How Geography "Mapped" East Asia, Part One: China

Based on the section "The power of nature," why is rainfall in the south important to all of China?

• It allows farmers to grow rice for the country's large population.

• It causes floods that spill over riverbanks into many regions.

• It attracted many people who built dynasties and capitals there.

• It created a clash over land between nomadic and settled populations.

Read the sentence from the section "The power of nature."

In a country the size of China, it is not surprising to find a great variety of topography, climate, and vegetation.

Based on the final three paragraphs of this section, what is "topography"?

• well-trained military groups who wanted land

• large structures like the Great Wall built for defense

• natural physical features such as plains and hills

• people who fought with China's settled populations

Read these sentences from the section "Mountains act as barriers."

It was cut off from the rest of Eurasia. Even today, these geographic barriers and the vastness of western China affect China’s relations with its western neighbors.

Which other sentence from the article helps you understand what the author means by "geographic barriers"?

• Chinese governments since the beginning have been forced to focus internally.

• The mountains and deserts of the west limited contact between early Chinese dynasties and other civilizations.

• The Silk Roads allowed many ideas and inventions from East Asia to reach the West.

• About midway along its course, the river takes a series of sharp turns before resuming its path.

What effect did Cloud Mountain have on the Chinese civilization?

• It caused a change in the path of the Yangtze River that created floods and misery.

• It forced the Yangtze River to bend and carry water to people in the north.

• It created a natural barrier that kept out hostile groups from the west.

• It focused the attention of a great emperor on helping his people journey east.