Southeast Asia consists of a large peninsula attached to India and China, together with thousands of islands to the east and south of the peninsula. Like Eastern Asia, Southeast Asia contains several fast-developing countrieds, notable Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
The peninsula contains fertile plains, where most of the people live, and some rugged mountains. The area is drained by several major rivers. The longest is the Mekong, which Cambodia before reaching its large delta in Vietnam. Myanmar, which was called Burma until 1989, contains the Ayeyarwady (formerly Irrawaddy) River. Its delta is one of the world's great rice-growing areas.
Malaysia lies partly on the peninsula and partly on the island of Borneo. The small state of Singapore consists of about 50 islands, the Philippines contains about 7100, and Indonesia about 13, 600. The Philippines and Indonesia are largely mountainous. Both countries lie on unstable parts of the Earth and so earhquakes are common. Also, many of the highest peaks are active volcanoes. Some of the biggest volcanic eruptions in modern times have occurred in this region . They include Tambora (1815), Krakatoa (1883), and Mount Merapi (1931), all in Indonesia, and Mount Pinatubo, Philippines (1991).
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