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The Geography of the South Asian Region
The borders of the South Asia are vividly determined by the nature itself. In the North the region it is bordered by a mighty barrier of the highest mountains in the world – those of Himalayas and Karakoram Range; and from the East, the West and the South the Region is surrounded by seas and the gulfs of the Indian Ocean. At the southern-most point of the continent there is an emerald drop of Sri-Lanka; nearby several archipelagoes are located. The South-Asian subcontinent and Sri-Lanka are the most ancient parts of the Asian land, the remnants of the prehistoric continent Gondwana.
The landscapes here are extremely variable: there are table mountains (mesas) and buttes; hard rocks, lava plateau, river valleys, tropical deserts, salt swamps. The Hindu-Ganges valley with its fertile lands is an exceptional phenomenon. According to Indian folklore tales the Nature has shown extraordinary grace and charity having created this blissful area. To the South of the valley there spreads an upland area making a conjunction with the Vindhya Range making the southern escarpment of the central upland of India. The Vindhya Range creates a natural barrier dividing the Hindustan, the country of Aryans, and the Deccan country, inhabited by people speaking the Dravidian languages .
Practically all the territory of the South Asia is located in the tropical zone, and the Island of Sri-Lanka is situated practically directly on the equator. In March-May the moist air prevails over the subcontinent., brought from the Ocean by the south-western monsoons. In wintertime a dry continental trade wind is blowing. The monsoons back-off is sometimes accompanied by strong storms, destructive typhoons and catastrophic inundations.
The climate and other natural conditions favor the agriculture all the year round, but for centuries on end the nature has experienced the pressure of the human factor and is utterly exhausted because of it. At present the state programs of India and those of other countries are directed at preserving the rich natural heritage of South Asia.
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