Popular countries in the world

The Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, is a famous star cluster located in the constellation of Taurus. It is made up of a group of seven bright stars that are visible to the naked eye in the night sky. The stars in the Pleiades cluster are relatively young, being only about 100 million years old, which is young in astronomical terms. The Pleiades cluster has been observed and admired by cultures all around the world for thousands of years. In Greek mythology, the Pleiades were seven sisters who were pursued by the hunter Orion. To protect them, Zeus transformed them into stars, forming the star cluster we see today. Different cultures have their own stories and legends associated with the Pleiades, making it a fascinating object of study for astronomers and a source of inspiration for artists and storytellers. The Pleiades cluster is often used as a test of eyesight, as people are challenged to count how many stars they can see with the naked eye. Most people can see six or seven stars, but those with particularly sharp vision may be able to see more. The Pleiades is also a popular target for amateur astronomers with telescopes, as the cluster reveals even more stars and details when viewed through a telescope. In addition to being a beautiful sight in the night sky, the Pleiades cluster also serves a practical purpose for astronomers. By studying the stars in the Pleiades, scientists can learn more about how stars form and evolve, as well as gain insights into the structure and composition of the Milky Way galaxy. The Pleiades cluster continues to be an important object of study for astronomers, both amateur and professional, and its beauty and significance will continue to capture the imaginations of people for generations to come. Matariki is the Maori name for the Pleiades star cluster. The Pleiades is a group of stars that can be seen in the night sky, and Matariki is a special time of year when the star cluster is visible in the sky. In Maori culture, Matariki is seen as the beginning of the Maori New Year, and it is a time to celebrate and give thanks for the past year and look forward to the year ahead. So basically, Matariki is related to the Pleiades because it is a special time of year when those stars are visible in the sky and it has cultural significance for the Maori people. The Pleiades star cluster is known by different names in various cultures around the world. Here are some of the names by which the Pleiades are referred to in different countries: 1. Maori culture in New Zealand and Polynesia: Matariki 2. Greek mythology: The Seven Sisters 3. Japan: Subaru 4. Native American tribes: The Dancers or The Little Eyes 5. Inca civilization: Collca 6. Ancient Persia: Parvin 7. India: Krittika 8. Aboriginal Australians: The Seven Sisters or Djulpan These different names reflect the diverse cultural significance and interpretations of the Pleiades cluster in various societies throughout history.

Can you make me a 40 question quiz from the following information? he story of coffee has all the elements of a bestselling novel, such as chance happenings, luck, political intrigue, the high seas and great wealth. With research, you will find many stories and dates when this happened and dates when that happened. Often these stories and dates will conflict with each other. Whatever the history, coffee has become one of the most important trading commodities in the world. Being second only to oil and being one of the most popular beverages, behind tea, beer and of course, water. Coffee growing is a very labour-intensive operation and it provides important trading income for many nations and people throughout the world. The most famous story about the origin of coffee is the story of Kaldi a goat herder from Ethiopia. It is said he noticed that his goats became very active after eating the red berries of a certain plant. He tried a few himself and noticed the stimulating effect of the berries. It is then said that monks started drinking a beverage made from the berries to help stay awake for the prayers; this would have been around 1000 AD. Over the next few hundred years the Arab world started to use the berries as a beverage and coffee was born. In those early years, coffee was mostly confined to the Muslim world with the export of coffee plants and seeds banned. But coffee could not be hidden forever so eventually coffee was introduced to Constantinople and coffee houses were opened in 1475. European traders then brought coffee back to Europe by approximately 1600. At first, coffee was met with a hostile reaction, with some Christians calling it the ‘Devil’s Drink’ and asking Pope Vincent III to ban the beverage. He tried coffee and liked it so much that he is claimed to have said “This beverage is so delicious that it would be a sin to let only misbelievers drink it! Let’s defeat Satan by blessing this beverage, which contains nothing objectionable to a Christian!” Coffee shops sprung up in every city and became an important social and networking place to meet. This tradition continues today with the French word for coffee being ‘Café’. Coffee is said to have changed the social fabric of society by providing a popular non-alcoholic alternative to beer and wine. For the first time in recorded history people were not drunk all the time. Coffee today is grown and enjoyed worldwide and is one of the few crops that small farmers in third-world countries can profitably export. The coffee plant is a tree that is pruned to grow to a height of approximately three metres. This makes cultivating the beans easier as most of the beans are handpicked. The plant has white flowers similar to jasmine that grow in clusters and set to become red cherry-like fruit; beneath the red skin are two pips which are the coffee beans. Because the berries ripen at varying times the fruit must be handpicked to select only those beans ripe for harvest. This requires the picker to pick from the same plant many times and is very labour intensive. This is why coffee is grown in developing countries where labour is cheaper and foreign income is needed. Coffee plants grow best in a mountain tropical climate between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. This mountainous land is another reason why machine picking is very difficult and hand picking is preferred. There are two main species of coffee grown today: Coffee Arabica. Coffee Robusta. Robusta grows at lower altitudes and produces a larger crop than Arabica; therefore, it is cheaper to produce Arabica is the most popular and generally considered to give superior flavour. Most Robusta is grown in Asia and Africa. About 75% of coffee grown is Arabica and 25% Robusta. Robusta is more often used as a blend with Arabica rather than a standalone coffee; used as a filler coffee in the production of instant or to add extra caffeine to an Arabica coffee for the European markets. Robusta is higher in caffeine than Arabica, but the flavour is not as palatable as the more popular Arabica bean. Coffee is produced in about 60 countries throughout the world but production is dominated by three countries producing approximately half the crop: Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia.

To the Lakota, and other indigenous people on North America's Great Plains, the bison was an essential part of their culture ( expressed in the quote on the previous page). The bison provided meat for nutrition, a hide for clothing and shelter, bones for tools, and fat for soap. The bison was also central to their religious beliefs. So, when European settlers hunted the bison nearly to extinction, Lakota culture suffered. Culture is central to a society and the identity of its people, as well as its continued existence. Therefore, geographers study culture as a way to understand similarities and differences among societies across the world, and in some cases, to help preserve these societies. Analyzing Culture All of a group's learned behaviors, actions, beliefs, and objects are a part of culture. It is a visible force seen in a group's actions, possessions, and influence on the landscape. For example, in a large city you can see people working in offices, factories, and stores, and living in high-rise apartments or suburban homes. You might observe them attending movies, concerts, or sporting events. Culture is also an invisible force guiding people through shared belief systems, customs, and traditions. Culture is learned, in that it develops through experiences, and not merely transmitted through genetics. For example, many people in the United States have developed a strong sense of competitiveness in school and business, and believe that hard work is a key to success. These types of elements, visible and invisible, are cultural traits. A series of interrelated traits make up a cultural complex, such as the process of steps and acceptable behaviors related to greeting a person in different cultures. A single cultural artifact, such as an automobile, may represent many different values, beliefs, behaviors and traditions and be representative of a cultural complex. Since culture is learned there are many ways that one generation passes its culture to the next. Children and adults learn traits three ways: • imitation, as when learning a language by repeating sounds or behaviors from a person or television • informal instruction, as when a parent reminds a child to say "please" • formal instruction, as when students learn history in school 132 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP" EDITION CULTURAL COMPLEX OF THE AUTOMOBILE The automobile provides much more than just transportation, as it reflects many values that are central to American culture. Origins of Culture The area in which a unique culture or a specific trait develops is a culture hearth. Classical Greece was a culture hearth for democracy more than 2,000 years ago. New York City was a culture hearth for rap music in the 1970s. Geographers study how cultures develop in hearths and diffuse-or spread-to other places. Geographers also study taboos, behaviors heavily discouraged by a culture. For example, many cultures have taboos against eating certain foods, such as pork or insects. What is considered taboo changes over time. In the United States, marriages between Protestants and Catholics were once taboo, but they are not widely opposed now. Traditional, Folk, and Indigenous Cultures With the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, modern transportation and communication connected people as never before and led to extensive cultural mixing, especially as cities have grown. The world prior to this time was very different; however, remnants of the past are still evident in our modern cultures. Traditional, folk, and indigenous cultures share some important characteristics and are often grouped together, but they do have some subtle differences. Traditional Culture Recently, the meanings of traditional, folk, and indigenous culture have begun to merge, causing geographers to debate when each should be used. Increasingly, the term traditional culture is used to encompass all three cultural designations. All three types share the function of passing down long-held beliefs, values, and practices and are generally resistant to rapid changes in their culture. Folk Culture The beliefs and practices of small, homogenous groups of people, often living in rural areas that are relatively isolated and slow to change, are known as folk cultures. Like all cultures, they demonstrate the diverse ways that people have adapted to a physical environment. For example, people around the world learned to make shelters out of available resources, whether 3.1: INTRODUCTION TO CULTURE 133 it was snow or mud bricks or wood. However, people used similar resources such as wood differently. In Scandinavia, people used trees to build cabins. In the American Midwest, people processed trees into boards, built a frame, and attached the boards to it. Many traits of folk culture continue today. Corn was first grown in Mexico around 10,000 years ago, and it is still grown there today. While many elements of folk culture exist side by side with modern culture, there are people whose societies have changed little, if at all, from long ago. These people practice traditional cultures, those which have not been affected by modern technology or influences. They often live in remote regions, such as some small tribes in the Amazon rainforest, and have scant knowledge of the outside world. As the lines continue blurring between cultural designations, the Amish of Pennsylvania are often referenced as both folk and traditional culture. Indigenous Culture When members of an ethnic group reside in their ancestral lands, and typically possess unique cultural traits, such as speaking their own exclusive language, they are considered an indigenous culture. Some indigenous peoples have been displaced from their native lands, but still practice their indigenous culture. Native Americans in the United States, such as the Navajo, have kept indigenous cultural practices. First Nations of Canada, such as the Inuit, have also retained their indigenous culture. Globalization and Popular Culture As a result of the Industrial Revolution, improvements in transportation and communication have shortened the time required for movement, trade, or other forms of interaction between two places. This development, known as space-time compression (see Topics 1.4 and 3.6), has accelerated culture change around the world. In 1817, a freight shipment from Cincinnati needed 52 days to reach New York City. By 1850, because of canals and railroads, it took half that long. And by 1852, it took only 7 days. Today, an airplane flight takes only a few hours, and digital information takes seconds or less. Similar change has occurred on the global scale. People travel freely across the world in a matter of hours, and communication has advanced to a point where people share information instantaneously across the globe. The increased global interaction has had a profound impact on cultures, from spreading English across the world to instant sharing of news, events and music. Globalization specifically refers to the increased integration of the world economy since the 1970s. The process of intensified interaction among peoples, governments, and companies of different countries around the globe has had profound impacts on culture. The culture of the United States is intertwined with globalization. Through the influence of its corporations, Hollywood movies, and government, the United States exerts widespread influence in other countries. But other countries also shape American culture. For example, in 2019, the National Basketball Association included players from 38 countries or territories. When cultural traits- such as clothing, music, movies, and types of 134 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP. EDITION businesses-spread quickly over a large area and are adopted by various groups, they become part of popular culture. Elements of popular culture often begin in urban areas and diffuse quickly through globalization processes such as the media and Internet. These elements can quickly be adopted worldwide, making them part of global culture. People around the world follow European soccer, Indian Bollywood movies, and Japanese animation known as anime. With people in many nations wearing similar clothes, listening to similar music, and eating similar food, popular cultural traits often promote uniformity in beliefs, values, and the cultural landscape across many places The cultural landscape, also known as the built environment (see Topic 3.2), is the modification of the environment by a group and is a visible reflection of that group's cultural beliefs and values. Traditional Culture to Popular Culture Popular culture emphasizes trying what is new rather than preserving what is traditional. Many people, especially older generations or those who follow a folk culture, openly resist the adoption of popular cultural traits. They do this by preserving traditional languages, religions, values, and foods. While older generations often resist the adoption of popular culture, they seldom are successful in keeping their traditional cultures from changing, especially among the young people of their society. One clash between popular and traditional culture is occurring in Brazil. As the population expands to the interior of the rain forest, many indigenous cultures, like the Yanamamo tribe, have more contact with outside groups. Remaining isolated by the forest is becoming increasingly difficult as many young people from the indigenous cultures become exposed to popular culture and begin to integrate into the larger Brazilian society. As the young people leave their communities, they are more likely to accept popular culture at the expense of their indigenous cultural heritage, which threatens the very existence of their folk culture. Traditional culture typically exhibits horizontal diversity, meaning each traditional culture has its own customs and language that makes it distinct from other culture groups. Yet, people people within each group are usually homogeneous, or very similar to each other. By contrast, popular culture typically exhibits vertical diversity, meaning that modern urban societies are usually heterogeneous, or exhibiting differences, within the society and usually contain numerous multiethnic neighborhoods. However, on a global scale popular cultures are relatively similar with the same type of malls, shops, fast food, and clothing. Urban global culture centers are not identical, yet, global cities often do not have as much horizontal diversity across space as folk cultures. 3.1: INTRODUCTION TO CULTURE 135 COMPARING TRADITIONAL AND POPULAR CULTURE Trait Traditional Culture Popular or Global Culture Society • Rural and isolated location • Urban and connected location • Homogeneous and • Diverse and multiethnic indigenous population population • Most people speak an • Many people speak a global indigenous or ethnic local language such as English or language Arabic • Horizontal diversity • Vertical diversity Social • Emphasis on community and • Emphasis on individualism and Structure conformity making choices • Families live close to each • Dispersed families other • Weakly defined gender roles • Well-defined gender roles Diffusion • Relatively slow and limited • Relatively rapid and extensive • Primarily through relocation • Often hierarchical • Oral traditions and stories • Social media and mass media Buildings and • Materials produced locally, • Materials produced in distant Housing such as stone or grass factories, such as steel or glass • Built by community or owner • Built by a business • Similar style for community • Variety of architectural styles • Different between cultures • Similar between cities • Traditional architecture • Postmodern / contemporary architecture Food • Locally produced • Often imported • Choices limited by tradition • Wide range of choice • Prepared by the family or • Purchased in restaurants community Spatial Focus • Local and regional • National and global Artifacts, Mentifacts, and Sociofacts Whether a cultural attribute is considered traditional, folk, indigenous, or popular in nature, it is valuable to differentiate between elements of culture that can be seen and those that can not. There are artifacts that comprise the material culture, which consists of tangible things, or those that can be experienced by the senses. Art, clothing, food, music, sports, and housing types are all tangible elements of culture. Another element of the study of artifacts is understanding the techniques to use or build a specific artifact. Artifacts can be unique to a particular culture, or can be shared. For example, people of all cultures need to communicate through language, yet there are many groups that possess languages unique to their culture. The ability to read, write and understand the English language is an artifact of importance for much of popular global culture. 136 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP" EDITION Mentifacts comprise a group's nonmaterial culture and consist ofintangible concepts, or those not having a physical presence. Beliefs, values, practices, and aesthetics (pleasing in appearance) determine what a cultural group views as acceptable and desirable. Mentifacts can also be unique or shared. People of many cultures possess an belief in one or many deities, and often the deities are unique to that culture. The belief in a god is a mentifact-the religious building or symbols are artifacts. Cultural groups also possess sociofacts, which are the ways people organize their society and relate to one another. Taken altogether, people tend to see the whole of their culture as greater than the sum of its individual parts. Sociofacts are embodied through families, governments, sports teams, religious organizations, education systems, and other social constructs. As with artifacts and mentifacts, sociofacts may also be unique or similar to other societies. Families are the foundations of most societies, yet what constitutes the structure of a family may vary widely between cultural groups. For example, Western cultures tend to view the nuclear family, consisting of the parents and their children as the basic family unit. By contrast, in many Western African cultures the norm is the extended family, consisting of several generations and other family members such as cousins living under one roof.

Create quiz for the following, keep the questions in the same order and note that option 1 is the correct for all. 📊 Reading Quiz: Global E-sports Industry Overview 1. Identify the main idea of the infographic. A. To present key statistics and facts about global E-sports B. To explain how to become a professional gamer C. To describe different traditional sports 2. Determine which country has the highest number of active E-sports players. A. United States B. China C. Brazil 3. Identify which country has more active players: France or Germany. A. France B. Germany C. They have the same number 4. Select the correct detail about E-sports fans. A. The average age is 26–29 years old. B. Most fans are over 40 years old. C. The average age is 15–18 years old. 5. Identify what happened in 1972. A. The first E-sports tournament took place. B. Mobile gaming was invented. C. China became number one in E-sports. 6. Determine which segment of E-sports is growing the fastest. A. Mobile E-sports B. Console E-sports C. Traditional sports 7. Explain what the statistic “76% of E-sports fans spend more time playing E-sports than traditional sports” suggests. A. Most fans prefer playing E-sports over traditional sports. B. Fans dislike all sports. C. Traditional sports are more popular than E-sports. 8. Compare China and the United States. What can you conclude? A. The United States has more active players than China. B. China has more active players than the United States. C. Both countries have the same number of players. 9. Analyze why the author included numbers for many different countries. A. To show that E-sports is popular around the world B. To prove only one country is important C. To criticize traditional sports 10. Infer why the infographic includes the average age of fans. A. To show that E-sports mainly attracts young adults B. To show that children are the main audience C. To prove that older adults do not like E-sports

Cricket A Fun Sport. People around the world play an exciting sport called cricket. In cricket, a batter hits a ball with a large flat bat. The ball is about the same size as a baseball. The Basics. Two teams play a game of cricket. Each team has eleven players. They play on an oval field with an area in the middle called a pitch. The teams take turns batting and bowling, or throwing a ball. Two batters on the batting team stand on each end of the pitch. The team that isn't batting plays in the field. One player on each team is the bowler. The bowler throws a ball to a batter on the other team. The bowler tries to hit three small posts in the ground near the batter. These posts are called stumps. At the top of the stumps are two small pieces of wood called bails. Together, the stumps and bails are called wicket. If the bowler's ball knocks the bails off the wicket stumps, the batter is out. The batter protects the wicket by hitting the ball with his or her bat. If the batter hits the ball, he or she runs down the pitch. If the batter swaps places with the other batter, he or she scores one point. The point is called a run. Nine players on the bowling team play in the field. Their job is to get the balls that the batter hits. They can get the batter out by catching the ball. They can also throw the ball and hit the wicket to get an out. After ten outs, the bowling team gets their turn at bat. At the end of the game, the team with more runs wins. The History of Cricket. In the 1500s, children in England played cricket. By the early 1700s, adults started playing as professionals. In 1788, people created the cricket rules still in use today. Soon, cricket teams formed outside England as well. Then, people created longer cricket matches called Tests for world championships. Cricket teams played once at the Olympic Games in 1900. Some fans hope cricket teams will one day play in every Summer Olympic Games. Cricket Around the World. Today, people play cricket around the world. Ten countries have teams that play in Test matches. That's Cricket! Since its start as a children's game, cricket has been popular. Today, it is followed by billions of fans around the world. You can enjoy cricket, too!

Where Is It? Russia is a very big country. It is the largest country in the world almost twice as big as the United States. Russia is part of both Europe and Asia. Moscow is the capital of Russia. It is a big city in the European part of the country. More than twelve million people live there. The Russian president lives in a famous group of buildings in Moscow. People. Most people in Russia live and work in cities. The main language is Russian. In the country, jobs have to do with the land and the sea. For example, many people fish, mine oil and coal, and cut trees for wood. Sports such as soccer and ice hockey are popular in Russia. Russia is famous for music and a kind of dance show called ballet. Swan Lake is a famous Russian ballet. Land. The land in Russia is mainly low flatlands, high flatlands, and mountains. The deepest lake in the world, Lake Baikal, is in Russia. Russia has frozen flatlands in the north and wide grassy lands in the south. In between are huge forests. Russia is a cold country, and it is home to the coldest village in the world. But many places in Russia also have beautiful summers. History. In the past, czars, or emperors, ruled Russia. During that time, the peasants in Russia were unhappy. They didn't like the way the czars ruled the people. They fought in 1917 to change their country's ways. After the fight, Russia took control of a group of other nearby countries. Together they formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The USSR had many problems, so it broke up in 1991. Today, Russia has a president. Celebrations. Many people celebrate Christmas and Easter in Russia. On Easter, they eat cakes and paint hard-boiled eggs. Russian Easter egg Russians also have a holiday to celebrate the end of winter. For this holiday, people eat pancakes with butter. They also have fun with sleigh rides and snowball fights. Food. A popular soup in Russia is famous around the world. People make the soup from beets and other vegetables. Beets are red, so the soup also has a red color. Many Russians like a homemade drink. The drink has a sour flavor. Conclusion Russia is home to both crowded cities and wild forests. Russia has a long, rich history and many interesting things to do. The Russian people value the traditions of their beautiful homeland.

Soils Southeast Asia, on balance, has a higher proportion of relatively fertile soils than most tropical regions, and soil erosion is less severe than elsewhere. Much of the region, however, is covered by tropical soils that generally are quite poor in nutrients. Often the profusion of plant life is more related to heat and moisture than to soil quality, even though these climatic conditions intensify both chemical weathering and the rate of bacterial action that usually improve soil fertility. Once the vegetation cover is removed, the supply of humus quickly disappears. In addition, the often heavy rainfall leaches the soils of their soluble nutrients, hastens erosion, and damages the soil texture. The leaching process in part results in laterites of reddish clay that contain hydroxides of iron and alumina. Laterite soils are common in parts of Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam and also occur in the islands of the Sunda Shelf, notably Borneo. The most fertile soils occur in regions of volcanic activity, where the ejecta is chemically alkaline or neutral. Such soils are found in parts of Sumatra and much of Java in Indonesia. The alluvial soils of the river valleys also are highly fertile and are intensively cultivated. Climate All of Southeast Asia falls within the warm, humid tropics, and its climate generally can be characterized as monsoonal (i.e., marked by wet and dry periods). Changing seasons are more associated with rainfall than with temperature variations. There is, however, a high degree of climatic complexity within the region. Temperatures Regional temperatures at or near sea level remain fairly constant throughout the year, although monthly averages tend to vary more with increasing latitude. Thus, with the exception of northern Vietnam, annual average temperatures are close to 80 °F (27 °C). Increasing elevation acts to decrease average temperatures, and such locations as the Cameron Highlands in peninsular Malaysia and Baguio in the Philippines have become popular tourist destinations in part because of their relatively cooler climates. Proximity to the sea also tends to moderate temperatures. Precipitation Much of Southeast Asia receives more than 60 inches (1,500 millimeters) of rainfall annually, and many areas commonly receive double and even triple that amount. The rainfall pattern is distinctly affected by two prevailing air currents: the northeast (or dry) monsoon and the southwest (or wet) monsoon. The northeast monsoon occurs roughly from November to March and brings relatively dry, cool air and little precipitation to the mainland. As the southwestward-flowing air passes over the warmer sea, it gradually warms and gathers moisture. Precipitation is especially heavy where the airstream is forced to rise over mountains or encounters a landmass. The east coast of peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines, and parts of eastern Indonesia receive the heaviest rains during this period. The southwest monsoon prevails from May to September, when the air current reverses and the dominant flow is to the northeast. The mainland receives the bulk of its rainfall during this period. Over much of the southern Malay Peninsula and insular Southeast Asia there is little or no prolonged dry season. This is especially marked in much of the equatorial region and along the east coast of the Philippines. While the dry and wet monsoons are important in explaining rainfall patterns, so too are such factors as relief, land and sea breezes, convectional overturning and cyclonic disturbances. These factors often are combined with monsoonal effects to produce highly variable rainfall patterns over relatively short distances. While many of the cyclonic disturbances produce only moderate rainfall, others mature into tropical storms—called cyclones in the Indian Ocean and typhoons in the Pacific—that bring heavy rains and destruction to the areas over which they pass. The Philippines are particularly affected by these storms. Plant life Tropical forests in Southeast Asia Tropical forests in Southeast Asia The seasonal nature and pattern of Southeast Asia’s rainfall, as well as the region’s physiography, have strongly affected the development of natural vegetation. The hot, humid climate and enormous variety of habitats have given rise to an abundance and diversity of vegetative forms unlike that in any other area of the world. Much of the natural vegetation has been modified by human action, although large areas of relatively untouched land still can be found. The vegetation can be grouped into two broad categories: the tropical-evergreen forests of the equatorial lowlands and the open type of tropical-deciduous, or “monsoon,” forests in areas of seasonal drought. The evergreen forests are characterized by multiple stories of vegetation, consisting of a variety of trees and plants. Although a large diversity of tree species is found in these forests, members of the Dipterocarpaceae family account for roughly half of the varieties. Deciduous forests are found in eastern Indonesia and those parts of the mainland where annual rainfall does not exceed 80 inches. Just as in the equatorial forest, a wide variety of species is normally the rule. Certain species, such as teak, have become highly valued commercially. Teak is found in parts of Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. In addition to these two basic types of vegetation, other regional patterns reflect topography. Especially noteworthy are coastal and highland plant communities. Mangrove belts, of which there are more than 30 varieties, occur where silt is deposited in coastal areas. Upland forests dominated by maples, oaks, and magnolias are found especially on mainland mountain slopes. Human activity has been rapidly altering the stands of virgin forest in Southeast Asia. Most deforestation results from removal for fuelwood and clearing for agriculture and grazing. Although only a relatively small portion of the total land area has been permanently cleared for cultivation—e.g., in Java (Indonesia) and western Luzon (the Philippines)—in some areas shifting cultivation has brought about the replacement of virgin forest with secondary growth. In addition, nearly all countries have commercial logging industries; notable are those in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar. A growing problem has been illegal logging. Thus, timber harvesting has come to contribute significantly to deforestation. Programs in social forestry and reforestation have yet to halt the rapid denuding of the landscape. Animal life Southeast Asia is situated where two major divisions of the world’s fauna meet. The region itself constitutes the eastern half of what is called the Oriental, or Indian, zoogeographic region (part of the much larger realm of Megagaea). Bordering along the south and east is the Australian zoogeographic region, and the eastern portion of insular Southeast Asia—Celebes (Sulawesi), the Moluccas, and the Lesser Sunda Islands—constitutes a transition zone between these two faunal regions. a classroom in Brazil More From Britannica education: Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is notable, therefore, for a considerable diversity of wildlife throughout the region. These differences are especially striking between the species of the eastern and western fringes as well as between those of the archipelagic south and the mainland north. The differences stem largely from the isolation, over varying lengths of geologic time, of species following their migration from the Asian continent. In addition, the tropical rain forests in many parts of the region, with their great diversity of vegetation, have made possible the development of complex communities of animals that fill specialized ecological niches. Especially numerous are arboreal and flying creatures. orangutans orangutansOrangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in Sumatra, Indonesia. The distinction between the two faunal regions is best depicted by their mammal populations. In general, Australia is inhabited largely by marsupials (pouched mammals) and monotremes (egg-laying mammals), while Southeast Asia contains placental mammals and such hybrid species as the bandicoot of eastern Indonesia. Small mammals such as monkeys and shrews are the most numerous, while in many areas the larger mammals have been pushed into more remote areas and national preserves. Bears, gibbons, elephants, deer, civets, and pigs are found in both mainland and insular Southeast Asia, as are diminishing numbers of tigers. The Malayan tapir, a relative of the rhinoceros, is native to the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, while the tarsier is found in the Philippines and parts of Indonesia. A number of rare endemic species are found in Indonesia and East (insular) Malaysia, including the Sumatran and Javan rhinoceros, the orangutan, the anoa (a dwarf buffalo), the babirusa (a wild swine), and the palm civet. As the pace of development accelerates and populations continue to expand in Southeast Asia, concern has increased regarding the impact of human activity on the region’s environment. A significant portion of Southeast Asia, however, has not changed greatly and remains an unaltered home to wildlife. The nations of the region, with only few exceptions, have become aware of the need to maintain forest cover not only to prevent soil erosion but to preserve the diversity of flora and fauna. Indonesia, for example, has created an extensive system of national parks and preserves for this purpose. Even so, such species as the Javan rhinoceros face extinction, with only a handful of the animals remaining in western Java

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