Physical+Geography+Ashley+Kim+Jae+Lee+Southeast+Asia+and+the+South+Pacific+AKJL





 Climate :

Where? Malaysia, Indonesia, and the southern part of the Philippines What? Very hot climate with frequent rainfall, usually in the form of typhoons as there are many typhoons in the western part of the Pacific ocean. The four seasons are not distinguishable, and all through the year there is a similar amount of rainfall (usually avg. 60 mm a month). Why? They lie within 10 degrees on either side of the equator
 * Equatorial Climate**

Where? Islands of the South Pacific What? The islands are very humid and warm all year round. The belt 10-25 degrees above or below the equator are very susceptible to tropical storms, and so this part of the Pacific ocean which is 10-25 degrees below the equator averages around 32 storms a year, however there is not much rainfall. Why? The water surrounding these islands has high temperatures throughout the year, and so lends heat and moisture to the surrounding environment
 * Tropical Ocean Climate**

Where? northern part of the Philippines, Indochina's mainland, Thailand, Myanmar, and northern Australia What? Mild temperature throughout the year. The winters are cool and dry. The summers are mild, and, as the name suggests, contain a monsoon period - a period of intense rainfall. Why? The monsoon period is brought on by winds from the oceans
 * Monsoon Tropical Climate**

Where? Most of Australia and New Zealand What? Mainland Australia is very dry - or arid and very hot. One third is completely arid, and another third is semi-arid. Therefore, water shortages and droughts are a frequent occurrence; however there are occasional storms and flash floods. The coastal regions and the southeastern region (where most of the population is located) are more prone to precipitation, and in these regions it drizzles all throughout the year, with a slightly less hot temperature. New Zealand has the same climate. Why? Much of Australia is comprised of desert
 * Arid Climate**

Landforms :



Note: The numbers of the names of the physical features correspond with the numbers written on the map
 * Major Mountain Chains:**
 * 1) Annamite Cordillera (Vietnam)
 * 2) Arakan Yoma (Burma)
 * 3) Cardamon Mountains (Cambodia)
 * 4) Kinabalu (Malaysia)
 * 5) Grand Cordillera Central (Philippines)
 * 6) Mount Wilhelm (Papau New Guinea)

There are many volcanoes in southeast asia, especially Indonesia - 62 in total
 * Major Volcanoes:**
 * 1) Mayon (Philippines)
 * 2) Taal (Philippines)
 * 3) Hibok-Hibok (Philippines)
 * 4) Awu (Indonesia)
 * 5) Krakatau (Indonesia)
 * 6) Bam (Papua New Guinea)
 * 7) Ngauruhoe (New Zealand)
 * 8) Ruapehu (New Zealand)


 * Major River**s:
 * 1) Chao Phraya (Source: Thailand)
 * 2) Irrawaddy (Source: Burma)
 * 3) Mekong (Source: Tibet; Runs through: Tibet, China, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam)
 * 4) Red River (Source: China; Runs through: China, and Vietnam)
 * 5) Darling (Source: Australia)Murray (Source: Australia)


 * Plateaus**
 * 1) Shan Plateau (Burma)
 * 2) Bolaven Plateau (Laos)
 * 3) Xiangkhoang Plateau (Laos)
 * 4) Kimberly Plateau (Australia)
 * 5) Mawson Plateau (Australia)


 * Deserts**
 * 1) Australian Desert


 * Coral Reefs**
 * A large stretch of coral reefs
 * Australia (The Great Barrier Reef)
 * New Zealand
 * Indonesia
 * Papua New Guinea
 * East Timor
 * Singapore
 * Malaysia
 * Brunei
 * Philippines
 * Vietnam
 * Cambodia
 * Thailand
 * Burma
 * Pacific Islands (New Caledonia Barrier Reef)
 * 1) The Great Barrier Reef
 * 2) New Caledonia Barrier Reef


 * Island Chains**:
 * Maylay Archipelago
 * Sunda Islands (Indonesia, Malaysia, East Timor, Brunei)
 * Maluku Islands (Indonesia)
 * Palau
 * Federated States of Micronesia
 * Northern Mariana Islands (U.S.)
 * Marshall Islands
 * Nauru
 * Kiribati
 * Solomon Islands
 * Tuvalu
 * Vanuatu
 * Wallis and Futuna (France)
 * Fiji Islands
 * New Caledonia (France)

Vegetation


 * Southeast Asia**

Crops: "Most people in Southeast Asia still live in rural areas and gain their living from farming" (White and Chacko) The main crop in Southeast Asia as a whole is wet rice, a crop called padi. It is grown in Thailand and the Philippines as there is much rain, and in Indonesia they use irrigation techniques to grow it. The Philippines also grow coconuts, sugar cane, pineapples, bananas and coffee crop to export. Malaysia used to grow the largest proportion of rubber crop, but has since switched to producing palm oil. In addition to padi, Indonesia also uses irrigation techniques to grow coffee crop, tea crop, rubber crop and palm oil products. Burma grows the most poppies in the world for the purpose of exporting them as opium and heroin. Vietnam is heavily reliant on coffee crop, and exports the most robusta coffee in the world - although they are now beginning to change the type of coffee crop to the better quality Arabica coffee crop.



Plants: A great deal of Southeast Asia is covered by tropical rainforest, however this forest differs in types of trees depending on the climate region. The equatorial Malaysia, Indonesia and southern Philippines is covered by tropical evergreen forests. The other areas characterized by the monsoon tropical climate have tropical deciduous forests - characterized by an abundance of Teak. However both have a wide range of species of plant, and are home to an astounding range of biodiversity. Mountain slopes are dominated by maples, oaks and magnolias, whereas coastal areas often are the site of mangrove belts. Yet deforestation is a prevalent problem in southeast asia (see Environment and Human interaction).


 * South Pacific**

Crops: Australia is not very heavily reliant of crops, since only "two percent of Australia's agricultural land is cultivated, and the remainder is devoted to livestock grazing" (White and Chacko). In the two percent that is cultivated, wheat is grown the most, along with some grapes for wine production. New Zealand's economy is not as heavily reliant on crop yield as Southeast Asia, with only 0.7% of its total land mass being used for crop growth. However, of the crop that is grown, barley and wheat are dominant.

Plants: The desert, or 'outback', is mostly covered by small shrubs. The 'tropical zone' - the eastern and northern coast - has the most varied vegetation, with some grassland, deciduous forests and woodland. The 'temperate zone' - arching the east and southern coast - is covered by 'savanna woodland', characterized by grassland scattered with trees. The distinguishing feature of Australian woodlands are the eucalyptus trees and acacia trees. Around one third of New Zealand is covered by mixed woodland. Another third has vegetation called "tussock" - meaning small hills covered with grass, or grass like plants. The vegetation in the Pacific Islands is very varied. Tropical islands are usually surrounded by mangrove trees, with deciduous forests on the mainland. Others that have high elevations may have pine or even alpine forests. Some that are not as fertile have shrubs, grass and usually coconut trees.

Some Indiginous Species of Animals

//Note: Pictures are in the order that the animals are listed//


 * Southeast Asia**: the Bengal Tiger, the Jambu Fruit Dove, the King Cobra, Probiscis Monkey


 * Australia and New Zealand**: Kangaroos, Koalas, Tasmanian Devils, Wombats, Dingos


 * Pacific Islands**: the Bali Mynah