1. East Asia Ch. 27 Physical Geography

2. Mountains • Kunlun Mtns-west China, source of Yellow and Yangtze Rivers • Qinling Shandi Mtns-divide northern part of China from the South

3. Desert • The Gobi-stretches from NW China into Mongolia, larger than Texas and California put together • Cold desert, not uncommon to see frost and snow on dunes

4. Rivers • Huang He (Yellow) • north China, starts in Kunlun Mtns in west • Flows east 3000 miles to Yellow Sea

5. Chang Jiang (Yangtze) • Longest river in Asia • Chang Jiang means “long river” • Flows east from Tibetan Plateau to the East China Sea

6. Yangtze River, Nanjing, China

7. Xi Jiang (West River) • Flows east through Southern China to the South China Sea

8. Climate • Wide variety • desert, semiarid, highland, humid subtropical, humid continental • Climate determined by physical geography, settlement determined by climate

10. The Three Gorges Dam • Being built on the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) • Compare to Aswan High Dam • Will help control flooding

11. The dam will generate more electricity than any other dam in the world. • Will allow ships to travel farther into China • Won’t be fully operational until 2011

12. A series of locks will allow ships to bypass the dam.

14. Negative Effects • Millions will have to move • Historical and scenic sites will be submerged • The dam will cost more than first estimated • Reduces animal habitats • Covers hundreds of sq. miles of land

16. A series of dams will be built upstream