39
Asia 39-
Siberian scientists
looking for minerals
in North Asia have to
work in subzero
temperatures,
and the cold
can freeze
their breath.Trade rouTes
as long as 2,000 years ago, there was
trade between east asia and europe.
Traders carried silk, spices, gems, and
pottery. They followed overland routes
across India and Pakistan, past the
Karakoram Mountains (above). These
trade routes were known as the silk
road; they are still used today.The ural Mountains form the
border between the continents of
asia and europe. asia is separated
from africa by the red sea. The
Bering strait, only 55 miles (88 km)
wide, marks the gap between asia
and North america. australia lies
to the southeast.sIBerIa
The northern coast of asia is fringed by the
arctic ocean. The sea here is frozen for
most of the year. a layer of the land, called
permafrost, is also always frozen. This area is
part of the vast region of the russian Federation
called siberia. despite the cold, russian people
live and work in siberia because the region is
rich in timber, coal, oil, and natural gas.The Arabs of the Middle East drank coffee
long before it reached other countries.TroPIcal raIN ForesTs
The warm, damp climate of much
of southeast asia provides the
perfect conditions for tropical rain
forests, which thrive in countries
such as Myanmar (Burma) and
Malaysia. The forests are the
habitat for a huge variety of wildlife
and are home to tribes of people
whose way of life has not changed
for centuries. But because many
of the forest trees are beautiful
hardwoods, the logging industry
is now cutting down the forests
at an alarming rate to harvest
the valuable timber.MIddle easT
The hot, dry lands of the Middle east
occupy the southwestern corner of asia.
almost the entire arabian Peninsula,
between the red sea and the Persian
Gulf, is desert. To the north, in Iraq
and syria, lie the fertile valleys of the
Tigris and euphrates rivers. Most of
the people of the Middle east are
arab, and speak arabic.The larGesT oF The seveN coNTINeNTs, asia occupies one-third
of the world’s total land area. Much of the continent is uninhabited. The
inhospitable north is a cold land of tundra. Parched deserts and towering
mountains take up large areas of the central region. Yet asia is the home of
well over half of the world’s population, most of whom live around the outer
rim. china alone has more than 1.3 billion people, and India has more than
1.2 billion. altogether, asia contains 48 nations and many times this number
of peoples, languages, and cultures. It has five main zones. In the north is
the russian Federation. Part of this is in europe, but the vast eastern region,
from the ural Mountains to the Pacific ocean, is in asia. The Pacific coast,
which includes china, Korea, and Japan, is known as east asia. To the south
of this lie the warmer, more humid countries of southeast asia. India and
Pakistan are the principal countries of the Indian subcontinent in south
asia. one of the world’s first civilizations began here, in the Indus valley.
Bordered by the Mediterranean and arabian
seas, the Middle east lies to the west where
europe, asia, and africa meet.Sunlight breaks through the dense
foliage of the rain forest only where
rivers have cut trails through the trees.US_039_ASIA_1.indd 39 20/01/16 4:32 pm