Pre AP Social Studies

Physical Geography of Southeast Asia and Oceania

Southeast Asia is a term created during WWII to distinguish the region from East Asia to the north and South Asia to the west.

Physical Geography of Southeast Asia

The landforms of Southeast Asia are divided into two parts—mainland and the islands.

  • The mainland is a peninsula that lies between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. Five countries are located on the mainland. Tectonic forces created much of Southeast Asia’s physical landscape. The folding of the earth’s crust squeezed up parallel mountain ranges such as the Annamese mountains in Vietnam. Almost 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur in Southeast Asia. Cutting through the mountains are five vast river systems—the Irrawaddy, Salween, Chao Phraya, Mekong, and RedRivers. River valleys and their deltas have fertile farmland that has supported large populations for thousands of years.
  • Southeast Asia includes a mass of islands scattered across thousands of miles of ocean known historically as the East Indies. Archipelagos or island chains make up the countries of Indonesia (the worlds largest archipelago with more than 13,500 islands) and the Philippines (with 7000). The region’s islands align with plate boundariescreating the south western part of the “Ring of Fire,”a line of volcanoes and tectonic activity that encircles the Pacific Ocean. They are cones of volcanoes rising high above the ocean’s surface. Many of these volcanoes remain active. Java for example has more than 50 active volcanoes.

Climates of Southeast Asia: Most of Southeast Asia lies in the tropics and therefore has a tropical climate, hot and humid for most of the year. The predominant vegetation isdense tropical forests. Climates are also influenced by monsoons, seasonal shifts in prevailing winds. Southeast Asia is subject to typhoons, fierce tropical storms that can strike with little warning (like hurricanes).

Natural Resources: Southeast Asia is rich in natural resources however most of the countries in the region are considered developing. The majority of the people make a living as subsistence farmers. Rice is the most important crop to these people; however cash crops such as coffee, tea, coconuts, spices and rubber are also grown in the region. The region is rich in raw materials. Southeast Asiasupplies about half of the world’s tin, aluminum and nickel. Indonesia and Brunei have large deposits of oil and natural gas. Lumberfrom the dense tropical rain forest(which are being cut at a rapid rate) is a major export.

Cultural Geography of Southeast Asia

The physical geography of Southeast Asia has contributed to its ethnic and cultural diversity. In many countries the majority ethnic group controls the rich river valleys and the government. Ethnic minorities often live in isolated highland regions. Immigrants from China and India were brought to the area during colonization as workers,further contributing to ethnic diversity. Many of these nations are struggling to create unified nations from diverse people.

Oceania is a termused to refer to Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and thousands of islands scattered throughout the Pacific. Theislands that are included in Oceania are divided into the sub regions of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

Physical Geography of Oceania

Australia’s Landforms: Australiacovers an area nearly the size of the United States. It is the earth’s smallest continent and the only one occupied by a single country. It is also the earth’s flattest and driest continent. The Great Dividing Range is the country’s largest highland area, which in most places are barely more than hills. They extend from the Cape York Peninsula all the way to Tasmania. Nearly all of Australia west of the mountains is arid plain or dry plateau. Most lakes and rivers become full after heavy rains and then dry up in the burning sun. Australians often refer to the western and central plains and plateaus as the outback.

The PacificIslands: The Pacific Ocean, which covers nearly a third of the earth’s surface is scattered with thousands of islands. The Pacific islands are divided into three main groups: Micronesia meaning “small islands”; Melanesia, meaning “black islands”; and Polynesia, meaning “many islands.” Theses islands can also be divided into high and low island regions based on their physical characteristics. The high islands are mountainous and were created by tectonic activity, volcanoes and earthquakes are common on these islands. The low islands are made up of coral reefs, formed from the build up of tiny sea creatures called polyps.

Climates of Oceania: The only areas in Australia that get significant rainfall lie along the coast east of the Great Dividing Range and along the northern most coastal regions. Where the rainfall is heaviest, rain forests grow. In drier areas, the forest thin into woodlands, that mainly consists of eucalyptus trees or “gums.” Closer to the center of the continent, where hardly any rain falls, desert shrub and steppe grasslands grow. Most of the PacificIslands lie in the tropics and are warm all year long. Almost all of the islands have a wet and dry season. This region is also impacted by typhoons.

Cultural Geography of Oceania

Scientist believe that the first Australians, known as aborigines, crossed a land bridge from Southeast Asia to Australia about fifty thousand years ago. Until the Europeans began to settle Australia in the late 1700s, the native people lived in isolation from the rest of the world. Since then, their history has been similar to that of the Native Americans. Australia is considered a developed nation.

No one is sure how long people have lived on the PacificIslands or where they came from. Some scientists think that the earliest inhabitants have been in Melanesia for more than fifty thousand years. Evidence also suggests that the ancestors of the Pacific peoples all came from the Malay Peninsula. Most of the people that live in Oceania make a living through traditional methods, especially the primary economic activities of farming and fishing. They live at subsistence levels, usually growing only enough to feed themselves. Some islands also produce cash crops such as rubber, coffee and sugar cane or export bananas, pineapples, and fish.