LibGuides: Asia: Geography

Asia Map

Asia: Topic Page

Central and Western Asia

Armenia: Topic Page
Country in western Asia, bounded east by Azerbaijan, north by Georgia, west by Turkey, and south by Iran.
Azerbaijan: Topic Page
Country in western Asia, bounded south by Iran, east by the Caspian Sea, west by Armenia and Georgia, and north by Russia.
Kazakhstan: Topic Page
Country in central Asia, bounded north by Russia, west by the Caspian Sea, east by China, and south by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgystan
Central Asian state, home of the Kirghiz people. Incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1864, it became part of the Turkestan Soviet republic in 1918 and a full member of the Soviet Union in 1936. It declared independence on 15 December 1990 under its popular president, Askar Akayev.
Russia: Topic Page
Officially the Russian Federation, Rus. Rossiya, republic (2005 est. pop. 143,420,000), 6,591,100 sq mi (17,070,949 sq km). Moscow is the capital and largest city.
Tajikistan: Topic Page
Officially Republic of Tajikistan, republic (2005 est. pop. 7,164,000), 55,251 sq mi (143,100 sq km), central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital and largest city.
Uzbekistan: Topic Page
Uzbek Ozbekiston, officially Republic of Uzbekistan, republic (2005 est. pop. 26,851,000), 173,552 sq mi (449,500 sq km), central Asia.

Land Features

Himalayas: Topic Page [Sanskrit,=abode of snow], great Asian mountain system, extending c.1,500 mi (2,410 km) E from the Indus River in Pakistan through India, the Tibet region of China, Nepal, E India, and Bhutan to the southern bend of the Brahmaputra River in SE Tibet
Rub al-Khali From The Columbia Encyclopedia [Arab.,=empty quarter], great desert of the Arabian peninsula, c.225,000 sq mi (582,750 sq km); one of the largest sand deserts in the world.
Gobi: Topic Page Vast desert region of Central Asia in the independent state of Mongolia, and Inner Mongolia, China.
Siberia: Topic Page Siberia is conventionally subdivided into the following four geomorphological areas: the West Siberian lowland; the Central Siberian plateaus, or uplands; the mountains of the south; and the northeast Siberian mountain systems.
Steppes: Topic Page Temperate grassland of Eurasia, consisting of level, generally treeless plains.

East Asia

China: Topic Page
One in five people in the world today lives in just one country – China. This vast country is almost the same size as the whole of Europe, and is the third largest country in the world after Russia and Canada.
Japan: Topic Page
Jap. Nihon or Nippon, country occupying an archipelago off the coast of E Asia. The capital is Tokyo, which, along with neighboring Yokohama, forms the world's most populous metropolitan region.
Mongolia: Topic Page
Country in east-Central Asia, bounded north by Russia and south by China.
North Korea: Topic Page
Country in East Asia. North Korea has a centralized authoritarian political regime, dominated by the elite within the ruling party and with a cult of personality around the leader.
South Korea: Topic Page
Country in East Asia, bounded north by North Korea, east by the Sea of Japan, south by the Korea Strait, and west by the Yellow Sea.
Taiwan: Topic Page
Portuguese Formosa, officially Republic of China, island nation (2005 est. pop. 22,894,000), 13,885 sq mi (35,961 sq km), in the Pacific Ocean, separated from the mainland of S China by the 100-mi-wide (161-km) Taiwan Strait.

Water Features

Yangtze River (Chang Jiang): Topic Page Chang Jiang, or Yangtze Kiang, Longest river of China and Asia, and third longest in the world, flowing about 6,300 km/3,900 mi from Qinghai on the Tibetan Plateau to the Yellow Sea. It is a major commercial waterway and, with its tributaries, is navigable for 30,000 km/18,640 mi.
Euphrates: Topic Page Turkish Frat, Arabic Al Furat, river of SW Asia, c.1,700 mi (2,740 km) long, formed by the confluence of the Kara and the Murad rivers, E central Turkey, and flowing generally S through Turkey into Syria, then SE through Iraq.
Ganges River From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide Major river of India and Bangladesh; length 2,510 km/1,560 mi. It drains a fertile and densely populated basin, approximately a quarter of the total area of India, and is the most sacred river for Hindus.
Indus River: Topic Page Chief river of Pakistan, c.1,900 mi (3,060 km) long, rising in the Kailas range in the Tibetan Himalayas, and flowing W across Jammu and Kashmir, India, then SW through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea SE of Karachi.
Mekong: Topic Page Chinese Lancang, one of the great rivers of SE Asia, c.2,600 mi (4,180 km) long.
Lake Baikal: Topic Page Freshwater lake in southern Siberia, Russia, the largest in Asia, and the eighth largest in the world (area 31,500 sq km/12,150 sq mi). Lake Baikal is also the world's deepest lake (up to 1,640 m/5,700 ft) and its oldest, having existed for over 25 million years.
Tigris River: Topic Page River of SW Asia, c.1,150 mi (1,850 km) long, rising in the Taurus Mts., E Turkey, and flowing SE through Iraq to join the Euphrates River, with which it forms the Shatt al Arab.

South Asia

Afghanistan: Topic Page
Officially Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, republic (2005 est. pop. 29,929,000), 249,999 sq mi (647,497 sq km), S central Asia. The capital and largest city is Kabul.
Bangladesh: Topic Page
Officially People's Republic of Bangladesh, republic (2005 est. pop. 144,320,000), 55,126 sq mi (142,776 sq km), S Asia.
Bhutan: Topic Page
Officially Kingdom of Bhutan, kingdom (2005 est. pop. 2,232,000), 18,147 sq mi (47,000 sq km), in the E Himalayas, southern Asia.
India: Topic Page
Country in southern Asia, bounded to the north by China, Nepal, and Bhutan; east by Myanmar and Bangladesh; northwest by Pakistan and Afghanistan; and southeast, south, and southwest by the Indian Ocean.
Maldives: Topic Page
Group of 1,196 islands in the north Indian Ocean, about 640 km/400 mi southwest of Sri Lanka; only 203 of them are inhabited.
Nepal: Topic Page
Independent nation (2005 est. pop. 27,677,000), c.54,000 sq mi (139,860 sq km), central Asia. Landlocked and isolated by the Himalayas. Katmandu is the capital.
Pakistan: Topic Page
Officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan, republic (2005 est. pop. 162,420,000), 310,403 sq mi (803,944 sq km), S Asia.
Sri Lanka: Topic Page
Island in the Indian Ocean, off the southeast coast of India.

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia: Topic Page
This region has 10 independent countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Brunei: Topic Page
Country comprising two enclaves on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo, bounded to the landward side by Sarawak and to the northwest by the South China Sea.
Cambodia: Topic Page
Khmer Kampuchea, officially Kingdom of Cambodia, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 13,607,000), 69,898 sq mi (181,035 sq km), SE Asia. Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city.
Indonesia: Topic Page
Country in southeast Asia, made up of 13,677 islands situated on or near the Equator, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's fourth most populous country, surpassed only by China, India, and the USA.
Laos: Topic Page
Officially Lao People's Democratic Republic, republic (2005 est. pop. 6,217,000), 91,428 sq mi (236,800 sq km), SE Asia. The capital and largest city is Vientiane.
Malaysia: Topic Page
Malaysia consists of two parts: West Malaysia, also called Peninsular Malaysia or Malaya (1990 est. pop. 14,400,000), 50,700 sq mi (131,313 sq km), on the Malay Peninsula
Myanmar: Topic Page
Country in Southeast Asia, bounded northwest by India and Bangladesh, northeast by China, southeast by Laos and Thailand, and southwest by the Bay of Bengal.
Philippines: Topic Page
Country in southeast Asia, on an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands west of the Pacific Ocean and south of the Southeast Asian mainland.
Thailand: Topic Page
Thai Prathet Thai [land of the free], officially Kingdom of Thailand, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 65,444,000), 198,455 sq mi (514,000 sq km), Southeast Asia.
Timor: Topic Page
Largest and most easterly of the Lesser Sunda Islands, in the Malay Archipelago; area 33,610 sq km/12,973 sq mi. It is divided into West Timor, under Indonesian rule, and the country of East Timor