Asia — Location and Physical Features — Question 1

Asia is called the 'continent of extremes' due to the following reasons:

1. It has the world's highest mountain peak, Mount Everest, and the lowest land depression, the Dead Sea.
2. It has recorded the lowest temperature in Verkhoyansk (-70°C), Russia, and the highest temperature in Jacobabad (50°C) in Pakistan.
3. Asia has the largest lake (Caspian Sea) and the deepest lake (Lake Baikal).
4. It receives the highest average annual rainfall at Mawsynram in Meghalaya (India) and there are vast areas which do not receive any rainfall for years.
5. The natural vegetation varies from tiny mosses and lichens to evergreen equatorial rain forests.
6. The largest delta in the world, the Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta, is found in this continent.
7. The Plateau of Tibet is the highest and the largest plateau in the world.