January 10, 2004

The whole of South Asia lies to the north of the equator. The Tropic of Cancer passes right through the middle of South Asia. It lies between latitude 900 to 350 North and 600 to 960 East longitudes. Note the position of South Asia roughly half of it lies outside of the tropics, in the temperate zone.

Nevertheless, it is a tropical land area, because of great mountain walls in the north. It also has great lowland plains of Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra. The plateaus of Potwar, Balochistan and of the Indian Peninsula along with their coastal plains are visible on the map. Study the location and the physical features of South Asia.

The greatest ranges

Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush boast of many high peaks of the world. Further, to the north of the Himalayan ranges lies the highest Tibetan plateau of the world. To the Southwest of the Pamir knot lie the Sulaiman and Kirthar ranges running south towards the Arabian Sea. During bygone days prior to the British rule, invaders entered the subcontinent through the northwest through the Khyber and the Bolan passes. However, the invading routes from Tibet and across the mountains of Burma (Myanmar) were all difficult trails and thus made it difficult for invaders to enter South Asia. The mountains branches on the east between Assam and Burma form the Khasi and Garo Hills.
 

The great rivers

South Asia gets water from the melting of snow, which lies on the mountains in the north. These rivers roar through the narrow valleys, making beautiful waterfalls, that enter the plain areas where they wander lazily across to their final destination into the sea. The great plain forms a basin of three rivers — Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra along with their tributaries. The basin of each river is 150 to 200 miles broad and is considered the green belt of South Asia.
 

The Plateaus

Nearly the whole of Balochistan is a rugged plateau. However, it has pockets of fruit orchards. The other small Potwar plateau has many tributaries forming small valleys, which interrupt the landscape of the area. Potwar plateau is higher in the north and has surface slopes towards the south. The other plateau of the Deccan Peninsula is on the south of the river Ganges. The western side of it is higher and has surface slopes towards the east.

This plateau is very uneven and is deeply carved by the river valleys. The Potwar plateau in Pakistan and the Deccan Plateau in India are fed by the monsoon rains. The Deccan Plateau in the north has mountains such as the Vindhya, the Satpura and the Ajanta Ranges. Find and name these places on the map.
 

Coastal plains

Narrow coastal strips along the coast of Balochistan, Sindh and by the eastern and western sides of the Southern Peninsula are known as the coastal plains.
 

Minerals

South Asia and the world are associated with the physical features and the geology of the region. Mountains made of sedimentary rocks contain different kinds of minerals. Plateaus made of crystalline rocks boast of a variety of minerals too. Similarly, plains made of soft alluvium structures contain different varieties of minerals. Discuss the types of mineral contents found in different structures of the earth.
 

The climate of tropical regions

The climate in the tropical region is generally cool, hot and wet. The climate is cool when the sun is shining vertically far away to the south of equator. However, the coldest regions are in the north and in the mountains. Sometimes, in the plains the cold is enough to form frost particularly during the night. This happens in places which are away from the sea. These places usually experience hot days and cold nights. The hot season emerges when the sun is vertically shinning and moves north. Here the landmass gets hotter than the sea; it is difficult to work during the day. However, during this period the wet season commences. The hot air begins to rise upward and cooler rain bearing winds from the ocean flows inwards, to replace the hot air. It becomes a cycle until the sun changes its position. Discuss the climate of South Asia.
 

Agriculture

Agriculture is the source of survival. Wheat forms the principal food grain of the area. It is a winter crop sown at the end of the rainy season and ripens before the hot season commences. It requires a moderate amount of water. Rice is the staple food of the people living in wet regions. It grows on flat alluvium land where rainfall is over 40 inches or on irrigated land with plenty of water. Cotton is a dry regional crop. It grows well where the rainfall is less than 30 inches. Fertile soil is important for the better yield of cotton. It can also grow on irrigated land. Jute is a different crop which grows in enormous quantity only in one part of the world i.e. Bangladesh. The stems of it yield very strong fibre, excellent for manufacturing of sacks used the world over. Tea, is another crop that requires plenty of rainfall. It grows on the hill slopes. It is extracted from dried leaves. An oil seed is a plant grown for the sake of oil that is obtained from their seeds. These include mustard, sesame, linseed, rapeseed and groundnuts. They grow preferably on high hilly areas. Sugarcane is a popular crop, which grows in parts of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Mostly it is grown in Punjab, Sindh and NWFP in Pakistan and East Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in India.

Fortune Geographic Society, Pakistan.

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