33960_First Childrens Encyclopedia

First Children’s

Encyclopedia

First reference for young readers and writers



First Children’s
Encyclopedia

A DORLING KINDERSLEY BOOK

LONDON, NEW YORK, Contents
MELBOURNE, MUNICH, and DELHI
Editors Penny Smith, Lorrie Mack, Our world

Caroline Stamps, Lee Wilson 6–7 Our world
Project Art Editor Mary Sandberg 8–9 The Arctic
Designers Laura Roberts-Jensen, Lauren Rosier 10–11 Canada and Alaska
Publishing Manager Bridget Giles 12–13 United States of America
14–15 Mexico and Central America
Art Director Rachael Foster 16–17 South America
Production Editor Siu Chan 18–19 Africa
Jacket Designers Natalie Godwin, 20–21 Scandinavia
22–23 UK and Ireland
Laura Roberts-Jensen 24–25 The Low Countries
26–27 France
Contents first published in various titles of the DK First Reference series 28–29 Germany and the Alps
(Illustrated Atlas, Encyclopedia, Human Body Encyclopedia, Science 30–31 Spain and Portugal
Encyclopedia, Animal Encyclopedia, Nature Encyclopedia, Dinosaur 32–33 Italy
Encyclopedia, Space Encyclopedia) in Great Britain between 34–35 Central Eastern Europe
2002 and 2008 by Dorling Kindersley. 36–37 Eastern Europe
This edition first published in Great Britain in 2010 by 38–39 Southeast Europe
Dorling Kindersley Limited, 80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL 40–41 Russia and Central Asia
42–43 Middle East
Copyright © 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited 44–45 Southern Asia
A Penguin Company 46–47 Southeast Asia
48–49 China and neighbours
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 50–51 Japan
176265 – 11/09 52–53 Australia
54–55 New Zealand and the Pacific
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, 56–57 Antarctica
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any 58–59 Flags of the world
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
People and society
without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
60–61 World of people
A CIP catalogue record for this book 62–63 Religious lands
is available from the British Library. 64–65 Religious life
66–67 Writing and printing
ISBN 978-1-40535-273-4 68–69 Art and architecture
Colour reproduction by MDP, UK 70–71 Music
Printed and bound by Toppan, China 72–73 Theatre and dance
74–75 Clothes and fashion
Discover more at 76–77 Sport and leisure
78–79 Working people
www.dk.com

2

History of people 148–149 How plants work 226–227 Changing states
150–151 Fungi 228–229 Amazing atoms
80–81 World of history 152–153 Micro life 230–231 Molecules
82–83 Early people 154–155 Food chains 232–233 Reactions and
84–85 Ancient Egypt changes
86–87 Ancient Greece Ecosystems and habitats 234–235 What is energy?
88–89 The Romans 236–237 Electricity
90–91 The Vikings 156–157 Ecosystems 238–239 Light
92–93 Aztecs, Incas, and 158–159 Polar regions 240–241 Sound
160–161 Deciduous forests 242–243 Forces and motion
Mayas 162–163 Rainforests 244–245 Machines
94–95 Knights and castles 164–165 A sea of grass
96–97 20th century 166–167 Life in a meadow Planet Earth
168–169 At the water hole
Human body 170–171 Desert regions 246–247 Our planet
172–173 Life in thin air 248–249 Earth’s structure
98–99 Your amazing body 174–175 Cool caves 250–251 Rocks and
100–101 What makes you 176–177 The flowing current
178–179 Still waters minerals
you? 180–181 Survival in the sea 252–253 Shaping the land
102–103 Building blocks 254–255 Soil
104–105 Organizing the Age of the dinosaurs 256–257 Resources in the

body 182–183 Age of the ground
106–107 Bones and muscles dinosaurs 258–259 Fresh and salt
108–109 Brain and senses
110–111 Breathing 184–185 What is a water
112–113 All about skin dinosaur? 260–261 The water cycle
114–115 Body defences 262–263 The atmosphere
116–117 Eating and 186–187 A hip question 264–265 Weather
188–189 Find a friend 266–267 The energy crisis
digestion 190–191 Eggstraordinary
118–119 Making a baby The universe
120–121 Amazing facts eggs
192–193 Sauropods 268–269 What is space?
about YOU! 194–195 Cretaceous cows 270–271 Where does space
196–197 Horns and frills
The living world 198–199 T. Rex begin?
200–201 Big and bold 272–273 Our place in space
122–123 The living world 202–203 Meet the raptors 274–275 The Milky Way
124–125 What is an animal? 204–205 Monsters of the 276–277 Rockets
126–127 Types of animal 278–279 Moon journey
128–129 The world of deep 280–281 Men on the moon
206–207 How was it made? 282–283 Space shuttle
mammals 208–209 What happened? 284–285 Working in space
130–131 Marsupials 210–211 Living dinosaurs 286–287 Exploring Mars
132–133 Water mammals 288–289 The Sun
134–135 The world of birds Science and technology 290–291 A star is born
136–137 The world of 292–293 The Big Bang
212–213 What is science?
reptiles 214–217 Advances in science Reference section
138–139 The world of 218–219 Being a scientist
220–221 Science and 294–297 Glossary
amphibians 298–303 Index
140–141 The world of everyday life 304 Acknowledgements
222–223 All living things
insects 224–225 Properties of matter
142–143 The world of

non-insects
144–145 The world of fish
146–147 What is a plant?

3

Introduction The First Children’s
Encyclopedia is divided into
Using this book ten colour-coded chapters so
you can see what you are
In these pages you can find a country looking for at a glance:
and discover its major features, look at
culture and history, and observe wildlife Our world
and ecosystems. You can also explore the
world of science – from how technology People and society
works to what’s going on inside the
human body. Enjoy a thrilling journey! History of people

What’s what on a page? Human body

The pages have special features The living world
that show you how to get your hands
on as much information as possible! Ecosystems and habitats
Look out for these: Age of the dinosaurs

Science and technology

Planet Earth
The universe

The Curiosity quiz will get
you searching through each
section to find the pictures.

The living world The living world

The living world Insects such as Curiosity quiz
butterflies are
Our amazing world is filled with millions Snake invertebrates. Look through The
living world pages and
of species, or types, of living thing. They Plants see if you can identify
the pictures below.
can be as big as an elephant or so Plants cannot move
Dragonfly around like animals. To
small you have to look through survive and grow, they
Spider a microscope to see them. have to make their own
food. In turn, plants
Animals Micro-organisms provide food for many
Micro-organisms are very animals and fungi.
The animal kingdom is tiny – they are made up
made up of vertebrates of a single cell. Signs of life
(animals with a backbone) This amoeba is Living things share some
and invertebrates (animals magnified more characteristics. They all
without a backbone). than 100 times. need food and oxygen. They
also grow, reproduce, and
Mammals, birds, Sunflower adapt to their environment.
reptiles, amphibians,
Coral reef and fish are vertebrates.

Fungi Tree frog
Fungi (like toadstools,
Deer mushrooms, and moulds)
are neither plants nor
animals, but they’re more
like plants than animals.

Fungi

Become
an expert

126-127 Types
of animals

148-149 How
plants work

122 Which group of animals has the most members? Invertebrates – they make up 97 per cent of all animal species. 123

Become an expert tells
you where to look for more
information on related subjects.

4
There is a question at the bottom of each page.

Using this book

Hands on Text gives you
information
about a subject.

Want to try Properties of matter
something forMPayrteoroiaulpsrsescieernlctfe?ies of matter
Then look at aWhat they are... Some materials are hard and Safety Compressibility
There are many different brittle, while others are flexible. glass Gases can be
Some materials are colourful, while squashed, or Foot pump
“Hands on” tip.properties of matter. others are transparent. These kinds Brittleness compressed, by
Boiling point is the of features are called “properties”. Some materials, such as glass, are squeezing more
very brittle and will break when into the same
hottest a liquid can get pushed out of shape. Safety glass is space. This is what
designed to crack rather than break. happens when you
before becoming a gas. pump up a tyre.

Freezing point is the A cork floats on oil. Gas can be compressed
temperature at which Oil floats on water. because its particles are far
a liquid becomes a solid. apart. A bicycle pump pushes
the particles closer together.

Plasticity is how well Hardness Gas particles Diamond is
a solid can be reshaped. the hardest
Does it float? mineral.
Conductivity is how well It’s easy to learn about
a material lets electricity some properties, such A scientist called Friedrich Mohs created a 9
or heat travel through it. as the ability to float. Corundum
The amount of matter
Malleability is how well in a certain volume of scale of ten minerals to compare how hard they
a solid can be shaped an object is called its
Hands on tells you without breaking. density. Objects and are. Many materials are graded on this scale. 10
how to get stuck in liquids float on liquids Diamond
and try an experiment Tensile strength is how of a higher density and 5
for yourself. much a material can sink through liquids Apatite 6 7 8
stretch without breaking. of a lower density. Feldspar Quartz Topaz
4
Fluorite

2 3
1 Gypsum Calcite
Talc

Softest Photographs
mineral show you
information
Flammability is how A plastic building brick sinks Hands on about a subject.
easily and quickly a through oil but floats on water.
Buttons contain mini substance will catch fire. Collect some Quick quiz
facts: quick information An onion sinks through oil and different pebbles questions are
at your fingertips. Reflectivity is how well water, but floats on syrup. and put them in order of at the bottom
a material reflects light. Syrup sinks below water. hardness. A pebble is harder of each page.
Water reflects well. than another if it scratches it.
A good insulator This is how Mohs worked
Transparency is how Heat cannot easily pass
well a material will let through some materials. out his scale.
light pass through it.
These are known as A smooth flow
Flexibility is how easily insulators. For example, Some liquids flow more
a material can be bent. easily than others. It depends
aerogel can completely on their “stickiness”, or viscosity.
Solubility is how well block the heat of a flame. Hot lava from a volcano flows
a substance will dissolve, But don’t try this at home! slowly because it is sticky.
such as salt in water.

224 Is a diamond harder than quartz? Check here for the answer. 225

The universe Because the moon has no atmosphere.Here comes Earth Men on the moon Colour coding
Instead of the moon rising, identifies each
Men on the moon Yes, a diamond is the hardest mineral of all. It will scratch quartz.the astronauts sawHow did they talk? chapter at
Earth rising over the There’s no air in space, so a glance.
On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first moon’s horizon – it sound has nothing to travel
looked four times through. Lunar astronauts
person to walk on the surface of the moon. He was bigger than the use radio equipment in
moon looks their helmets.
joined by Buzz Aldrin. A third astronaut, W eird or wha t? from Earth.
Mike Collins, remained in orbit with the Neil
We have transport! Armstrong
command and service modules. The lunar Three later Apollo missions
module computer each carried a small electric car,
a lunar rover, which allowed the
on Apollo 11 had just astronauts to explore away from
the lander. These were left on the
71K of memory. Some moon when the astronauts left.

calculators can

now store more

than 500K.

The lunar What did they do? This dish
module was Armstrong and Aldrin antennae
nicknamed spent almost 22 hours allowed the
the Eagle. on the moon. About astronauts to
2.5 hours of this send pictures
was spent outside to Earth.
the Eagle, collecting
rock and soil samples,
setting up experiments,
and taking pictures.

What was it like? One lunar rover Weird or what?
Buzz Aldrin described reached a top
the moon’s surface speed of 22 km/h Want to know
as like nothing on (13.5 mph). somethin281g surprising?
Earth. He said it
consisted of a fine, Splashdown Then look at a “Weird or
talcum-powder-like The astronauts returned to
dust, strewn with Earth in the Apollo 11 command what?” tip.
pebbles and rocks. module. This fell through the
atmosphere and landed in the
Why is there no blue sky on the moon? Pacific Ocean. A ringed float
helped to keep it stable.

280 Weird or what? are
packed with extra weird
Every page is or wonderful facts.
colour coded to
show you which
chapter it’s in.

5

Our world North Atlantic
America Ocean
Our world
Pacific
Land covers a third of Ocean
planet Earth, and water
and ice cover the rest.
We divide the land into
seven main chunks called
continents. The sea is
divided into five major
areas called oceans.

Inside the Earth South
America
The core of the Earth is made
of metal – solid in the middle and
molten all around it. We live on a thin,
solid crust, a bit like the crust of a pie.

Where people live

This picture of Earth at
night was taken by a
satellite in space. The
bright bits are made
by lights on the surface.
They show where the
world’s big cities and
towns are.
6

How long would a trip around the Equator take at walking speed?

Arctic Ocean Our world

Europe Asia

Africa Pacific
Ocean
Equator

Indian The Equator is
Ocean Australia an imaginary line
around the middle
of the world.

The Southern Ocean runs all the way around Antarctica.

Southern Ocean Can you find...

Antarctica The smallest continent?
The continent of Australia is
Seven continents also the world’s biggest island.

North America, South America, Europe, The most crowded
Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica are continent? About 3,500
Earth’s continents. Sometimes people call million people live in Asia.
Europe and Asia one continent (Eurasia).
The biggest ocean? The
About a year (without stopping for a rest). Pacific Ocean is as big as all
other oceans put together.

7

The Arctic An imaginary line called (USA)
the Arctic Circle marks
The Arctic the outer edge of the Prudhoe
Arctic region.
At the top of the world is the North
Pole, and around this is an area Bea A laska Bay
called the Arctic. The Arctic is mostly
ocean. In its centre is a gigantic lump ufort Sea
of floating ice that never completely
melts. Further out are the northern
tips of the continents and the huge
island of Greenland.

Arctic people Moose Arctic tern

Arctic people live in the icy lands Canada Queen
around the Arctic Ocean. The Elizabeth
weather is too cold for growing Islands
crops, so Arctic people get all their
food from animals. They survive Ptarmigan Ellesmere Island
by fishing, herding reindeer, and
hunting seals and whales. Qaanaaq

Gr e e Polar bear

n l a d

n

8
Who was the first person to reach the North Pole?

Chukchi The Arctic
Sea
The Arctic tern catches small
fish and shrimps by swooping
across the surface of the sea.

Walrus R

Seal Laptev A
Sea
Arctic us
Ocean
rcti Pole to pole
The Arctic tern spends
sia most of its life flying.
It breeds in the Arctic
c during the northern
summer. Then it flies
n all the way to the
Antarctic, where it
Circle stays during the
southern summer.
Federa
Keeping warm
Arctic wolf tion Arctic animals
Noril’sk have to endure
The North Pole bitterly cold
Musk ox Kara weather. Walruses
Sea have a layer of
blubber (fat) to keep
Franz Novaya Zemlya them warm. Polar
Josef bears and reindeer
Land have thick coats of fur.

Svalbard 9

Reindeer

Greenland Sea Iceberg Barents
Sea
Killer whale
Murmansk

Tromsø

Norwegian Sea

An American called Robert Peary, in 1909.

The Americas

Canada and Alaska Ellesmere
Island
Canada is the second-largest country in the

world, and Alaska is the largest of all the US

states. Despite their huge size, both places have

small populations because much of the land Queen Elizabeth
is covered in thick forest Islands

or frozen for most Caribou Oil drilling Banks
of the year. rait Island
Sea Prudhoe
Bering St Bay Victoria Island

Huskies
pulling sled

Bering Alaska (USA) Great Bear Musk ox
Lake
Walrus Mount McKinley YukMoanckenzie C
Fur seal (Denali) Territory MountainsNorthwest Territories
6,194m (20,320ft) Moose
Anchorage Whitehorse Yellowknife

Valdez

Juneau Mountie
(policeman)

Salmon British Grizzly Saskatchewan
Columbia bear

The Trans-Alaskan Pipeline RockyTotem pole M o Alberta
The USA’s largest oil-drilling area is
in Alaska. A huge overground pipeline, Pacific Ocean u n t a i n s Edmonton
1,287 km (800 miles) long, carries the oil
from Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez. Timber

Vancouver Vancouver Calgary Regina
Island Canadian

Victoria

Calgary skyline

USA

10
What is the tallest mountain in North America, at 6,194 m (20,320 ft) high?

N E Canada and Alaska
S Industries
W
Here are some of the main
Hooded seal industries in the region.

Baffin Island Timber from trees is used
as building material or for
Iqaluit Right whales making furniture.
Canada goose (whale watching is
a popular activity) Oil is used to make fuels
da like petrol, and chemicals
such as plastics.

Wheat is grown in the centre
of Canada on prairies, which
are huge, flat fields.

Metals such as zinc,
aluminium, gold, and silver
are mined in Canada.

Inuit Black Newfoundland
children bear

Nunavut and Labrador

ana

Newfoundland dog

Hudson Bay St. John’s

Beluga whale and calf Mining Prince Gannet
Maple leaf
Québec Edward
Island
Charlottetown Ocean
New

Brunswick Nova Scotia

Halifax

Québec Fredericton

Beaver Montreal Atlantic

Manitoba Ontario Snowboarding CN Tower, OTTAWA
Lake
Winnipeg Toronto Lake Ontario

prairies Superior Lake
HuronToronto
MLicahkiegan
Lake Erie Niagara Falls

Harbour porpoises

Mount McKinley (Denali). 11

The Americas

United States of America

The United States Technology Grizzly bear
of America is an industry (brown bear)
enormous country
made up of 50 states. Seattle Helena
There are mountains,
deserts, forests, Olympia Montana

olumWbiaaRsihveirngton
Salem
California Bison Missouri
wetlands, and Oregon Rocky
vast plains in C Mount Rushmore
National Memorial

Boise Skiing in the

Idaho Mo Rockies
Gre
the USA. Golden Gate u n tains Wyoming
Bridge
at Salt
Pacific Ocean Carson City Cheyenne
Mountain lion Lake

Nevada Salt Lake City Wheat
harvesting
Utah
San Francisco Denver

Colorado

Hollywood Hills Death Valley Colorado River Monument Valley Santa Fe
Los Angeles National Monument
Arizona New Mexico
Sonoran Road
Hawaii One of the USA’s 50 states runner
is a group of eight volcanic Phoenix
Kauai islands in the Pacific Ocean.
This state is called Hawaii. Desert

Niihau Honolulu Socorro space telescope
Oahu
Molokai Gila monster

Lanai Maui N

Hawaii W Rio Grande

Mount Kilauea, on the main E
island of Hawaii, is the world’s
most active volcano.

S Mexico

12
Which is the only US state not shown on this map?

United States of America

Canada This map shows 48 of the 50 states
of the USA. The other two states are
thousands of kilometres away. Alaska
is northwest of Canada, and Hawaii
is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

ke Superior Blueberries
Augusta
Wisconsin
Bismarck La La NHeawmpshire Maine
Lake Michigan Vermont
North Minnesota
Lakke Huron
River G r e a t Dakota e Ontario Boston
Massachusetts
Pierre New York
Rhode
South Island
Dakota
Michigan Connecticut
Nebraska
Dairy farming Detroit Lake Erie Pennsylvania Statue of Liberty
Ohio New York
Iowa Chicago Harrisburg
New
Indiana Jersey

Delaware

Maryland

Lincoln WASHINGTON DC

Raccoon Sears Tower, Chicago West
Virginia
M iRsisivsesrippi American football

Topeka Illinois alachian MountainsOhio RiverceanVirginia The Capitol building,
Missouri St. Louis Washington, DC
Kansas Atlantic OKentucky Raleigh
American

Plains bald eagle

Tennessee North Carolina

Oklahoma Arkansas Country music South
Mississippi A p p Carolina
City
Alabama Atlanta
“Tornado Alley” Little Rock
Georgia
Oklahoma

Dallas Montgomery Kennedy Space Center

Oil wells Texas Paddle steamer Tallahassee

Louisiana Florida

Baton Rouge
New Orleans

Cowboy Jazz music The Everglades Dolphin-
watching
Gulf of Mexico Miami
13
American alligator

Alaska (see page 10-11).

The Americas N

Tijuana Sonoran Prickly
Desert pear cactus

B USA

a W E

j

Gulf Rio Grande

aC S

aolfiCf aolrifnori Cattle S

nia Madre Armadillo
Sierra
a Madre Oriental
ierra
Monarch Monterrey Gulf of Mexico

Boojum Los Mochis O butterfliescci
tree dental
La Paz Brown
pelican Mariachi Atlante
statue
at Tula

Grey Pacifi Mexico
whale
Agave

andc Ocean Guadalajara MEXICO CITY Veracruz
Catedral Metropolitana
Mexico
Central America Acapulco
Mexico and Central America form a Did you know?

natural bridge linking the USA to Coffee beans and
South America. The north of Mexico bananas are Costa Rica’s
is dry and dusty. As you travel south, most important crops.
the weather gets rainier and the land
becomes greener, with lush rainforests Chocolate was first
covering mountains and volcanoes. made in Mexico, from the
seeds of the cacao tree.
14
How do spider monkeys use their tails? Sugar cane from Central
America and the Caribbean
is used to make sugar.

Mexico and Central America

West Indies

Bahamas To the east of Central America is a
chain of tropical islands called the
NASSAU

Antilles

Atlan

Cari
HAVANA tic West Indies. The weather here is

Cuba Ocean warm all year, but hurricanes
can strike in summer.
Palm tree
Pineapples
L e
Greater Dominican s s e
Republic JUAN
Haiti SAN r

PORT-AU-PRINCE Puerto Rico

Jamaica Antilles SANTO ( U S A )
DOMINGO
KINGSTON

Dominica Frigate

bbean Sea St Lucia

Yacht B a r b a d o s

PORT-OF-SPAIN Trinidad
and Tobago

Flamingos

Chichén Itzá

Coral reef

Olmec Green turtle
head
Belize
Macaw
BELMOPAN

Grapefruit

a la Hon d u r a s Panama Canal
The man-made Panama Canal
a t e m TEGUCIGALPA links the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans. About 12,000 ships
Shrimp G u

GUATEMALA CITY E l S alvado r Nic Bananas pass through it every year,
making it one of the world’s
Hands on SAN SALVADOR MANAGUA aNLaicrkaearagguau busiest waterways.

Cut the leafy Costa a i c a Panama Canal Spider monkey
top off a pineapple
and plant it in a pot of soil. If  R

you keep it in a greenhouse, SAN JOSÉ P a PANAMA CITY
it will grow into a
n a ma

pineapple plant. Toucan

As hooks to hang from branches. 15

The AmericasSouth America

uyanaA vast chain of mountains runs the length of
this continent. On its western side is the world’s
kedriest desert. On the east is the biggest rainforest.
Titica
Cartagena
Andes Mountains
CARACAS
Pacific Ocean
Venezuela Equator walkabout
16
What is the highest mountain in the Andes?Agrias butterfly

BOGOTÁ OrinocoRi The Equator is an
ver
G GEORGETOWN imaginary line around the

QUITO C o l o m b i a Angel Falls PARAMARIBO Earth’s middle. It would
nam CAYENNE take you a month to
Ecuador Suri ch
a
) walk across just the

irneacnen
FGu South American
(Fa part of it!

Equator r

Amazon Rainforest

Manaus Belém
River Amazon

Condor

Capybara

LIMA Peru Machu Picchu

Jaguar Brazil

Brazil nuts

Arequipa La B o l i v i a Bananas
Arica
ca LA PAZ

Parakeet

t Bolivian Indian Brasília Cathedral Salvador
BRASÍLIA

ser

ins

e football
a

Mackerel D Paragua

nt

Chile u

o

a
M
South America
am Llama ASUNCIÓN
ydes
Sugar Loaf Mountain
17 c São Paulo
n

a Rio de Janeiro
A

t Oil rig

Aconcagua, which is 6,960 m (22,834 ft) high. A Argentina tlantic Ocean N

Gaucho W S

Valparaíso Aconcagua Pampas
SANTIAGO grass

Sheep Uruguay A
farming
BUENOS MONTEVIDEO
AIRES
E
Pampas

Bahía Blanca Green turtle

Pat agonia Cape Horn Can you find...

Magellan The southern tip of South The world’s highest capital?
penguins America is called Cape Horn. La Paz, Bolivia, is 3,632 m
The seas around it are so (11,916 ft) above sea level.
stormy that hundreds of ships
have been shipwrecked there.

The world’s highest waterfall?
Angel Falls in Venezuela measures
979 m (3,212 ft) from top to bottom.

Cape Horn The world’s driest town?
Arica in Chile’s Atacama Desert
has an annual rainfall of zero!

BeninAfrica Africa
iger T o g o
Africa is a vast, sun-baked continent, famous
Ghanafor its amazing wildlife. In the north and south
are hot deserts. Between the deserts are swampy
18rainforests and grasslands full of wild animals.
How long is Africa from north to south?
Ocean Ait Benhaddou mud N
S
fortress, Morocco TUGNuISlTMfRIoePfOdLSiItierrtreanean Sea

ALGIERS Tunisia Al ’Aziziyah

t i c RABAT Atlas Mountains W E
orocco Asia
Atlan M Algeria CAIRO Red Sea

LAAYOUNES a h a r aWestern Bedouin Libya Suez Canal River Nile
weaver

Erg Tifernine

Tuareg nomads MAohuangtgaainrs Pyramids

Mauritania Sahara Desert Egypt
Niger
NOUAKCHOTT Mali Aswan
Ostriches
Peanuts Nubian
Desert

Senegal River N Eritrea

DAKAR Cheetah KHARTOUM ASMERA

Gambia Bambara Sahel ChaLdake C h a d Nile
village NDJAMENA felucca
Guinea- Burkina NIAMEY boat
Bissau Great Rift Valley
Guinea BAMAKO
alia
Sudan Djibouti

Sierra ABUJA Hippopotamus Horn of
ADDIS ABABA A f r i c a
Leone Ivory N i g e ria o n
Coast Ethiopia
Liberia bean Ca r o A
e C e n tr al
m BANGUI f ri c a n Re p .
Cocoa

YAOUNDÉ Lion

Equatorial Guinea Bananas Diamond mine U g a n d a Tea Som MOGADISHU

Can you find... o r Congo KAMPALA K e n y a
Lake
Gabon ong R w a n d a Victoria NAIROBI
Rive
The highest point in Africa? Lowland Serengeti
Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
is 5,895 m (19,341 ft) tall. C gorilla Burundi Mount Kilimanjaro
KINSHASA 5,895 m (19,341 ft)

Dem. Rep.

One of the world’s highest of Congo DODOMA
sand dunes? Erg Tifernine in Masai herder
the Sahara is 400 m (1,300 ft) tall. LUANDA
Tanzania
The hottest place on Earth?
Al ’Aziziyah, in Libya, has had Oil rig Hornbill Malawi Dhow sailing boat
temperatures of 58ºC (136.4ºF). Great Rift Lemur
Zebra l

About 8,000 km (5,000 miles). Angola e
Zambia
Namib Desert Valley Elephant n
LUSAKA
Atlantic Ocean n
Zambezi River
r

Giraffe HARARE Mozambique Cha

asca

Namibia Zimbabwe mbique ANTANANARIVO

WINDHOEK Victoria Falls Madag

Botsw a n a ert a

Kalahar i D es PRETORIA
Swa
z

Tin and MAPUTO o
copper ziland
M Chameleon

mining

The Suez Canal Springbok Ndeble L e s o t h o Madagascar
This canal is a man-made waterway The island of Madagascar
that runs from the Red Sea to the house is home to tree-dwelling
Mediterranean. It provides a short cut animals called lemurs.
for ships travelling from Europe to Asia. South Africa They have faces like cats

Cape of Cape Town

Good Hope

but bodies like monkeys.

19 Savanna wildlife Africa
Much of Africa is covered by a
type of grassland called savanna.
Huge herds of grazing animals
live on the savanna, as well as
lions, hyenas, and cheetahs.

20 Scandinavia Arctic Ocean Europe
Which Scandinavian warriors raided Europe in 800–1050 CE?
The northernmost part of Europe North Cape
is Scandinavia – a region of dense
pine forests, snowy mountains,
and craggy coastlines.

Iceland Fishing trawler

Iceland is a volcanic island Tromsø Russian Federation
in the far north Atlantic
Ocean. It has hundreds of Puffin Mining Sami man
hot springs and geysers. Vest Fjord with reindeer

Greenland Sea Lapland

Church of
Hallingrimur

Vatnajokull Lynx Wolf River Kemijoki
(Ice sheet)

Geyser
REYKJAVÍK orweOgicaenaSena
Kjølen Mountains
Sweden Oulu

Atlantic N Grey seal f of Bothnia Sauna
Paper mill
Wolverine Gul

Nord Stave church Finland
Fjord
Mount Galdhøpiggen Rainbow trout
Sogne Fjord 2,469 m (8,100 ft)
Golden eagle Cathedral,
Helsinki

Norway Cross-country Åland HELSINKI of Finland
skiing Islands
Bergen Gulf
Hardanger Fjord akenern STOCKHOLM
akettern
OSLO
Gothenburg
o k n a Fjord
Stavanger
B Oslo Fjord
City Hall,
Sculptures in Vä L Stockholm
Vä L
The Vikings. Vigeland Park, Oslo

Rune stone

Dairy Gotland
farming
Herring
Denmark
North Sea Swedish Öland
ea
glass Baltic S
Lego COPENHAGEN
Pig farming Malmö NBornholm

ScandinaviaLittle Mermaid statue,
Copenhagen
21
Faeroe Islands W E The Øresund Bridge
The Øresund Bridge links Copenhagen in
Tórshavn These islands are part of Denmark to Malmö in Sweden. There
Denmark. They lie halfway are three parts to the bridge – an
underground tunnel, an artificial island,
between Iceland and Scotland. S and a bridge over the sea. Together,
they are 16 km (10 miles) long.

22 UK and Ireland Europe
What is the name of the Queen’s official residence in London?
The United Kingdom is made up of Shetland
England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Islands
Ireland. Ireland is a separate country.
Most of the people in the UK and Ireland
speak English as their main language.

Red deer Orkney
Islands

Hebrides Thurso

Outer

Skye

Loch Ness

The Royal Family ia n Monster
ai n
England and Scotland had GMroaumnpt s
separate royal families until
1603, when they joined together Ben Nevis Aberdeen
to form the United Kingdom.
Queen Elizabeth II is the Highland cow 1,343 m (4,406 ft)
current Head of State.
Mull S c o t l a n d North Sea

orRtihverF

Bagpiper

Glasgow Edinburgh

Giant’s
Causeway

Northern Edinburgh Angel of the North
I r e l a n d Belfast Castle Newcastle upon Tyne

Galway f ManIsle o Lake Pennines Middlesbrough North Sea
Cathedral District oil rig
Douglas
Galway I r e l a n d Guinness Blackpool
DUBLIN Irish Sea Tower
Blarney
Castle Liverpool Manchester Kingston
Football upon Hull
Snowdonia
nmtbariinasn
Cork England Yacht

Jaunting car N a Crufts Norfolk
u dog show Birmingham Broads
C
Buckingham Palace. o

M

Sheep W a l e s r Severn Cambridge

Rive Oxford Big Ben

W E Cardiff River Thames

Exmoor LONDON

Stonehenge

Surfing Royal Pavillion Dover

S D a r t m o o r Exeter Brighton Eurotunnel
to France
Isles of Scilly Isle of Wight

Lan d ’ s

End Eden Project Portland Bill
lighthouse
UK and Ireland
English Channel

The Eden Project, Cornwall

These giant greenhouses are

home to lots of plants from

different areas of the world.

People can visit here to learn

23 how important nature is to the France
future of the planet.

EuropeThe Low Countries

24
What is another name for the Netherlands?
Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg

are called the Low Countries because they

are so flat. They are also sometimes called

Benelux – the first letters of BElgium, West Frisian Islands Avocet
NEtherlands and LUXembourg. Ice skating
ddenzee
Tern
h Sea
N
Wa
elmeer Cattle

Netherlands

W Fishing

E Cheese
porters

Nort IJss
S AMSTERDAM Flevoland Cyclist

Herring THE HAGUE Tulips

Dams to stop Rotterdam Windmills
floods from sea
River Rhine Horses
Cubic Houses
Arnhem

Barge Clogs

Ostend Bruges Town Hall Antwerp Germany
Bruges Cathedral

Antwerp Eindhoven

Lace
making

BRUSSELS

The Atomium Did you know..?

Chocolates Belgium Brussels is the capital of
Europe. It is the centre of the
France Charleroi Crystal Liege European Union and home of
Deer the European Parliament.
River Meuse
900 windmills along the
AmsterdamHolland. Beer A r d e nFo Netherlands’ coast help to
rest ne s keep the land drained.
The tall houses Ardennes
Wooden clogs were
first invented by Dutch
workmen 600 years ago.

lining the canals of Wild boar

Amsterdam were built

by rich spice merchants

hundreds of years ago. Each Vianden castle

one is unique, and many are Luxembourg

crooked because they are LUXEMBOURG

built on marshy land.

The Low Countries

25

Europe English Channel

France Mont St-Michel Bayeux Tapestry

France is the biggest country Breton Le Mans
in western Europe. Its capital woman race track
is the city of Paris, site of
the Eiffel Tower. France N Rennes
is famous for its scenic E
countryside, which W Le Mans
is dotted with sleepy
villages and fairytale Standing Stones
castles called châteaux. S (Carnac)

Mont St-Michel Mackerel
Atlantic Ocean Beef cattle
A towering abbey sits on the
island of Mont St-Michel off Brandy
the north coast of France. At
Bordeaux
low tide, people can walk
across the sand to get to

Mont St-Michel.

Bay of Biscay Wine Cave Paintings
at Lascaux
Biarritz

Aeroplane Toulouse
manufacturing
Pyrenees

26
Where in France would you find pink flamingos and wild horses?

Calais Belgi France

The Channel Lille
Tunnel
Pollock um
River Sein
e

Eiffel Tower World War I Memorial
PARIS (Vimy)

France Boules Germany

River Loire Champagne NancyVosges Mountains Strasbourg

Château de Chapel of
Chambord Notre Dame
Du Haut

Mustard
Dijon

Cycling Jura Mountains

Garlic Mont Blanc Corsica
4,807 m
Massif Central (15,771 ft) This French island is in
the Mediterranean Sea
Edible Lyon next to Italy (see page 32).
snails It has a beautiful rocky
coast with lots of beaches.
tains
Rocquefort
River Rhône
Alps
Moun Skiing
cheese Sunflowers Tourism Napoleon Bastia

C é v ennes

Montpellier Camarg Casinos

ue Ajaccio

Marseille Nice Monaco Tourism
Cannes
Toulon 27
Camargue horses

The marshes of the Camargue.

Germany and the Alps Europe

The north of Germany is low and r Elb Berlin Wall
flat, but the land gradually riseser Rhine A long wall used to
towards the south. Switzerland divide the city of Berlin
and Austria lie in the heart of28 into communist and
the Alps – Europe’s tallest andWhich composer was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756? western halves. In 1989
most spectacular mountains. the people of Berlin tore
the wall down and
North SeaContainer ship Kiel Canal Fehmarn Rügen reunited the city.
Kiel
Stork N
Rive
Lake Müritz
e
Hamburg

Bremen River Oder WE

Heidschnuke S
sheep Poland

Hanover Brandenburg
Gate
Beef cattle BERLIN

Cologne Chemical
Cathedral
Riv Volkswagen cars industry

Düsseldorf Wheat River Elbe Zwinger
Cologne Palace
Germany Halle

Leipzig

Red deer

Dresden

Bonn T h u
F o
Frankfurt ri n g i a
skyline re s t n

Frankfurt Czech
Republic
River Main

Mannheim Nuremberg Bohemian
Wine Heidelberg

Mercedes Alps Forest

France River Rhine Stuttgart River Danube Spanish
riding
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Forest Swabian school

Ulm Oktoberfest Linz Danube VIENNA
Cheese Munich Mountain
River Neusiedler Lake

FreiburgBlack Lake Mozart climbing
Chocolate Chiemsee
Lake Neuschwanstein Salzburg A u s t r i a
Bavarian Alps Austrian Alps
Constanc Castle
e
Zurich
Zugspitze
2,962 m Innsbruck

VADUZ (9,718 ft) Snow Graz
boarding
BERN Swiss Chamois
goat
army knife

S w i t z e r l a n dGeneva Alps Davos Germany and the Alps

Swiss Alpine Marmot

River Rhône horn

Matterhorn Liechtenstein
4,478 m
(14,692 ft)

29

Europe Mountain bike
León
Spain and Portugal

Spain and Portugal are in the Rain
sunny southwest corner of Europe. Santiago
Together they make up a region
called the Iberian Peninsula.

Azores Dolphin Santiago Cathedral

These Portuguese Atlantic Ocean

islands are in the Ponta Delgada Portugal Coal mine
Salamanca
Atlantic, about a third Oporto
River
of the way to the USA. Clay cockerel
(symbol of
Portugal)

Madeira Grapes

The Portuguese island Coimbra

of Madeira is famous Windmills

for making a

rich type of wine Funchal

also called Madeira.

Belem Tower Badajoz
LISBON
Sheep

Canary Islands Packing fish Flamenco River
dancer
These seven Spanish
islands are off the
west coast of Africa. Lanzarote

Santa Cruz Fuerteventura Algarve Seville

La Palma de Tenerife Lynx Baetic

Tenerife Tourists Lagos Faro Gibraltar (UK)
Gran Canaria

Banana plantations

Crayfish Wind surfing

Which is the rainiest city in Spain?

Spain and Portugal

France

Guggenheim Bilbao Andorra

Museum

Basque Mountain Pyrenees ANDORRA
Country goat LA VELLA

N

Wild boar Iberian Skiing

Valladolid Mountains River Ebro Barcelona E

Spain W

Rioja wine

Sagrada Familia S
Cathedral, Barcelona

Roman aqueduct Sardines Islands Minorca
MADRID
aric Mahón

Tagus Majorca

Bull-fighting Paella Bale Palma
Valencia
anean Sea

Royal Palace Ibiza

Albacete Ibiza

Oranges Formentera Mediterr

Alicantel a n c a
Costa B
Guadalquivir Andalusian horse

Andalusia Guitar Cartagena

Olives Majorca
and oil The Spanish
island of Majorca
Mountains Granada is one of Europe’s top
tourist destinations.
Malaga Its rugged coast has lots
of picturesque beaches.
Costa del Sol

Jet ski

Santiago. 31

Italy EuropeSkier

Italy is shaped like a boot, with the top in R
the Alps mountains and the toe swimming
in the Mediterranean Sea. The Apennine32
mountains run like a bone down the leg.How many islands make up Malta?

Turin Alps Dolomites
Lake Garda
Mountain
goat

Milan

Wine

Venice

Ferrari iver Po

Bologna

Leaning Venetian Italian lakes
Tower gondola
of Pisa There are 23 lakes
Tagliatelli in the lake district in
Pisa Florence carbonara northern Italy. Lake
Garda is the biggest,
Fishing boat Florence San and a popular place
Tuna Cathedral Marino to sail and windsurf.

Moped

Pescara

ROME

Tourism Sardines Vatican Apennines
City
Sardinia
The Colosseum Pizza Octopus
Wild boar (Rome) Crab
Cagliari Italy
Can you find... Taranto
Amalfi Naples Olives and
Europe’s largest volcano? Amalfi Mount Vesuvius olive oil Wine
Mount Etna in Sicily is also Pompeii
Three: Malta, Gozo, and Comino. Europe’s most active volcano.
Cast of a body
The world’s most wonky tower? at Pompeii
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a
campanile, or bell tower.

Where the first pizza was Sheep
made? A baker in Naples
invented the pizza in the 1800s.

Squid

Lemons Palermo Oranges

Messina
Almonds
ItalySicily
N
Mediterranea Agrigento Mount Etna E

33 Noto Cathedral W
Temple of Castor Syracuse
and Pollux
S
n Sea M a l t a

VALLETTA

Scuba diving

34 Central Eastern Europe Europe
What ingredient makes Hungarian goulash spicy?
These countries were under communist rule

until the 1990s. Today they are modern nations

with thriving industries. Traditional farming

continues in the rural areas. Baltic Sea

Did you know? Ship building Gdansk
Potato farming
The Polish town of Koszalin Mazury lakes Canoeing
Torun is well-known
for its gingerbread. Windmills
Szczecin

Budapest is split by the Chemical industry European
Danube. Buda is on one bison
bank, Pest on the other. Torun

The snow-white Poznan
Lipizzaner horse
is bred in Slovenia. Mining

Gingerbread WARSAW

Germany Pig farms Lodz Market Square,
Warsaw
Charles Bridge iver Poland
Lublin
Wroclaw River VistulaWheat
Kielce Sugar beet
Oder
R

Karlovy Vary Hradec kralove Cattle farms Skiing
PRAGUE
River Elbe Krakow
Plzen

Pilsner lager Czech Republic High Tatra Mountains
Brno
Skoda Painted Slovakia
Easter eggs

Tokay Spissky Hrad castle
wine
Wooden house
BRATISLAVA Eger Nyiregyhaza

Gyor Debrecen

Austria BUDAPEST Parliament,

Hungary Budapest o m a n i a

Goulash Horses
Paprika.
River
Danube
RPecs
Lipizzaner mare Wine Szeged
and foal Osijek
LJUBLJANA
High Tatra Mountains
Slovenia This mountain range lies in Poland
ZAGREB and Slovakia, and forms part of the
Croatia Carpathian Mountains. The tallest
Rijeka peak is 2,655 m (8,710 ft) high.

Central Eastern EuropeTourismDalmatian

Dinaric AlpsN

W35 EAdriatic Sea Split

S Dubrovnik

Eastern Europe Europe

The countries of eastern Europe lie36
between the Baltic Sea and the BlackWhat are the Baltic States?
Sea. They were part of the Soviet Union,
but became independent states in 1991.

TALLINN

Cruise ship Estonia Hill of Crosses

a Golden Lake This sacred site in
eagle Peipus Lithuania is visited
by lots of pilgrims
Baltic Se Bobsleigh every year. They
leave crosses on
Amber jewellery RIGA Latvian the hill to show
Liepaja costume their devotion to
Latvia Christianity.

Bauska

Hill of Crosses

The centre Polatsk
of Europe Vitsyebsk

Trakai Castle Flax Russian Federation
VILNIUS

Lithuania

Poland Sugar Belarus
beet
MINSK

Pigs

N

Mink Homyel
Chernihiv
Pripet
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – the countries bordering the Baltic Sea.MarshesMushroom W E
picking
B Coal mining
SChornobyl Donets’k

Ukraine S

KIEV

L’viv

Ukranian folk dancers St Andrew’s Church Kharkiv
White geese
MCoaurnptaath Mammoth fossils

MoChernivtsiPotatoes River Dnieper

ian ins Wooden church Dnipropetrovs’k

Romania ldova Wheat

CHISINAU

Can you find... Gymnastic Sunflowers
school
Ukraine’s oldest creatures? ea of Azov
Mammoths walked the Earth Odesa
25,000 years ago.
Wooden Moldovian Black sea Eastern Europe
gateway tourism

The plant used to make linen? lack Sea Swallow’s Kerch
Flax is a major crop of Belarus. Its Nest
fibres are made into linen clothes. Castle Crimea

Europe’s largest marshland? Yalta
The Pripet Marshes cover 270,000
37 square kilometres (104,000 sq miles).

Dinaric AlpsSoutheast Europe Europe

Adriat The mighty River Danube winds Satu Mare Carpathian Mountains
its way across southeast Europe, Wolf
38 forming a natural border between Wild boar
What is Greece’s most important crop? Romania and Bulgaria. Further Bran Castle,
south are the scattered Romania Transylvania
ruins of the cities of
Ancient Greece.

Timisoara

Serbian Sibiu
Raznijei Kebab
Transylvanian Alps
Banja Luka River Danube
BELGRADE
Bosnia and

Herzegovina Traditional
Serbian costume
Statue in SARAJEVO BUCHAREST
Liberation Serbia Ruse
Square, Sarajevo

Parliament Palace Black Sea

Mostar Grapes Pleven Natural yoghurt
Varna
ic Sea Montenegro Alexander Nevsky
Cathedral Burgas

PRISTINA
K o s o v oPODGORICA SOFIA
Kazanluk

(disputed) B u l g a r i a Folk dancers

SKOPJE Goats at Kazanluk

Oranges Macedonia Festival of Roses

Roses

TIRANA

Alb Bitola Bouzouki
Greek coffee
Watermelon Pindus Moun Salonica N
Olive oil
ania
Octopus Aegean S Dolphins W

G r e e c eGreek vase Lesbos E
tains

Cephalonia Parthenon e a Chíos S
Zakinthos Patras Turkey
Sailing ship ATHENS
Pelopo
Can you find...
Olives. nnese M e d i t e r
A sponge? Old-fashioned Greek church Ceremonial soldier
bathroom sponges are the from Athens
skeletons of dead sea creatures.

Yoghurt? People in Bulgaria eat Cyclades Rhodes
lots of yoghurt because they think
it helps them live longer. ranean Sea Knossos Palace Sponge
Iráklion
Greek coffee? Greek people make Southeast Europe
coffee by boiling ground coffee in a Crete
tiny pan of water until it foams.

Chios Island in
the Aegean Sea

39

Russia and Central Asia

Russia and Central Asia

The Russian Federation spans two continents:

Europe and Asia. To its southwest are the Barents Sea
eight independent countries of
Icebreaker
Central Asia and Caucasia. Murmansk ship Harp seal

Kaliningrad Kara Sea
Pskov
St Petersburg

Novgorod

St Basil’s Cathedral, Kirov balletUral Mountains Vorkuta Noril’sk
Moscow Kirov River O
b Sib
MOSCOW

B Russian dolls River Ob

lack Sea River Volga Chess
Ural’sk
Magnitogorsk

Elk

GCeaourcgai Orsk Baykonur Omsk R u s s i a n
Groznyy Space Centre
Sturgeon Novosibirsk
T’BILISI fish caviar Baykonur
Armenia su ASTANA Wheat
YEREVAN al Sea
a
Azerbaijan
BAKUs

Caspian Zhezkazgan
Sea T u r Ar

La
Uzb Kazakhstan

e ke Balkhash

k

i

s y l K u m
e s er t
t K y z
D
a

n
k
Cotton

m BISHKEK Almaty

I r a n ASHGABAT e TASHKENT Gur-Emir Mausoleum,
Samarqand Samarqand
n Kyrgyzstan

i

s

t

a DUSHANBE

n Tajikistan

Afghanistan

40
Which animal do Nenet people herd?

Russia and Central Asia

Arctic Ocean

Pevek

Brent geese Walrus Reindeer Walkabout
Nenet people Yakut people Russia is the world’s
widest country. It would
take more than two months
to cross if you walked non-

stop from west to east.
Kamchatka Peninsula
Verkhoyansk
Sea
Salmon
River Lena
Wolf Magadan

eria Yakutsk Okhotsk Brown bear
Diamonds
of Okhotsk N

Timber Mining WE

Federation
Bratsk

Trans-Siberian railway S
Khabarovsk
Baikal
Irkutsk Lake Did you know?
Siberian tiger
Freshwater seal Caviar from the Caspian
China Sea is so expensive it is
known as “black gold”.
Vladivostok

A shrinking sea Lake Baikal is the
The Aral Sea, between world’s deepest, and
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, largest, freshwater lake.
is shrinking. The water is being
used on Uzbekistan’s cotton Verkhoyansk is the
fields, stranding fishing boats. world’s coldest town. In
winter the temperature
Reindeer. falls to -68˚C (-90˚F).

41

Asia Istanbul

Middle East Mediterr

This part of the world is hot and Blue Mosque ANKARA
dry, with large deserts. Three of the
world’s great religions began here. Turkey

Mecca anea NICOSIA

The holiest place for Cyprus
n Sea
a Muslim is the Ka’ba,

a cube-shaped shrine Sculpted
in Mecca. Muslims menorah in
Jerusalem

face the Ka’ba when

they pray and try to

visit it at least once

in their lifetime.

World’s first skyscrapers Fruits of the desert

The people of Yemen started building mud-brick Farmers can grow crops
skyscrapers thousands of years ago. The ground only in the wettest parts
floors are used for animals or for storing goods. of the Middle East.
Families live in the upper floors.
Figs are soft, sticky fruits
that can be dried to make
them last longer.

Olive trees are grown
for their fruit, which is
pressed to make olive oil.

Dates are the fruit of
palm trees, which grow
by rivers and in oases.

42
Which country produces 65 per cent of the world’s hazelnuts?

Black Sea Middle East

Whirling Mount Ararat Caspian Sea
dervish dancer 5,165 m
(16,945 ft)
Head of Zeus

Syria

BEIRUTLebanon Olives TEHRAN Turquoise

Figs BAGHDAD Chador, traditional Iran
DAMASCUS dress for women
Iraq
AMMAN a n Iranian food – chicken kebab

JERUSALEM
Israel
Marsh Arab reed house
Jord
Kuwait

Falconry ThKUWAIT
CITY
Ancient city Desert Persepolis palace
of Petra oasis e Gulf
Mecca
MANAMA Oman
Bahrain

RIYADH Qatar Gulf of Oman

Red Sea ABU DHABI
Oil DOHA

United MUSCAT

Saudi Arabia Arab Emirates

Mecca Arabian desert Oil refinery

Coral reefs grow Oman
along the coast
of the Red Sea,
where the water
is warm and clear.

Camels

N Desert oryx

WE Yemen Oil tanker

Frankincense tree Arabian Sea

SANA

S

43
Turkey.

AsiaSouthern Asia

44Southern Asia is colourful and crowded.
When Hindus die, where are their ashes scattered?India is the biggest country in the region,
with a population of more than a billion.

Lapis
lazuli

Herat Snow leopard

Afghanistan

KABUL

Decorated ISLAMABAD
lorry

Quetta Multan Elephants on parade

Pakistan Golden Temple During the festival of Puram in
southern India, 101 elephants
Tomb of march through the town of
Muhammad Trichur in a grand parade.
Ali Jinnah
Delhi
Dancer NEW DELHI
Agra
Hyderabad

Karachi Taj Mahal

India River Ganges Tea picking

Green turtles River dolphin Imphal

Camel Bangladesh
market
Rickshaw Sacred cow Kolkata DHAKA
Surat (Calcutta) Chittagong
River Narmada

Nagpur Raipur

Mumbai Cuttack Bengal
(Bombay)
y of
In the River Ganges.Ara
bian Sea Snake charmer Tiger
BaTuna fishVijayawada
Coconut tree
and coconut

Fishing boat

Indian Common lobster N
elephant
W
Can you find... Calicut Chennai Andaman
(Madras) Islands
(India)
Lapis lazuli? This precious Kathkali Dancer
stone was once used to make Trichur E
brilliant, sky-blue paint.

An Indian dancer? Classical Jaffna Thresher shark
dancers use movements of their
bodies to tell ancient stories. Sri Lanka S Nicobar
Islands
Ganges river dolphin? This (India)
dolphin is almost blind and finds
its way in muddy water by sound. Kandy Mullet
COLOMBO
Tea leaves

The Monsoon Southern Asia
Southern Asia is normally hot
and dry, but every summer it
pours down for weeks. This

rainy season, called the
monsoon, helps farmers
grow crops like rice.

45

Asia

Southeast China

Asia Burma Elephant

Southeast Asia is hot (Myanmar)

and rainy all year NAY PYI TAW L a o s HANOI
round. There are
thousands of islands, Rubies Thai VVIENTIANE
dancer

and many are covered Rangoon T h a i l a n d ietnam Sampan boat
with steamy rainforests
and towering volcanoes. BANGKOK South China Sea
Angkor Wat

Tapir C a m b o d i a

PHNOM PENH

Floating market Ho Chi Minh Pearls
The city of Bangkok is
riddled with canals. Traders Orchid Omar Ali
sell their goods from boats Saifuddin
and shoppers paddle by to Petronas Mosque
look for bargains. Towers
Brunei
KUALA ala
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
LUMPUR
PUTRAJAYA ysia
MTiger

Sumatra Singapore

Padang I Orang-utan B orneo

n Coconut

Rafflesia d
(giant flower) o

JAKARTA

Java

Shadow puppets

46
What is the largest lizard in the world?

Can you find... N Southeast Asia
S E
A very rare kind of ape?
Orang-utans live only
in Borneo and Sumatra.

An animal with tusks that W
grow through its face? The
babirusa is a kind of pig.

The world’s largest flower?
Rafflesia grows to nearly
a metre (3 feet) wide.

Planting rice

MANILA

P h i l i p p i n e s Vinta boats

Cebu

Water Rice paddies

c e a nbuffalo The wet climate is ideal for growing
Pacific ODavao
lebes Sea Tuna rice. Farmers plant it in flooded fields
Ce called paddies, which are sometimes

built like steps in the sides of hills.

Babirusa Moluccas

Celebes Jayapura

n Nutmeg New Guinea Conch shell

Ambon a Papua New

Toraja house i Guinea

es Asmat
warrior

DILI PORT MORESBY

East Timor Mangoes

Komodo dragon

The Komodo dragon. It can grow to 3 m (10 ft) long. 47

Asia

China and neighbours

Over 1 billion people live in China N

– that’s one-fifth of the world’s

people. Next door, Mongolia has E Altay
the fewest people for its size. W

Terracotta Army

This army of statues in S Mongolian
Xi’an was made more than ger (house)

2,000 years ago to guard the Yining Bactrian
tomb of Qin Shi Huang, camel
Urumqi

China’s first emperor. Turpan Hami

The statues were

rediscovered in 1974. Kashi

Chinese opera Ibex

Chinese opera has lots of singing, K2 8,611 m (28,250 ft)
acting, and acrobatics. Make-up is
used to show the type of character Tibet

being played.

Yak

H Potala i
Palace
m a
yas
Bhairabnath l a
Temple

Lhasa

Can you find... KATHMANDU
Mount Everest 8,850 m
The world’s tallest N
e p a (29,035 ft) THIMPU
h
l B utan

mountain? Mount Everest is

8,850 metres (29,035 ft) tall.

The world’s most crowded
place? Hong Kong has 6,000
people per square kilometre
(16,500 per square mile).

China’s hottest place? Turpan
has recorded temperatures of up
to 47°C (117°F).

48
What is the world’s second tallest mountain?