Asia: The Largest Continent ICSE Class 8 - Location, Relief, Climate and Vegetation

What Asia: The Largest Continent is about

Weightage: CISCE publishes no question paper, marking scheme or chapter weightage for Class VIII Geography: your school sets and marks the exam. Asia: The Largest Continent sits in the Asia: The Largest Continent theme of the CISCE Curriculum for Upper Primary Classes (VI-VIII).Source: CISCE Curriculum for Upper Primary Classes (VI-VIII), RDCD 2016

Key concepts

Location and extent

Area: about 44.6 million sq km, roughly 30 per cent of the world's land area, the largest of all continents. It is home to about 60 per cent of the world's population.
Latitudinal extent: the mainland stretches from about 1 degree N (the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula) to nearly 78 degrees N (Cape Chelyuskin in Russia). Island groups such as Indonesia extend south of the Equator.
Longitudinal extent: from about 26 degrees E (Cape Baba in Turkey) to about 170 degrees W (Cape Dezhnev in Russia), a span of about 164 degrees of longitude.
Hemispheres: almost all of Asia lies in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres.
Boundaries:

• North: Arctic Ocean. East: Pacific Ocean. South: Indian Ocean.
• West: separated from Europe by the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea; from Africa by the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
• North-east: the Bering Strait separates Asia from North America.

Important lines of latitude crossing Asia: the Arctic Circle, the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator.

Worked example

(2 marks) Asia extends from about 26 degrees E to about 170 degrees W. What is its longitudinal extent?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. From 26 degrees E to 180 degrees = 180 - 26 = 154 degrees; from 180 degrees to 170 degrees W = 10 degrees - 1 mark.
2. Total = 154 + 10 = 164 degrees of longitude - 1 mark.

Answer: Longitudinal extent = (180 - 26) + (180 - 170) = 154 + 10 = 164 degrees.

Regions of Asia

Asia is often divided into six regions:
1. East Asia: China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea and Taiwan.
2. North Asia: the Asian part of Russia, mainly Siberia.
3. Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
4. South-East Asia: Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei and Timor-Leste.
5. South-Central Asia (South Asia): India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan; some classifications also include Iran and the Central Asian countries here.
6. Western Asia (West Asia or the Middle East): countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Note: different organisations group some countries differently, so learn the core countries of each region.
Each region has distinct features: East Asia's great river plains and industrial cities; North Asia's taiga and tundra; Central Asia's dry grasslands and deserts; South-East Asia's equatorial forests and islands; South Asia's monsoon climate; and Western Asia's deserts and oil.

Worked example

(3 marks) Name the region of Asia to which each belongs: (i) Kazakhstan, (ii) Indonesia, (iii) Saudi Arabia.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. (i) Kazakhstan: Central Asia - 1 mark.
2. (ii) Indonesia: South-East Asia - 1 mark.
3. (iii) Saudi Arabia: Western Asia - 1 mark.

Answer: (i) Central Asia, (ii) South-East Asia, (iii) Western Asia.

Physiography: lowlands, highlands and plateaus

1. Northern lowlands: a vast plain in the north, especially the West Siberian Plain. Rivers such as the Ob, Yenisei and Lena flow north into the Arctic Ocean. Their lower courses freeze in winter; in spring the upper courses thaw first, while the mouths are still frozen, causing floods.
2. Central highlands: a great mountain system in the middle of the continent. The Pamir Knot, called the 'Roof of the World', is where several ranges meet. From it ranges radiate:

• eastwards: the Himalaya, Karakoram, Kunlun and Tien Shan;
• westwards: the Hindu Kush, continuing to the Elburz and Zagros mountains of Iran.

The Himalaya contain Mount Everest, the world's highest peak (8,849 m, the height announced by Nepal and China in 2020).
3. Plateaus: among the mountains and to the south are large plateaus:

• Tibetan Plateau: the highest and largest plateau, often called the 'Roof of the World' too;
• Mongolian Plateau, Iranian Plateau and Anatolian Plateau (Turkey);
• in the south: the Arabian Plateau and the Deccan Plateau of India.

The Dead Sea, between Israel and Jordan, has the lowest land surface on Earth, about 430 m below sea level.

Worked example

(3 marks) What is the Pamir Knot? Name two ranges extending east and one extending west from it.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Pamir Knot: the meeting point of several great mountain ranges in Central Asia, the 'Roof of the World' - 1 mark.
2. East: Himalaya, Karakoram, Kunlun, Tien Shan (any two) - 1 mark.
3. West: Hindu Kush - 1 mark.

Answer: The Pamir Knot is a high mountain region in Central Asia where several great ranges meet, called the 'Roof of the World'. The Himalaya and the Kunlun extend eastwards from it, and the Hindu Kush extends westwards.

Physiography: river basins and islands

River basins: Asia's great rivers form fertile plains where most people live.

• Huang He (Yellow River), China: carries yellow silt (loess); it has caused destructive floods and was called 'China's Sorrow'.
• Chang Jiang (Yangtze), China: the longest river in Asia; its basin is one of the most productive farming and industrial regions.
• Ganga-Brahmaputra basin, India and Bangladesh: forms the world's largest delta, the Sundarbans delta.
• Indus basin: Pakistan and north-west India.
• Mekong (South-East Asia) and Irrawaddy (Myanmar): rice-growing deltas.
• Tigris and Euphrates, Western Asia: the land between them, Mesopotamia, saw one of the earliest civilisations.
• Ob, Yenisei and Lena: flow north across Siberia to the Arctic Ocean.

Islands: Asia has many islands and archipelagos (groups of islands):

• Japan (four main islands, including Honshu), the Philippines, and Indonesia (the world's largest archipelagic country, with thousands of islands, including Sumatra, Java and part of Borneo).
• Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Borneo (one of the world's largest islands, shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei).

Many of the eastern islands lie on the 'Ring of Fire' and have volcanoes and earthquakes.

Worked example

(2 marks) Why are the northward-flowing rivers of Siberia not very useful and why do they flood in spring?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. They flow into the frozen Arctic Ocean and remain frozen for much of the year, so they are of little use for navigation - 1 mark.
2. In spring the upper courses melt first while the mouths are still frozen, so water spreads over the land - 1 mark.

Answer: The Ob, Yenisei and Lena flow into the Arctic Ocean and stay frozen for months, so they are little used for transport. In spring their southern upper courses thaw first while the northern mouths are still frozen, so the water cannot drain and floods the surrounding land.

Climate of Asia: factors and types

Factors affecting the climate of Asia:
1. Latitude: Asia extends from the Equator to the Arctic, so it has hot, temperate and cold climates.
2. Vast size and distance from the sea (continentality): the interior is far from moderating ocean influence, so it has extreme temperatures and little rain.
3. Relief: the Himalaya and other high ranges block cold winds from the north and force moist winds to rise and give rain on the windward side; high areas are cold.
4. Winds: monsoon winds reverse direction between summer and winter in South, South-East and East Asia.
5. Ocean currents: the warm Kuroshio current warms Japan's eastern coast; cold currents cool nearby coasts.

Climate types:

• Tundra: along the Arctic coast; very long, extremely cold winters; short cool summers; little precipitation.
• Temperate: includes the cold temperate (taiga) climate of Siberia, with very cold winters and short warm summers, and continental climates of Central Asia and northern China with hot summers and cold winters. Places in north-eastern Siberia such as Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon are among the coldest inhabited places on Earth.
• Tropical (monsoon): South and South-East Asia; hot summers, heavy rain from the summer monsoon, dry winters.
• Desert: hot deserts such as the Arabian and Thar; cold deserts such as the Gobi and Taklamakan; very little rainfall and large daily ranges of temperature.
• Equatorial: Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia; hot and wet all year, with rain almost daily and a very small annual range of temperature.

Worked example

(4 marks) Explain four factors that affect the climate of Asia.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Latitude: from Equator to Arctic gives hot to cold climates - 1 mark.
2. Continentality: interior far from the sea has extremes and little rain - 1 mark.
3. Relief: Himalaya block cold winds and cause rainfall - 1 mark.
4. Monsoon winds / ocean currents - 1 mark.

Answer: (1) Latitude: Asia stretches from near the Equator to the Arctic, giving hot, temperate and cold climates. (2) Continentality: the interior is so far from the sea that it has extreme temperatures and little rain. (3) Relief: the Himalaya block icy winds from the north and make moist winds rise and shed rain. (4) Monsoon winds reverse with the seasons, bringing summer rain to South and East Asia.

Natural vegetation and wildlife

1. Tundra (Arctic coast of Siberia): no trees; mosses, lichens, small shrubs and flowering plants that grow in the short summer. Wildlife: reindeer, Arctic fox, Arctic hare, snowy owl, and polar bears along the Arctic coast. Animals have thick fur and fat for insulation.
2. Taiga (coniferous forests of Siberia, the largest forest belt): evergreen conifers such as pine, fir, spruce and larch, with needle-shaped leaves and cone shapes that shed snow. Wildlife: Siberian (Amur) tiger, brown bear, wolf, elk, and sable, valued for its fur.
3. Tropical deciduous (monsoon) forests (India, Myanmar, Thailand): trees shed leaves in the dry season to save water; teak, sal, sandalwood and bamboo. Wildlife: tiger, elephant, deer, monkeys and many birds.
4. Thorny (tropical thorn) vegetation (dry areas such as north-west India and parts of Western Asia): acacia, babul, khejri, cactus-like plants and thorny bushes with long roots and small or spiny leaves to save water. Wildlife: camel, desert fox, gazelle, lizards and snakes.
5. Equatorial (evergreen rainforests: Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines): dense, tall, layered forests that stay green all year; hardwoods such as mahogany and ebony, plus rubber and many climbers. Wildlife: orangutan, gibbons, hornbills, tigers in Sumatra, and many reptiles and insects; extremely rich biodiversity.

Worked example

(4 marks) Compare the taiga and the equatorial forests of Asia on four points.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Location: Siberia / Malaysia, Indonesia - 1 mark.
2. Trees: conifers (pine, fir, spruce) / broad-leaved hardwoods (mahogany, ebony) - 1 mark.
3. Leaves and adaptation: needle leaves and cone shape to shed snow / broad leaves, evergreen, layered canopy - 1 mark.
4. Wildlife: Siberian tiger, brown bear, sable / orangutan, hornbills - 1 mark.

Answer: (1) The taiga covers Siberia, while equatorial forests grow in Malaysia and Indonesia. (2) The taiga has conifers such as pine and spruce; equatorial forests have broad-leaved hardwoods such as mahogany and ebony. (3) Conifers have needle leaves and cone shapes to shed snow; equatorial trees are evergreen with broad leaves and a dense, layered canopy. (4) Taiga wildlife includes the Siberian tiger, brown bear and sable; equatorial forests have orangutans and hornbills.

Asia: The Largest Continent in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• Climate, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife of Asia
• Asia: Location, Extent, Regions and Physiography

Asia: The Largest Continent: key facts

Extent

Latitude	about 1 deg N to nearly 78 deg N
Longitude	about 26 deg E to about 170 deg W
Span	164 deg of longitude

Indonesia's islands extend south of the Equator.

Size

About 44.6 million sq km; about 30% of world land; about 60% of world population

Extremes

Mount Everest 8,849 m; Dead Sea shore about 430 m below sea level

Normal lapse rate

Temperature falls about 6.5 degrees C per 1,000 m rise

Annual range

$Annualrange=warmestmonthmean-coldestmonthmean$

Asia: The Largest Continent: map work

The places on the official CISCE map list for this chapter. Find each one on an outline map of India and practise marking it.

How the school exam asks Asia: The Largest Continent

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember Asia: The Largest Continent

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• Regions: E-N-C-SE-SC-W

  'Every Nice Child Sees Some Wonders': East, North, Central, South-East, South-Central, Western.

  Use it when: Six regions.

• Ranges from the Pamir

  East: 'Hi Kara, Kun, Tien!' (Himalaya, Karakoram, Kunlun, Tien Shan); West: Hindu Kush.

  Use it when: Central highlands.

• North to south vegetation

  Tundra, Taiga, Temperate, Thorny/Tropical, Equatorial: 'Two Tall Trees Then Evergreens'.

  Use it when: Vegetation belts.

Asia: The Largest Continent: exam-level solved questions

Ordered from exam level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Case-study practice (Section B style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In a school exam set on the board pattern this is a 8-mark question split into 3 + 2 + 3 marks.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

Where students lose marks in Asia: The Largest Continent

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Saying all of Asia lies north of the Equator

  Forgetting Indonesia.

  ✓Do this: The mainland is north of the Equator; Indonesian islands extend south of it.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Writing that Siberian rivers flow into the Pacific

  Not checking the map.

  ✓Do this: The Ob, Yenisei and Lena flow north into the Arctic Ocean.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Describing vegetation without linking it to climate

  Lists of trees only.

  ✓Do this: Explain adaptations: needles for snow, leaf fall for drought, thorns for dryness.

  Usually costs: 1-2 marks.

• ✗Mistake: Using an old height for Mount Everest

  Older books give 8,848 m.

  ✓Do this: Use 8,849 m, the height announced jointly by Nepal and China in 2020.

  Usually costs: Half a mark.

Practice questions on Asia: The Largest Continent

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   Which strait separates Asia from North America?
   (a) Strait of Malacca
   (b) Bering Strait
   (c) Strait of Hormuz
   (d) Palk Strait

   Hint

   North-east tip of Russia.

   Answer

   (b) Bering Strait.

2. Q2 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   The longest river in Asia is the:
   (a) Ganga
   (b) Huang He
   (c) Chang Jiang (Yangtze)
   (d) Mekong

   Hint

   Central China.

   Answer

   (c) Chang Jiang (Yangtze).

3. Q3 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder exam level

   Why is the Huang He called 'China's Sorrow'?

   Hint

   Silt and floods.

   Answer

   Because it carries huge amounts of silt that raise its bed, causing it to overflow and change course, and its floods have caused great loss of life and property.

4. Q4 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder exam level

   Name two cold deserts of Asia.

   Hint

   Mongolia and China.

   Answer

   The Gobi and the Taklamakan.

5. Q5 · 1 mark · Very short answerHarder exam level

   Name the warm ocean current that affects Japan's climate.

   Hint

   Starts with K.

   Answer

   The Kuroshio (Japan Current).

6. Q6 · 2 marks · Very short answerExam level

   How are taiga trees adapted to cold, snowy winters?

   Hint

   Shape and leaves.

   Answer

   They are cone-shaped with sloping branches so snow slides off, and have thin needle-like leaves with a waxy coating that reduce water loss; being evergreen, they can start making food as soon as summer begins.

7. Q7 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder exam level

   Using the lapse rate of 6.5 degrees C per km, how much colder is a place 3,000 m higher than another?

   Hint

   3 x 6.5.

   Answer

   3 x 6.5 = 19.5 degrees C colder.

8. Q8 · 3 marks · Short answerExam level

   Give three features of the equatorial climate of South-East Asia.

   Hint

   Hot, wet, steady.

   Answer

   It is hot throughout the year (around 26-28 degrees C), it rains on most days, often as afternoon thunderstorms, and the annual range of temperature is very small, with no distinct seasons.

9. Q9 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   Why is Asia called a continent of contrasts? Give three examples.

   Hint

   Highest, lowest, coldest, wettest.

   Answer

   It has the highest point on Earth (Mount Everest, 8,849 m) and the lowest land (the Dead Sea shore, about 430 m below sea level); some of the coldest inhabited places (north-eastern Siberia) and very hot deserts (Arabia); and some of the wettest places (north-eastern India) as well as extremely dry ones (the Gobi).

10. Q10 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

    Suppose climate change raises temperatures in Siberia. Predict two effects on the tundra and taiga.

    Hint

    Permafrost and tree line.

    Answer

    (1) Permafrost (permanently frozen ground) may thaw, damaging buildings and roads and releasing stored greenhouse gases. (2) The tree line may move northwards, so taiga forests spread into the tundra, shrinking habitats for tundra animals such as reindeer and Arctic foxes; warmer conditions may also increase forest fires in the taiga.

11. Q11 · 2 marks · Very short answerExam level

    Name the ranges that separate Asia from Europe on land.

    Hint

    One long north-south range and one between seas.

    Answer

    The Ural Mountains and the Caucasus Mountains (along with the Ural River and the Caspian Sea).

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.What share of the world's land does Asia cover?Show answer

   About 30 per cent.

2. 2.Which cape is the northernmost point of mainland Asia?Show answer

   Cape Chelyuskin.

3. 3.Name the five Central Asian countries.Show answer

   Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan.

4. 4.What is the lowest land surface on Earth?Show answer

   The shore of the Dead Sea, about 430 m below sea level.

5. 5.Name an animal of the taiga valued for its fur.Show answer

   Sable.

6. 6.Which trees grow in tropical deciduous forests?Show answer

   Teak, sal, sandalwood, bamboo.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Asia: about 44.6 million sq km (about 30% of land), about 60% of world population; mainland about 1 deg N to nearly 78 deg N; about 26 deg E to 170 deg W.
• ☐Boundaries: Arctic, Pacific, Indian Oceans; Urals, Ural River, Caspian, Caucasus, Black Sea; Red Sea and Suez; Bering Strait.
• ☐Regions: East, North, Central, South-East, South-Central, Western Asia.
• ☐Physiography: West Siberian Plain (Ob, Yenisei, Lena); Pamir Knot with Himalaya, Karakoram, Kunlun, Tien Shan, Hindu Kush; Tibetan, Mongolian, Iranian, Anatolian, Arabian, Deccan plateaus; Everest 8,849 m; Dead Sea about -430 m.
• ☐Rivers: Huang He, Chang Jiang (longest), Ganga-Brahmaputra, Indus, Mekong, Irrawaddy, Tigris-Euphrates. Islands: Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Borneo, Sri Lanka.
• ☐Climate: tundra, temperate (taiga, continental), tropical monsoon, desert (hot and cold), equatorial; factors: latitude, continentality, relief, monsoon, currents. Vegetation: tundra, taiga, tropical deciduous, thorny, equatorial evergreen.

Asia: The Largest Continent: frequently asked questions