China Geography

What is the terrain and geography like in China?

Overview

Occupying an area of about 3.7 million square miles, the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the fourth-largest country in the world, after Canada and Russia. It shares borders with North Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, Laos, and Vietnam. Hong Kong and Macau (Aomen), situated on China's southern coast, are now Special Administrative Regions of the PRC.

Two-thirds of China's area is mountainous or semidesert; only about one-tenth is cultivated. Ninety percent of its people live on one-sixth of the land, primarily in the fertile plains and deltas of the east.

Geography - note

The world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and the United States); Mount Everest, on the border with Nepal, is the world's tallest peak

Climate

The country lies almost entirely in the temperate zone. Only Hainan Province and the southernmost portions of Yunnan and Guangdong Provinces and the Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi lie within the tropics. A monsoon climate is a major influence in the south. The north and west have a typical continental climate, although winters are extremely dry and summers quite rainy.

During summer, warm, moist, maritime air masses bring heavy rains to eastern China, and hot, humid, summer weather is typical. Winter offers a sharp contrast when cold, dry Siberian air masses dominate and often reach the southern provinces. Little precipitation falls during the colder months; clear days with low humidity and low temperatures are the norm.

China Use of Natural Resources

China Environment

Climate:

The country lies almost entirely in the temperate zone. Only Hainan Province and the southernmost portions of Yunnan and Guangdong Provinces and the Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi lie within the tropics. A monsoon climate is a major influence in the south. The north and west have a typical continental climate, although winters are extremely dry and summers quite rainy.

During summer, warm, moist, maritime air masses bring heavy rains to eastern China, and hot, humid, summer weather is typical. Winter offers a sharp contrast when cold, dry Siberian air masses dominate and often reach the southern provinces. Little precipitation falls during the colder months; clear days with low humidity and low temperatures are the norm.

Terrain:

Mostly mountains, high plateaus, and deserts in the west; plains, deltas, and hills in east

Natural Resources:

Coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, rare earth elements, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)

Natural Hazards:

Frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence

Volcanism: China contains some historically active volcanoes including Changbaishan (also known as Baitoushan, Baegdu, or P'aektu-san), Hainan Dao, and Kunlun although most have been relatively inactive in recent centuries

Irrigated Land:

243,004 Square Miles
629,380 Square Kilometers

Environmental Issues:

Air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species

Environment - International Agreements:

Party To: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

China Geography

Geographic Location Asia
Total Area 3,705,387 Square Miles
9,596,961 Square Kilometers
Land Area 3,694,939 Square Miles
9,569,901 Square Kilometers
Water Area 10,448 Square Miles
27,060 Square Kilometers
Land Boundaries 13,743 Miles
22,117 Kilometers
Irrigated Land 243,004 Square Miles
629,380 Square Kilometers
Border Countries Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
Coastline 9,010 Miles
14,500 Kilometers
Geographic Coordinates 35 00 N, 105 00 E
Terrain Mostly mountains, high plateaus, and deserts in the west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Highest Point 8,850 Meters
Highest Point Location Mount Everest 8,850 m (highest point in Asia)
Lowest Point -154 Meters
Lowest Point Location Turpan Pendi -154 m
Natural Resources Coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, rare earth elements, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)
Time Zone UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

time zone note: China is the largest country (in terms of area) with just one time zone; before 1949 it was divided into five
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