Intro to South Asia

• Afghanistan

• Bangladesh

• Bhutan

• Burma (Myanmar)

• India

• Maldives

• Nepal

• Pakistan

• Sri Lanka

​Burma (Myanmar)

Open Ended

In five minutes or less, what do you already know about this region of the world?

South Asia

• Afghanistan

• Bangladesh

• Bhutan

• Burma (Myanmar)

• India

• Maldives

• Nepal

• Pakistan

• Sri Lanka

Labeling

Type question here including a

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

Sri Lanka

Bhutan

Maldives

Nepal

Pakistan

Bangladesh

Afghanistan

India

Burma

Physical Geography

South Asia

The world’s highest

mountains, the

Himalayas, form the
northern border of

India

The Himalayas

isolate South Asia

from the rest of Asia, serving as a border!

The Himalaya mountains are the result of a landmass

collision between sub-continent India from the south and

China/Tibet from the North!

Poll

Have you ever climbed a mountain?

​

• No Indian has climbed all 14 of the 8,000-metre peaks 

  • Two are in Pakistan

  • three more straddle the border between Pakistan and China 

  • One lies between China and Tibet.  

    
    

Arjun Vajpai

Western Ghats were

a barrier to trade
development, hard
for traders to reach

the land!

Western Ghats are a biodiversity hotspot. Rolling hills
that stretch from the north of Mumbai to the southern
tip of India. Contains a large proportion of the country's
plant and animal species; many of which are only found

here and nowhere else in the world!

Western Ghats shelter

• one-third of the plants
• almost half the reptiles
• more than three-fourths of the amphibians

known in India

Western Ghats

• SW Ghats home to the largest population of

– Asian elephants
– Bengal tigers
– sloth bears
– much more.

–

• Mounting threats

– Industrialization
– deforestation
– hunting

South Asia’s energy is generated from

its mineral resources!

• India: 4th in world coal

production

• Has enough petroleum to

supply half its oil needs

• Uranium deposits provide

fuel for nuclear energy
(weapons)

• Large iron-ore deposits

found in Deccan Plateau
(middle of India).

• Diamonds

• India supplies most of

the world’s mica, key
component for
electrical equipment
(cellphones).

• Pakistan: coal, gas, oil

and uranium

• Sri Lanka variety of

gemstones (sapphires
and rubies)

Climate, Monsoons, cyclones!

• South Asia has six main

climate zones.

• Tropical wet zone along

western and eastern
coasts of India and
Bangladesh

monsoons, or seasonal
winds.
• Dry winds in winter

blow from NE and wet
winds come from the
southwest in summer
(June-Sept.)

Monsoons (means season in Arabic)

• Heavy rainfall

– summer
– crucial to life on the subcontinent!
– essential for crops in the region.

• Farmers plant seeds before monsoon

season
– seeds take root in dry soil
– grow because of the rains.

Cyclones

• Most extreme weather pattern of South Asia

– violent storm with fierce winds and heavy rains.
– called cyclones in the Indian Ocean
– typhoons in NW Pacific
– Hurricanes in the Atlantic.

• Cyclones most destructive in Bangladesh

– high waves can swamp large parts of the country
– 1970 cyclone killed est. 500,000!