JH WEEKLIES ISSUE #4
2014-2015
Asia
Asian Statistics
Citizenship
 Number of Countries: 49*
*including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Russia and excluding Kosovo
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Total Population of Asia: 4,299,000,000
Most populous country: China
Most populous city: Tokyo
Most visited country: China
Most visited city: Bangkok
Political Geography
 Largest country by area: Russia* (6.6 million square miles)
China (3.7 million square miles)
 Smallest country by area: Maldives (115 square miles)
 Largest city by area: Istanbul, Turkey (38 square miles)
 Most northern capital city: Moscow, Russia*
 Most southern capital city: Singapore, Singapore
Physical Geography
 Highest peak: Mount Everest, Nepal (29,035 feet)
 Longest river: Yangtze (3,915 feet)
 Lowest point: Dead Sea Shore, Jordan (1,388 feet below sea level)
Asian Countries
Afghanistan
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Cambodia
China
East Timor
Georgia
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
North Korea
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Philippines
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Yemen
25 Most Populous Asian Cities
Based on the population of the metropolitan area. Note: These are taken from various
sources, and the accuracy of this list may be incomplete depending on the source.
City
Tokyo
New Delhi
Jakarta
Seoul
Shanghai
Mumbai (Bombay)
Manila
Beijing
Osaka
Calcutta (Kolkata)
Karachi
Guangzhou
Dhaka
Shenzhen
Tehran
Bangkok
Chennai (Madras)
Nagoya
Bangalore (Bengaluru)
Hong Kong
Wuhan
Taipei
Lahore
Tianjin
Kuala Lumpur
Country
Japan
India
Indonesia
South Korea
China
India
Philippines
China
Japan
India
Pakistan
China
Bangladesh
China
Iran
China
India
Japan
India
China
China
Taiwan
Pakistan
China
Malaysia
Geographic Features
Bodies of Water
Arctic Ocean: the smallest and shallowest ocean on the planet; it is almost completely
surrounded by Eurasia and North America; its area is about 5,427,000 mi2.
 Kara Sea: separated from the Barents Sea by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya and
from the Laptev Sea by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago; it remains frozen over nine
months a year.
 Laptev Sea: marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean located between Siberia, the Taimyr
Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya, and the New Siberian Islands
Indian Ocean: third largest ocean bounded by Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Southern Ocean
(Antarctica); it is named after India; the ocean’s area is approximately 28,400,000 mi²
 Bay of Bengal: largest bay in the world, it forms the northeastern part of the Indian
Ocean and is bordered mostly by India and Sri Lanka, as well as Bangladesh, Burma, and
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
 Savu Sea: small sea within Indonesia; it flows into the Indian Ocean to the south and
west, to the Flores Sea to the north, and to the Banda Sea in the south
 Flores Sea: bordered by the Savu, Java, and Banda Seas, it is to the north of the Indian
Ocean, but separated by various islands
 Andaman Sea: it is to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Burma, west of
Thailand, and east of the Andaman Islands in India; its southern tip forms the Straits of
Malacca, which separate the Malay Peninsula from the island of Sumatra
 Laccadive Sea: borders India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka; it contains the Gulf of
Mannar
 Red Sea: connected to the Indian Ocean by the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el Mandeb
strait; it is the world’s northernmost tropical sea; the Biblical book Exodus tells of Moses
parting the sea and allowing for the Israelites’ miraculous escape
Arabian Sea: region of the Indian Ocean bounded by Pakistan, Iran, Somalia, India, and the
Arabian Peninsula; it contains the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Oman
 Gulf of Oman: actually a strait that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz
and then to the Persian Gulf; it is generally included as an arm of the Persian Gulf
 Gulf of Aden: located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen and Somalia; it connects with
the Red Sea by the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait; the gulf is known by its nickname “Pirate
Alley” because of its large amount of pirate activity
 Persian Gulf: located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula; it was the focus of the
1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War; the Gulf is connected to the Gulf of Oman by the Strait of
Hormuz
 Strait of Hormuz: between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf; it is one of the world’s
most strategic choke points because it is the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the
Ocean
Caspian Sea: the largest enclosed inland body of land on earth, it is bounded by Russia,
Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan.
Pacific Ocean: the largest ocean in the world; it extends from the Arctic Ocean to the Southern
Ocean and is bounded by Asia and Australia to the east and North America to the west
 Sea of Japan: marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean that is bordered by Japan, North
Korea, Russia, and South Korea
 Bering Sea: separated from the Gulf of Alaska by the Alaska Peninsula; it is connected to
the Arctic Ocean by the Bering Strait
 Sea of Okhotsk: lies between the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands, and several
small islands; its northeast corner is the Shelikhov Gulf
 Philippine Sea: western part of the North Pacific Ocean; it contains deep sea trenches
including the Philippine Trench and the Mariana Trench, which is the deepest point on
the planet
 Celebes Sea: western part of the Pacific Ocean that opens through the Makassar Strait
into the Java Sea
 Banda Sea: within the Maluku Islands of Indonesia and connected to the Pacific Ocean,
the Halmahera, and the Ceram Sea
 Arafura Sea: overlies the continental shelf between Australia and Indonesian New
Guinea; it is connected to the Coral Sea by the Torres Strait
South China Sea: a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that serves as the area for 1/3 of the
world’s shipping transiting; its area is from Singapore and the Malacca Straits to the Strait of
Taiwan
 Gulf of Tonkin: a northern arm of the South China Sea, it is off the coast of northern
Vietnam and southern China; it is known for the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964
 Gulf of Thailand: shallow arm of the South China Sea; it is bordered by Cambodia,
Thailand, and Vietnam and its northern tip is the Bay of Bangkok
 Sulu Sea: separated from the South China Sea by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea by
the Sulu Archipelago; it contains a large number of islands.
 Java Sea: linked to the South China Sea by the Karimata Strait; it is located on the Sunda
Shelf and lies between several Indonesian Islands
East China Sea: connected to the South China Sea by the Taiwan Strait and to the Sea of
Japan by the Korea Strait; it opens in the north to the Yellow Sea
 Yellow Sea: northern part of the East China Sea that is located between mainland China
and the Korean Peninsula; its innermost bay is the Bohai Sea and it also consists of the
Korea Bay
Rivers
Five Longest Rivers
1. Yangtze (3,915 miles): the third longest river in the world; its source is in Qinghai in China
and flows eastward until it empties in the East China Sea at Shanghai; its river basin is home to
one third of the People’s Republic of China’s population
2. Yellow (3,395 miles): originates in Qinghai and empties into the Bohai Sea; it is called the
“cradle of Chinese civilization” but has also been called “China’s Sorrow” because of its
frequent flooding
3. Lena (2,734 miles) originates in the Baikal Mountains in Russia and empties into the Arctic
Leptev Sea; it flows entirely through Russia
4. Mekong (2,700 miles): source is in Lasagongma Spring in China and flows through six
countries until it empties into the Mekong Delta
5. Irtysh (2,640 miles): flows from the Altay Mountains to a drainage basin in Russia,
Kazakhstan, China, and Mongolia
Other Significant Rivers
Tigris (1,150 miles): defines Mesopotamia along with the Euphrates; it flows from Lake Hazar
in Turkey through Syria to Shatt al-Arab in Iraq; the Tigris River is one of the four rivers that
branches off of the river flowing from the Garden of Eden in the Bible
Euphrates (1,740 miles): defines Mesopotamia along with the Tigris; it flows from Murat Su,
Turkey through Syria to Shatt al-Arab in Iraq; it was also one of the four rivers that branched off
of the river flowing from the Garden of Eden in the Bible
Ganges (1,569 miles): rises in the Himalayas in India, flows through Bangladesh and empties
into the Bay of Bengal; it is the longest river in India
Indus (1,988 miles): originates in Lake Mansarovar in China and flows along the entire length of
Pakistan to empty into the Arabian Sea; it is Pakistan’s longest river
Ural (1,509 miles): rises in the Ural Mountains in Russia and ends at the Caspian Sea; the Ural
River flows through Russia and Kazakhstan
Brahmaputra (1,800 miles): flows from the Himalayan Mountains in China to the Bay of
Bengal
Jordan (156 miles): flows from the Golan Heights to the Dead Sea and forms the border of
Israel; according to the Bible, Jesus was baptized here
Volga (2,290 miles): flows from the Valdai Hills in Russia through central Russia and into to the
Caspian Sea
Nakdong (326 miles): rises in Taebaek Mountains in South Korea and flows to the Korea Strait;
it is the longest river in South Korea
Aras (666 miles): its source is in Turkey and it flows to the Kura River; it is one of the longest
rivers in the Caucasus Mountain
Mountain Ranges
Elburz (Alborz): range in northern Iran spanning from Azerbaijan and Armenia to the southern
end of the Caspian Sea and ends at the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan
Caucasus: mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the
Caucasus region (namely Russia); its highest point is Mount Elbrus in Russia
Hindu Kush: stretches between central Afghanistan and northern Pakistan
Himalayas: home to several of the world’s highest peaks, including Mount Everest, the highest
mountain in the world; the range touches China, Nepal, India, Bhutan, and Pakistan
Altai: range where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan come together; the mountains
gradually become the Gobi Desert
Tian Shan: spans China, Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan in central
Asia
Pamir: among the highest mountains in the world and are regarded as the “Roof of the World”;
they are formed by a knot of several other ranges including the Himalayas and Tian Shan; it
spans the central Asian countries of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and China.
Volcanoes
Mount Damavand – Amol, Iran (16,929 feet): one of the volcanic Seven Summits; it is
potentially active and located in the Alborz Mountain range near the Caspian Sea shore; it is a
significant mountain in Persian mythology
Mount Ararat – Doğubayazıt, Turkey (16,853 feet): dormant volcano with two peaks: Greater
Ararat and Lesser Ararat; according to the biblical book of Genesis, Mount Ararat is where
Noah’s Ark came to rest; the peak plays a significant role in Armenian culture because it can be
seen from Armenia
Deserts
Gobi (500,002 square miles): covers northern Asia and southern Mongolia; it is a rain shadow
desert formed by the Himalayas
Arabian (899,618 square miles): occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula; this desert touches
Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
Karakum (135,000 square miles): covers about 70% of Turkmenistan in central Asia
Takla Makan (130,116 square miles): the largest desert in China; a road runs through the desert
despite its inhospitable nature due to the unpredictable nature of the sands
Major Islands
Borneo
Timor
Taiwan
New Guinea (Indonesia)
Sumatra (Indonesia)
Honshu (Japan)
Java (Indonesia)
Sri Lanka
Maldives
Philippines
Singapore