The Asia is one of the seven Continent S or part of the supercontinents Eurasia or Eurafrasie of the Ground. Larger continent (8,6% of terrestrial entire surface or 29,4% of the emerged grounds), it is also populated the most (more than 60% of the total world population).

Etymology

Towards 442 av. J. - C., the Greek Hérodote cutting the world in three parts which it names in the honor of three characters of the Greek Mythologie: l'Europe in the honor of the Océanide Europe or the girl of Agénor Europe, the Libye in the honor of Libya and l'Asie (Ασία) in the honor of Océanide Asia (more commonly called Clymène). Asia is then used to indicate Asia Mineure (Anatolia) or, in opposition to the Greek or Egyptian world, the empire Perse. The term Ασία would come itself from the Akkadien (W) aṣû (m) which means “to go up”, “to grow” while speaking about the Sun.

Another explanation of the etymology utilizes Homère which mentions in Iliade certain Asios, a Trojan wire of Hyrtacus. The name Asios would derive from Assuwa, a confederated State located in the West of Anatolia and from which the name would come from the hittite assu which means “good”.

Borders

Asia constitutes is and the north of Eurafrasie or is of Eurasia. It is delimited in north by the Arctic Ocean, in the east by the Pacific Ocean, in the south by the Indian Ocean, in south-west by the Red Sea and the the Mediterranean and in the west by the Ural Mountains, the river the Ural and the the Caucasus.

Asia is separated from the American continent by the Bering Strait, from the Oceania by various seas and straits and from the Africa by the Isthme of Suez. On the other hand, separation with the continent of Europe is definitely arbitrary in measurement or Europe and Asia form only one clearly continuous continental mass.

The criteria which define Europe as a continent distinct from Asia could apply to other portions of Eurasia: Near and the Middle East, South Asia, the West Indies, etc One meets thus the term of Indian Sous-continent to speak about the countries which constitute the Indian peninsula: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Asia-Europe

At the 18th century, the Tsar Pierre I {{er}}, wishes to make Russia a European power. Its geographer Tatichtchev then proposes in 1703 that the Ural Mountains, the Ural river and the Caucasus constitute the border between Europe and Asia instead of the Don which then included Russia in Asia.

With the recent extension of the European Union to the doors of Asia as well in the Balkans as in Europe of the East poses once again the problem of the exact layout of the limit between Europe and Asia. Certain geographers, by convenience, would like to push back the limit beyond the Caucasus in order to in particular include the Arménie and the Georgia in Europe. Others, contrary, would like to see this border fixed at the Dépression of Manytch located at the north of the Caucasus with an aim of including the Peuples Turkish of the Caucasus in Asia.

See also: Limiting of Europe

Asia-Oceania

In 1831, the explorer and geographer Jules Dumont d' Urville cutting the Oceania in four areas: the Polynesia, the Micronesia, the Mélanésie and the the West Indies (then called Malaysia). This last part will be then attached to Asia what explains the current border between Asia and Oceania: the whole of the islands indonésiennes are Asian except for the New Guinea and of the very close islands. But the arbitrary character of this limit leads the geographers to reconsider this border. Some think that it would be more adapted to use the Ligne Wallace, others would like to entirely include the Indonesia in Asia by excluding the Eastern Timor.

Asia-Africa

The border between Asia and the Africa is generally fixed at the Isthme of Suez what excludes the the Sinai from Africa. The Egypt being found with horse on two continents, certain geographers propose to move the limit between these two continents at the border égypto-Israeli.

Asia-America

By convenience, the border between these two continents is fixed at the Russo-American border. The islands Komandorski are thus Asian while the remainder of the Aleutian Islands are American.

History

See also: History of Asia

Settlement

One to date counts in Asia 3,9 billion men, that is to say more half of the world population (approximately 60%).

Great empires

August 1st

Colonial time

August 1st

Independences and Second world war

August 1st

Physical geography

See also: Geography of Asia

Asia is the largest continent with 43.810.582 km ². It has also several world geographical records: maximum altitude (Mount Everest with 8  849,87 m), minimal altitude (Dead Sea with -417 m) and the emerged ground most distant from any ocean (located at 2.648 kilometers of the coast, coordinated nearest).

Subdivisions

August 1st

Great units

August 1st Four great fields are distinguished: ; Asia of monsoons (East Asia and of the South): It made always hot there. The summer, the Mousson S come from the Indian Ocean bring abundant rains. The climate and the relief of the plains and the plates are favorable to the culture of the Riz, a plant which needs heat and which pushes in water. almost all space is cultivated. ; Asia of the mountains (center of Asia with the the Himalayas): The climate is cold because of altitude; as this area is with the shelter of the marine winds, precipitations are rare. The summer, the ground is covered by a thin natural meadow. ; Cold Asia (northern of Asia): The climate is continental with very rigorous winters and becomes polar close to the Arctic. The center of this part of Asia is occupied by a large forest, the Taïga, which leave place close to the Arctic Ocean to a foam vegetation and shrubs, the Toundra.

; Asia dries (western of Asia): This area is marked by the aridity. The medium desert with the vast ones is extended from sand or stones. A moderate climate Mediterranean occupies a narrow edge in the west of the continent.

Political geography

Famous places and monuments

Civilizations and cultures

Languages

See also: Languages by zone geographique#Asy

Religions

Asia is made up of several religions dispersed on all the continent:
Hindouisme, Shintoisme, Confucianism, Animism, Islam, Christianity, Orthodoxe, Buddhism, Judaism…

See too

Related articles

Sources

  • the CIA - The World Factbook
  • - Geopolitical of the countries of Asia

References

Beats-smg: Azėjė Be-X-old: Азія Cbk-zam: Asia Nds-nl: Azie Simple: Asia Zh-classical: 亞細亞洲 Zh-min-nan: A-chiu Zh-yue: 亞洲

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