Description: Map of China
Image copyright: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/ChinaGeography.png
-Pacific Ocean (East)
-Taklimakan Desert (West)
-Icy Plateau of Tibet (West)
-Himalaya Mountains (Southwest)
-Gobi Desert (North)
-Mongolian Plateau (North)
2 Major Rivers
-Huang He River (North)
-Yangtze River (Central)
China’s Heartland
- 2/3 Mountainous or Desert
-90% of the remaining 1/3 is between the two rivers
-This remaining land is China’s heartland
China’s Culture
-Boundaries fluctuated with power control changes
-Remained a center of civilization
-All people who lived outside of China were considered Barbarians
-China was called the Middle Kingdom
Environmental Challenges
-1st civilization arose in a river valley
-The Huang He leaves yellow fertile supplements from the desert to the west called loess
-Floods devoured whole villages
-Received nickname China’s Sorrow
-Early settlers could not trade
-Natural boundaries did not protect the civilians from invaders that attacked from the west and north
