Asia: Location & Physical Features — Question 7

(i) In Asia, there is a vast triangular expanse of lowlands stretching from the northeast of Siberia to the Ural mountains and the Caspian sea in the west.

From the central Asian mountain range these islands slope towards the Arctic Ocean coast.

This region is drained by three long rivers- Ob, Yenisei and Lena. These rivers flow northwards and empty into the Arctic Ocean.

The vast lowland may be subdivided into parts-

1. The Ob-Yenisei lowland in the northwest
2. The Turan plain in the southwest
3. The Siberian lowland in the northeast

(ii) Many rivers originate from the snow-laden mountains and flow through plains bringing large quantity of fertile alluvial soils and deposit them in their respective valleys. This is how the great river basins are formed.

These river basins are the most populated regions of Asia. They are-

1. The Valley of Mesopotamia, formed by rivers Euphrates and Tigris.
2. The Valley of Indus, formed by the river Indus and its five tributaries.
3. The Valley of the Ganga and Brahmaputra, formed by the rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra and their tributaries.
4. The Great Plains of China, formed by the three large rivers, the Huang Ho, the Chang Jiang and Sikiang.