O Asian continent it is the largest and most populous continent in the world. There are 4.3 billion inhabitants distributed in 44,479,000 km² and 50 countries, also presenting the highest demographic densities (number of inhabitants per km²) on the planet. It is washed by three oceans: to the east by the Pacific, to the north by the Arctic Glacier and to the south by the Indian Ocean. In its western portion, in addition to bordering Europe, it is also delimited by the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
The Asian continent has a varied relief. Interestingly, it has the highest and lowest point on Earth, which are, respectively, Mount Everest (8,848m above sea level) and the Dead Sea (392m below sea level).
Mount Everest, located in Nepal, north of India
Everest is actually part of a mountain range called Himalayan mountain range, the result of the collision between two tectonic plates. There are also other relief groups of the same type, such as the Ural Mountains, the Zagros Mountains and several others. In addition, there are some plateaus and several deserts, the largest being the
gobi desert, in China.The predominant climates are Siberian, Mediterranean, desert and monsoon. The latter occurs on the coast of India and occurs due to the differences in atmospheric pressure between the part continental and the oceanic part close to the continent, causing heavy rains and severe droughts alternately during the year.
Economically, the main countries in Asia are Japan and China. The latter, together with India, is the country that has registered the highest growth rates in the world. Russia also plays an important role not only economically, but also politically, thanks to the the fact that this country is the main heir of the extinct Soviet Union, inheriting from it much of its arsenal nuclear.
Despite this, the main point of political-military tension on the continent is the Middle East region, where territorial disputes between nations and the greed on the part of several countries for Petroleum (abundant in the region) have generated several conflicts over the last few years. years old. Another point of tension is between North and South Korea.
From these general characteristics, we can see that Asia is truly the continent of contrasts, both in terms of climate, relief, customs, religions and ethnicities.
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
