1
1. The world’s natural environment
23
6.2. Climate and biogeography
In the southeast there is a
tropical monsoon
climate.
Continental
and
mountain
climates
predominate towards the north. In the west, there
is a
Mediterranean
climate and a
desert
climate
(
Arabian Desert
). Between China and Mongolia are
the
Gobi desert
and the
Taklimakan desert
. To the
west of India is the
Thar Desert
.
In the centre of Siberia is the largest forested region
in the world, the
taiga
. It is bordered to the north
by the
Arctic tundra
and the south by extensive
steppes
of grassland.
The fauna is also varied, but the most characteristic
animal is the tiger. Although they are scarce, they can
be found from the forests of Siberia to India. Other
animals of the Asian continent are bears, reindeer,
camels and dromedaries, elephants, the Indian
rhinoceros, orangutans, pandas and so on.
There are a great variety of climate types in Asia
because the continent extends from the Arctic to
the Equator.
Climate
Temperatures
Precipitation
Vegetation
Fauna
Polar
<0 ºC
Scarce. Snow
Tundra (grass and scrubland)
Polar bear, reindeer, seal,
arctic fox
Continental
AMT -10-10 ºC
Large thermal range
300-800 mm
All year
Taiga (fir, birch), steppe
Bear, wolf, deer, birds of prey,
camel, horse
Mediterranean
AMT 7-20 ºC
Medium thermal range
300-700 mm
Summer drought
Forest (pine, cedar) and
scrubland
Fox, lynx, wolf
Equatorial
AMT >20 ºC
Small thermal range
>1500 mm
All year
Forest
Orangutan, monkey, snake
Monsoon
AMT 20-25 ºC
Small thermal range
1500-4000 mm
Rains in summer
Forest (jungle)
Tiger, Indian rhinoceros,
elephant, deer
Chinese
AMT 15-25 ºC
Small thermal range
800-1500 mm
Rain in summer
Forest (bamboo)
Panda bear
Desert and
semidesert
Large thermal range
<100 mm-300 mm
Scrubland and thorny bushes
Dromedary, oryx, falcon
Mountain
Decrease with altitude
200-2000 mm (snow)
Alpine meadows
Yak, snow leopard
Equatorial
Monsoon
Desert and
semidesert
Mediterranean
Chinese
Continental
Polar
Mountain
Equator
Tropic of Cancer
Arctic Circle
3 000 km
0
1:147 347 000
N
Analyse
20.
Describe the relief in Asia near the Himalayas.
21.
Explain why the area to the south of the Himalayas
is humid and the area to the north is dry.
22.
If you travelled in Asia from north to south, what
types of climates would you go through? What
mountains and rivers would you cross? What
vegetation would you see in these regions? Write
in your notebook.
23.
Print out a blank map of Asia. Label the main islands,
peninsulas, and seas around the continent.
Create
24.
What difficulties do mountain climbers find on Mount
Everest? Who were the first to reach the summit?
25.
Verjoyansk and Oimekon are in the north of Siberia. They
are the two coldest places on Earth, with the exception of
Antarctica. Explain why these places have these types of
temperatures.
