Asian Continent

Asia is the largest contine] covering almost a third of the world's land area. Asia, wi an area of 43,947,000 square kilometres, extends betwel 80° Nand 10° S latitudes, and 25°E and 170° W longitudE The entire Asian mainland lies north of the equator, b the islands associated with Asia extend into the southel
hemisphere. Most of Asia lies in the eastern hemispher and only a part of it extends to the western hemispher Asia extends from the Arabian peninsula, Turkey and Ur mountains eastward to the Pacific Ocean. From the Aret Ocean, it reaches south to the Indian Ocean.
Asia is home to a variety of natural features, rangin from the hot deserts of the south-west, the cold deser1 in the interior and the frozen north; and from barre un9ultivable regions to the fertile river valleys, coast" pl,ins and delta regions. The highest and lowest places OJ thr earth are in Asia. Mount Everest, the highest, rises 8,84: metres above sea level along the Nepal-Tibet border. Th,
Dead Sea shore, the world's lowest land, lies about 39' metres below sea level on the border between Jordan and Israel.

The five major physical divisions of Asia are the Northern Lowlands, the Central Mountains, the Southerr Plateaus, the Great River Valleys and the Island Groups The Northern Lowlands comprise the Siberian plain whid extends between the Ural mountains in the west and River Lena in the east.

Lake Baikal in Siberia is the deepest lakE in the world. The interior heartland of Asia is surrounded by mountains and deserts. The Central Mountains, com­prising fold mountains and plateaus, lie south of the Northern Lowlands. Asia has more mountains than any other continent. The major Asian mountain systems meet to form a large group of rugged peaks and deep valleys, called the Pamir Knot. Sometimes referred to as the 'roof of the world', the Pamir Knot lies where Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the Central Asian republics meet. From the Pamir Knot, the Hindukush range extends to the west, the Tian Shan to the north-east, the Kunlun to the east and the Karakoram and the Himalayas to the south-east. The Karakoram and the Himalayan ranges contain some of the highest peaks of the world. Some of the largest glaciers of the world are also found in the Karakoram range. Between the Karakoram and the Himalayas in the south and the Kunlun in the north lies the Tibetan plateau. Between the Kunlun and the Tien Shan in the further north lies the Tarim basin. In between the Tien Shan in the west and the mountain chains of north-east Siberia lie the ancient fold mountain ranges-the Altai, the Yablonoi and the Stanovoi-which house the Tarim basin and the vast cold desert of Gobi.

The Southern Plateaus lie to the south of the Central Mountains. Formed of very old rocks, the Southern Pla­teaus (comprising the plateau of Arabia, the Deccan plateau and the plateau of Yunnan) constitute the major part of the peninsulas projecting southward from mainland Asia. The Great River Valleys lie in-between the mountains and plateaus. Some of these river systems-the Tigris-Euphrates, the Indus, the Ganga-Brahmaputra, the Ayeyarwaddy, the Mekong, the Sikiang, the Chang Jiang (Yangtze-Kiang) and the Huang He-are very old. The Yangtze is Asia's longest river.
Three major island groups are located to the south­east and east of Asia-Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan. Most of these islands have a mountainous core surrounded by narrow coastal plains. Some islands still have active volcanoes.
Asia's coastline measures about 129,077 km.

Because of its tremendous size and varied physical
features, Asia experiences a variety of climates-the bitter cold of the polar north; the hot, dry desert environment of the centre and the southwest; and the hot, humid conditions of the tropical south.