CHAPTER 15: MIDDLE EAST

• The Middle East: A geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the
Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay
Province), East Thrace (European part of Turkey), Egypt, Iran,
the Levant (including Ash-Shām and Cyprus), Iraq, and the Socotra Archipelago (a part
of Yemen).
• Countries with Coast on Mediterranean Sea – Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Turkey(SLIT)

Important Gulfs
Gulf Information Mapping
Gulf of • Location: It is a deep-
Aden/Gulf of water gulf between
Berbera § North: Yemen
§ East: Arabian Sea
§ West: Djibouti
§ South: Guardafui
Channel, Socotra
(Yemen), Somali
land and Somalia.
• Connectivity:
§ In the northwest:
It connects with
the Red Sea
through the Bab-
el-Mandeb strait,

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 65

 § East: It connects
with the Arabian
Sea.
§ West: It narrows
into the Gulf of
Tadjoura in
Djibouti.
Gulf of • Location: It is a large
Aqaba/ Gulf gulf.
of Eilat § The Northern
Tip: of the Red
Sea,
§ East Of: the Sinai
Peninsula and
§ West Of: the
Arabian Peninsula.
• Coastline Is Divided
Among Four
Countries: Egypt,
Israel, Jordan, and
Saudi Arabia.
Dead • Location: It is a Salt
Sea/Buhayrat/ Lake bordered by
Bahret/ § Jordan: To the east
Birket Lut § Israel and the West
Bank: To the west.
• NOTE-
§ It lies in the Jordan
Rift Valley, and its
main tributary is the
Jordan River.

Persian Gulf • Location: It is in

Western Asia.
• It is an extension of
the Arabian Sea (Gulf
of Oman) through the
Strait of Hormuz and
lies between Iran to the
northeast and the
Arabian Peninsula to
the southwest.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 66

 • The Shatt al-Arab
river delta forms the
northwest shoreline.
Gulf of • Location: It is a gulf
Oman/Gulf of that connects the
Makran Arabian Sea with the
Strait of Hormuz,
which then runs to the
Persian Gulf.
• Borders:
§ North: Iran and
Pakistan
§ South: Oman
§ West: the United
Arab Emirates on
the west.

Rivers of Middle East

• Tigris and Euphrates: Originate in South-East
Turkey.
• Euphrates Flow Into– Syria, Iraq into Persian Gulf.
• Meeting Point: Tigris and Euphrates meets in Iraq.
NOTE-The area drained by both these rivers in Iraq was
historically known as Mesopotamia, one of the earliest
civilizations of the world.

Map- Kurdistan Region

Map-Mountains and Deserts of Middle East

(-----à)

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 67

 CHAPTER 16: EAST ASIA
• Countries –Mongolia, China[including Taiwan], South Korea, North Korea, Japan.
• Capitals in East to West – Ulaanbaatar, Beijing, Pyongyang, Seoul, Tokyo.

CHINA
• Macau and Hong Kong: Part of China’s Special Administrative Region.
• Boundary: Surrounded by North Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turk, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar,
Laos, Vietnam.
• Cold Desert: Takla Makan and Gobi Deserts.

NORTH KOREA
• Boundary: Surrounded by Russia, China, South Korea.

Border between North and South Korea –

• Korean Peninsula: Region of North Korea and South
Korea.
• NOTE- Prior to Korea War, the boundary was demarcated
along the 38th parallel. After Korean War, boundary was
demarcated along the Demilitarized Zone.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 68

 Ring of Fire
This region has roughly around 450 volcanoes.

WATER BODIES
SEAS:
• East China Sea, Yellow Sea, Sea of Japan [Given in Detail under Important Water
Bodies of the world]

RIVERS
Yarlang Tsangpo [Brahmaputra in India] Yellow
River and Yangtze River.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 69

 MONGOLIA
• Surrounding Countries: Only China and Russia(It is a land-locked country).
• It is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia. It covers parts of Northern and
North-eastern China and of Southern Mongolia.
• It is the sixth largest desert in the world and the second largest in Asia after the Arabian
Desert.

ISLANDS IN JAPAN:
North to South
• Hokkaido Honshu(Largest) Shikoku(Smallest) Kyushu
• Capital City: Tokyo
• Highest Peak: Fujiyama (Volcanic Mountain)
City Famous For
Tokyo Electrical Instrument
Yokohama Precision Industry
Nagoya Automobiles
Osaka Cotton Textile
Nagasaki Shipbuildings

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 70

 CHAPTER 17: SOUTH EAST ASIA
South East Asia is divided into 2 parts
1. MAINLAND PART – Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia
• Capitals in North to South: Hanoi, Nay Payi Taw, Vientiane, Bangkok, Phnom Pehn
• Capitals in East to West: Nay Payi Taw, Bangkok, Veintiane, Phnom Pehn, Hanoi
NOTE- LAOS
• All countries of mainland except Laos are on coast. It is the only land locked country
and the only country which has borders with all the other 4 mainland south east Asian
countries.
2. MARITIME PART: Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines
• Indonesia: Largest archipelago of the world.
Note-
• Myanmar: Part of both Maritime as well as mainland South East Asia.
§ Arakanyoma and Pegu-yoma mountains in Myanmar.
• ASEAN: All these 10 countries are a part of ASEAN.
• Equator: Passes only through Indonesia.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 71

 Water Bodies:

Rivers
River Information Mapping
Salween • Flows Through:
River § Majorly flows
through
Myanmar.
§ A small portion
also flows
through Thailand.
• It Drains Into:
Andaman Sea (Bay of
Bengal).

Mekong • Forms Boundary

River Between:
§ Myanmar and
Laos
§ Laos and
Thailand.
• Flows Through:
Cambodia and
Vietnam.
Note- It flows through 5
mainland countries.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 72

 Irrawaddy • Flows Only
River Through: Myanmar.
• Drains Into: Bay of
Bengal.

Nine Dash Line:

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 73

 CHAPTER 18: AFRICA
GENERAL INFORMATION
• Latitudinal/Longitudinal Extent: Latitudinal Extent of Africa is 37°N to 35°S whereas
the longitudinal extent being 51°E to 60°W.
• Size: Africa is the second largest continent after Asia that is 20% of world’s total Land
area.
• Total Number Of Countries: It is distributed among 54 countries.
• Extent: It is separated from Europe by Mediterranean Sea in North and from Asia by
Red Sea in the East.

• Morocco along with Spain as gateway to Mediterranean Sea through Strait Gibraltar.
• Djibouti: Strategically important due to Bab-el-Mandeb strait(Here-China has military
base)
• Land locked countries:
§ Ethiopia, South Sudan.
§ Swaziland: Land locked country surrounded by Mozambique and South Africa
• Enclave: Lesotho-Surrounded by South Africa on all sides.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 74

 NOTE- Africa is the only continent through which Tropic of Cancer, Equator and Tropic of
Capricorn passes through.
• Equator: Gabon, Congo, DRC, Uganda,
Kenya, Somalia
• Tropic of Capricorn: Namibia, Botswana,
South Africa and Mozambique.
• Tropic of Cancer: Western Sahara,
Mauritania, Mali, Algeria, Libya and Egypt.
• Petroleum: Nigeria, Libya, and Angola.
MOUNTAINS
• Mt. Cameroon: Only active volcano in
Africa.
• Mt Kilimanjaro
§ Shared between Kenya and Tanzania
§ Highest mountain peak in Africa
• Atlas Mountains
§ Spread in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia
§ Fold mountains
§ Highest peak: Ibel Toubkal(4165m) in Morocco.
• Mt. Kenya: 2nd highest peak in Africa.
Note-Victoria Falls on River Zambezi. It is shared between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 75

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 76
 PLATEAUS OF AFRICA
• Katanga Plateau
§ The Katanga, or Shaba, Plateau is a farming and ranching region in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
§ Rich in copper, uranium, silver and lead.
• Ethiopian Highlands
§ It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent
§ It is sometimes called the Roof of Africa due to its height and large area
§ It is volcanic in nature
§ Highest peak: Ras Dashan
• East African Plateau
§ It is shared between Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
• Bie Plateau
§ Bié Plateau or Central Plateau of Angola is a plateau that occupies most of central
Angola
§ Famous for Nickle and oil reserves
§ Several major rivers originate from the plateau: Such as the Cunene River, the
Kuanza River, and the Kwango River.
• Adamawa Plateau
§ It is a plateau region in west-central Africa stretching from south-eastern Nigeria
through north-central Cameroon
(Adamawa and North Provinces)
to the Central African Republic.
§ The part of the plateau that lies in
Nigeria is more popularly known
as Gotel Mountains.
RIFT VALLEY
• East African Rift System
§ It is an active continental rift zone
in East Africa.
§ Extends from Lebanon to
Mozambique.
§ Lake Victoria is NOT a part of
Rift Valley

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 77

 Rivers of Africa
River Mapping
River Nile
• Direction Of Flow: The Nile is
a major north-flowing river in
north-eastern Africa.
• Drains Into: Mediterranean Sea
at Port Said.
• Size: The longest river in Africa.
• Dam: Aswan Dam
Major tributaries
• White Nile: Begins at Jinja,
Lake Victoria.
• Blue Nile: Begins at Lake
Tana in Ethiopia and flows
into Sudan from the
southeast.
Note-The two rivers meet at the
Sudanese capital of Khartoum.
Zaire/Congo River
• Size: Second longest river in
Africa,(after Nile) as well as
the second largest river in the
world by discharge volume.
• Specific Feature:
§ It is also the world's
deepest recorded river.
§ It crosses Equator twice.

Zambezi River
• Victoria Fall: The
Zambezi's most noted
feature is Victoria Falls.
• Other Notable Falls:
Include the Chavuma Falls
at the border between
Zambia and Angola, and
Ngonye Falls, near Sioma in
Western Zambia.
• Karimba Dam: On
Zambezi.
Note- It is the largest African
river falling into Indian Ocean.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 78

 Limpopo River
• Rises In: South Africa.
• Flows Through: Flow
generally eastwards through
Mozambique to the Indian
Ocean.
• Feature: The Limpopo is
the second largest river in
Africa that drains to the
Indian Ocean

River Niger
• Source: The Guinea
Highlands in south-eastern
Guinea near the Sierra Leone
border.

[Remember them East to West]

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 79

 IMPORTANT COASTS
The coasts have been so named on the basis on materials exported through them during colonial
times
• Grain Coast – Sierra Leone and Liberia
• Ivory Coast – Cote’d Ivory
• Gold Coast – Ghana
• Slave Coast – Benin and Nigeria

IMPORTANT ISLANDS OF AFRICA AND WORLD

Island Information Mapping

Madagascar • Size: World's
second-largest island
country, after
Indonesia.
• The nation consists of
the island of
Madagascar (the
fourth-largest island
in the world) and
numerous smaller
peripheral islands.

Mauritius • Location: It is an
island nation in the
Indian Ocean.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 80

 Seychelles • Location: It is an
archipelagic island
country consisting of
115 islands in Indian
Ocean at the eastern
edge of Somali Sea.

Reunion • Location/Sovereign
Territory: It is an island
in the Indian Ocean that is
an overseas department
and region of France
• Features:
§ Réunion is an
outermost region of
the European Union
and is part of the
eurozone.
§ Réunion (and
French overseas
department of
Mayotte) are the
only eurozone
regions located in
the Southern
Hemisphere.
Mayotte • Location/Sovereign
Terrotory: It is an
overseas
department/region and
single territorial
collectively of France
officially named the
Department of Mayotte

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 81

 Comoros • Location: It is an
island country in
Indian Ocean, at
northern end of
Mozambique
Channel off eastern
coast of Africa.
Special Feature:
• As a member of the
Arab League, it is
the only country in
the Arab world
which is entirely in
the Southern
Hemisphere.
Zanzibar • Location: It is an
insular autonomous
region of Tanzania.
• It is composed of the
Zanzibar
Archipelago in the
Indian Ocean,

Lamu • Location: Lamu

Island is a port city,
and island just off the
shore of Kenya in the
Indian Ocean.
• Territorial part of:
It is a part of the East
African country of
Kenya.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 82

 Canary • Location/ Sovereign
Island Territory: They are
a Spanish
archipelago in the
Atlantic Ocean, in a
region known as
Macaronesia.
Madeira • Location: It is an
Islands archipelago situated
in the North Atlantic
Ocean, in
Macaronesia.
Azores • Location/Sovereign
Island Territory: It is one
of the two
autonomous regions
of Portugal (along
with Madeira).
• Special Feature: It is
an archipelago
composed of nine
volcanic islands in
Macaronesia region
of North Atlantic
Ocean
Cape Verde • Location: It is an
archipelago and
island country in the
central Atlantic
Ocean, consisting of
ten volcanic islands.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 83

 Saint • Location/Sovereign
Helena, Territory: It is a
Ascension British Overseas
and Tristan Territory located in
da Cunha the South Atlantic
and consisting of the
island of Saint
Helena, Ascension
Island and the
archipelago of
Tristan da Cunha
including Gough
Island.

LAKES IN AFRICA
• Lake Victoria:
§ Size: Africa's largest lake by area,
world's largest tropical lake, and
world's 2ndlargest fresh water lake by
surface area after Lake Superior in
North America.
§ Surrounded by: Uganda, Kenya,
Tanzania.
• Lake Tana:
§ Size: It is the largest lake in Ethiopia
and the source of the Blue Nile.
§ Location: Amhara Region in the
north-western Ethiopian Highlands
• Lake Tanganyika
§ Size: It is the second-oldest
freshwater lake in the world, the
second-largest by volume, and the
second-deepest, in all cases after
Lake Baikal in Siberia.
§ Special Feature: It is the world's
longest freshwater lake.
§ The Lake is Shared Between Four
Countries: Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, and Zambia.
§ Drains Into: The Congo River system and ultimately into the Atlantic Ocean.
• L. Malawi/Nyasa
§ Location: It is the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between
Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
• Lake Albert
§ Old Name: Lake Mwitanzige and Lake Mobutu Sese Seko.
§ Location: Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 84

 • Lake Chad
§ Location/Size: It is the largest lake in the Chad Basin.
§ Countries Bordering It: Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
• Lake Turkana
§ Old Name/Location: Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley
§ Special Feature: It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline
lake.
§ Countries: Ethiopia and Kenya

DESERTS

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 85

Desert Information Mapping
Sahara Features:
Desert • Size: Largest hot desert
in the world and 3rd
largest desert overall,
smaller only than the
deserts of Antarctica and
northern Arctic.
• It Covers Large Parts
Of: Algeria, Chad,
Egypt, Libya, Mali,
Mauritania, Morocco,
Niger, Western Sahara,
Sudan and Tunisia.
• Divided into several
regions, including:
§ Western Sahara,
§ Central Ahaggar
Mountains,
§ Tibesti Mountains,
§ Aïr Mountains,
§ Ténéré desert, and
§ Libyan Desert.
Kalahari • Location: It is a large
Desert semi-arid sandy
savannah in Southern
Africa.
• It Covers: Botswana,
and parts of Namibia and
South Africa.
NOTE- Okavango Delta:
It is one of the very few
major interior delta systems
that do not flow into a sea or
ocean. This delta comprises
permanent marshlands and
seasonally flooded plains. It
covers part of the Kalahari
Desert and owes its
existence to the Okavango
(Kavango) River.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 86

Namib • Location: It is a coastal
Desert desert in Southern
Africa.
• Countries Covered:
Angola, Namibia, and
South Africa

Nubian • Location: It is in the

Desert eastern region of the
Sahara Desert.

MISCELLANEOUS:
• SUEZ CANAL
§ An artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting Mediterranean Sea to the Red
Sea through Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia.
§ The canal is part of the Silk Road that connects Europe with Asia.
• VELDS
§ It is a type of wide-open rural landscape in Southern Africa.
§ Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries
of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 87

 CONGO:
• Industries- Likazi and Lubumbashi,
• Bantu Language: Speaking Blacks.
• Kinshasa: Largest and Capital City.
• Matadi: Chief Port (River Congo).

NIGERIA:
• Most Populous.
• Harmattan: Hot and dust laden winds blow from the north east during dry season.
• Timber and ply wood are important exports.
• Kainji Dam-Niger River.
• Capital-Lagos.
• Port- Harcourt.
• Industrial centres- Kano, Kaduna, and Jos.

EGYPT:
• Mineral Oil: Sinai peninsula along the Red sea Coast.
• Sea Port: Alexandria.
• Capital/Largest City:Cairo.
SOUTH AFRICA:
• River: Orange, Vaal- Flow from Drakensberg mountain westward to the Atlantic Ocean.
• Gold Mines: Johannesburg.
• Diamond Mine: Kimberley.
• Pretoria: Administrative town.
• Cape Town: Seat of legislative and Largest Port.
• Ports: Durban, Port Elizabeth.

Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Somali, and Djibouti.

Maghreb Region: Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.
Algeria: Largest Country.
Seychelles: Smallest Country.
Mozambique: Largest Coastline.

www.sunyaias.com | Geography through Maps |www.sunyaias.com Page 88