Southeast Asia temperature regime. Hydro-climatic conditions of the region

A significant part of Foreign Asia is located in the subtropical zone, the extreme south enters the equatorial zone, the north -.

The radiation balance is from 30 kcal/cm2 in the north to 120 kcal/cm2 per year in the south. Total solar radiation in Arabia is 200-220 kcal / cm2 - the maximum on Earth.

Air circulation has well-pronounced seasonal differences - monsoonal circulation can be traced. In winter, most of Asia is occupied by the Siberian anticyclone with its center in Mongolia. Along its eastern outskirts to the south and southeast, cold continental air - winter monsoon from November to March. The direction of the winter monsoon changes as it moves from north to south: in northeast China, Korea and Japan, it has a -west direction, in southeast China and northern Vietnam - a northeast direction. In South Asia, the winter monsoon is directed from the northeast and is reinforced here zonal trade wind circulation. The same direction of winds in Southwest Asia.

summer (with May- June to October) the summer monsoon is established, which brings moisture to Hindustan and Indochina. It is enhanced by the air masses of the southern hemisphere.

On the whole, monsoon circulation is characteristic of most of Foreign Asia, with the exception of its western outskirts. The circulation of the atmosphere in the western part is different. In summer, high pressure is established here (a spur of the Azores maximum), in winter air masses enter from Atlantic. Therefore, Western Asia, in terms of the nature of circulation processes, resembles the European Mediterranean.

The lowest average January temperatures are in the area of ​​the Siberian anticyclone. Here clear dry frosty weather, contributing to the freezing of the soil and the preservation of permafrost spots in Northern Mongolia and the North-Eastern China. To the south, winter temperatures increase, but remain abnormally low compared to other regions of the Earth, at these latitudes.

In Southeast Asia, the winter monsoon merges with the northeast trade wind and brings rainfall to the east coast of Indochina.

Winter temperature in South Asia are high (+16, +20°). But Hindustan, closed from the north by the Himalayas, is warmer than Indochina. The +20° isotherm in India passes along the northern tropic, in Indochina along 10° N. islands Malay Archipelago winter temperatures +25°.

The Near Asian highlands are under the influence of Mediterranean cyclones, which bring precipitation here. To the east, the action of cyclones is weakening, but over the Persian Gulf they are again activated on a segment of the polar front. The alternation of cyclones and anticyclones determines sharp and frequent temperature fluctuations.

January isotherms in tropical and temperate belts pass With west to east, but in the eastern part they bend towards the northeast - the influence of Kuroshio.

In the western part of the mainland, the isotherms are closed and frame the interior regions of low temperatures in the Near Asian highlands.

The lowest winter temperatures (-50°) are characteristic of the basins of Central Asia. Severe frosts are in Western Tibet.

In summer, high temperatures and low pressure set in over Southeast and partly Central Asia. The sea masses of the summer monsoon rush to the center of the mainland, bringing moisture and a relative decrease in temperature. Consequently, in Southeast Asia, especially in its eastern part, and winter and temperatures are lower in summer. The summer monsoon penetrates from the Pacific Ocean to the mainland at a distance of 800-1500 km, from the Indian Ocean to the Himalayas.

The highest summer temperatures are in Southwest Asia, where the plains of Lower Mesopotamia and Arabia have stable hot weather, with a maximum of +55°C. The coolest places in summer are in the northeast of Hokkaido - the average July temperatures reach +20°.

Unlike Europe, in a large part of Foreign Asia the climate is sharply continental (high annual amplitudes temperature). In Beijing, the amplitudes are 66°, Urumqi 78°, and seasonal fluctuations are also large.

Wet and dry areas are distinguished. The first include the south and southeast, the second - the center, west and southwest of the mainland. In humid areas, most of the precipitation occurs in the summer. Only the island part and the Malay Peninsula are abundantly moistened in all seasons of the year. In dry areas, the maximum precipitation occurs either in winter (west) or in summer (center). In the wettest place in the world (Cherrapunji) annual precipitation ranges from 5500 mm (driest year) to 23000 mm (wettest year) with an average of 12000 mm.

The equatorial climatic zone covers the Malay Archipelago (excluding eastern Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands), the Malay Peninsula, southwestern Sri Lanka and southern Philippines. During the year, maritime equatorial air masses, formed from tropical trade winds, dominate. precipitation (up to 4000 mm) and constantly high temperatures (+25 - +23°).

The subequatorial belt includes Hindustan, Indochina, the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Southeast China, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. A seasonal change of air masses is characteristic: in summer, humid equatorial air brought by the monsoon, in winter, relatively dry tropical trade winds of the northern hemisphere. rainfall in summer, winter dry and warm. The hottest time of the year is spring (up to +40°). Precipitation increases on the windward slopes and decreases on the leeward slopes of mountains. So, on the windward slopes of the Assam Mountains, an average of 12,000 mm per year, on the leeward - about 1700 mm. The southeast of Hindustan and Indochina, the northeast of Sri Lanka and the Philippines receive winter precipitation with the northeast monsoon, which is enriched with moisture over the ocean.

The tropical zone includes the western part of Asia (the south of the Arabian Peninsula, the south of Mesopotamia, the Iranian Highlands and the Thar Desert). Continental tropical air masses dominate throughout the year. Clear, dry weather. Average July temperatures are about +30°, January +12°- +16°. Precipitation everywhere is less than 100 mm, which falls in winter in the north and in summer in the south.

The subtropical zone is characterized by the dominance of temperate air in winter. masses, in summer - tropical. There are several types of climate in the belt. In the west - the southern and western coasts of Asia Minor, the Levant and the north of Mesopotamia - a Mediterranean climate (dry hot summers, warm wet winters). The average January temperature is from +4° in the north to +12° in the south. Precipitation on the plains is 500-600 mm, in mountainous areas up to 3000 mm. The Western Asian highlands and southern Central Asia are characterized by a subtropical continental climate with hot summers and relatively cold winters. In summer, the air acquires the properties of continental tropical air. masses. Large annual amplitudes. precipitation less 300 mm. In the western part They associated with the passage of the Iranian branch of the polar front in spring. The southwest monsoon brings precipitation to the eastern part of the Iranian Highlands. In the eastern sector of the subtropical zone, there are Japanese islands(without Hokkaido), East China, south of the Korean Peninsula. monsoonal climate: cold damp air masses of the Siberian anticyclone prevail in winter. The summer monsoon brings much more precipitation than the winter monsoon. Up to 2000 mm of precipitation falls on the windward slopes of the mountains, 700-900 mm on the plains.

Tibet is characterized by a sharply continental alpine climate.

In the temperate zone, there are also two types of climate: monsoonal and continental. Mongolia and Northwest China (Dzungaria) have moderate continental climate. Average January temperatures range from -16 to -24°. The summer is hot, precipitation falls mainly in the warm season, their amount is small (up to 200 mm). Hokkaido, northeast China and northern Korea are characterized by a temperate monsoonal climate. In winter, cold continental air masses dominate (spurs of the Siberian anticyclone), in summer - southeast monsoon bringing up to 70% of precipitation.

Southeast Asia (SEA) is a vast region of the world, where 11 sovereign states are located with an area of ​​about 4.5 km2. It is, as it were, sandwiched between two ancient centers of civilization, demographic (and now economic!) giants - China and India. This circumstance somehow affected the processes of settlement, economic development, and the formation of the ethnic, religious and cultural image of the region.

By the way, the expression “between two giants” in the title is in essence a reflection of the toponym “Indochi-tai”. The region under consideration was destined to remain aloof from early civilizations, but later it was gradually drawn into their orbit. Migration routes from China and culture routes from India ran through Indochina.

Of course, Indonesia, the Philippines, and other countries are not Indo-China, but classic Southeast Asia (Figure 6.1). However, even in these countries, the cultural and economic influence of China and India is very tangible.

Geographical location and natural conditions

The region includes two parts: continental(Indochina peninsula) and island-smooth(numerous islands of the Malay Archipelago). Southeast Asia seems to "sew" the mainland of Eurasia and Australia and is the border of the basins of the Pacific and Indian oceans. The most important sea and air communications pass through the countries of the region. Strait of Malacca in terms of importance for maritime navigation, it is comparable to Gibraltar, the Suez and Panama Canals.

The key geographical position at the crossroads of the most important sea routes, a variety of natural resources, a fertile climate - all this attracted Europeans here like a magnet during the colonial period. (Only Thailand remained formally independent as a buffer zone between British India and French Indochina.)

Current geographic location countries of Southeast Asia are made up of the following factors:

The position between the world economic and political centers — Western Europe, the USA, Japan, which determine the global development strategy and the main regional political trends;

The position between India and China, the world's largest states in terms of population, major economic and influential political powers;

The position between two oceans (Pacific and Indian), which makes it possible to control the strategically important straits connecting them - Malacca and Sunda.

The Strait of Malacca is located between the Peninsula of Malacca and about. Sumatra, his
length 937 km, minimum width about 15 km, fairway depth from 12 to
1514 m. A particularly intensive movement of ships and
ships.

The Sunda Strait is located between the islands of Sumatra and Java in Indonesia, its length is 130 km, the minimum width is 26 km, and the depth in the fairway is 28 m.

The peninsular part of Southeast Asia is dominated by mountain ranges that fan out across its territory, separated from each other by river valleys. The mountains are higher in the north and west than in the south and east. The mountains divide the mainland region of the region into several separate parts, land communications between which are difficult. All the islands of the Malay Archipelago also have a mountainous character. There are many volcanoes here, a number of which are active. (More than 80% of all recorded tsunamis are formed in the Pacific Ocean, including in Southeast Asia. The explanation for this is simple - out of 400 active volcanoes on Earth, 330 are located in the Pacific Ocean. More than 80% of all earthquakes are observed there .)

Only in the east of Sumatra and along the banks of Kalimanta-na are there relatively extensive low-lying spaces. Due to the abundance of heat and moisture, Southeast Asia as a whole is distinguished by the diversity and richness of the flora and fauna, soil fertility.

The climate of this region is hot, subequatorial and equatorial, with the total amount rainfall up to 3000 mm per year. Tropical cyclones are frequent guests here - typhoons, possessing great destructive power, not to mention the increased seismic danger that awaits the population of most countries. Although most of Southeast Asia is covered with humid tropical evergreen forests (hence the second place in the world after Brazil in terms of tropical timber reserves), savannahs dominate in inner Indochina. The river network is dense, rivers (Me-Kong, Salween, Irrawaddy etc.) - full-flowing.

Tsunami(from Japanese hieroglyphs - “go 7”, which means harbor, And "us"— a big wave) called giant waves that arise on the surface of the ocean as a result of underwater earthquakes or eruptions of underwater and island volcanoes. In rare cases, a tsunami can also be caused by a fall into the World Ocean and space objects - meteorites, asteroids, etc. And although, fortunately, no historical evidence of such events has been recorded, scientists believe that the probability of such an event is not so small (according to some estimates, up to 1%). According to calculations, the fall of a relatively small asteroid 300-600 m into the ocean will generate a tsunami, far exceeding all hitherto known.

* The most famous and devastating in its consequences was the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano on about. Rakata in the Sunda Strait in 1883. As a result of its explosion, giant waves (up to 30 m high) formed on the sea, which rushed to the shores of Sumatra and Java, washing away everything in their path. Then up to 40 thousand people died and luxurious tropical vegetation disappeared everywhere. These waves circled the entire globe, reached Europe and caused floods in many places. Volcanic ash from Krakatoa was raised to a height of several tens of kilometers and also spread throughout the planet.

The strength (or magnitude) of the earthquake in Southeast Asia that caused the 2004 tsunami was about 9 on the Richter scale, which happens relatively rarely. A powerful break in the earth's crust, the total length of which was about 1300 km, occurred at the junction between three tectonic plates- Indian and Australian ("big shimi") and Burmese microplate. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the open sea, near Indonesia. The earthquake caused a sharp deformation of the ocean floor, as a result of which huge energy was released, equivalent to 200 million tons of trinitrotoluene (which is 4 times more powerful than the hydrogen bomb tested in the USSR).

A wave hump formed above the epicenter of the earthquake, which provoked the most powerful wave crests that reached Africa. The province of Aceh in Indonesia suffered more than others, where the wave reached 15–20 m and went 10–15 km deep into the island. Great destruction was struck by the elements on south coast Bay of Bengal, the east coast of Sri Lanka, a number of islands in Thailand (including the popular tourist island of Phuket), and many small islands in the Indian Ocean simply went under water for a while.

This natural disaster not only resulted in the death of about 300 thousand people, but also destroyed entire nationalities. So, most likely, the nationality is completely destroyed ongy, lived in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and numbered only 100 people before the tsunami.

The significance of Southeast Asia is also determined by the presence here of large stocks of the most important species raw materials And fuel. The region is especially rich in non-ferrous metal ores: tin (in terms of its reserves, the region surpasses all countries of the world), nickel, copper, and molybdenum. Large reserves of iron and manganese ores, chromites. There are significant deposits of oil and natural gas, there is brown coal, uranium. Natural wealth is valuable tree species of tropical and equatorial forests. On the whole, Southeast Asia is a hard-to-replace world source of many strategic resources.

Within the region, representatives of natural geography usually distinguish the following physical and geographical areas:

1) peninsula Indochina, forming the southeastern periphery of the mainland (Southeast Asia) and dissecting the basins of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There are no latitudinal orographic barriers here, therefore, in the north of Indochina,
there is a “breathing” of continental air masses. The main mass of moisture is brought by the southwestern equatorial monsoons;

2) Malay Archipelago, associated with Indonesia and including the islands of Greater and Lesser Sunda, Moluccas and about. Ceram. The region is distinguished by its colossal natural specificity. Its equatorial and insular position determines
the dominance within its limits of equatorial and marine tropical air, uniformity of temperatures, constantly high humidity and an abundance of precipitation. Kingdom of tropical rainforests;

3) Philippine Islands, sometimes included in the Malay Archipelago, but in physical and geographical terms, representing independent region. It is located in the belt of subequatorial and partially equatorial climate with abundant rainfall.

Population

The peoples of Southeast Asia are characterized by a combination of Mongoloid and Australoid features (on this basis, they are sometimes referred to as South Asian minor race). The ethnic composition is extremely diverse - about 500 indigenous peoples, many people from China (huaqiao), but few Europeans.

In the most populous country in the region, Indonesia (slightly less than 50% of the population of Southeast Asia), Malay Peoples, in Thailand - Thai etc. For example, 75% of the total population of Thailand is formed by the Thai people (or Siamese) and the Lao people (Thai live mainly in the southern half of the state, Lao - in the northern and northeastern, including the highlands); in Malaysia, Malays and Chinese make up almost equal parts of the local population, the remaining 10-11% are Indians; the bulk of the population of Singapore are Chinese (up to 80%).

Residents profess Islam, Buddhism, Christianity (Philippines), Hinduism, and most Chinese - Confucianism and Taoism. The highest population density is observed in regions with fertile and irrigated lands, as well as in port centers.

Political history of the region

The region of Southeast Asia (SEA) includes the Indochinese and Malay Peninsulas, as well as the Malay Archipelago, the largest archipelago in the world*. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar are located on the Indochinese Peninsula. Malacca is occupied by Malaysia and Singapore. Indonesia, Brunei, East Timor and the Philippines are located on the Malay Archipelago (Table 6.1).

In the past, Southeast Asia was called the Back or Far Indies, as well as Indo-China. The last name reflects not so much the natural resemblance of this part of the continent in the west to India, and in the east to China, as transitional ethnocultural state of the region. The earliest was the Indian penetration into Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, the Indian "civilizers" did not colonize the region. They brought here their learned language (Sanskrit), writing and literature, methods of political and social life (elements of the caste system), techniques of their art. Under Indian influence, various states of Southeast Asia were formed.

* The Malay Archipelago accounts for more than a third of the total area of ​​all the islands the globe. Some of the islands of the archipelago (for example, Su-matra) are larger than many European states. In total, more than three states such as France can fit within the archipelago. There is reason to believe that in remote geological epochs, the Malay Archipelago was a wide isthmus connecting Asia with Australia. Gradually, it turned into remote groups of islands, which, in the expression E. Reclus, are like piles of a collapsed bridge.

The formation of the political map of the region took place in difficult historical conditions. The first colonizers who invaded Southeast Asia were immigrants from Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands. The first country enslaved by Europeans was Indonesia, which became the Dutch colony "Netherlands Indies" at the beginning of the 17th century. The activities of the colonialists at that time abounded with "unsurpassed pictures of betrayal, bribery, murder and meanness" *. Later, the British, French, and Americans invaded the region.

Formally, Thailand was not among the colonies, retaining the status of an independent state due to the confrontation between Great Britain and France (and with the support of Russia). During the Second World War, all Southeast Asian countries were occupied by Japan.

After the war, the states of the region achieved sovereignty. In 1984, the British protectorate of Brunei gained independence, in 2002 East Timor was proclaimed independent, becoming the 192nd sovereign state in the world.

The political situation in the region is largely determined by the diversity of the national, religious and social composition of the population. A characteristic feature of Southeast Asia is the presence in it of a multimillion-strong group of people of Chinese nationality (the so-called huaqiao).

The main social support of modern state regimes in the countries of Southeast Asia is the growing national bourgeoisie. The domestic and foreign policy of states, as a rule, is aimed at creating favorable conditions for accelerated capitalist modernization. The process of political and economic integration is actively taking place in the region. At the same time, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the most mature grouping of this nature among the peripheral countries.

The peculiarity of countries

It is usually said about the countries of Southeast Asia that epochs and styles are mixed here, Europe, America and Asia meet here, luxury and poverty coexist. At the same time, each country in the region has its own unique characteristics. So, modern industrial Thailand (the old name Siam - hence: Siamese twins, Siamese cats, etc.) with its 27 thousand Buddhist temples, with the fantastic buildings of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and countless "spirit houses" ( amazing monuments of "small architecture") is not at all like the largest country in the region under consideration - Indonesia, where there are no pagodas, since the population professes Islam.

Lagging behind in its development, agrarian Laos bears little resemblance to Singapore - the "economic tiger", an oasis of economic well-being and prosperity, one of the world's largest financial centers; and the predominantly Christian country of the Philippines, striving to develop knowledge-intensive industries, is strikingly different from Laos, a state of Buddhist culture, where agriculture completely determines its economic “face”. The Sultanate of Brunei, which has become "rich" on petrodollars, is somewhat "private".

Historical and geographical circumstances had a significant impact on the current development of the states of the region. So, the geographical position of Singapore was one of the most important factors of its advanced, in comparison with neighboring territories, development. Since ancient times, Singapore has acquired the reputation of a major trade and distribution center in southern Asia, serving the foreign trade relations of India and China, European countries and Indonesia. Initially, Singapore served as a transshipment point, and then, with the expansion of world trade, the creation of a plantation (in particular, rubber) economy and the development of the tin industry in Malaya, Indonesia and other countries of Southeast Asia, Singapore became a major world market for tin and rubber .

For a very long time, the countries of Southeast Asia existed in the consciousness of the Soviet people as a kind of stronghold of social backwardness. However, at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. some of them (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore) have become so-called new industrial countries ("Asian tigers" or "little dragons"). At the same time, 80% of the exports of the mentioned countries are products of the manufacturing industry (offshore drilling platforms, video recorders, air conditioners, electronic components, magnetic disks, toys, etc.).

The rapid rise of these countries is the result of choosing the right long-term economic strategy, the ability to absorb scientific and technological achievements and create their own areas of excellence in the main areas of international exchange. We should also not forget about the cheapness of local labor and the performing discipline and diligence inherent in the population of the East. In recent years, the countries of the region have been increasing oil production (Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia). The most economically backward are Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

The historical attraction of Thailand (Siam) to the commonwealth with Russia has old roots. Eshe at the end of the 19th century. King Rama IV of Siam visited Russia and skillfully used its influence in Europe to get rid of colonial enslavement by powerful France and England. In recognition of the merits of Russia to his homeland, the king introduced a Russian uniform in his army (the full dress uniform - a white tunic with aiguillettes - is Russian to this day). The music for the royal anthem was written by the Russian composer P.A. Shurovsky.

The basis of agriculture in the countries of Southeast Asia is subtropical agriculture, which is completely dominated by rice(in the Philippines up to 90% of all cultivated land, in Indonesia - more than half). The region has long been famous for growing spices (red and black pepper, ginger, vanilla, cloves). Natural rubber is produced (Malaysia, thanks to plantations hevea), coconut oil, copra and abaca or manila hemp (Philippines), tea, coffee, cinchona bark (Indonesia), etc. The weak level of development of animal husbandry is partly offset by river and sea fisheries.

A significant part of the best land and irrigation systems belongs to large owners (often foreigners). Modern agricultural technology and scientific methods of farming are used only on large plantations. Despite the fact that the agricultural sector employs the bulk of the economically active population, there is a shortage of food in many countries of the region.

A fast growing industry is industry. The development of minerals stands out: tin (almost 60% of global production), tungsten, chromium, nickel, and copper. A prominent place is given to oil production *. Developed is the processing of valuable wood. Other industries are being created.

Russia and countries of Southeast Asia

The dynamism of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, which includes a huge triangle - from the Russian Far East and Korea in the northeast to Australia in the south and Pakistan in the west, is well known. We are talking about the real socio-economic progress of a whole group of once backward states that have achieved tremendous success thanks to a carefully thought-out economic strategy and internal discipline. Many of them are clothed in a single fabric of economic, humanitarian and other ties.

The East Asian region is one of the largest in terms of area and population, not only in Asia, but throughout the world. This is the cradle of ancient agricultural civilizations, the birthplace of great original peoples.

The total area of ​​East Asia is 11.77 million km2, the population is more than 1.4 billion people.

In East Asia, they include territories of various forms of government: the socialist republics of China (People's Republic of China, PRC) and North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK), the republics of Mongolia and South Korea (Republic of Korea), the constitutional monarchy of Japan, the colonial possessions of Great Britain and Portugal - Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Taiwan.

Geographic location, natural conditions and resources. East Asia occupies vast expanses from the highest mountain ranges of the world - the Himalayas (by the way, the city of Chomolungma, 8848 m, is located on the border of China and Nepal), the Tien Shan, Altai and the "roof of the world" - the Tibet highlands in the west to the coastal lowlands and Pacific islands in the east, from southern taiga forests in the north to tropical forests in the south. The islands stretch along the entire coast for 4 thousand km. and is a link in the Pacific island arc, they separate the inland seas - the Sea of ​​Japan, Yellow, East and South China from the ocean.

The natural conditions of East Asia are very diverse and contrasting. Neotectonic processes have formed a predominantly latitudinal extent of high ranges in the west, which are separated by wide desert basins (Tarim Basin). In the east and south of the region, medium-altitude mountains interspersed with accumulative plains predominate. High young ranges also stretch along the archipelago of islands. Earthquakes are a frequent occurrence in the western and southern parts, as well as in the interior of China, for the Korean Peninsula and especially for the Japanese islands. Tsunamis are also typical for the coast and for the islands, and there are several dozen volcanoes on the Japanese islands. In the center and especially in the east of China, plains prevail (the Loess Plateau, the Great Plain of China), they are much less in the north (Songliao), in Korea and Japan (Kanto), and very few in the south of the region. The plains are mainly of loess and alluvial origin and are distinguished by high natural fertility.

Even sharper differences are manifested in climatic conditions. The eastern part of the region is open towards the Pacific Ocean and is influenced by the monsoonal circulation of the atmosphere; in the west, a dry, sharply continental climate prevails. If in the south of the region the influence of the monsoon does not have a pronounced seasonality (2000 mm and more precipitation falls), then in the northeast wet summers, dry autumns and springs (600-700 mm of precipitation) prevail. The island strip is the most humid, and more than 3000 mm falls in its southern regions. precipitation.

The inner and western regions of China and Mongolia receive only 100 - 150 mm. precipitation per year. It is here that the largest deserts of the Gobi and Takla Makan regions are located, the total area according to 1300 km2 and 360 thousand km2.

The river network and water regime are directly influenced by relief and climatic conditions. Most of the rivers belong to the Pacific Ocean.

The largest rivers originate in the Tibetan Plateau. They feed mainly on monsoon rains in the middle and lower reaches. This is primarily the Yangtze and the Huang He, which formed the space and fertile lowlands in the east of China and have long determined the irrigated culture of agriculture. Other large rivers also take their beginnings in Tibet (Mekong, Salween), but only their peaks fall on East Asia, instead of the Amur with its large tributaries (Argun, Sungari, Ussuri) it is a border river with Russia and has limited use. In Korea and Japan, rivers, as a rule, are short and rapids and have mainly energy value, and in the lower reaches they are used for irrigation.

The largest lakes of the region or the cores of internal flow basins in the interior and on the western and northwestern outskirts of the region (Lobnor, Kunukor, Khubsugul, Ubsu-Nur) or on the plains are connected by a network of channels with large rivers and their tributaries (Poyanhu, Taihu, etc. ), or are regulators of the flow of other rivers (Khanka on the border with Russia).

In the northeastern part of East Asia, the largest areas of forests of temperate latitudes (coniferous and mixed) have been preserved, which are the main raw material base for the region. Further south, the flat territories are heavily plowed, forests mixed type very little. Even further south to the northern tropics, islands of broad-leaved evergreen forests have been preserved. This broad zonality is also characteristic of the island arc.

In Mongolia and the interior of China, steppe and semi-desert vegetation prevails, and in closed basins - desert vegetation.

The vegetation of mountainous regions depends on vertical zonality. For example, the lower strips of the northwestern mountains (Altai, Tien Shan) are covered with forest-steppe vegetation, the upper ones are covered with mountain-taiga and mountain-meadow vegetation. The mountains of Karakoram and Tibet are more arid, forests are rare here, the slopes are covered with xerophytic vegetation.

The soil cover in the north and center of China is dominated by forest soils, in the strip of subtropics and tropics - red and yellow soils.

Speaking about the natural conditions of East Asia, one cannot ignore the importance of the seas and the ocean. Warm (Kuro-Sio) and cold (Oye-Sio) currents form not only the climate, but also a favorable environment for the distribution of fish and other biological resources of the sea of ​​world importance.

The mineral resources of East Asia are diverse, but global importance have deposits of coal in the northeast and east of China, oil reserves in the northeast, northwest and center of China, as well as large resources of tungsten, antimony, copper-molybdenum, tin ores and mercury associated with the Pacific ore strip. Several smaller deposits of iron ore have been explored in northeastern China, local meaning have local deposits of coal in other states.

China has the largest deposits of various resources (coal, oil, iron ore, non-ferrous metal ores), much less - Mongolia (copper-molybdenum ores, coal, fluorite), North Korea (coal, iron, chromite, polymetallic ores, copper and tungsten), South Korea (polymetallic ores, tungsten), Japan (hard coal, copper and polymetallic ores, sulfur).

Population. Nearly a quarter of the world's population lives in East Asia. The river civilizations of the Yangtze and Huang He are among the oldest in world history, along with the cultures of the Nile, Mesopotamia, the Indus and the Ganges.

Many peoples and nationalities live in East Asia - from a billion Chinese and multimillion Japanese and Koreans to small nationalities numbering several thousand or even hundreds of people. Some of them are the oldest natives of the region, such as the Ainu in northern Japan or the gaoshan in mountainous Taiwan.

All the states of the region are single-ethnic countries, in which the indigenous nation makes up more than 90% of the population.

The Chinese (the self-name "Han") take their genealogy from the U-III millennia before Christ. The core of their ethnogenesis was the lower part of the Yellow River basin. Over the centuries, they settled far to the north and south, to a somewhat lesser extent - to the east. In addition to the PRC, the Chinese make up the vast majority of the population in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Several million more Chinese live outside the region - the so-called. huaqiao, who occupy leading positions in public life in the states of Southeast Asia.

The Japanese as a separate nation formed in the beginning. IV Art. era of Christ and began to explore the archipelago from the north of about. Kyushu and south about. Honshu. In the ethnogenesis of the Japanese, immigrants from the Korean Peninsula played an important role.

The first manifestations of the organized economic and cultural unity of the ancient population of Korea date back to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The ethnonym "Mongol" is first found in the Chinese historical chronicles of the 7th-10th centuries, since by this period dozens of nomadic tribes succeeded each other in the northern part of the region.

For all peoples, a peculiar syllabary - the so-called hieroglyphs - played a great unifying role.

All these indigenous nations belong to different language families, according to Sino-Tibetan, Japanese, Korean and Altaic. In addition to them, numerous people live on the outskirts of China, incl. even multi-million peoples. In particular, peoples related to the population of Southeast Asian countries live in the south and southwest of China. The largest of them are the Zhuangs (18 million people), the Lizu and Tibetans (over 10 million people) live in Tibet, the Turkic-speaking Uighurs (16 million people) and Kazakhs live in the west, and the Dungan (Hui) live in the north (10 million people), Manchus (4 million people) and Mongols.

In China at the beginning of our era, Taoism and Confucianism were formed as religions, which combine elements of idealistic philosophical teachings 6th-5th centuries Christ with various folk beliefs and cults, especially ancestral cults.

In Japan, on the basis of local animistic beliefs, Shintoism arose, which, along with Buddhism, is one of the leading religions of the state. Different directions of Buddhism in Korea (Mahayana) and Mongolia (Lamaism). Among the national minorities of China, Islam (Hui, Uighurs, Kazakhs, etc.) has become widespread. Or Buddhism - Lamaism (Tibetans). In the XX century. as a result of the activities of numerous Christian missions, Catholicism and Protestantism became widespread. In South Korea, almost 25% of the population is Christian. In general, religion does not have such social significance as in other regions, but for the most part it is a moral regulator of personal life.

The region is characterized by extremely uneven settlement. For example, when medium density 125 people per km2 in China, almost 90% of the population lives in the east of the country, occupying only a third of its territory. In some areas up to the Great Plain of China, the density of the rural population exceeds 1000 people per km2, while in Tibet there is only one inhabitant per km2. Somewhat smaller differences in population distribution are typical for densely populated Japan and Korea and for sparsely populated Mongolia, where in the whole country there are only 1.5 people per km2.

The average life expectancy of people in East Asia is quite high - almost 70 years, and Japan (the average life expectancy here is 79 years) is the leader in this indicator. Another specific feature of the region is a certain advantage of the male population over the female population.

If back in the 1960s, East Asia was characterized by high population growth and all states, with the exception of Japan, belonged to countries of the second type of population reproduction, then since the late 70s the picture has changed somewhat. Successful, sometimes even tough, demographic policy in China has led to a significant reduction in the birth rate. Persistent adherence to the rule "one family - one child" gave its results - for 1980-1992, the average annual population growth in this country was 1.4% with a clear downward trend. The highest natural increase for this period was in Mongolia - 2.7%, and the lowest in Japan - 0.5%.

Only 30% of East Asia's population lives in cities. But there are striking differences here: in Japan, 77% of the population lives in cities, not to mention Hong Kong and Macau, which, in fact, are cities - agglomerations, but in China - only 27% of the population are city dwellers. However, in recent years, by developing a network of free economic zones, China has encouraged the industrialization of the country, and hence the growth of the urban population.

At the same time, in many countries of the region, megalopolis-agglomerations of large and small cities have merged with each other. Particularly large megalopolises have grown in Japan along the Pacific coast from Tokyo to Osaka (Hokkaido). The Seoul, Busan (South Korea), Pyongyang (DPRK), Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin (PRC), Taipei (Taiwan) agglomerations are multi-million. And the population in four cities of the region, together with the adjacent territories, exceeds 10 million people, which also confirms its "leading" position in the world. These are Shanghai (13.5 million), Tokyo (11.6), Beijing (10.8) and Seoul (10.6). China has the world's largest cities - "millionaires" - more than 30, 11 such cities in Japan, 6 in South Korea, two each in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and only one in the DPRK.

Economy. The natural resource potential of East Asia, and especially the labor skills and traditions of the population, contribute to the development of all sectors of the economy. Over the past 20-30 years, almost all countries in the region have shown especially high rates of economic development, with the exception of the most rigid in communist persuasion, the DPRK and Mongolia, where the remnants of socialism are also very acute.

The Japanese “economic miracle” since the 1950s has been striking in its dynamism and flexibility. South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong are among the so-called "Asian tigers" who consistently implement the Japanese experience based on their own preferences. And finally, the most potential power in the region - China, implementing the policy of market socialism, has also achieved impressive success, primarily in agriculture and some export-oriented industries. Many post-socialist countries, including Ukraine, are trying to implement the experience of the successful operation of China's free economic zones. East Asia is the core of the so-called Asia-Pacific zone of the economic community; the attention of many influential states of the world is riveted to it, primarily given the success in the economy. One of the most characteristic features of the region's economy is its export orientation, its great integration into world economic relations.

Industry is the leading branch of the economy. Even in Japan and South Korea, the share of industry in the formation of GDP is very high in comparison with other developed countries of the world - 35 and 45%, respectively (1988). The share of industry in the GNP of once exclusively agricultural China is constantly increasing and now stands at 35%.

The natural resource potential for the development of energy industries as a whole is sufficient only for China and partially for Mongolia and the DPRK. In China, deposits of coal of world importance are concentrated, for the extraction of which it ranks first in the world. Expanding in China and export opportunities for oil and gas production. It is on the basis of these resources that the production of heat and electricity is organized. However, the TPP network depends on the resource factor and, to a lesser extent, on the consumer. So far, China's energy economy does not have the proper infrastructure.

Significantly greater power supply in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong implies a large, but at the same time thrifty consumption of electricity. In all these countries, production is oriented towards the consumption of imported energy carriers. Typical are powerful ports, thermal power plants, as well as small but numerous hydroelectric power plants on fast mountain rivers. In recent years, the share of nuclear power plants has increased, especially in Japan.

Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy is also dependent on the raw material factor. In Northeast China, on the basis of local reserves of coal, iron and manganese ores, one of the largest centers of metallurgical production was formed. Somewhat less important is the metallurgical hub in the lower reaches of the Yangtze (Wuhan-Shanghai). At the same time, Japan is a powerful power in the world in terms of steel production, where in some years its production exceeds 100 million tons. Highest value have supplies of iron ore from Australia and processing of scrap metal. The world's largest metallurgical plants have been built here (in Fukuyama with a capacity of over 16 million tons), and advanced technologies are being introduced. Ferrous metallurgy is rapidly developing in South Korea, focused on the needs of the local car and shipbuilding.

Non-ferrous metallurgy, as the leading branch of scientific and technological revolution in the region, is also highly dependent on raw materials, but the region occupies an important place in the world in terms of the reserves of ores of some metals. These are the reserves of copper, tin, tungsten and polymetallic ores in South China; copper-molybdenum ores in Mongolia (Erdenet) copper and polymetallic ores in the DPRK (Nampho and Munchkhan) tungsten, copper and complex ores in South Korea (Janghan); copper ores in Japan. However, these reserves are clearly not enough for modern production. In particular, the most dynamic aluminum industry (Japan, South Korea) focuses on the import of Australian and Indonesian bauxites. The main branch of industry is mechanical engineering. If in China this industry is still underdeveloped and so far heavy and agricultural engineering prevails here, then the success of Japan and South Korea is determined by the automotive industry, electronics, electrical engineering, and to a lesser extent shipbuilding. The economic breakthrough of Taiwan and Hong Kong was provided first by the electronic, radio engineering and electrical industries.

In terms of car production, Japan ranks first in the world, and South Korea ranks fifth. Japan has a leading role in the production of robotic production systems, China - in the production of televisions, South Korea - ships, and Hong Kong - watches. All machine-building production has a well-defined export orientation.

The chemical industry is also developing at an accelerated pace. But if in China and the DPRK the branches of basic chemistry predominate, primarily the production of mineral fertilizers, then in other states - the chemistry of organic synthesis, based on the processing of imported oil and gas.

Introduction.

The tropical forests of Malaysia, preserved in the same form as 150 million years ago, the impenetrable jungles of Kalimantan and Sumatra, where wild rhinos and tigers are still found, and great apes - orangutans jump on the branches, the Indonesian island of Bali, where they rest against the sky cloud-covered peaks of volcanoes, long sandy beaches washed by the gentle ocean, and rice paddies descending in terraces shimmer with thousands of shades of green - it seems that it was here that the gardens of Eden were located, from which our distant ancestors came out.

Southeast Asia has long attracted Europeans, and not only with the desire to visit an earthly paradise. Spices were brought from the Moluccas to Europe along the Great Silk Road, which were valued more than gold in the Middle Ages. Many famous navigators sought to open a direct road here to get rich: the discoverer of America, Christopher Columbus, the first world traveler Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama. It was the Portuguese who first managed to create their trade missions and colonies, later the Dutch and the British joined them, and, dividing Southeast Asia among themselves, they jealously ensured that competitors did not penetrate here.

Southeast Asia is the "bridge" between Eurasia and Australia. It is located at the intersection of major sea routes. The location of the countries of the region on islands and peninsulas on both sides of the equator determines the uniqueness of the economic activity of the population.

The island world of Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines), as well as the Malay Peninsula (Malaya), geographically and historically and culturally close to it, is a special part of the Southeast Asian region, in many respects different from the continental one.

Finally, and it is important to take into account, it was the island subregion with its subtropical and tropical products, especially spices, so desired by Europeans, that turned out to be one of the first objects of the colonial aspirations of early European capitalism. This island world was, if you like, that very dream, a convenient way to which they so sought to find and in search of which enterprising Europeans made their most famous geographical discoveries including the discovery of America. And it is far from accidental that for many centuries these lands were called the Dutch Indies, just as the modern name of Indonesia is not accidental in this regard.

Southeast Asia is distinguished by a more complex tectonic structure, the predominance of mountainous and plateau relief, increased and more uniform moisture, dense erosional and tectonic dissection, more stable flow, antiquity of flora and fauna with a high degree of endemism, richness and diversity of forest landscapes, as well as more low degree of economic development of the territory and, consequently, changes in primary landscapes.

The purpose of this work was to study and familiarize with the region - Southeast Asia, namely: the formation of the territory, relief, minerals, hydroclimatic resources, flora and fauna of the area, i.e. its complete physical and geographical characteristics.

And the main task of the work is an extensive disclosure of the features of this subregion in its individual components.

Ch. 1. History of formation, geological and tectonic structure of the territory and minerals.

Southeast Asia consists of the Indochina Peninsula, Bengal, Bhutan, South China and the Malay Archipelago.

On the territory of the region, the Chinese platform is spread, which has been preserved in the form of separate massifs - the Sinobirman and Indosinian, probably representing a single whole in the Precambrian, distinguished by the greatest mobility throughout their development. An important role in the formation of the structural plan of these massifs was played by intense folded dislocations of the Mesozoic, which led to the emergence of specific linear epiplatform fold-block structures. They are distributed mainly where a thick sedimentary cover was covered by tectonic movements, and are similar in morphological features to the linear folds of geosynclinal regions. Faults are numerous in places where the strike of these structures changes.

The Mesozoic structures of Southeast Asia border the ancient platform massifs - the Sinobirman and Indosinian - and stretch to the southeastern regions of Indochina. The structures of the eastern margins of Indochina are based on eugeosynclinal complexes. They are distinguished by the predominance of narrow linear folded elements, a clear alternation of large synclinoria and anticlinoria, and a wide development of faults. The Mesozoites of Indonesia and southern Tibet were formed on the Lower and Middle Paleozoic miogeosynclinal and sometimes platform structures. They are characterized by gentle, often irregularly shaped folds of large radius and numerous ruptures. The tectonic movements of the Mesozoic were accompanied by volcanism and powerful outpourings of lavas.

In Southeast Asia, as in South Asia, there were no significant changes in the paleoclimatic situation in the Pleistocene compared to the Paleogene and Neogene; the climate remained hot and humid. There is a wide development of the fluvial type of morphosculpture and a significant correspondence between ancient and modern fluvial forms. Under the conditions of a hot and humid climate, the processes of biogeochemical weathering proceeded intensively, and lateritic crusts were formed.

The countries of Southeast Asia occupy leading positions in the world in terms of reserves of many types of minerals: oil, coal, tin, iron ore, chromium, copper, nickel, zinc, etc. The geography of mineral resources is very uneven and reveals a close relationship with morphostructural regions.

The Mesozoic belt of low mountains and medium-altitude mountains is rich in minerals. Here, in a powerful belt stretching through South China, Burma, Thailand to Malaysia and Indonesia, the world's reserves of tin and tungsten are concentrated. Rich deluvial and proluvial placers containing high concentrations of tin are associated with the destruction of vein deposits. Alluvial placers are large in size, the accumulation of which refers mainly to the Middle Pleistocene. In this part of Asia there are also deposits of silver-lead-zinc and cobalt ores. Coal deposits are confined to the platform geosynclinal structures of the Indochina Peninsula. Large deposits of oil, copper, Oligocene sedimentary and laterite deposits of iron ores, bauxite, nickel, cobalt, diamonds, gold, cassiterite, wolframite, zircon, and monazite are associated with the Cenozoic epoch of ore formation in Southeast Asia. Brown coals (lignites) occur in the marginal troughs.

The Indochinese Peninsula is one of the richest metallogenic provinces in overseas Asia. Exceptional diverse endogenous ore formations are associated with Mesozoic folding. A significant part of the world's tin and tungsten deposits is concentrated in a powerful belt of primary, deluvial and proluvial placer deposits in Burma, Thailand, and Malaysia. The largest deposits of silver-zinc-lead and cobalt ores in Asia are located on the Shan-Yunnan Highlands, placer and native gold, sapphires and rubies are mined. Deposits of Mesozoic bituminous coals of the DRV are confined to platform structures. The Irrawaddy piedmont trough contains oil deposits.

The Malay Archipelago is rich in minerals. There is a lot of oil in the bowels of the shelf seas. On the islands of Bank, Belitung (Billitung), Sinkep, Seram, in primary deposits and alluvial deposits, there are the richest deposits of tin and tungsten in the world. Sedimentary and lateritic bauxite deposits are abundant, and gold is found everywhere. The Philippine Islands are rich in nickel, copper and chromite deposits.

the islands of Indochina - and the island - the Malay Archipelago. In terms of its natural conditions, the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula is also close to the latter in terms of its natural conditions, located, like most of the Malacca archipelago, in the equatorial belt.

Indochina. A peninsula in southeast Asia with an area of ​​​​about 2 million km², washed from the west by the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea indian ocean, the Strait of Malacca, in the south and east - belonging to the Pacific Ocean, the South China Sea and its bays of Siam and Bakbo (Tonkin). The northern border of the peninsula is conditionally drawn from the delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers to the delta of the Hongha river. The southern tip of Indochina south of the isthmus of Kra forms an elongated peninsula of Malacca.

The northern part of the peninsula is occupied by medium-altitude, closely pressed to each other ridges of meridional and submeridional strike, between which there are vast peneplanated highlands. To the south, the height of the surface decreases, the mountains fan out. Between them there are longitudinal tectonic valleys, intermountain basins, and structural plateaus. In the north of Burma, on the border with China, there is the highest massif Khakaborazi (5881 m.).

In the west of the peninsula, the Rakhine (Arakan) mountains rise with the Victoria massif, 3053 m, Leta and the Patkai ridge. This mountain system is a complexly constructed anticlinorium. In the formation of the relief of the northern part of the mountains, glacial processes played an important role, as evidenced by smoothed flat tops, trough-shaped valleys, cirques, etc. The folded and blocky-folded ridges of the Rackheim system are characterized by steep slopes, deep and -accumulative landforms.

Further to the east, in a wide alpine intermountain trough, there is a hilly accumulative-denudation plain of the Irrawaddy. In its southern part there is a low Pegu ridge - an example of the latest folding, characterized by increased seismicity. Its highest point is Mount Popa (1518 m) - an extinct volcano. The southern part of the plain is a vast alluvial, in some places swampy lowland, formed as a result of the confluence of the Irrawaddy deltas and the Sitown flowing east. A steep ledge, in some places completely undisturbed by erosion, to the east of the Ayeyarwaddy and Sitaun plains rises the Shan Highlands. Its western part is a Paleogene peneplain, divided into separate blocks and having the character of a stepped plateau. The eastern part is a folded-block highland with massive hard-to-reach ridges, deeply dissected by tectonic and erosional valleys. In the northeast, it almost imperceptibly passes into the Yunnan Highlands, mainly located in the PRC. In the east of this highland, Mount Fansipan, 3143 m, reaches its highest height in Vietnam (the Hoangmenglon ridge), 3143 m. To the east is the Bakbo plain, along which the Hongha (Red) River flows. The highlands of Indochina are characterized by karst processes widely developed in Permian-Carboniferous limestones, sinkhole-karst and residual-karst landforms and tropical karst (stone pillars, stone forest, etc.). From the south, parallel chains of the Tanintai ranges adjoin the Shan Highlands. Their axial parts, composed of granite intrusions, have rounded tops and steep slopes with young erosion incisions. The spurs of these mountains, facing the coast of the Andaman Sea, form many of the islands of the Myei (Mergui) archipelago. The eastern edge of the peninsula is occupied by the massive asymmetrical Truong Son (Annam) mountains. Their eastern slope drops rather steeply to a narrow strip of coastal lowland, the western slope passes into low hills and undulating plateaus adjacent to the alluvial lowland of the Mekong.

In its northern part there is a vast sandstone plateau Korat, bounded from the west and south by steep ledges. On its flat surface, dissected by the valleys of the Mekong and its tributaries, three levels of ancient Quaternary terraces stand out. The low plains of the Mekong and Menam end in deltas separated by the medium-altitude Kra-van (Kardamom) mountains. The deltas, especially the gigantic Mekong Delta, are the most densely populated and intensively developed. These are economically important regions of Indochina.

Malay archipelago. This is the largest cluster on Earth (about 10 thousand) of large and small islands with an area of ​​​​more than 2 million km2: Large and Small Sunda, Moluccas, Philippine. They are located on both sides of the equator from 18 ° N. sh. to 11°S sh.

The Malay Archipelago is located within two developing geosynclinal zones of the Pacific belt. One of them runs in a huge arc through the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the eastern tip of Seram Island, within the limits of the other, going from south to north, are the Philippine Islands. Deep-water trenches run along the outer edge of the island arcs, to which the maximum depths of the World Ocean are confined. The sharp differentiation of the relief and the huge amplitude of heights reflect the high dynamism of the earth's crust in this region. There is intense tectonic activity, frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Within this vast arc lies a relatively stable array of ancient structures from Indochina. The inland seas of the northern part of the archipelago lie within the continental platform. The lowering of the platform, which led to the disappearance of the land bridge between Asia and Australia, occurred already in historical time.

The folded arcs of the Malay Archipelago, which arose during the last stages of the Cenozoic folding, are composed of Mesozoic and Tertiary limestones, sandstones, and products of volcanic eruptions. Volcanic cones are planted on a folded base and on some islands stretch continuously, merging with their bases. In Java, for example, there are more than 130 volcanoes, of which about 30 are active. In the strait between Java and Sumatra, there is a volcano-island known for its destructive eruptions, Krakatoa. Some volcanoes operate continuously, throwing out ash, clouds of hot gases; numerous outlets of hot mineral waters. Accumulations of volcanic rocks form volcanic plateaus; the basins are also filled with products of volcanic eruptions. Along with the mainland and volcanic islands, the Malay Archipelago also has coral islands - barrier reefs and atolls. Most of them are in the east; in the west, coral islands are found in the central part of the shallow inland seas.

The relief of almost all the islands of the Malay Archipelago is represented by folded-block ridges, dissected by tectonic and erosional processes into separate massifs. Some of them are the bases of active and extinct volcanoes, the tops of which are the highest points of the islands. Along with the mountains major islands there are young lowlands - alluvial or composed of products of volcanic eruptions.

On Sumatra, the second largest island in the archipelago (435 thousand km2), the western outskirts are occupied by mountain ranges and plateaus. They consist of Paleozoic crystalline rocks, crumpled into folds in the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic and complicated by faults and faults at the end of the Neogene. A large role in the structure of the mountains of Sumatra is played by volcanic rocks that form vast plateaus. Active and extinct volcanoes rise in the southern part of Sumatra. The highest and most active among them is Kerinci (3800 m). In the west, the mountains are separated from the coast by swampy lowlands. To the west, at some distance from Sumatra, stretches a strip of the Mentawai Islands, accompanied by coral buildings. In the east, the mountains pass through a strip of hilly foothills into a huge alluvial lowland, almost completely swampy. This is the largest equatorial swamp in Southeast Asia, which has not yet been developed. In some places, the width of the swampy strip reaches 250 km. Because of it, the island is inaccessible from the east.

The narrow and long island of Java (126 thousand km2) is composed of young sedimentary rocks and products of volcanic eruptions. The mountains of Java consist of volcanic chains and free-standing volcanic cones, impaled on a folded base. Many volcanoes of Java and its neighboring small islands have gone down in history thanks to their powerful explosive eruptions. One of the most powerful volcanic eruptions of the 20th century. happened in December 1931 "through the fault" of the volcano Merapi. In two weeks, the lava flow reached about 7 km in length and 180 m in width; its thickness was almost 30 m. Volcanic ash covered half of the island. More than 1300 people died.

In the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra, is the famous 800 m high volcanic island of Krakatau. The largest eruption in 1883 was accompanied by an explosion that destroyed half of the island. The resulting wave killed tens of thousands of people in Sumatra and Java; the ash from this eruption remained in the Earth's atmosphere for several years. The eruptions of Krakatoa continue to this day.

Dozens of volcanoes still do not stop their activity, throwing out masses of loose products or spewing out flows of the main lava. Individual volcanoes emit clouds of hot dust or clouds of gases. Heavy poisonous gases accumulating at the bottom of some valleys make it impossible for organic life to exist there. In many areas, hot sulfurous springs come to the surface. The highest volcanoes in Java exceed 3000 m. These are Raung, Slamet, the highest peak of Semeru (3676 m), etc. Between the volcanoes there are depressions filled with eruptions. They are densely populated and cultivated and often bear the names of the cities located in them, for example, the Bandung Basin, etc.

In the north of Java, at the foot of the volcanic highlands, there is a hilly densely populated strip, where big cities Indonesia. On the swampy coastal lowland is Jakarta, crossed by numerous channels. Common features buildings inherent in Java are preserved on the islands of Madura and Lesser Sunda.

A strongly dissected mountainous relief is also characteristic of the Moluccas. A relatively small part of their surface is occupied by low plains along the coasts and in the inner parts of the islands between mountain ranges. Extinct and active volcanoes are associated with recent faults. Sulawesi (170 thousand km2) differs from all other islands in its bizarre outlines, high average height and difficult accessibility from the sea. It is the most mountainous of all the islands of the Malay Archipelago. Its relief is determined by fault tectonics, in places faults are accompanied by volcanoes, but volcanism is much less common than on other islands of the archipelago. In the central part of the island there is a large tectonic depression, the bottom of which is occupied by Lake Poso.

The largest and most massive island of the Malay Archipelago is Kalimantan, one of the largest islands on Earth (734 thousand km2). A massive blocky upland crosses the island in the middle part from the northeast to the southwest. Its top - Kinabalu (4101 m) - highest point the entire archipelago. Extensive alluvial lowlands and hilly plateaus stretch along the coast, interrupted by mountain spurs and isolated massifs. There are no volcanoes in Kalimantan.

In general, the Malay Archipelago is characterized by mid-mountain (up to 3500-4000 m), strongly dissected alpine-type relief. The folded-block massifs of Kalimantan, composed of Paleozoic rocks with a large proportion of granites, are distinguished by weakly dissected rounded summit surfaces and steep slopes. The Philippine Islands are characterized by short ranges separated by intermountain troughs; numerous volcanoes. Lowlands occupy significant areas only on the largest islands - Kalimantan, Sumatra, Java. On the last two, they are located on the inner side facing the South China and Java Seas, and are, in essence, uplifted sections of their shelf.

Chapter 2 2.1. Climate.

The formation of the climate of Southeast Asia is determined by its geographical location, the compactness of the land and the predominance of mountainous and plateau terrain.

Over Southeast, as well as over South Asia, a summer monsoon circulation is established, and it is mainly associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the formation of the South Asian (Punjab) thermal depression.

The equatorial regions of insular Asia are characterized by the predominance of equatorial air throughout the year and by intense convection. The variability of wind directions indicates an active exchange of air between the hemispheres. In the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITC), the air currents of the northern and southern hemispheres meet. The ETC differs sharply from extratropical fronts in that the convergent air masses differ only in humidity with no or very small horizontal temperature contrasts. IBD usually occurs in areas of the highest temperatures in the surface waters of the oceans and land. This is a fairly wide area where one or more convergence lines of the surface wind can be observed simultaneously. It moves between extreme seasons over long distances - in the north of the Indian Ocean and in southern Asia at 25-30 ° (against 10 ° in Africa). Since the meeting of the trade winds of the northern and southern hemispheres occurs in a fairly wide zone, with the smallest changes in pressure, pockets and bands of high and low pressure arise. This leads to the fact that continuous clouds are not formed in the ETC system, it has a cellular structure.

The equatorial regions are not areas of continuous low pressure. The alternation of small depressions and pressure ridges causes significant changes in the weather. In intensity, they are not comparable with cyclones and anticyclones of extratropical latitudes, but showers, thunderstorms, and squalls are associated with them. Tropical depressions can form in the area, which, if the conditions are right, turn into destructive tropical hurricanes.

In winter, the surface of Asia is noticeably colder than the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean. Over the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the pressure at this time is about 1012 hPa. In southern China, in the area of ​​convergence of cold continental and warm sea air, cyclonic activity develops and it rains. To the south, over Hindustan and Indochina, the northeast air current prevails, carrying tropical air and being, in essence, a winter trade wind. The weather in this season has a stable anticyclonal character: clear, dry and warm.

The southeast of the Malay Archipelago in the summer is in the zone of development of the Australian (winter) anticyclone, accompanied by dry and hot weather. On average per year, the western slopes of the Rakhine (Arakan) and Tanentaunji mountains in Burma receive the most precipitation. In particular, the windward slopes of the islands of South and Southeast Asia receive 2000-4000 mm per year, and the Cherrapunji weather station (altitude 1300 m) on the Shillong Plateau - more than 12,000 mm. In Southeast Asia, up to 95% of the annual precipitation falls in summer. The exception is the equatorial region, where precipitation is distributed relatively evenly throughout the year.

Since almost the entire territory of Southeast Asia is located in tropical, subtropical and equatorial latitudes, the sums of active temperatures reach up to 10,000 °. This makes it possible to grow a very wide range of agricultural crops and to obtain two or three crops per year in areas with thermal resources above 4000°C. Since almost the entire territory of Southeast Asia, with the exception of the area of ​​​​excessive moisture (the southern part of the Philippine, the Greater Sunda Islands, Malaysia), is characterized by long periods of aridity with an acute shortage of moisture and droughts, which are observed even in those areas where 1000- 2000 mm of precipitation per year, artificial irrigation is very important and is used almost everywhere.

A number of regions of Southeast Asia are distinguished by an uncomfortable climate - in the tropics, with stable high temperatures and consistently high humidity, which have a debilitating effect on the body. Climatic zones are distinctly distributed here:

equatorial belt. The equatorial climate is typical for the south of Malacca, the Malay Archipelago, and the south of the Philippine Islands. It is characterized by high temperatures with slight fluctuations, the absence of a dry period, and abundant and uniform precipitation; excessive moisture throughout the year.

Subequatorial belt. The monsoon climate is characteristic of South and Southeast Asia. It is characterized by high temperatures (especially in spring) and sharp seasonality in precipitation. The dry seasons are winter and spring, the wet seasons are summer and autumn. In the barrier shadow and in the northwest of the belt, the dry season stretches for 8-10 months.

Tropical belt. The eastern oceanic sector (South China, the northern part of the Indochina peninsula) has a humid maritime monsoon climate. Temperatures everywhere, except for mountainous areas, are high throughout the year, heavy rainfall occurs in summer, and moisture is sufficient.

In contrast to Hindustan, where the winter monsoon is dry everywhere except in the extreme southeast, it brings a large amount of precipitation to some areas of southeast Asia: the east coast of the Philippine Islands, the northeast of the Malay Peninsula, southern Thailand, the islands of Java and Minor Sunda. Monsoon comes here from the ocean, saturated with moisture. In summer, Southeast Asia receives not only the Indian, but also the Malay monsoon (southeast winds from the Arafura and Banda Seas), as well as east and northeast air flows from the North Pacific Ocean, in which tropical cyclones can occur. In the summer of the northern hemisphere, the dry Australian monsoon comes to the Lesser Sunda Islands and the island of Java. In this regard, the eastern part of the peninsula is characterized by a sharp seasonality in precipitation (up to 80% in summer), while the western part has a somewhat more uniform annual distribution and a shift in the maximum precipitation to autumn and winter. The rainy season is characterized by tropical hurricanes that bring great destruction. The most humid are the mountain margins of the peninsula and the windward slopes of higher mountains and uplands (from 5000 to 2000 mm/year). The least precipitation falls on the internal plains and plateaus - 500-700 mm. The southern part of the Malacca Peninsula is located in the equatorial belt and is characterized by a relatively even course of temperature and precipitation.

Most of the Malay Archipelago has an equatorial climate. East Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands lie in the subequatorial zone of the southern hemisphere, the Philippine - in the subequatorial zone of the northern hemisphere and have a monsoon climate. The equatorial climate is characterized by high and even temperatures - their monthly amplitude does not exceed 1.5-2°. Soil temperatures are even more constant, their fluctuations do not go beyond a few tenths of a degree. The annual amount of precipitation is 2000-4000 mm with average monthly norms of at least 100 mm. Humidification everywhere excessive. At the boundaries of the equatorial climate region, there is a tendency to increase summer and weaken winter precipitation.

The seasonality of humidification is much more pronounced in the zone of action of the Malay and Australian monsoons and less - Pacific (in the Philippine Islands). The most arid parts of the archipelago are the eastern ones, which are affected by the Australian monsoon.

2.2. Inland waters.

Southeast Asia is washed by the waters of the seas of the Pacific and Indian oceans, which, in terms of regime and features, are organic world typical tropical water pools. Continuing the garland of the seas washing East Asia, between the tropic and the equator is the most extensive sea of ​​the Pacific Ocean - South China. A significant part of it is occupied by a continental shelf, and the rest, adjacent to the Philippine Islands, forms a tectonic basin with an uneven bottom and numerous shoals, with a maximum depth of 5377 m. Almost all of the islands are of coral origin. The South China Sea is located in the monsoon zone, with which the system of its currents is also connected: in summer, northern and northeastern directions prevail, in winter - south. Therefore, the temperature of surface waters is high all year round. Only in the north in February does it drop to 20 °C.

The interisland seas of the Malay Archipelago are very warm throughout the year (26 ... 29 ° С). Their salinity is close to the average oceanic or slightly lower (30-32% o).

The organic life of the tropical seas of the Pacific Ocean is exceptionally rich. Corals, mollusks, sponges, echinoderms, and fish predominate there (there are 2,000 species of the latter). There are also sea snakes and turtles.

The huge Bay of Bengal between the Hindustan and Indochina peninsulas is actually the marginal sea of ​​the Indian Ocean. Its southern part is occupied by a young tectonic basin with a maximum depth of 3954 m. In the eastern part there is an underwater ridge, coral and volcanic Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The water temperature in the Bay of Bengal is 25 ... 29 ° C. Storm-force winds and tropical hurricanes are common in spring and summer, creating surges on the low northern coasts and causing devastating floods.

Abundant moisture in mountainous areas, combined with high runoff, contributes to the formation of a powerful river network, which is formed by the largest rivers in Asia - the Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong, Menam and their numerous tributaries. The rivers have a monsoon regime with a summer maximum flow, which is enhanced by the melting of snow and glaciers in the mountains. The level fluctuations are greatest at the Irrawaddy: at the beginning of the monsoon rains, it can rise by 25 m (near the city of Mandalay). The flow of the Mekong regulates Lake Tonle Sap ("Lake Sap"), connected to the Mekong by a channel: in the rainy season, excess water from the Mekong is sent to the lake, in the dry season - vice versa.

Rivers of Indochina.

All major rivers of the peninsula originate in the mountains of the Himalayan-Tibetan system, cross the mountain ranges and plateaus of Indochina, but their lower reaches pass through vast low-lying plains among their own sediments. The alluvial plains and river deltas of Indochina are the largest areas of population accumulation. In the mouths and lower reaches of the rivers, the largest ports and cities of the countries of Indochina are located. The capital of Myanmar - Yangon - is located 35 km from the sea, on one of the arms of the Ayeyarwaddy; at the mouth of the Salween is the city of Molamyine, in the lower reaches of the Chao Phray - the capital of Thailand, Bangkok. A significant part of this city stands on embankments and piles built on unsteady, swampy soil, part of the population lives on the river in boats - sampans. Ho Chi Minh City is located on one of the branches of the Mekong. In the lower reaches of the Hong Ha River is the capital of Vietnam - Hanoi. During high tides in the estuarine parts of the rivers, the water level rises sharply, and due to this, large ocean-going ships can go upstream for tens of kilometers.

All rivers of Indochina have a monsoon regime. The largest river in Southeast Asia is the Mekong. Its length is 4500 km, the area of ​​the basin is 810 thousand km2, i.e. almost equal to the area of ​​the Danube basin, and the average long-term discharge is 13,000 m3/s, almost twice the Danube discharge. The Mekong begins in the southeast of Tibet at an altitude of about 5000 m. In this section of the course, the river has a mountainous character and forms many rapids, rapids and waterfalls. In the lower reaches, on the lowlands, the Mekong strongly meanders and branches into arms. One of the branches of the river connects with big lake Tonle Sap. This lake is a former bay, long separated from the sea, but still retaining marine fauna. During the monsoon rains, when the water level in the Mekong rises, the lake overflows with water. In the dry period, on the contrary, the lake gives its water to the Mekong, maintaining a relatively high level in its lower reaches. At the same time, the area of ​​​​the lake is greatly reduced, it becomes so shallow that it becomes passable ford and the local population collects fish in it. The lake is thus a natural reservoir and flow regulator for the lower Mekong.

At the confluence with the South China Sea, the Mekong forms a huge delta. The Mekong regime is typically monsoonal, with sharp fluctuations in level, a pronounced summer maximum and a minimum in April. During high water, the river sud is similar for 1600 km from the mouth, at low water - only in separate sections. The waters of the Mekong during floods are used to irrigate fields.

The rivers of Indochina have huge hydropower resources, which are practically not developed. Navigation is hindered by rapids, waterfalls in mountainous areas and shallowing of channels in the plains during the dry season. Much less than in Hindustan, the waters of rivers are also used for irrigation, which is produced mainly by rainwater.

Abundant precipitation, high air humidity, mountainous relief and low evaporation contribute to the formation of abundant surface runoff and a dense river network. The rivers are short, high-water, have great eroding power. In the gorges that cut through the mountains, they have a steep fall. When entering the plains, the rivers overflow, meander, and accumulate loose material. This leads to the rapid growth of deltas and the accumulation of sediments in the mouth parts. Waterlogged soils, flat terrain and difficult drainage contribute to the swamping of the lowlands and the transformation of vast areas into tropical swamps.

Chapter 3 3.1. Soil and vegetation cover.

In the tropical, subequatorial and equatorial zones with a monsoon climate, red-colored soils predominate - red-brown and red savannah, yellow-red ferralitic and fersiallitic (as moisture increases). Large areas are occupied by soils on volcanic ash (andosols).

The largest areas of forests have been preserved in Southeast Asia and the Malay Archipelago, where their conservation was facilitated by mountainous terrain, widespread soils unsuitable for mass farming, and relatively unfavorable climatic conditions for humans.

In the countries of North America, Western Europe, Australia, wood is less and less used as a fuel, while in Asia it is the main article of its consumption. In the countries of Hindustan and Indochina, from 50 to 90% of the harvested wood is used for fuel. Great damage to forests is caused by grazing in them, which is allowed in most Asian countries as an economic necessity, as well as the collection of leaves, haymaking, and pruning of branches for livestock feed. As a result, the area of ​​forests is constantly decreasing.

The features of the vegetation cover primarily reflect the paleogeographic features of the formation of the flora. Foreign Asia is located within the Paleotropic floristic kingdom. The paleotropic flora developed continuously during the Cenozoic in a warm and humid tropical climate and retained an exceptional species diversity inherited from the Cenozoic and partly Mesozoic flora. The flora of the Malesia region is distinguished by the greatest antiquity and richness (45 thousand species), which is characterized by a high percentage of endemics: dipterocarp (Western Malesia is the center of origin of this family), non-penta, aroid. Very ancient are the families of palm, madder, euphorbia, myrtle. Such "living fossils" as tree ferns, cycads, gingkos have been preserved here.

The region of the Paleotropics of Indochina and South China is somewhat less rich in species (over 20,000) and not as floristically uniform as Malesia. Its flora includes African and Australian elements, such as casuarina, acacia, sterculia, etc. In the mountains, along with tropical species there are boreal - birch, aspen, spruce, larch, fir. .

The fauna of these two areas is also characterized by exceptional richness and diversity. Animals leading a forest lifestyle predominate. In the Malay or Sunda subregion, relict and endemic groups of a high taxonomic rank have been preserved - a detachment of woolly wings, a family of tupai, gibbons, bamboo bears, and tarsiers.

The leading role in the formation of landscapes is played by the relief, which, against the background of monsoonal circulation, creates pockets of increased (windward slopes and adjacent lowlands) and decreased (leeward slopes and internal basins) humidification. The mountain ranges are covered, as a rule, with humid tropical evergreen forests on red-yellow ferrallitic soils, and the hollows located between them are covered with dry monsoon forests, light forests and thorn trees on red and red-brown soils.

The uplands of the central part of the peninsula are characterized by semi-evergreen oak-chestnut forests with an admixture of deciduous species on red soils. Large spaces occupied by pine forests with an undergrowth of alder and silver rhododendron. Above 2000-2500 m there are mixed and coniferous forests dominated by boreal species: hemlock, fir, spruce, birch, maple. The subalpine belt is represented by birch-rhododendron crooked forests. Above 4000 m there are fragments of alpine meadows. As a result of slash-and-burn agriculture, an anthropogenic mountain savannah arose on vast expanses of limestone foam-captivity - grassy spaces with sparsely scattered oaks and pines.

On the plains and lowlands of Indochina, which receive less rainfall, monsoon forests dominate. On the lowlands of the Mekong and the Korat plateau, dry mixed forests of acacias, terminalia, bamboos on black merged and red soils predominate. The lowlands of Menam and Ayeyarwaddy have wetter forests with teak, iron tree on meadow-alluvial soils. In the central part of the Irrawaddy valley, in the so-called "dry zone" of Burma, where the duration of the dry period reaches 8 months, and the annual precipitation is 700-800 mm, dry woodlands and shrubs develop from acacias, dalbergia, sour limonium with fragrant estuary, euphorbia etc.

The Malay Archipelago is still one of the most densely forested regions of the globe. The plains and mountains are dominated by humid tropical evergreen forests, which in areas with a long dry season are replaced by monsoon deciduous forests. The humid tropical forests of the Malay Archipelago are the oldest forest formations in the world, the core of which has been preserved since the Paleogene-Neogene period. Long-term overland ties with Asia and Australia and the antiquity of the flora determined its extraordinary richness, and the cessation of these ties in the Anthropogen - high endemism of fauna and flora.

Humid tropical or "rain" forests cover lowlands and mountain slopes up to a height of 1500 m. At an altitude of 1500-2500 m, in the "belt of clouds", where the air is saturated with moisture, the trunks and branches of trees, the soils are covered with a thick cover of mosses and lichens, giving the forest an unusual view. Subtropical evergreens dominate here - oaks, laurels, magnolias, in the undergrowth - rhododendrons. The peak areas of the mountains are covered with thickets of shrubs and mixed grass meadows. Under the "rain" forests, red-yellow ferralitic soils are formed, and on young volcanic deposits - ash-volcanic soils, or ando-salts.

In the monsoon forests of the Philippine Islands, many species have wood very High Quality- white and red lauan, mayapis, apitong, etc. Mangrove and swamp forests grow on marshy coastal lowlands. Mangrove forests provide a significant amount of fuel wood, and freshwater swamp forests provide soft wood of dipterocarps.

A distinctive feature of the structure of the Land Fund is a very high proportion of unproductive and unused lands (despite the fact that most of the Asian population lives in Southeast Asia) and the extremely uneven degree of their use. The main reason for this phenomenon is the sharp contrast natural conditions and the difference in the level of economic development of the countries of Southeast Asia.

3.2. Animal world.

Southeast Asia is part of the Indo-Malayan zoogeographic region and is characterized by especially great wealth, diversity and antiquity of the animal world. The fauna of the region has a pronounced tropical character and features common with other tropical regions of the globe, for example, with the Ethiopian region of Africa, with the Neotropics. In addition, former ties with Australia had a significant impact on the fauna. The Malay Peninsula, the Sunda and Philippine Islands, united in the Malay subregion, are distinguished by the greatest wealth and colorfulness of the animal world. The uniformly hot and humid climate and the predominance of tropical rainforests, as well as the insular nature of the territory, which had lost land connections with other parts of Asia since the beginning of the Quaternary, determined the great originality and endemism of the fauna of this subregion.

The most prominent representatives of the ungulates of the Malay Archipelago are the black-backed, or two-colored, tapir (Tapirus indicus), which has relatives in South America, the one-horned Indian and two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis and Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), the wild banteng bull (Bos javanicus), which became the ancestor of the Balinese domestic cattle, Indian buffalo (Bubalus arnee), gaur (Bos gaurus). In the mountains and uplands, in forests little visited by people, a small muntjac deer (Muntiacus muntjak) is common.

Of the predators, the Malay short-haired "sunny" bear (Helarctos malayanus) and the tiger should be mentioned. On the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, there is a great ape orangutan ("forest man"), which is now extremely rare.

Representatives of the gibbon family, the subfamily of marmosets, and some species of macaques are ubiquitous. Tupai, close to primates and insectivores, and primitive primates, tarsiers, are characteristic.

A feature of the fauna of the islands is the presence of a large number of species of "planning" animals. Among them are mammals - flying squirrels and woolly wings, which are a form intermediate between insectivores, bats and semi-monkeys; reptiles - a flying dragon (Dracovolans) - a lizard whose limbs are equipped with a flying membrane.

Among the birds, the bright argus pheasant (Argusianus argus), the blue-winged peacock (Pavo muticus) and immigrants from Australia - birds of paradise and big-legged chickens are remarkable.

Reptiles amaze with an abundance of species and large sizes. On the small island of Komodo lives the greatest of modern lizards - a giant Komodo monitor lizard (Varanus Komodensis), reaching 3-4 m in length. A large gharial crocodile lives in the rivers of Kalimantan. There are many poisonous snakes, of which the most dangerous to humans are spectacled snakes, or cobras. Boas are also common. The largest of them - the reticulated python (Python reticulatus) - reaches a length of 8-10 m and a mass of 100 kg. It is dangerous not only for large animals, but also for humans.

Among the various arthropods, large and brightly colored butterflies are especially significant. Scorpions and huge tarantulas are also common.

The islands of Sulawesi and Lesser Sunda occupy a special place in zoological terms. Sulawesi's endemic animals include the wild boar babirussa (Babyrossa babyrussa), the dwarf anoa buffalo (Bubalus depressicornis) and black macaques, while the Australian fauna includes marsupial couscous, large-legged chickens and many other birds.

Indochina is singled out as a special Indian subregion. In the composition of the fauna of this subregion, along with many typical representatives of the Indo-Malay region, there are immigrants from the Ethiopian region and the Holarctic. The fauna of the Indian subregion is distinguished by species diversity and a large number of individuals.

In the fauna of Indochina, the presence of the Indian elephant is characteristic. Wild elephants are still found in the sparsely populated areas of the foothills of the Himalayas, in forests and other places. The domestic elephant, accustomed to perform difficult and complex work, is one of the most typical animals of the countries of Indochina.

The local population also tames a wild bull - gaura (gayala). The Indian buffalo is domesticated and widely distributed as working cattle. Wild Indian wild boar is often found in dense riverside thickets. Large nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) and four-horned antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis), muntjac and axis deer (Cervus axis) live in those areas where significant forests have been preserved - one of the most beautiful representatives of this family, living in forest areas rich in water . Of the predators, the tiger, leopard and a special form of the leopard, the black panther, are common, causing significant damage to cattle breeding.

Indochina is characterized by an abundance of monkeys, which are distributed everywhere: in forests, savannahs, gardens, near settlements and even in cities. They eat fruits and spoil crops, causing great damage to the population. In Indochina, there are gibbons, macaques, etc. Within the subregion, both in forests and near human habitation, semi-monkeys, or lemurs, live. For Indochina, as well as for the islands, woolly wings are characteristic.

The real disaster for the local population is the abundance of various reptiles, especially poisonous snakes, from the bites of which thousands of people die every year. In the waters of the Mekong and other large rivers, giant crocodiles (Gavialis gangeticus) are found, reaching 6 m in length.

The world of birds amazes with the brightness of plumage and variety of forms. Among them are the common peacock (Pavo cristatus), pheasant, species of wild chickens from which domestic breeds originate, various thrushes, etc. Of the insects, there are especially many different motley-colored butterflies, giant tarantulas that feed on small birds. In Indochina, there is a wild bee - the ancestor of the domestic bee.

Conclusion.

So, the purpose of this work was to study and familiarize with the subregion - Southeast Asia, namely: the formation of the territory, relief, minerals, hydroclimatic resources, flora and fauna of the area.

After reviewing and studying the materials on this topic, I came to the conclusion that Southeast Asia is distinguished by a complex tectonic structure, the predominance of mountainous and plateau terrain, increased and more uniform moisture, dense erosional and tectonic dissection, more stable runoff, antiquity of flora and fauna with a high degree of endemism, richness and diversity of forest landscapes, as well as a lower degree of economic development of the territory and, consequently, changes in primary landscapes.

Southeast Asia consists of the Indochina Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago. On an area of ​​about 4 million km², the states of Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, South Vietnam (divided along the 17th parallel), the Federation of Malaya, Indonesia, the Philippines, as well as the possessions of Great Britain (Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei, North Vietnam) are located. Borneo) and Portugal (on the island of Timor) with a total population of over 175 million people (Vietnamese, Burmese, Thai, Indonesians, Malays and other nationalities).

The bioclimatic components of the landscapes of Southeast Asia have much in common with Hindustan, which simplifies the task of characterizing them. The same trade wind-monsoon circulation, a somewhat longer wet period, which, under the conditions of the equatorial circulation over Indonesia, stretches for the whole year. Due to the significant dissection of the territory, the northeast trade wind (winter monsoon) is wetter than in India. Therefore, contrasts in humidification between summer and winter seasons in Southeast Asia, they are less sharp, although here, too, the southwest monsoon brings more precipitation. The western part of Southeast Asia is more humid than the eastern part.

In morphostructural terms, Southeast Asia is much more complicated than Hindustan. It is characterized by an extreme dissection of the relief created by the Hercynian, Yanshan and Alpine folding. The alternation of ridges and depressions closely pressed to each other creates a diversity of landscapes: the windward slopes are densely forested, the depressions are occupied by savannahs. The mountainous relief hinders the manifestation of latitudinal zonality and emphasizes altitudinal zonality, which is better expressed on the outer steeper slopes. Since only a few massifs exceed 3000 m, the high mountain belts (nival and alpine meadows) are practically absent. The natural division of Southeast Asia into two natural countries - continental and island is enhanced by the geographical position of the archipelago (with the exception of the northern part of the Philippines), as well as the south of the Malay Peninsula in the equatorial zone, while the rest of the territory lies in the subequatorial zone. The south of Malacca in landscape terms gravitates more to the archipelago than to Indochina.

The vegetation cover combines tropical rainforests, tropical woodlands that shed their leaves during the dry season, and savannahs. All these types of vegetation, especially tropical rainforests, are distinguished by their species richness and abundance of useful plants, which are cultivated not only in their homeland, but also on other continents.

Wherever you look, the savannah covered with tall grasses stretches everywhere. Where the main species composition is the cereals Andropogon, Themeda, Polytoea, suitable for animals. Unabi trees (Zizyphus jujuba), Corypha utan palms, and umbrella-like prickly acacias (Acacia tomentosa) are scattered in open spaces scorched by the sun. A very dense forest of acacias and some other trees grows around the volcano.

The most colorful tree in the dry season is the coral tree, or erythrina, growing in the forest. Although at this time it stands without leaves, it is covered with huge red flowers that attract all lovers of nectar. All kinds of insects, birds, including bulbuls, flower-suckers, beards, parrots, crows, and mammals, squirrels, bats, shrews, monkeys fuss around these trees day and night. Two other trees of interest are Sterculia, which also sheds its leaves and bears green apple-sized fruits, and tamarind (Ta - marindus indicus). The latter is very important for animals, as its long brown velvety pods contain many large seeds, which are loved by birds, monkeys and wild boars. The undergrowth consists of weaves of thick vines and bushes of thorny brambles, mainly Calotropia gigantea, the shoots of which are ten centimeter needles. The slopes of the volcano are covered with a forest that receives much more rainfall, similar to the forests of other mountains of the archipelago. Many interesting animals find refuge in it: wild boars, pangolins, and of the birds, three species of birds - the rhinoceros, which disappeared from most of the island of Java as a result of excessive deforestation.

The lowlands and lower parts of the mountain slopes are characterized by a variety of tropical cultivated vegetation. For dry coastal lowlands, groves of coconut palms are most typical. In the Central Plain of Luzon and in the wide river valleys, irrigated lands are dominated by rice fields and sugarcane plantations. Large areas are occupied by planting a special kind of banana - abaca (Musa textilis), which gives a valuable durable fiber, known as manila hemp. This is a good material for making ropes, which are almost not damaged by sea water.

The fauna is also exceptionally rich in terms of species, which, along with tropical Asian ones, also includes Australian representatives.

On the island of Kalimantan, in the most remote areas of the virgin forest, an orangutan lives - a large anthropoid ape. Gibbons, also related to great apes. Gibbons live exclusively in the tops of large trees, keep families and almost never descend to the ground. Smaller monkeys are the nosed monkey from the Sunda Archipelago and the langurs that inhabit the mountain forests of India, Nepal, the islands of Sulawesi and Kalimantan. Semi-monkeys are very interesting - a kind of tarsier with huge eyes and long thin fingers, thin and thick loris and numerous tupai - mobile and noisy animals, which, due to purely external similarities, scientists have long attributed to the order of insectivores.

There are also large predators in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia - the tiger and the leopard. The Indian leopard belongs to the same species as the African. However, in India, it is often not the spotted, but the black (melanistic) form of the leopard. They call him the black panther. Finally, only on the islands of the Sunda archipelago lives the clouded leopard, perhaps the most beautiful cat in the world. In the forests of Southeast Asia, small predators from the viverrid family are numerous, including the common mongoose. Mongooses feed on snakes and are often kept in homes to keep snakes away.

Many species of bats are found here, and above all fruit bats, or flying dogs. These large bats spend the day hanging from the branches of tall trees, and raid banana plantations at dusk and at night.

Among the birds of the Malay and Sunda archipelago, there are quite a lot of inhabitants of the lower tier of the forest. On the ground live Banking chickens (ancestors of domestic chickens) and peacocks, widely known because of the beauty of their plumage. Numerous pheasants are hiding in the bushes, colored with all the colors of the rainbow with a surprisingly bright metallic sheen.

It is simply not possible to list the unique variety of plant and animal species, because there are a huge number of endemic and relict species.

Southeast Asia is perhaps one of the most interesting and popular parts of the globe. Alluring with its virgin tropical forests, snow-white sandy beaches, rare representatives of flora and fauna, and year-round summer, due to its physical and geographical position.

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Southeast Asia is a major world economic center, known to most for its popular tourist destinations. This vast region is very diverse in terms of ethnic composition of the population, culture and religion. All this eventually affected the general life, is of great interest to tourists from all over the world.

The countries of Southeast Asia is a generalized definition referring to a number of states concentrated south of China, east of India and north of Australia. Despite this, usually the map of southeast Asia includes 11 states.

From the middle of the last century to the present, this part of the world is actively developing and playing a huge role in the global economy. The population of southeast Asia is about 600 million people, the most populous state is Indonesia, and the most populous island is Java.

The length of the region from north to south is 3.2 thousand kilometers, and from west to east - 5.6. The countries of Southeast Asia are:

Sometimes this list includes some other territories controlled by states that are part of Asia, but in general, by location, they are not from among the countries of the southeast. Most often these are islands and territories controlled by China, India, Australia and Oceania, these include:

• (China).
• (China).
• (Australia).
• (China).
• Nicobar Islands (India).
• islands (India).
• Ryukyu Islands (Japan).

According to various sources, about 40% of the world's population lives in the countries of Southeast Asia, many of them have united in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Thus, in 2019, almost half of the world's GDP is produced here. The economic characteristics of recent years are marked by high development in the region in many areas.

Tourism sector

The end of the war between the US and Vietnam had a positive impact on the popularization of resorts in the late 60s. They are still actively developing today, especially since citizens of our country can go to most of these states under a simplified visa regime, and many do not require a visa at all. The countries of Southeast Asia, due to the tropical climate, are suitable for beach holiday all year round.

Nevertheless, in some parts of this giant peninsula, the climate differs at different times of the year, so it will be useful to study the maps beforehand. In the middle and second half of winter, it is better to go to India to the island or to Vietnam, since at this time of the year there is no constant rainfall inherent in the tropical climate. Still suitable for recreation Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

• south of China;
• Indonesia;
• Malaysia;
• pacific islands.

The most popular destinations among our tourists are Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Peoples and cultures

The racial and ethnic composition of Southeast Asia is very heterogeneous. This also applies to religion: the eastern part of the archipelago is mostly populated by followers of Buddhism, and there are also Confucians - due to the large number of Chinese immigrants from the southern provinces of China, there are about 20 million of them here. These countries include Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and a number of other states. It is also not uncommon to meet Hindus and Christians. In the western part of Southeast Asia, Islam is predominantly practiced, it is this religion that ranks first in terms of the number of followers.

The ethnic composition of the region is represented by the following peoples:

And in this list - only a small part of all ethnic groups and subgroups, there are also representatives of the peoples of Europe. By and large, the culture of the southeast is a mixture of Indian and Chinese cultures.

The Spaniards and the Portuguese, who colonized the islands in these places, had a great influence on the population. Arab culture also played a huge role, with about 240 million people practicing Islam here. Over the centuries, common traditions have developed here, almost everywhere in all these countries people eat using Chinese chopsticks, they are very fond of tea.

Yet there are amazing cultural features that will interest any foreigner. One of the most superstitious peoples in the archipelago are the Vietnamese.. For example, it is customary for them to hang mirrors on the outside of the entrance: if a dragon comes, he will immediately run away, frightened by his own reflection. There is still a bad sign to meet a woman in the morning, leaving the house. Or it is considered bad form to lay out cutlery on the table for one person. It is also not customary to touch a person’s shoulder or head, as they believe that good spirits are nearby, and touching them can scare them away.

Demography

In the countries of Southeast Asia, the birth rate has decreased in recent years, however, this part of the world ranks second in terms of population reproduction.

The inhabitants here are very heterogeneously settled, the most densely populated place is the island of Java: the density per 1 square kilometer is 930 people. All are settled on the Indochina Peninsula, which occupies the eastern part of Southeast Asia, and on the western Malay Archipelago, consisting of many large and small islands. The population prefers to live in the deltas of numerous rivers, the highlands are less populated, and the forests are almost deserted.

Most of all people live outside the cities, the rest settle in developed centers, more often the capitals of states, the lion's share of the economy of which is replenished by the tourist flow.

Thus, almost all of these cities have a population of over 1 million, yet most of the population lives outside of them and is engaged in agriculture.

Economy

Looking at the map, the countries of Southeast Asia can be conditionally divided into 2 camps. The first one includes the following:

• Laos;
• Cambodia;
• Vietnam.

In the post-war period, these countries chose the socialist path of development, when, in fact, territorial division began in order to strengthen national sovereignty. Back in the 1980s, these countries had practically no manufacturing industry, the local population was mainly engaged in agricultural production. According to UN statistics of those years, these states had a low level of development, per capita income usually did not exceed $500 a year.

The second camp includes the following countries:

• Indonesia;
• Malaysia;
• Singapore;
• Philippines;
• Thailand;
• Brunei.

The countries from this list united in the Association of Southeast Asia (ASEAN) and followed the path market economy. As a result, the socialist camp achieved less success, although initially the chances for all these countries were almost equal. The income per person per year ranged from 500 to 3 thousand dollars.

The most developed ASEAN countries today are Brunei and Singapore, with about $20,000 per capita. Such indicators were achieved due to the fact that Singapore has a well-developed industry, and Brunei acts as an exporter of petroleum products. Several factors helped the emerging ASEAN:

• Export.
• Industry.
• Foreign investments.
• Creation of corporations with a flexible viable system.
• Reforms.

The ASEAN countries began to develop successfully due to the presence of a large amount of natural resources, in addition, they are constantly engaged in the export of their goods. Even in the countries of Southeast Asia, components are made for various household appliances, electronics and other equipment. Thailand also exports cars.

In countries following the path of socialism, the restructuring of the system began to take place in the late 1980s and produced visible results in just a few years. Vietnam is engaged in oil refining, natural gas production, iron ore, and more. Foreign capital poured into this country from Singapore, a number of European countries. Thailand invested in Laos, and at the end of the 20th century, both states were also able to join ASEAN.