Asia

 

Time to move into another part of the world, we are now in Asia, which is the worlds largest and most diverse continent, it has both the highest and lowest points on Earth as well as the longest coastline of any continent.

It is subject overall to the world’s widest climatic extremes, and, consequently, produces the most varied forms of vegetation and animal life on Earth.

The name Asia is ancient, and its origin has been variously explained. The Greeks used it to designate the lands situated to the east of their homeland. It is believed that the name may be derived from the Assyrian word asu, meaning “east.” Another possible explanation is that it was originally a local name given to the plains of Ephesus.

Asia has the Arctic Ocean to its north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Indian Ocean to the south.

Asia is separated from North America to the northeast by the Bering Strait and from Australia to the southeast by the seas and straits connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans. The Isthmus of Suez unites Asia with Africa.

Asia is the birthplace of all the world’s major religions—Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. Of those, only Christianity developed primarily outside of Asia and has little influence on the continent, though many Asian countries have Christian minorities. Buddhism has had a greater impact outside its birthplace in India and is prevalent in various forms in China, South Korea, Japan, the Southeast Asian countries, and Sri Lanka.

There are 48 countries in Asia, this number does not include dependent territories or areas of special sovereignty. 

Over 2,300 languages are thought to be spoken in Asia, sssthis linguistic diversity is due to the continent's vast size and diverse geography, which has allowed languages to develop in relative isolation. Asia is home to a wide array of language families, including Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, Dravidian, and many others.