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A political map of Southeast Asia with countries, regions, islands, volcanoes, and capitals. Learn about the geography, history, culture, and biodiversity of this vast subregion of Asia, from the Indochinese peninsula to the Malay Archipelago.
- Overview
- Geology and relief
Southeast Asia, vast region of Asia situated east of the Indian subcontinent and south of China. It consists of two dissimilar portions: a continental projection (commonly called mainland Southeast Asia) and a string of archipelagoes to the south and east of the mainland (insular Southeast Asia). Extending some 700 miles (1,100 km) southward from the mainland into insular Southeast Asia is the Malay Peninsula; this peninsula structurally is part of the mainland, but it also shares many ecological and cultural affinities with the surrounding islands and thus functions as a bridge between the two regions.
Mainland Southeast Asia is divided into the countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, and the small city-state of Singapore at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula; Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, which occupy the eastern portion of the mainland, often are collectively called the Indochinese Peninsula. Malaysia is both mainland and insular, with a western portion on the Malay Peninsula and an eastern part on the island of Borneo. Except for the small sultanate of Brunei (also on Borneo), the remainder of insular Southeast Asia consists of the archipelagic nations of Indonesia and the Philippines.
Southeast Asia stretches some 4,000 miles at its greatest extent (roughly from northwest to southeast) and encompasses some 5,000,000 square miles (13,000,000 square km) of land and sea, of which about 1,736,000 square miles is land. Mount Hkakabo in northern Myanmar on the border with China, at 19,295 feet (5,881 metres), is the highest peak of mainland Southeast Asia. Although the modern nations of the region are sometimes thought of as being small, they are—with the exceptions of Singapore and Brunei—comparatively large. Indonesia, for example, is more than 3,000 miles from west to east (exceeding the west-east extent of the continental United States) and more than 1,000 miles from north to south; the area of Laos is only slightly smaller than that of the United Kingdom; and Myanmar is considerably larger than France.
All of Southeast Asia falls within the tropical and subtropical climatic zones, and much of it receives considerable annual precipitation. It is subject to an extensive and regular monsoonal weather system (i.e., one in which the prevailing winds reverse direction every six months) that produces marked wet and dry periods in most of the region. Southeast Asia’s landscape is characterized by three intermingled physical elements: mountain ranges, plains and plateaus, and water in the form of both shallow seas and extensive drainage systems. Of these, the rivers probably have been of the greatest historical and cultural significance, for waterways have decisively shaped forms of settlement and agriculture, determined fundamental political and economic patterns, and helped define the nature of Southeast Asians’ worldview and distinctive cultural syncretism. It also has been of great importance that Southeast Asia, which is the most easily accessible tropical region in the world, lies strategically astride the sea passage between East Asia and the Middle Eastern–Mediterranean world.
Britannica Quiz
Know Your Asian Geography Quiz
The physiography of Southeast Asia has been formed to a large extent by the convergence of three of the Earth’s major crustal units: the Eurasian, Indian-Australian, and Pacific plates. The land has been subjected to a considerable amount of faulting, folding, uplifting, and volcanic activity over geologic time, and much of the region is mountainou...
A political map of Southeast Asia Geographical divisions. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia (or the Indochinese Peninsula) and Maritime Southeast Asia. Mainland Southeast Asia includes: Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam: Cambodia; Laos; Vietnam; Myanmar, Thailand and West Malaysia: Myanmar ...
- 4,545,792 km² (1,755,140 sq mi)
- Zone 6 & 8
- Southeast Asian
- 675,796,065 (3rd)
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Apr 16, 2021 · Southeast Asia is a continent of 11 countries and 655 million people, covering about 4.5 million km2 of land area. It lies between China and Australia, and has a diverse geography, climate, and culture. Learn about its location, countries, population, history, and more.
- John Misachi
Nov 15, 2021 · Map of Southeast Asia. This map shows governmental boundaries of countries in Southeast Asia. Countries of Southeast Asia: Thailand , Vietnam , Singapore , Philippines , Indonesia , Malaysia , Myanmar , East Timor , Brunei , Cambodia and Laos .
Southeast Asia is a group of diverse tropical countries between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, featuring cultures influenced by both India and China and hosting large communities of Overseas Chinese. Map. Directions.
Learn about the history, geography, and culture of Southeast Asia, a region of eleven countries with diverse languages and religions. Explore the mainland and island zones, the monsoon winds, the trade networks, and the environmental challenges.
