HYDROGRAPHY OF ASIA: SEAS, LAKES AND RIVERS - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

The hydrography of Asia is extremely rich, with many seas, lakes and rivers of varying size and location, and with distinctive features. Asia is the largest and most populous continent on planet Earth. It has approximately 44 million square kilometers and its population amounts to 4,393,000,000 inhabitants.

The Asian continent is divided into six sub-regions, very different from each other. A large part of them responds to an Arab and Persian culture, as well as their Muslim heritage. The other large portion encompasses the eastern side and such cultures as Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. All this accompanied by Russia and India.

Being such a varied territory, Asia is a continent with very prominent bodies of water. Surrounded by the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the continent has important rivers of great magnitude such as the Yenisei, or the Ganges. In the lake part is the largest in the world: the Caspian Sea.

Hydrography: seas, lakes and rivers of Asia

- Rivers

Yangtze

The Yangtze is of the monsoon type since it receives rainwater between the months of May and August. Photo: Andes News Agency.

It is the longest river on the Asian continent, and is also the third longest in the world, only surpassed by the Amazon and the Nile.

Its length exceeds 6,300 kilometers. The river runs through the entire territory of the People's Republic of China, crossing from west to east.

The Yangtze crosses eight provinces, because it begins in Tibet and empties into the East China Sea, in the Pacific Ocean.

Ganges

Pollution in the Ganges River (India). Source: Bibek2011

It is the distinctive river of the Republic of India, and has an outstanding importance in the historical and religious part.

Its length is 2510 kilometers and passes through eastern India, entering its journey to Bangladesh.

It is born in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, in the western part of the Himalayan Mountains and flows together with the Brahmaputra River in the Ganges delta, the largest in the world.

Indo

With a length of 3,810 kilometers, the Indus River is the most important in Pakistan, passing through the People's Republic of China and India.

Born in China, specifically in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Then it enters the northern part of India in Kashmir and passes to Pakistan, a country that it crosses in a southerly direction until it empties into the Arabian Sea.

Euphrates

It is one of the two great rivers of Western Asia, along with the Tigris. It has an area of ​​2780 kilometers along and historically delimited the region of Mesopotamia.

At present, it passes through Turkey, the country in which it was born, passing through the Syrian Arab Republic until it reaches Iraq. At the end of its journey, it joins the Tigris forming the Shatt al-Arab that empties into the Persian Gulf.

Obi

Obi River in Barnau, the administrative center of Altai Krai, Russia. Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Vitecek ~ commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims).

If the Obi-Irtish system is considered, its length reaches 5,410 kilometers, which would make it the seventh largest river in the world.

Although it is entirely in Russia, its basin is also located in Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia. It is located in the Siberian region, originating in the Altai krai, and ending in the gulf of the same name, of the Arctic Ocean.

Tigris

It is the other great river in Western Asia. It joins in the final part of its journey to the Euphrates, to flow into the Persian Gulf, in the small coastal portion that Iraq has.

This river is 1900 kilometers long and has a route very similar to that of the Tigris, practically parallel. It also goes through the same countries, which are Turkey, Syria and Iraq.

- Seas and oceans

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of all the oceans on the planet. Source: pixabay.com

Located at the top of the globe, it circles the north pole and has an area of ​​14,056,000 square kilometers.

It is also called the Arctic Glacial Ocean, and much of its surface is frozen all year round.

On the Asian side, the country that controls the entirety of this ocean is the Federal Republic of Russia. Through this ocean you can connect with Europe and America.

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean spans 15,000 kilometers. Source: pixabay.com

It is the largest ocean in the world, and occupies 155,557,000 square kilometers of the surface of planet Earth.

Its entire western part bathes the coasts of the Asian continent, in countries such as Russia, China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, the Republic of China, Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, among others. It joins the American continent at its other end.

Indian Ocean

The Maldives islands are located in the Indian Ocean. Source: pixabay.com

Located at the bottom of the Indian subcontinent, the Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceans, covering an area of ​​68,556,000 square kilometers.

On the Asian side, it bathes the coasts of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, Maldives, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

- Lagos

Caspian Sea

Covering an area of ​​371,000 square kilometers, the Caspian Sea stands as the largest lake in the world. It is an endorheic lake of brackish water and one of its main feeder rivers is the Volga.

Its coasts bathe Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan. This sea is important energetically, because it has important reserves of natural gas and oil.

Baikal lake

Located in Russia, Lake Baikal is tectonic in origin and has an area of ​​31,722 square kilometers.

It is the largest freshwater lake in the world, as well as the deepest lake in all of Asia. It contains about 20% of the freshwater surface of planet Earth. It is a World Heritage Site declared by Unesco.

Lake Baljash

It is an endorheic-type lake located entirely in Kazakhstan. It has an area of ​​16,996 square kilometers.

The lake is fed by at least seven rivers and is divided into two parts, marked by the Saryesik peninsula. To the west of it, the waters are sweet and shallow while to the east they are salty and deep.

References

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