Geographic Characteristics[edit]

Boundary[edit]
Main article: Definition and boundaries of Asia
The land mass of Asia is not the sum of the land masses of each of its regions, which have been
defined independently of the whole. For example, the borders of Central Asia and the Middle
East depend on who is defining them and for what purpose. These varying definitions are not
generally reflected in the map of Asia as a whole; for example, Egypt is typically included in the
Middle East, but not in Asia, even though the Middle East is a division of Asia.
The demarcation between Asia and Africa is the isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea. The border with
Europe starts with the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, even though Turkey in the Near
East extends partly into the Aegean Islands and includes Istanbul on the European side of
the Bosphorus. On the north the boundary between the continents of Asia and Europe is commonly
regarded as running through the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, the Black Sea,
the Caucasus Mountains, theCaspian Sea, the Ural River to its source, and a long border generally
following the eastern side of the Ural Mountains to the Kara Sea, Russia. The Arctic Ocean is the
northern border. The Bering Straits divide Asia from North America.
On the southeast of Asia are the Malay Peninsula (the limit of mainland Asia) and Indonesia ("Isles
of India", the former East Indies), a vast nation among thousands of islands on the Sunda Shelf,
large and small, inhabited and uninhabited. Australianearby is a different continent. The Pacific
islands northeast of Australia more remotely removed from Japan and Korea areOceania rather than
Asia. From Indonesia the border runs along the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea. Most of the islands in
the Indian Ocean are Asian.

Overall dimensions[edit]
Different sources give different estimates of the area enclosed by the imaginary border of Asia.
The New York Times Atlas of the World gives 43,608,000 km2 (16,837,000 sq mi).[1] Chambers World
Gazetteer rounds off to 44,000,000 km2(17,000,000 sq mi),[2] while the Concise Columbia
Encyclopedia gives 44,390,000 km2 (17,140,000 sq mi).[3] The 2011 Pearson's has
44,030,000 km2 (17,000,000 sq mi).[4] The methods of obtaining these figures and exactly what areas
they include have not been divulged.
The map surface of mainland Asia is entirely contained within a Geodetic quadrangle formed from
segments of latitude going through its north and south extremes and segments of longitude passing
through the east and west extremes. Cape Chelyuskin is at 77 43 N; Cape Piai in the Malay
Peninsula is at 1 16 N; Cape Baba in Turkey is at 26 4 E; Cape Dezhnyov is at 169 40 W; that is,
mainland Asia ranges through about 77 of latitude and 195 of longitude, [5] distances of about

8,560 km (5,320 mi) long by 9,600 km (6,000 mi) wide according to Chambers, or 8,700 km
(5,400 mi) long by 9,700 km (6,000 mi) wide according to Pearson's.
Indonesia to the southeast, a nation consisting of thousands of islands, adds a significant amount of
territory to mainland Asia and extends the extreme Asian latitude further south. The geographic
nature of the country raises such questions as whether the sea and the seabed count as Asia.
The AustraliaIndonesia border is still being negotiated. Currently a 1997 treaty remains unratified.
As there are questions of fishing rights in the waters and mineral rights in the seabed, two different
boundaries are being negotiated, one for the water column and one for the seabed. The
southernmost seabed boundary is 10 50' S, the latitude of Point A3, the Australia, Indonesia and
Papua lokesh New Guinea common tripoint. The southernmost water column boundary is still further
south at Point Z88, 13 56' 31.8".
he estimated area encompassed by Asia is 44,000,000 square kilometers. This makes it the largest continent of the
world. Consequently, the geography varies across the continent. On the one hand there are deserts like Gobi in
China, and on other, there are towering snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas. Rivers and lakes are also aplenty.

Asia is not sharply divided by Europe. It is only an imaginary line that marks the boundary, connecting the Ural
Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus Mountains.
Mountains
The most prominent name among the Asian mountain systems is that of the Himalayas. The main range runs for
more than 2,400 kilometers, and separates the Tibetan Plateau from the Indian subcontinent. It also has the highest
of the mountain peaks in the world: Mount Everest and K2. The mountain range contains as many as 15,000 glaciers
and has plenty of freshwater sources.
Other mountain ranges are: Hindu Kush, Caucasus Mountains, Pamir Mountains, and more.
Rivers
The longest river in Asia is the Yangtze in China. At 6,418 kilometers, this river is the third-longest among world
rivers. The river is very important to the culture and economy of China. Another important river is the Yellow River,
which is known as the "Cradle of Chinese Civilization".
The Indus, Brahmaputra, and the Ganges are other noteworthy rivers.
Deserts
The Arabian Desert dominates what is known as the Arabian Peninsula. It is massive and arid, spread over 2,330,000
square kilometers. The chief natural resources present in this desert are oil, sulfur, phosphates, and natural gas.
Another prominent desert is the Gobi Desert, touching parts of China and Mongolia. Unlike the Arabian Desert, it is a
cold desert, which means that it often sees snowfall. However, it also exhibits wild fluctuations of temperature, even
with a single day.
Lakes
The Caspian Sea-bounded by Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan-is considered the largest lake
in the world. It has no outflows, and covers an area of 371,000 square kilometers.
Other lakes in Asia are: Poyang Lake, Dal Lake, Lake Toba, and others.