CHAPTER 2- PHYSICAL FEATURES OF INDIA

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF INDIA

Q1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below:

I) a landmass bounded by sea on three sides is referred to as-

Ans- a) coast

         b) island

        c) peninsula          

        d) none of these.

Ii) mountain ranges in the eastern part of india forming its boundary with myanmar are collectively called as-

Ans- a) himachal

         b) uttarakhand

         c) purvanchal         

        d) none of these.

Iii) the western coastal strip, south of goa is referred to as-

Ans- a) coromandel

         b) konkan

         c) kannad                      

         d) northern circar.

Iv) the highest peak in the eastern ghats is-

Ans- a) anai mudi

         b) kanchenjunga

         c) mahendragiri         

        d) khasi

Q2. Answer the following questions briefly:

I) what are tectonic plates?

Ans- tectonic plates are large fragments of earth’s crust.

Ii) which continents of today were the parts of gondwana land?

Ans- asia, africa, australia, south america and antarctica.

Iii)  what is bhabar?

Ans- the bhabar is a narrow belt of plain which is covered with pebbles and lies along the foothills of shiwaliks from the indus to the teesta.

Iv) name the three major divisions of the himalayas from north to south.

Ans-

  • The great or inner himalayas or himadri.
  • Himachal or lesser himalayas (middle himalayas).
  • The shiwaliks (outer himalayas)

V) which plateau lies between the aravali and the vindhayan ranges?

Ans- malwa plateau.

Vi) name the island group of india having coral origin.

Ans- lakshadweep islands.

Q3. Distinguish between-

I) converging and diverging tectonic plates-

Converging tectonic platesDiverging tectonic plates
1. The plates that come towards each other and form convergent boundary are called converging tectonic plates.1. The plates that move away from each other and form divergent boundary are called diverging tectonic plated.
2. In the event of two plates coming together they may either collide and crumble or one may slide under the other.2. They do not collide and rumble. They also do not slide under each other.

Ii) bhangar and khadar

BhangarKhadar
1. This is old alluvial soil.1.tis is newer alluvial soil.
2.this soil is found far from the river basins.2. This soil is found close to the river basins.
3. This soil is less fertile and therefore not suitable for agriculture.3. This soil is very fertile and therefore very suitable for agriculture.

Iii)western ghats and eastern ghats.

Western ghatsEastern ghats
1. They are formed on the western side of the peninsular plateau.1. They formed on the eastern side of the peninsular plateau.
2. They are regular and continuous.2. They are discontinuous and irregular.
3. They lie parallel to the malabar coast.3. They lie parallel to the coromandel coast.
4. Their average elevation is 900- 1600 meters.4. Their average elevation is 600 meters.
5. The highest peaks in the western ghats are the anai mudi and doda beta.5. The highest peak in the eastern ghats is mahendragiri.

Q4. Describe how the himalayas were formed.

Ans-

  • Millions of years ago india was the part of a big continent known as the gondwana land.
  • The gondwana land included india, australia, south africa, south america nd antarctica as one single landmass.
  • The convectional currents split the crust into the number of pieces.
  • The indo australian plate drifts (moves) northwards after separating from gondwana land and collides with much larger eurasian plate.
  • Due to this collision the sedimentary rocks which were accumulated in the geosynclines known as the tethys were folded to form the mountain system of western asia and himalaya.

Q5. Which are the major physiographic divisions of india? Contrast the relief of the himalayan region with that of the peninsular plateau.

Ans-  major physiographic division of india are given below-

  • The himalaya mountain
  • The northern plains
  • The peninsular plateau
  • The indian desert
  • The coastal plains
  • The islands

Contrast between himalaya region and peninsular region-

The himalayan regionThe peninsular region
1. It consists of the loftiest mountains and deep valleys.1. It consists of broad and shallow valleys and rounded hills.
2. It is formed due to the collision of the indo-australian and eurasian plates.2. It is formed due to the breaking and drifting of the gondwana land.
3. Here we find the highest mountains of the world.3. Here we don’t find very high peaks.
4. It is formed at the edge of the indo-gangetic plain.4. It is formed at the edge of the deccan plateau.

Q6. Give an account of the northern plain.

Ans-

  • The northern plain has been formed by the interplay of the three major river systems namely- the indus, the ganga and the brahmaputra along with their tributaries.
  • It spreads over an area of 7 lakh square km.
  • The length of this plain is 2400 km and its breadth is 320 km.
  • The northern plain is broadly dived into three sections. The western part of the plain is known as punjab plain formed by indus river. The ganga plain extends between ghaggar and teesta river and brahmaputra plain lies in assam.
  • This plain is formed of alluvial soil and suitable for agriculture. Hence this area is densely populated.

Q7. Write the short notes on the following:

I) the indian desert-

  • This desert popularly known as the thar desert, lies towards the western margins of the aravali hills.
  • It is an undulating sandy plain covered with sand dunes.
  • The region receives very low rainfall below 150 mm per year.
  • It has arid climate with low vegetation cover.
  • Luni is the only large river in this region.

Ii) the central highland-

  • The peninsular plateau consists of the broad divisions- the central highlands and the deccan plateau.
  • The part of the peninsular plateau to the north of the narmada river covers a major area of the malwa plateau is known as the central highlands.
  • The vindhayas range is bounded by the central highlands on the south and the aravalis on the northwest.
  • The central highlands are wider in the west but narrower in the east.
  • The eastward extentions of the plateau are locally known as the bundelkhand and baghelkhand.

Iii) the islands group of india-

  • India has two island groups- the lakshadweep islands and the andaman and nicobar islands.
  • The lakshadweep islands group lies close to the malabar coast  of kerala. These islands is composed of small corals islands.
  •  earlier they were known as laccadive, minicoy and amindive. In 1973 these were named as lakshadweep.
  • It covers small area of 32 square km.
  • Kavaratti island is the administrative headquarters (capital) of lakshadweep.
  • Andaman and nicobar islands are located in the bay of bengal.
  • They close to the equator and experience equatorial climate and has thick forest cover.
  • Portblair is the administrative headquarters (capital) of andaman and nicobar.