The debate about where the geographical center of Asia is located cannot be easy, as it has a political connotation. Several countries have placed commemorative signs on their territory marking the place where, according to the authorities, there is a possible center of this part of the world.
Geographic feature
Asia is the largest part of the world, both in terms of population and territory. Its area together with the islands exceeds 43 million square kilometers, and its population reaches 4.2 trillion people.
In addition, this region is the most dynamically developing economically. After all, such countries as China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and India are located here.
The huge size of the continent does not allow to accurately determine the location of the geographical center of Asia, since this part of the world stretches from the Suez Canal to the Chukchi Peninsula.
Relief
Asia is washed by three oceans: the Arctic, Indian and Pacific. However, in its western part there are seas belonging to the basin of the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean, Caspian, Azov, Black and Marmara.
A distinctive feature of Asia is its extremely mountainous terrain, since up to three quarters of the area is occupied by mountain systems, the highest peaks of which are in Central and Central Asia. However, one can also speak of a very contrasting relief of this part of the world, since both the highest peak in the world - the Chomolungma, and the deepest depressions - Lake Baikal and the Dead Sea, which, as you know, are 392 meters below the sea level, are located here.
Borders
The name "Asia" comes from the ancient kingdom of Assuv, located in the North-West of the Anatolian Peninsula, also known as Asia Minor. Already in the era of antiquity, Greek scholars became interested in the problem of borders between the two parts of the world, which were first named by the Greek geographer Hekateus of Miletus in his fundamental work "Geography."
In the following centuries, the borders between Europe and Asia were constantly revised in connection with the newly discovered territories. It was proposed to separate two parts of the world either along the Don, then along the Kerch Strait, or along the Georgian River Rioni.
There is no final clarity with the borders of Asia today. That is why differences arise between Russia and China in determining the exact location of the geographical center of the region.
By the middle of the twentieth century, the USSR had some of the most common points of view on how to draw the border. According to one of them, the border passed along the eastern foot of the Urals and Mugodzhar, walked along the Emba River, turned along the northern shore of the Caspian Sea and along the Kumo-Manych depression went to the Kerch Strait, thus leaving the Sea of Azov in Europe.
Criticism and controversy around borders
Later this position was subjected to serious criticism, as it violated the principle of geographical integrity, according to which, the entire Urals was supposed to fall into Europe.
The third position was to draw the border along the watershed of the Ural mountain range, the Ural River, along the watershed of the Caucasian ridge to the Kerch Strait. Today, the final decision on the delimitation of Europe and Asia has also not been made, but in statistical calculations the border is drawn along the eastern administrative borders of the Arkhangelsk region, Komi, Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions, as well as established state borders between Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. In the Caucasus, the border is drawn along the north of Dagestan, the Stavropol and Krasnodar territories.
However, the border between Asia and Africa is also considered problematic, although to a lesser extent. The speculative line separating these two parts of the world was also constantly shifted, but in modern geography it is customary to draw it along the Suez Canal. Thanks to this, the Sinai Peninsula, owned by Egypt, enters Asia, and the rest of the country is in Africa.
How many regions in Asia
Given the enormous size of this geographical region, it is not surprising that subregions are also distinguished in it, which may differ in terms of both geographical conditions and the level of economic development.
Both Korea, Japan with all its islands, as well as the PRC and the Mongolian Republic are classified as East Asia. West Asia, according to this classification, stretches from Azerbaijan and Armenia to Yemen and Kuwait. In this way, states from Cambodia to the Philippines fall into Southeast Asia.
According to the classification adopted by the UN, South Asia includes:
- Afghanistan;
- Bangladesh;
- Butane;
- India;
- Iran;
- Maldives;
- Nepal;
- Pakistan;
- Sri Lanka.
And in Central Asia, which is often called Central in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan fall.
It is worth noting that, like all other issues related to politics and state borders, this classification is not universally recognized, since in the vast expanses of Asia there are numerous countries that are unrecognized or only partially recognized.
Monuments marking the center of Asia
According to the prevailing point of view in Russia, the geographical center of Asia is located in the Republic of Tuva, or rather, in its capital, the city of Kyzyl. Despite the fact that there are other views on this problem, the Tuvans decided to mark this place with a special memorial sign.
The construction of the obelisk "Center of Asia" began in Kyzyl in 1964 according to the sketch of the artist Vasily Demin. However, later it was slightly changed. The obelisk is located on the Kuzhuget Shoigu embankment in Kyzyl. The author of the current version of the obelisk is Dashi Namdakov - a famous Tuvan artist.
However, in China, they believe that the geographical center of Asia is located on their territory, and they also erected their own monument to mark it.