Samacheer Class 6 Social Science - Asia and Europe

(b) All the rivers of Europe originate in the Alps.

The south, southeast and eastern parts of Asia are strongly influenced by monsoon winds.
Summer is hot and humid while winter is cool and dry.
The summer monsoon winds bring heavy rainfall to India, Bangladesh, Indo-China, Philippines and Southern China.

In Asia, the population is unevenly distributed because of various physical features.
China and India alone cover three-fifth of Asia’s population.
River plains and industrial regions have a high density of population, whereas low density is found in the interior parts of Asia.

The biggest continent Asia is called “the land of contrasts”.
Because:
Asia is the biggest continent has different types of land features such as mountain, plateau, plain, valley, bay, island etc.
It has different climatic conditions from the equator to polar region.
Apart from this many races, languages, religions and cultures are followed by people who live in Asia. Therefore, Asia is called ‘the land of contrasts’.

The Mediterranean and sub-mediterranean climate regions in Europe are found in much of southern Europe, mainly in southern Portugal, most of Spain, the southern coast of France, Italy, the Croatian Coast, much of Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, Albania, Macedonia, Greece and the Mediterranean Islands.

Europe is the third-most populous continent, after Asia and Africa. The population density in Europe is.34 persons / km2.
High population density is often associated with the coalfields of Europe.
Other populous areas are sustained by mining, manufacturing, commerce, offering large market, labour forces and productive agriculture.
Monaco, Malta, San Marino, and the Netherlands are the most densely populated countries; Iceland and Norway have a very low density of population.

The Europeans celebrate both religious and holiday festivals.
Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, the Saint Day, Redentore, Tomatina and Carnival are the important festivals of Europe.

Intermontane plateaus:
Intermontane plateaus are found in the mountain ranges.
Eg, The plateau of Anatolia, The plateau of Iran, and the plateau of Tibet
Southern plateaus:
The southern plateaus are relatively lower than the northern plateaus.
Eg. Arabian Plateau, Deccan Plateau, Shan Plateau, and the Yunnan Plateau.

Cold desert:
A barren or desolate area especially sandy region of little rainfall, featuring cold dry winter.
Cold deserts are found in the antarctic, Green land, Western China, Turkartan the Gopi crodi desert in Mongolia.
Hot desert:
A barren or desolate area often the sandy region of little rainfall.
The largest hot desert is the Sahara desert.

Thunder:
The Arctic and northern Scandinavian highland have Tundra type of vegetation.
The winters are very long and severe summers are very short and warm.
It is the land with few animals like polar bear, reindeer and walrus
No trees. Lowest form of vegetation like Mosses and Lichen only available.
Taiga:
They are found in the south of the Tundra region in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Poland and Austria.
The winters are long and cold. Summers are short and warm.
It is the land of fur bearing animals. Eg. Mink, silver fox, squirrel etc.
Pine, fir, spruce and larch are the important tree varieties.

The North-Western Highlands:
This region includes the mountains and plateaus of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Scotland, and Iceland.
This region has a fjord coast. It was created by glaciations.
A lot of lakes here serve as reservoirs for producing hydroelectricity.
The Alpine mountain range:
The Alpine mountain system consists of a chain of young fold mountains found in the southern part of Europe.
The Sierra Nevada, the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinaric Alps, the Caucasus and the
Carpathian is the important mountain ranges.
The Pyrenees is a natural boundary between Spain and France.

Because:
In Asia, India has the largest area of arable lands.
Agriculture is intensively practiced in the riverine plains of Asia
China and India are the leading producers of rice in the world.

Because:
Most of the land of Asia in the northern hemisphere has different physical and cultural features.
Lofty mountains, plateaus, plains, islands and peninsulas are the major physiographic features.
Many perennial rivers flow through different parts. These river valleys are the cradles of ancient civilizations.
River plains and industrial regions have high density of population. Population density 143 persons/Km 2 .
Asia covers about 30 percent of the world’s population.

Because:
The western part has a mild, generally humid climate, influenced by the North Atlantic Drift.
North Atlantic Drift is a Warm ocean current which brings warmth to the Western Europe.

The rivers of Asia originate mostly from the central highlands.
The Ob, Yenise and Lena are the major rivers flow towards the north and drain into the Arctic Ocean. They remain frozen during winter.
Many perennial rivers like Brahmaputra, Indus, Ganga and Irrawaddy originate from the high mountains.
They do not freeze during winter.
The Euphrates and Tigris flow in west Asia.
The Amur, Huang He, Yangtze and Mekong flow in the south and southeastern parts. The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia.

Asia has a variety of mineral deposits like Iron, Coal, Manganese, Bauxite, Zinc, Tungsten, Petroleum, Tin etc. Oil and Natural Gas found in the west Asian countries.
Iron Ore: Asia has the largest deposits of iron ore in the world. China and India are the important iron ore deposit countries of Asia.
Coal: Coal is a fossil fuel. China and India are the largest producers of coal in Asia.
Petroleum: Petroleum is a mineral oil. The largest petroleum reserves are found in South West Asia. The important petroleum-producing countries are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Bahrain, Qatar and UAE.
Bauxite is found in India and Indonesia.
Mica: India is the largest producer in the world.
Tin is found in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

A fjord is a narrow and deep-sea inlet between steep clifts.
Fjords reduce the speed of wind irrespective of their direction.
The force of sea waves is also controlled.
Fjord coast was created by glaciations in the past.
Areas with fjords are best suited for natural harbours. Example : Norway.

The climate of Europe varies from the subtropical to the polar climate.
The Mediterranean climate of the south has warm summer and rainy winter.
The western and northwestern parts have a mild, generally humid climate, influenced by the North Atlantic Drift.
In central and eastern Europe, the climate is humid continental-type.
In the northeast, subarctic and tundra climates are found.
The whole of Europe is subject to the moderating influence of prevailing westerly winds from the Atlantic Ocean.
North Atlantic Drift is a warm ocean current which brings warmth to Western Europe.
The westerly wind further transports warmth across Europe.

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Europe is an industrially developed continent. It has great diversity in its topography, climate and soil.
These interact to produce varied patterns of agriculture activities.
[The varied patterns of agriculture activities in use: Mediterranean agriculture, Dairy farming, mixed livestock, crop farming, horticulture]

The areas found in and around the equator of Asia have uniform climate throughout the year. There is no winter. Average temperature 27°c. The mean rainfall 1270 mm.