loess- a brownish-yellow, fertile soil monsoons- the winds that blow across East Asia at certain times of the

year; in the summer, they are very wet; in the winter they are generally dry unless they have crossed with warm ocean currents typhoons- a violent storm that develops over the Pacific Ocean communes- a community in which land is held in common and where members live and work togeher subcontinent- a large landmass that is a major part of a continent; for example, the Indian Subcontinent Akbar- the greatest Mughal ruler in India purdah- the practice of secluding women by covering their heads and faces with veils, especially in Islamic and some Hindu countries wadis- a waterway that fills up in the rainy season but is dry the rest of the year kibbutz- a cooperative settlement found in Israel Maori- earliest people of New Zealand archipelago- a group of islands aquaculture- a cultivation of the sea; common crops are shrimp and oysters dynasty- a series of rulers from the same family; Chinese history is described by dynasties DMZ- stands for "demilitarized zone;" it is a border area between North and South Korea in which no weapons are allowed Mt. Everest- the highest point on earth, located in the Great Himilaya Range in Asia Sri Lanka- island nations that lie off the southern tip of India Angkor Wat- an archaelogical site in present-day Angkor, in northwest Cambodia; the world's largest religious temple complex deity- a god Aral Sea- an inland saltwater sea in Kazakstan and Uzbekistan desalination- the removal of salt from water Outback- in general, a remote area with few people; specifically, the arid inland region of Australia Mohandas Ghandi- called for people to resist British rule in India Ring of Fire- a circle of volcanic mountains that surrounds the Pacicfic Ocean, including those on the islands of Japan and Indonesia, in the Cascades of North America, and in the Andes of South America Huang He (China's Sorrow)- the second largest river in China; it flows across northern China to the Yellow Sea; also known as the Yellow River double-cropping- growing two crops on the same land in a single year Ho Chi Minh City- the largest city in Vietnam,, named for the president of North Vietnam; formerly Saigon Empty Quarter- largest all sand desert in the world Gobi Desert- Asia's largest desert; barren lands stretch for about 500,000 square miles across China and Mongolia; very little rain falls here; the name Gobi is a Mongolian word meaning "place without water" arable land- land that can produce crops Silk Road- a 4,000-mile long ancient trade route linking China to the Mediterranean area in the west artesian wells- a deep well drilled into the earth to tap groundwater in porous rock Aborigines- early settlers in Australia about 400,000 years ago