East and South Asia

South Asia lies in the south of Eurasia and has three different parts: the Himalayas, the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Indian Peninsula. “Himalaya” means “abode of snow”; the range lies between the Tibetan Plateau and the Indo-Gangetic Plain, about 2 400 km long and 200–300 km wide, with an average height of about 6 000 m. The Himalayas have 10 peaks over 8 000 m (the book says 11); the highest is Everest (8 848 m). They are young mountains formed in the Alpine folding, in a seismically active belt, with strong earthquakes. The monsoon influence is strong: at the foot the marshy terai, above it evergreen forests, shrubs, meadows, snow and glaciers. The Himalayan bear, bighorn sheep and wild yak live there. To the south lies the Indo-Gangetic Plain, about 3 000 km long: the Indus valley has a tropical and the Ganges valley a subequatorial monsoon climate. In the lower Ganges rainfall reaches 2 500 mm and floods occur; in the Thar Desert east of the Indus only 100–150 mm a year falls. The Ganges–Brahmaputra delta has mangrove forests. The Indian Peninsula rests on the ancient Indian Platform and has iron, manganese, gold, diamonds and coal. Its highest point is Anamudi (about 2 695 m), and the Western and Eastern Ghats border its coasts. The climate is subequatorial monsoon: in June temperature exceeds +40 °C. The Western Ghats have wet tropical forests, the centre has savanna and the deltas have mangroves.