Ch 26-2 East Asia
Climate and Vegetation
Coach Green’s World Geography
Class
Climate Regions
• Climate Regions are dominated by Latitude and Physical
Features
• Mountains, Highlands, Coastal Regions
• Dry Highlands and Grasslands dominate the north and west
• Humid and temperate forests dominate the south and east
Mid Latitude Climates
Maps on Pg 652 & 653
•Lower southeast
quarter of East Asia has
humid subtropical
climate
•Upper northeast
quarter has humid
continental climate
•Forest regions of mid
latitude region is mixed
coniferous and
deciduous
•Bamboo, a tree like
grass, is very important
in the warmer area
Desert and Steppe
Climates
•Desert and Steppe climates
range across Mongolia and
Northern China
•Any rain from the Pacific is
blocked by the rain shadow
effect caused by the
surrounding mountains
•The Gobi Desert and
Taklimakan desert are often
cold and windy
•Grasses and sparse trees
make up the vegetation
Highland
Climates
Highland areas have cold
climates due to high
elevation
Highland climate in East
Asia is found on the
Plateau of Tibet
Home to meadows of
dotted trees, flowers and
grasses in the lower
mountain areas
Colorful lichens and
mosses grow above the
timberline
The History of Rice
and Soybeans
•Two of East Asia’s most
important food crops
•Rice and Soy Beans have been
grown in this region since 5000
B.C.
•Rice was very important to East
Asia’s early civilization
•Soy beans, a great source of
protein, was thought to be a 5th
food group to live a long and
healthy life
Dragon Backbone Rice Terraces
Monsoons
•Monsoons – Prevailing wind
patterns that bring seasonal
patterns to East Asia
•Monsoons blow in one direction
for half of the year, and then
switch directions
•April through October – strong
down pour from the southeast to
northwest
•November to March – cold arctic
air from the northwest to the
southeast
•Timely rains are very important
to the economy of East Asia
Ocean Currents
•Ocean currents influence South
Asia’s climate
•Japan Current – Kuroshio- brings
warm water north during the
winter months
•Kuril Current – brings cold water
south and fog during the summer
months
•Typhoons – violent tropical
storm in the Pacific the blows
across East Asia
•Typhoons are formed by ocean
currents and winds
•High winds and torrential
rainfalls
Open Note Quiz
• In what climate regions do most people in East Asia live in
• What part of east Asia is this ( North, South, East, West, Northwest,
Southwest, etc)?
• What part of the region is steppe and Desert?
• What two foods are important to the region?
• What are monsoons? What months are the wet months of the region?
• What was the name of the terraces in the mountains that held the water?