May is AAPI Heritage Month. Those letters stand for “Asian American and Pacific Islander.” That term includes 25 million people. All of them had from Asia or a Pacific Island. That’s a huge area!
Asia is the largest continent. And there are many Pacific Islands. Someone with AAPI heritage could come from more than 60 countries! Let’s learn about this wide-ranging region.
Asia
Oceans surround Asia on three sides. To the south is the Indian Ocean. To the east is the Pacific. To the north lies the Arctic. Asia’s border with Europe is to the west. A few countries, like Russia, cross both continents!
Asia has the tallest mountain on the planet. That’s Mount Everest. It stands 29,031 feet (8,848 m) tall between China and Nepal. The lowest spot on the Earth’s surface is also in Asia. That’s the Dead Sea. It sits 1,412 feet (430 m) below sea level.
The same process created both Mount Everest and the Dead Sea. That’s the movement of . These plates slowly shift under the surface. Sometimes they smash into each other. The Indian Plate is pushing into the rest of Asia, forcing land up. That formed the Himalayan Mountains — with Mount Everest. As plates move apart, the crust sinks. That formed the Dead Sea.
The Himalayas have the highest country. That’s Bhutan. Its average elevation is 10,761 feet (3,280 m). The lowest country is in Asia too. That’s the island nation of the Maldives. Its average elevation is 5 feet (1.5 m) above sea level!
Some split Asia into six regions. These are North Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.
The Pacific Islands
The Pacific Ocean has more than 20,000 islands. They include
Asian nations like New Zealand and Fiji. The group also includes islands that belong to other countries. For example, Hawaii and Guam are part of the United States.
Experts separate these islands into three regions. Those are Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Melanesia is northeast of Australia. Micronesia sits north of Melanesia. Polynesia is east of both.
AAPI Heritage Month recognizes people from lots of places! Learning that geography doesn’t just help us understand the world. It’s a way to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month!
Updated April 28, 2023, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Hannah Marcum
