What are famous water forms in Asia?

Topography of South East Asia?

• What are the famous land and water forms in South East Asia?How are these significant and how does its topography affect the lifestyles of South East Asians?

• Answer:

  South East Asia has a varied topography. The mountain ranges consist of some young and old fold mountains. Most of the old fold mountains are located in the mainland of Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Peninsula Malaysia. These are more stable areas. Insular South East Asia has young fold mountains with volcanoes and earth quakes in Indonesia (Sumatra, Jawa,Sulawesi and Iran Jaya), Philippines (especially Luzon and Mindanao islands). Mt Kinabalu in Sabah state of Malaysia is the highest mountain in this region. Some of the highlands are homes to tribal groups like the Maos, Karens, Chin, Amoi groups in mainland SEA. Similar groups like the Muruts, Bidayuh, in Sabah and Sarawak practise hill subsistence farming or shifting cultivation. The dense population in Jawa and Luzon as well as the lack of lowlands to cater to the local population have forced the people to cultivate rice on the terraces of the hills. Fortunately these hills are made up of fertile volcanic soil, hence farming is highly productive. A lot of hills have been developed for tourism like Cameron Highlands, Frasers Hill, Genting Highlands in Malaysia, Chiangmai and Chiangrai in Thailand, Bagiou in Philippines, Bandung in Jawa Indonesia, Agriculture is carried out here too, like tea growing in Cameron Highlands and Kundasang near Kinabalu. The river basins of the Chao Phraya river in Thailand, Irrawaddy in Myanmar, Mekong in Vietnam are the life lines of these countries. The deltas are important paddy areas producing enough rice to feed the population. These rivers together with the Rajang river Sarawak are used as a means of transportation for many riverine settlements. Besides that, they provide water for their basic needs and domestic use. There are still many locals who depend on river transport to get to school in Sarawak. The Kinabatangan river in Sabah is closely guarded by the local tribes to prevent pollution as they depend on the river for fish and water for basic needs. The Menam Chao Phraya river with the many distributaries flowing around Bangkok is famous for its floating market. Each year thousand of tourists are drawn to enjoyingg on a boat ride to experience and savour local food which is cooked and served on boats floating in the river. Business and marketing is conducted by people plying their trade in boats too. The seas surrounding SEA are important grounds for fishermen. Their survival depends on their catch which they sell to the local markets to earn a living. Sometimes, small fishes are preserved and sold or turned into local food like prawn crackers, prawn paste, dried shrimps,etc. South China Sea is rich in oil too. This has provided lucrative monetary gains for Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. The Straits of Malacca is an international sea route for tankers and ships cruising from Europe to the Far East or Australia. Cruise holidays are getting more popular as people with changing lifestyles move away from the conventional holidays on land. One can take a cruise from SIngapore to Penang to Phuket in Thailand, or from Singapore via Danang in Vietnam to Hong Kong. There are water festivals centred around rivers and seas as a gratitude to the Gods for providing the necessary resources for their daily living. In Penang Malaysia, rituals are carried out by many fishermen during a certain period where offerings are made to God for their good fortune and protecting them while at sea when fishing. In conclusion, the geographical diversity in SEA has an influence on the culture and lifestyles of the people.