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Asia is the largest continent, occupying the northern portion of the eastern hemisphere, extending beyond the Arctic Circle, and nearly reaching the Equator. It contains about one-third of the whole of the dry land, and one-twelfth of the whole surface of the globe. Geographically speaking, Europe is an appendix to Asia, and exact delimitation between the two is impossible. The Ural river and mountains are the common conventional boundaries with Europe north of the Caspian, while the Manych depression is used as the limit of Asia between the Black and the Caspian seas, and the Bering Strait, 60 km/37 mi wide, separates Asia from North America. Asia's northern boundary is the Arctic Ocean, the extreme north point being Cape Sievero-Vostochny.

Asia can be divided into five broad zones: northern, highland, arid, tropical, and insular.

It is a continent of contrasts, containing both the highest point on the Earth's surface (Mount Everest) and the lowest (the Dead Sea).
The northern region :- This comprises the Arctic wastes of Siberia, a region of plains, plateaux, and folded mountain ranges, where the major influences on relief are frost weathering and permafrost.
Highland Asia:-This region includes not only the Himalayas but also the great mountain ranges that radiate from the high Pamirs to the northwest of the Indian subcontinent.
The arid zone:- The isolating barrier effect of the mountain mass appears clearly in the area lying to the north: the Central Asian arid zone, comprising the Takla Makan, Gobi, and Ordos deserts. These are areas of inland drainage covered with wind-borne loess and silt deposited by rivers.
Tropical Asia:- This comprises South and Southeast Asia, the latter including the Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos. South Asia is usually limited to peninsular India, the island of Sri Lanka, and the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
The insular or island arc:- This consists of the archipelagos that border the southeast margin of Asia.