Short Answered Questions:
Question - Which is the highest mountain range in the world?
Answer – Himalayas.
Question - What is the chain located in the northernmost part called?
Answer – The range located in the northernmost part is called the great or inner Himalaya or Himadri.
Question - Which is the highest peak or peak in the world?
Answer – Mount Everest.
Question: By what name is the Himalayas in Assam known?
Answer – Himachal.
Question - What is the outermost range of the Himalayas called?
Answer – Shivalik.
Question - Write the names of some famous names?
Answer - 1. Dehradun 2. Patlidoon.
Question - By what name is the Himalayas situated between the Sutlej and Kali rivers known?
Answer – Kumau Himalaya.
Question - Which hills are included in the Purvanchal?
Answer –
1. Patkai
2.Naga
3. Mizo
4. Manipur
Question - Write the names of three major river systems of the northern plains?
Answer –
1. Indus
2. Ganga
3. Brahmaputra
Question: Which soil is made up of the Northern Plains?
Answer – Alluvial Soil.
Question - How many km long and how many km wide is the northern plain?
Answer - 2400 km long and 240 to 320 km wide.
Question - What are called the distributaries currents?
Answer – Due to the accumulation of silt in their lower part, the rivers are divided into many streams. These streams are called distributaries.
Question: Define Doab?
Answer - Doab means - the part between two rivers. Doab is made up of two words - Do and Aab meaning water.
Question - Who is called Bhabar?
Answer – While descending from the mountain, the rivers deposit the gutika in a wide strip of 8 to 16 km on the shield of Shivalik. This is called Bhabar.
Question - The largest part of the northern plain is made up of?
Answer - Old alluvium.
Question - Who is called Khadar?
Answer – The new and young deposits of the flood plains are called Khadar.
Question: What is the peninsular plateau made up of?
Answer – The peninsular plateau is a table shaped site. Which is made up of old crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Question - Name the two main parts of the peninsular plateau?
Answer – 1. Central Highlands 2. Deccan Plateau
Question - Write the names of the three major divisions of the Himalayas in order from north to south?
Answer – 1. Himadri 2. Himachal 3. Shivalik
Question - Which plateau is situated in the hills of Aravalli and Vidhyachal?
Answer – Malwa plateau.
Question - Name those islands of India which are of Praval reef?
Answer – Laccadive, Minikay, and Amindive.
Question - What was the name of Lakshadweep before 1973?
Answer – Laccadive.
Question - Name the highest peak of the Western Ghats?
Answer – Anaimudi (2695) m, Doda Beta (2633) m.
Question - Write the name of the highest peak of Eastern Ghats?
Answer – Mahendragiri (1500) meters.
Question - Name the main rivers of peninsular of India?
Answer – 1. Mahanadi 2. Godavari 3. Krishna 4. Kaveri
Question - Write the names of the tributaries of the Indus?
Answer – 1. Jholam 2. Chenab 3. Ravi 4. Sutlej
Question - Which is the largest salt water lake of India and where is it located?
Answer – Chilka Lake is the largest brackish(salty) water lake in India. It is located in Odisha.
Long Answered Questions:
Question - What is the difference between Bangar and Khadar?
Answer – Following is the difference between Bangar and Khadar:-
Bangar:
1. This old alluvial soil there is a strip of land. Pebbles remain mixed in this soil.
2. This plain belt is built at a higher height than the flood plains. Its level is higher than the flood plains. It was a part of the lower plains.
Khadar:
1. The land with alluvial soil that accumulates every year in the flood plain is called Khadar.
2. This plain belt is the floor or level of the flood plains. But it is made. It was also a part of the plains of the North.
Question - Describe the northern plains of India
Answer – The northern plain is made up of three major river systems – the Indus Ganga, and the Brahmaputra tributaries. In lakhs of years, alluvium was deposited in a large basin located in Girpad, due to which this fertile plain was formed. This plain is made up of alluvial soil. It is spread over an area of 7 lakh square kilometer. This plain is about 2400 km long and 240 to 320 km wide. It is a densely populated geographical area. Due to rich soil erosion, adequate water availability and favorable climate, it is the most productive region of India from the point of view of agriculture.
Question - Describe the Theory of Plate Tectonics.
Answer - A plausible theory presented by earth scientists to explain the formation of continents and ocean basins and the various landforms is the ‘Theory of Plate Tectonics’. According to the theory, the crust of the earth has been formed out of seven major and some minor tectonic plates.
According to the earth scientists, millions of years ago, the world comprised of a supercontinent ‘Pangaea’ surrounded by the primeval ocean ‘Panthalasa’. The present continents and intervening oceans were formed due to splitting of the crust into plates due to convection currents and drifting of these plates.
Question - Name the different major physiographic divisions of India. Write a note on any one of the physiographic divisions of India.
Answer - The major physiographic divisions of India are as follows:
(i) The Himalayan Mountains
(ii) The Northern Plains
(iii) The Peninsular Plateau
(iv) The Indian Desert
v) The Coastal Plains
(vi) The Islands
The Coastal Plains : The Peninsular Plateau of India is flanked by a stretch of narrow coastal plains to its west and east. The Western Coastal Plain is a narrow strip of plain stretching along the Arabian Sea lying to its west and flanked by the Western Ghats to its east. The northern part of the West Coast is called the Konkan (Mumbai to Goa), the central stretch is called the Kannad while the sourthern part is called the Malabar Coast. The Eastern Coastal Plain is comparatively wide and level stretch running along the Bay of Bengal lying to its east with the Eastern Ghats rising to its west. It is known as Northern
Circar in the north, while its southern part is referred to as the Coromandal Coast.
Question- How was the Great Northern Plains of India formed? Give a brief description.
Answer- The formation of the Himalayas due to upliftment of sediments out of the Tethys Sea and subsidence of the northern flank of the Peninsular Plateau resulted in the formation of a large basin. Over millions of years this depression gradually got filled up with alluvium deposited by the three major river systems – the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra flowing from the Himalayas in the north. Sediments were also deposited by the tributaries of these rivers rising from the mountains in the north as well as the Peninsular Plateau to its south.
As a result, the fertile IndoGangetic or Northern Plains, and the Brahmaputra Plain in the northeast, were formed. As the Himalayas gained in height, the rivers, glaciers and other agents of denudation became increasingly active in erosion. As a result, large amount of silt got deposited in the shrinking Tethys.
Question- Where are the Western and the Eastern Ghats situated? Write a small note on each.
Answer- The Western and the Eastern Ghats are situated in the Peninsular Plateau region. The Western Ghats mark the western edge of the Deccan Plateau and lie parallel to the Western Coast. The Eastern Ghats mark the eastern edge of the Deccan Plateau. They stretch from the Mahanadi Valley to the Nilgiri Hills in the south. The eastern coastal plain runs to its east. The Western Ghats are continuous and regular and can be crossed only through passes like
the Thal, Bhor and the Pal Ghats. They are comparatively high in elevation (average 900 to 1600 metres). No major river cuts across the Western Ghats.
The Eastern Ghats are discontinuous and irregular. They are of relatively lower elevation (average 600 m). They are dissected by rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal.
Question- Define tectonic or lithospheric plates.
Answer- Earth scientists have put forward the view that the Earth’s crust or the lithosphere is not a continuous block. It consists of several large and small, rigid, irregularly shaped plates (slabs) which include continents and the ocean floor. These slabs are moving or drifting in relation to each other by about 2.5 cm to 5 cm each year. These crustal slabs are called tectonic or lithospheric plates. According to the ‘Theory of Plate Tectonics’ put forward by the Earth scientists, the earth’s crust has been formed out of seven major and some minor tectonic plates or lithospheric plates.
Question- Which plateau lies between the Aravali and the Vindhya range? Write a brief note on this plateau.
Answer- The Malwa Plateau lies between the Aravali hills and the Vindhya range. The Aravali hills lie to the west of the plateau and the Vindhya range lies to its south. The part of the peninsular plateau lying to the north of the Narmada river, covering a major area of the Malwa plateau, is known as the Central Highlands.The Malwa plateau lies in Madhya Pradesh. It is composed of extensive lava flows. There are rolling plains separated by flattopped
hills. The plateau is largely broken in form of ravines near the Chambal Valley in its east.
Question- What do you understand by 'duns'? Where are they situated in our country? Give any two examples of duns.
Answer- The longitudinal valleys lying between Lesser Himalaya and the Shivaliks are known as duns. Dehradun and Kotli Dun are two examples of duns.
Question- What are corals? Name and describe the island group which is of coral origin.
Answer- Corals are shortlived microscopic organisms, which lives in colonies. They flourish in shallow, mudfree and warm waters. They secrete calcium carbonate. The coral secretion and their skeletons form coral deposits. Lakshadweep islands group lying close to the Malaber Coast of Kerala is composed of small coral islands.
Question- Describe 'Bhabar' and 'Terai'.
Answer- Bhabar is pebble studded formation situated at the base of mountains and plains in the Himalayan region. Terai is a sloping land at the foothills of the Nepal Himalayas. The Terai receives heavy rainfall and is densely forested.
Very Long Answered Questions:
Question- Describe the formation of India from Gondwanaland.
Answer- According to the ‘Theory of Plate Tectonics’ presented by earth scientists, the earth’s crust is composed of tectonic plates. The movement of these plates have influenced the evolution of present landforms of India. The southern part of the ancient supercontinent Pangaea is known as Gondwanaland. It
included India, Australia, South Africa and South America as one single landmass. Geologically, the Peninsular Plateau, which is one of the oldest landmasses of the earth’s surface, was part of the Gondwanaland. Tectonic forces split the crust into a number of plates. A part of the Gondwanaland, the
Indo Australian plate, drifted northwards. This resulted in the collision of this plate with the much larger Eurasian plate. The intervening portion between Angaraland in the north and Gondwanaland in the south was occupied by Tethys Sea. Due to this collision, the sediments that had accumulated in the Tethys geosyncline was uplifted and folded. This resulted in the formation of the lofty Himalayas. The Himalayan upliftment out of the sediments of the Tethtys Sea and subsidence of the northern flank of the Peninsular Plateau resulted in the formation of a large basin. Over millions of years the depression gradually got filled with deposition of sediments by the rivers flowing from the mountains in the north and the Peninsular Plateau in the south. The interplay of three major river systems – the Indus, the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and their tributaries formed a fertile, flat land of extensive alluvial deposits known as the Northern Plains.
Question- Describe the important features of the Peninsular Plateau.
Answer- The Peninsular Plateau of India lies to the south of the Northern Plains and extends up to the tip of the Indian peninsula. The Peninsular Plateau is a tableland with gently rising rounded hills and broad, shallow valleys. It is roughly triangular in shape. It is the oldest and the most stable landmass of India. The plateau is formed of old crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks. The Peninsular Plateau consists of two broad divisions – the Central Highlands and the
Deccan Plateau. The part of the Peninsular plateau lying to the north of the Narmada river is known as Central Highlands. It comprises of Malwa Plateau, Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand plateaus, the Vindhya Range and extends as Chhota Nagpur Plateau. The Aravalis are highly denuded old hills that lie on the western and northwestern margins of the Peninsular Plateau. The part of the Peninsular Plateau lying to the south of river Narmada is known as Deccan
Plateau. It is a triangular landmass with broad base in the north and tapers southward. It is formed due to lava flows, so a greater part of it is composed of basaltic rocks of volcanic origin. It is flanked by the Satpura range in the north. The Mahadev, the Kaimur hills and Maikal range form its eastern extensions.
The Deccan Plateau is flanked by the Western Ghats in the west and Eastern Ghats in the east. The Western Ghats have comparatively higher elevation of average 900 to 1600 metres. The Eastern Ghats have an average elevation of 600 metres. So the plateau is
