Korean Peninsula 247273 222632841 2008-06-30T10:37:30Z Darwinek 107928 updating link using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{This article is about|the Korean Peninsula. For other meanings, see [[Korea (disambiguation)]].}} {| border="1" width="300" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" |- ! colspan="2" bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | Korean Peninsula |- | colspan="2" align="center" | [[Image:Locationmap Korea.png|Location of the Korean peninsula]] |- | colspan="2" align="center" | [[Image:Map of korea.png|300px|Map of the Korean peninsula]] |} The '''Korean Peninsula''' is a [[peninsula]] in [[East Asia]]. It extends southwards for about 684 miles (1,100 [[kilometre|km]]) from continental [[Asia]] into the [[Pacific Ocean]] and is surrounded by the [[Sea of Japan]] (East Sea) on the east, the [[East China Sea]] to the south, and the [[Yellow Sea]] to the west, the [[Korea Strait]] connecting the first two bodies of water. Until the end of [[World War II]], [[Korea]] was a single political entity whose territory roughly coincided with the Korean Peninsula. Since the [[Ceasefire|cessation]] of the [[Korean War]] in 1953, the northern half has been occupied by [[North Korea]], while the southern half has been occupied by [[South Korea]]. The northern boundaries for the Korean Peninsula are commonly (and [[wikt:tacitly|tacitly]]) taken to coincide with today's political borders between North Korea and her northern neighbors, [[China]] (1,416 km along the provinces of [[Jilin]] and [[Liaoning]]) and [[Russia]] (19 km). These borders are formed naturally by the rivers [[Yalu River|Yalu/Amnok]] and [[Tumen River|Tumen/Tuman/Duman]]. Taking this definition, the Korean Peninsula (including its islands) has an area of 220,847 [[square kilometre|km²]]. The peninsula is called ''Joseon Bando'' ({{hangul|조선반도}}) in [[North Korea]] and ''Han Bando'' ({{hangul|한반도}}) in [[South Korea]] due to the [[Names of Korea|different names for Korea]]. ==Physical geography== {{main|Geography of North Korea|Geography of South Korea}} Mountains cover 70 percent of the Korean Peninsula and arable plains are generally small and far in between the successive mountain ranges. The peninsula becomes more mountainous towards the north and the east, with the highest mountains (including [[Baekdu Mountain]] which stands at 2,744 m or 9,003 feet) found in the north. The peninsula has 8,460 kilometres of coastline, and the south and west coasts are highly irregular in particular; most of the 3,579 islands off the peninsula are found along the south and the west coasts. ==Climate== The climate of the Korean Peninsula differs dramatically from north to south. The southern regions experience a relatively warm and wet climate similar to that of [[Japan]], affected by warm ocean waters including the [[East Korea Warm Current]]. The northern regions experience a colder and to some extent more inland climate, in common with [[Manchuria]]. For example, the annual precipitation of the [[Yalu River]] valley (600 mm) is less than half of that on the south coast (1500 mm). <ref>KOIS 2003, p. 17.</ref> Likewise, there is a 20 °C difference in January temperature between the peninsula's southern and northern tips. The entire peninsula, however, is affected by similar general patterns, including the East Asian [[monsoon]] in midsummer and the frequent incidence of typhoons in autumn. The majority of rainfall takes place during the summer months, with nearly half during the monsoon alone. Winters are cold, with January temperatures typically below freezing outside of [[Jeju]] Island. Winter precipitation is minimal, with little snow accumulation outside of mountainous areas. ==Biology== Surveys of Korean flora have identified more than 3,000 species on the peninsula, of which more than 500 are [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]]. The peninsula's [[floristic province]]s are commonly divided between [[warm-temperate]], [[temperate]], and [[cold-temperate]] zones. The warm-temperate zone prevails over the southern coast and islands, including [[Jeju]]. It is typified by a large number of [[broad-leaved evergreen]]s. The temperate zone covers the great majority of the peninsula, away from the southern coast and high mountains. It is dominated by the [[Korean pine]] and various broad-leaved deciduous trees. Cold-temperate vegetation is found along the peninsula's northern fringe and in the high mountains, including the upper reaches of [[Hallasan]] on Jeju. Evergreens in this area include [[larch]] and [[juniper]]. Much of this vegetation is shared with Manchuria. ==Geology== The terrain of the Korean Peninsula is rumpled, covered with low mountains. Most rocks are of [[Precambrian]] origin, although isolated pockets of [[Paleozoic]], [[Mesozoic]], and [[Cenozoic]] rock can also be found. There are no active volcanoes on the peninsula. However, [[Baekdu Mountain]] in the north and Hallasan in the south have [[crater lake]]s, indicating that they were active not long ago. Furthermore, [[hot springs]] indicative of low-level volcanic activity are widespread throughout the peninsula. Roughly two earthquakes are recorded per year, but few have any major impact. ==Notes== <!-- ---------------------------------------------------------- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for a discussion of different citation methods and how to generate footnotes using the <ref>, </ref> and <reference /> tags ----------------------------------------------------------- --> {{reflist}} ==References== {{cite book|title=Handbook of Korea, 11th ed.|author=KOIS ([[Korea Overseas Information Service]])|location=Seoul | publisher=[[Hollym (publishing house)|Hollym]]|year=2003|id=ISBN 1-56591-212-8}} ==See also== *[[Korea]] *[[North Korea]] (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) *[[South Korea]] (Republic of Korea) *[[List of Korea-related topics]] *[[Geography of North Korea]] *[[Geography of South Korea]] {{Geography of Asia}} [[Category:Peninsulas of Asia]] [[Category:Geography of Korea]] [[ar:شبه جزيرة كوريا]] [[bs:Korejsko poluostrvo]] [[bg:Корейски полуостров]] [[ca:Península de Corea]] [[cv:Корей çурутравĕ]] [[et:Korea poolsaar]] [[eo:Korea duoninsulo]] [[eu:Koreako penintsula]] [[ga:Leithinis na Cóiré]] [[gl:Península de Corea]] [[zh-classical:朝鮮半島]] [[ko:한반도]] [[hr:Korejski poluotok]] [[id:Semenanjung Korea]] [[lt:Korėjos pusiasalis]] [[hu:Koreai-félsziget]] [[ja:朝鮮半島]] [[km:ឧបទ្វីបកូរ៉េ]] [[pl:Półwysep Koreański]] [[pt:Península da Coreia]] [[ru:Корейский полуостров]] [[sh:Korejski poluotok]] [[fi:Korean niemimaa]] [[sv:Koreahalvön]] [[th:คาบสมุทรเกาหลี]] [[vi:Bán đảo Triều Tiên]] [[uk:Корейський півострів]] [[zh-yue:朝鮮半島]] [[zh:朝鲜半岛]]