc.
