East Asia Climate & Vegetation

East AsiaClimate & Vegetation

Chapter 1:2Pages 14 - 17

ObjectivesO Examine the major climate regions in

East Asia.O Discover how climate affects people

and vegetation in East Asia.

VocabularyO Monsoon

O A wind that changes direction with the change of seasons

O TyphoonO A tropical storm that develops over the

Pacific Ocean, with winds that reach speeds greater than 74 miles per hour

O DeciduousO Falling off or shedding, as in leaves,

seasonally or at a certain stage of development

East Asia’s Climate Regions

O East Asia has 7 climate regionsO Of the 7, five cover a wide area of

landO SemiaridO AridO Humid subtropicalO Humid continentalO highland

ClimatesO Much of Eastern China has a humid

subtropical climate.O This means cool winters and hot summers

with plenty of rain.O North of the humid subtropical climate is

a humid continental climate. This climate has warm summers and cold winters.

O South Korea & Japan have cooler summers & warmer winters due to being surrounded by water.

ClimatesO China’s northern interior is very dry.

O It has an arid and semiarid climate.O Temperatures can range from very

hot to very cold.

O The Plateau of Tibet, in the southern region of China, has a cool, dry climate typical of a highlands climate.

MonsoonsO Monsoons

O Winds that change direction with the seasonsO Strongly affect the climate

O In summer, Pacific Ocean winds blow northwest toward Asia…they bring rainfall and hot, humid with heavy rainfall in the summer.

O In winter, the winds blow toward the east. These winds are icy and dry. These winds can cause dust storms that last for days. These winds cross the warm ocean and drop their moisture as rain or snow inland.

TyphoonsO We call these types of storms

hurricanes.O Typhoons develop over the Pacific

Ocean.O Winds blow 74 mph or higher.O These whirling winds and rains cause

major damage, destruction, and even death.

O In 1922, a typhoon caused 60,000 deaths in China.

Influences of ClimateVEGETATIONO Climate controls everything from

natural vegetation to farming.O What is grownO How often they can plantO How easily they can harvest

Influences of ClimatePEOPLEO Climate also affects people in East Asia.O Huang River region is a good example

O Huang means “yellow”O The river is named this because of its

yellow color from picking up the brown-yellow loess.

O This loess makes for good farm land.O This river also floods.

O It is sometimes known as “China’s sorrow.”

Influences of ClimatePEOPLEO Diet

O Rice grows best in warm weather of southern ChinaO So the main crop and food in East Asia

is rice.O In the north, where the weather is

cooler, people eat more noodles because they use more flour products.

Monsoons

Typhoons