Geographical location of Asia – The continent of Asia is the largest continent in the world and is inhabited by around 4.3 billion people, equivalent to 60 percent of the total human population worldwide today. In general, the Asian Continent with an area of up to 44,579,000 square kilometers consists of land area, including several islands and water area consisting of several ocean areas.
The Asian continent is also known as the Yellow continent because there are some majority people who inhabit this continent, namely the Mongoloid race who have yellow skin color.
Apart from being known as the Yellow continent, the Asian Continent is also known as the East continent. This title refers to the opinion of several historians who reveal that the word Asia was actually taken from the Syriac or Ancient Greek language which means east. Then where is the geographical location of the continent of Asia? And what are the characteristics? Check out the explanation until the end in this article!
Geographical, Astronomical and Country Locations on the Asian Continent
The Asian continent according to its astronomical position is at 11° South Latitude – 77° North Latitude and 26° East Longitude – 169° West Longitude. Meanwhile, the geographical location of the Asian Continent is between two continents and two oceans, therefore the geographical location of the Asian Continent is considered very strategic.
Geographically, the Asian Continent is directly adjacent to the European Continent and the Pacific Ocean, while to the south there is a boundary with the Australian Continent and the Indian Ocean. Here are the boundaries of the continent of Asia from west to north.
- To the west: the Asian continent is directly adjacent to the European continent which is bounded by the Ural Mountains, the Red Sea, the Ural Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal and the Sea of Marm.
- To the east: The continent of Asia is directly adjacent to the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Strait.
- To the north: The continent of Asia is directly adjacent to the Arctic Ocean.
As the largest continent in the world, there are around 48 countries in the continent of Asia that stretch from west to east, from north to south. Therefore, there are sub-regions on the Asian Continent.
The sub-regions on the Asian Continent are West Asia, East Asia, North Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia and the Asian sub-region that has the most countries in the world is the West Asia sub-region, which totals 17 countries.
Meanwhile, the least number of countries in the Asian Continent region is in the north, then the central and eastern parts have a total of 5 countries. In the Southeast sub-continent, it has a total of 11 countries, while in South Asia it is inhabited by 9 countries.
The country with the most population on the Asian Continent according to 2020 is China with a population of 1.43 billion, then in second place is India and third is Indonesia. Then for the countries with the least population are Brunei Darussalam, Maldives and Bhutan.
Specifically for China, the country has two regions with special autonomy, namely Macau and Hong Kong. To make it clearer, here is a list of countries according to the sub-continent of Asia.
1. Southeast Asia
| Country | Capital Name |
| Brunei Darussalam | Badr Seri Begawan |
| Cambodia | Phnom Penh |
| Philippines | manila |
| Indonesia | Jakarta |
| Singapore | Singapore |
| Thailand | Bangkok |
| Timor Leste | Dili |
| Laos | Vientiane |
| Vietnamese | Hanoi |
| Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur |
| Myanmar | Naypyidaw |
2. East Asia
| Country | Capital Name |
| China | Beijing |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong |
| Macau | Macau |
| Taiwan | Taipei |
| Japan | Tokyo |
| South Korea | seoul |
| North Korea | Pyongyang |
| Mongolia | Ulan Bator |
3. South Asia
| Country | Capital Name |
| Bangladesh | Dhaka |
| Bhutan | Thimphu |
| India | New Delhi |
| Maldives | Male |
| Nepal | Kathmandu |
| Pakistan | Islamabad |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte |
| Afghanistan | Granted |
4. West Asia
| Country | Capital Name |
| Saudi Arabia | Riyadh |
| Bahrain | Manama |
| Kuwait | Kuwait |
| Oman | Muscat |
| Qatar | Doha |
| United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi |
| Yemen | Sanaa |
| Palestine | Jerusalem |
| Iraq | Baghdad |
| Israel | Tel Aviv |
| Lebanese | Beirut |
| Turkey | Ankara |
| Syria | Damascus |
| Jordan | Amman |
| Iran | Tehran |
| Cyprus | Nicosia |
5. Central Asia
| Country | Capital Name |
| Kazakhstan | Astana |
| Kyrgyzstan | Bishkek |
| Tajikistan | Dushanbe |
| Turkmenistan | Ashgabat |
| Uzbekistan | Tashkent |
Because of its vast area, the Asian continent is not only the largest continent in the world but also a continent rich in diverse nature, ranging from highlands, mountains, steppes, deserts, saltwater ecosystems, fresh water ecosystems and others. With this wealth, there are several developed countries that are able to take advantage of it and there are also developing countries on the Asian continent.
There are seven developed countries on the Asian continent, including Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore and Israel. Meanwhile, the other 41 countries on the Asian continent are developing countries, including Indonesia. The 41 developing countries are Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, India, Iran, Turkmenistan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Kiribati, China, Kuwait, Mongolia, Brunei Darussalam, Philippines, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Indonesia, Micronesia, Nepal, Cambodia, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Pakistan, Thailand, Timor Leste, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Syria, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Jordan, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Bahrain.
Characteristics of the Asian Continent
The continent of Asia has several characteristics. Apart from its breadth, the continent of Asia has 5 climates and is one of the continents that experiences the most frequent earthquakes. What are the other characteristics of the Asian Continent? Check out the following explanation.
1. The Most Extensive Continent in the World
The first characteristic of the Asian continent is its area. The area of the continent of Asia is almost ⅓ of the plains in the whole world. If the Australian continent has an area of 43,998,920 square km, then the Asian continent has an area of 44,000,000 square km.
Due to its large area, the Asian continent is divided into six regions or six sub-regions, namely East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and North Asia.
2. Has 5 Climates
The continent of Asia has five climate divisions, which are cold climate, continental, wet sub-tropical, wet tropical and desert climate. Here’s a further explanation.
a. Cold climate
The cold climate on the Asian Continent can be found in the north, especially on the Siberian mainland which has a polar continental climate or a subarctic climate. Regions with cold climates generally have shorter summers.
b. Continental climate
The continental climate is also called the terrestrial climate and can be found around Central Asia and Northwest China. The region that has a terrestrial climate is the Gobi Desert.
c. Wet subtropical climate
The climate with western subtropics is dominated around the East China region which is at latitude 250 0 350 LU. Areas with a wet subtropical climate type generally rain more often, due to the influence of the southeast monsoon and the Pacific Ocean.
d. Wet tropical climate
Wet tropical climates can be found throughout most of Southeast Asia and South Asia. This region has a fairly high rainfall, which is between 1,000 and 2,000 mm per year. The wet tropical climate is heavily influenced by monsoon winds which result in dry and rainy seasons.
e. Desert climate
The desert climate has a dry nature, therefore rainfall in areas with a desert climate tends to be very low, around 250 mm to 220 mm per year.
A desert climate can occur due to the influence of winds originating from dry desert areas. Desert climates can be found in the West Asian region, especially on the Arabian Peninsula and Central Asia around the Robi Desert.
3. Has a fairly wide sea and desert
Besides having a large enough ocean, the continent of Asia also has a vast desert as well. Some of the deserts on the Asian Continent include the Taklamakan Desert, the Gobi Desert, and the Ordos. Meanwhile, the continent with the largest ocean in the world is the South China Sea.
4. Has the Most Population
The continent of Asia is not only big and wide, but also the continent with the most population, reaching up to 4 billion people. This population size makes the continent of Asia the continent with the largest population in the world. Countries that have the highest population on the Asian Continent are Pakistan, India, Indonesia, China, Japan and Bangladesh.
5. Experiencing Earthquakes Often
The continent of Asia is a continent that often experiences earthquakes. One of the countries on the Asian continent that experiences earthquakes quite often is Japan.
6. There is a mountain with the highest peak in the world
The highest mountain peak in the world is on the continent of Asia, namely Mount Everest, the peak of Mount Everest is not only the highest in Asia but also the highest in the world.
According to National Geographic, the height of this mountain reaches up to 29,035 feet or about 8,850 meters above sea level. Mount Everest is on the border of Nepal and China.
7. Has the Highest Plains in the World
Besides having the highest mountain peaks in the world, Asia also has the highest plateau in the world which is in Tibet. Because of this, Tibet has earned the nickname as the roof of the world.
Most of Tibet has an altitude ranging from 4,000 to 5,000 meters above sea level. The Tibetan region is on the border between East Asia and South Asia. Tibet itself is in the southern part of China and has direct borders with India, Nepal, Bhutan and Burma.
8. Became the Birthplace of a Major Religion
The Asian continent is the birthplace of most major religions, for example, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.
Asian continent profile
The continent of Asia was formed thousands of years ago. This continent has an area of about 51,053,817 square km. The Asian continent also gets the nickname as the largest continent in the world, this is because the area of the Asian continent is almost one third of the plains in the whole world.
Please note that the land area of the mainland is only 30% of the surface area on earth and one third of that 30% is owned by the Asian continent. So it can be concluded that the continent of Asia covers almost all the land on earth.
Given the size and diversity that exists on the continent of Asia, the concept of the name Asia is actually taken from classical times and relates to human geography rather than physical geography.
The Asian continent and the European continent are continents that are connected by land and both form a giant continent which is named Eurasia. The boundary between the Asian Continent and the European Continent is very blurred, so that some countries such as Turkey can sometimes be categorized as the European Continent or even the Asian Continent.
Some of the natural landscapes used to separate the two continents are the Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles, Black Sea, Bosphorus Strait, Caucasus Mountains, Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Ural River and Ural Mountains.
The word Asia comes from ancient Greek which has been adapted into Indonesian. The word Asia was first used in 440 BC in reference to Asia Minor or with the intention of describing the Persian Wars on the Persian Empire as an enemy of Greece and Egypt.
Apart from that, the origin of the word Asia probably comes from an Akkadian word which is still related to the Hebrew word which means going out or rising, referring to the direction of the sun when the sun rises in the Middle East and is also related to the Phoenician word asa which means east.
Meanwhile, according to Arabic and Persian, Asia has the meaning of entering or setting in reference to the sun.
Apart from the origin of the word or the etymological meaning of Asia, Sinaumed’s also needs to know the flora and fauna that exist on the continent of Asia. the following explanation.
Areas with a wet tropical climate are usually covered by tropical rain forests with trees that have broad and heterogeneous leaves. There are also seasonal forests which have rather sparse and homogeneous trees.
Animals that live in areas with a wet tropical climate include rhinos, monkeys and bison. Then in areas with dry climates you will find desert plants with a fairly short growing period.
These plants can be found in areas with dry climates, such as prickly cacti. Animals that can survive in areas with dry climates include camels, lions, donkeys and hyenas.
Furthermore, in areas surrounded by deserts with greater rainfall, it is generally covered with dry grasslands. In slightly more humid areas, there are savanna forests. Animals that live in desert areas with greater rainfall and humid areas include giraffes, yaks, zebras, zebu, bison, tigers, horses, lions, deer, wolves and jaguars.
In the area around the poles, there are plants that have needle-like leaves with mixed forests such as fir or conifer forests. Then, the area along the coast of the Arctic sea is an area that has no trees.
The plants that can be found in this area are usually moss-like plants or also known as tundra forests. Animals that can survive in this area are caribou animals, which are deer-like animals, there are also wolves and bears that can live in the tundra region.
Thus the explanation of the geographical location of Asia and the characteristics of the Asian Continent. For Sinaumed’s who are interested in studying the geography of other continents, they can learn it by reading books.
As #FriendsWithoutLimits, sinaumedia.com provides various kinds of quality and original books for Sinaumed’s. Reading lots of books and articles will never hurt you, because Sinaumed’s will get #MoreWithReading information and knowledge.
Author: Khansa
Reference:
- https://sinaumedia.com/literasi/kartuistik-benua-asia/#Layout_Astronomy_Geographic_dan_Batas_Benua_Asia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia