Countries by Continents

___ Countries of Asia

Asia is the largest continent in the world in both, area and population, constituting nearly
one-third of the landmass, lying entirely north of the equator except for some Southeast
Asian islands. It is connected to Africa by the Isthmus of Suez and borders Europe (part
of the same landmass) along the Ural Mountains and across the Caspian Sea.
Area: about 49 700,000 km (19,189,277 sq mi) it covers about 30 percent of Earth's
total land area.
Population: more than 4 billion human inhabitants (4.3 billion in 2013), about 60
percent of the world's population. 1,33 billion of these people live in China. Seven out of
ten of the most populated countries are in Asia (2010).
Highest Point: Sagarmatha (Chomolungma; known as Mount Everest) 8,848m (29,028
ft) Nepal.
Largest Lake: Caspian Sea (salt lake) 371 000 km (143 250 sq mi),
Ozero Baykal, Lake Baikal 31 500 km in Siberia is the world's largest freshwater lake
by volume.
Longest River: Yangtze (Yngz Jiang, or Chang Jiang (simplified Chinese: )
China, 6,380 km (3,964 mi).
Languages of Asia: Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Russian, Thai,
Turkic, Vietnamese and other.

The Seas of Asia

Asia is caught between two huge oceans, the Indian Ocean to the west and the Pacific to the east.
In between is a complex geography of land & water that has given rise to some of the most
fascinating & species rich seas on our planet.
Much of the geography of south-east Asia is dictated by the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically active
zone around the edges of the Pacific, that encompasses the region and shapes the landscape,
producing volcanoes, mountains, island chains & trenches.
This complex geography has also produced 15 unique seas and many straits, which between them
comprise the most complex & diverse eco-system on the planet.

Asia's complex geography & history has created many different seas, which between them comprise the most complex &
diverse eco-system on the planet.

From Ocean to Ocean

Starting the the west, the Andaman Sea sits between the Indian Ocean &
the coasts of Burma, Thailand, Malaysia & Indonesia, drifting into the Bay
of Bengal in the north. Its western perimeter is marked by the remote
Andaman Island chain. The Similans, Mergui Archipelago & Pulah Weh are
some of the great diving spots in the Andaman.
Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia & the giant Indonesian island of Sumatra
separate the Andaman Sea from the South China Sea, the largest in Asia.
This sea stretches across to the Philippines in the east and laps the shores
of Borneo to the south, and Vietnam & China to the north.
The South China Sea comes to a head in the shallow Gulf of Thailand. This is one of the few parts of
Asias where the flow of water is slow, meaning the water is not as rich in nutrients as other seas in
the region.
To the east, the sea increases in depth as it reaches the Philippines, giving rise to some spectacular
dive spots, such as Layang Layang & the sites of northern Palawan.
Separated from the South China Sea by the island of Palawan is the Sulu Sea. The Sulu Sea is one of
the smallest, but most productive of Asias seas, marking the northern tip of the now famous Coral
Triangle, the most biologically diverse marine region on earth. It reaches northern Borneo to the
south and the islands of the Visayas & Mandanao in the Philippines to the east.
The Sulu Sea is deep, bringing nutrient rich upwellings from great depths, which support the

spectacular congregations of marine life found at sites such as Sipadan & the remote Tubbataha
Reefs. The popular dive sites of the Visayas region also fall within the Sulu Sea.
To the east, the Philippines Sea reaches out to the Pacific Ocean. Here, where the Pacific techtonic
plate disappears below the Philippine plate, the sea plunges to the greatest depths on the planet. This
trench is known as the Mariana trench, reaching a staggering depth of 10.9 km.

The Line & The Triangle

To the south of the Philippines, separated from the Sulu Sea by an
ocean ridge, is the Celebes Sea.
Part of the Coral Triangle, the Celebes Sea reaches the coast of northern
Sulawesi, an incredibly rich & diverse part of Asia that is home to
Bunaken National Park and the legendary Lembeh Strait- considered by
many to be the earths engine room of marine evolution. The Celebes
Sea is part of an ancient ocean basin and plummets to depths of over
6km.

Lembeh Strait is considered to be

an engine room of evolution.

To the east, the Celebes Sea opens out in the the Pacific Ocean, while to
the south, it meets the Makassar Strait.
This region sprung to prominence among scientists in the 19th century, when the Wallacea Line
theory was proposed. This line passes from the Celebes Sea, through the straits of Makassar & Lomok
then out into the Indian Ocean. It marks the boundary between two distinct groups of wildlife. To the
south & east, animals are of Australian origin, while to the west, wildlife is distinctly Asian. In days of
lower sea levels, many of south east Asias islands were linked by land, but this deep stretch of water
that marks the line of Wallacea prevented further expansion, explaining the distinct wildlife groups on
adjacent islands.
Crossing to the southern hemisphere and heading east to Papua New Guinea, we find the Bismark &
Soloman Seas. The marine life here bears greater similarities to that of the Great Barrier Reef and
Coral Sea off Australias north-eastern coast. The area marks the south-eastern tip of the Coral
Triangle and, until fairly recently, was thought to possess the greatest diversity of coral & fish species
on earth.
That accolade is currently held by the tiny Halmahera Sea off the north eastern tip of Western Papua.
Sitting almost exactly on the equator, this sea is home to 600 different species of coral and around
1300 fish species. It is possible to dive at Raja Ampat & Fak-Fak, in the Halmahera Sea, by
Liveaboard from slightly less remote parts of Indonesia.
To the south of here, the shallow Arafura Sea stretches across to the northern coast of Australia and,
in the west, meets the Timor Sea. The Timor Sea, like the Arafura, is primarily a shallow sea, with the
exception of a deep trough to the north. It empties out into the southern Indian Ocean to the west.
To the north of this area, we re-enter the Coral Triangle through the strait of Alor and find the seas
Banda & Molucca - home to the Moluccas, a group of islands famed in days gone by as the Spice
Islands. The Banda Islands and Ambon are two of the excellent dive spots in the area, along with Alor
to the south.
Wakatobi, off the south-eastern arm of Sulawesi, lies between the Banda Sea the Flores Sea.
Wakatobi is one of the few areas that has all 3 types of reef system - fringing reef, barrier reef and
atolls. The Flores Sea is another incredibly productive sea, with spectacular marine life off the
southern arms of Sulwesi and all around Flores, Komodo & Sumbawa to the south.
The straits between the Nusa Tengarra island chain of Indonesia, including Flores, Sumbawa &
Lombok, have some of the strongest currents on earth due to the Indonesia Throughflow. The
Indonesian throughflow is a massive transference of water from the Pacific to the Indian Oceans,
which has to squeeze through the small channels between the islands. These ripping currents make

for tricky diving conditions, but incredibly healthy marine eco-systems as they flood the area with the
nutrients required to support a huge array of life.
Bali, to the west, is where the Flores Sea meets the Java Sea and marks the south-western tip of the
Coral Triangle. The relatively shallow Java Sea separates Java, Indonesias most populous island from
Borneo, the worlds largest island to the north. To the west, it meets Sumatra, separating it from the
Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean, where our journey began.