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Book Exercise: Geography: Class 9: Chapter 2 Physical Features of India
1 Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.
(i)
A land mass bounded by sea on three sides is referred to as
(a) Coast
(b) Island
(ii)
(c) Peninsula √
(d) none of the above
Mountain ranges in the eastern part of India forming its boundary with
Myanmar are collectively called as
(a) Himachal
(b) Uttaranchal
(c) Purvanchal √
(d) none of the above
(iii) The western coastal strip, south of Goa is referred to as
(a) Coromandal
(b) Konkan
(c) Kannad √
(d) Northern Circar
(iv) The highest peak in the Eastern Ghats is
(a) Anaimudi
(b) Kanchenjunga
(c) Mahendragiri √
(d) Khasi
2 Answer the following questions briefly.
(i)
(ii)
What are tectonic plates?
Due to force originating within the earth, the land forms have been changed and
the crust (upper part) of the earth has been formed out of 7 major and some
minor plates. These are called tectonic plates.
Which continents of today were part of the Gondwana land?
Australia, South America, Part of Africa (South Africa) and Part of Asia (India)
are continents of today which were part of the Gondwana land as one single
land mass in the past.
(iii) What is the Bhabar?
According to the variations in relief features, the Northern Plains can be divided
into 4 regions. Bhabar is a division of Northern Plains. Bhabar is seen at the
foot hills of Shiwaliks. The rivers flowing from the mountains, deposit pebbles
along the foot hills of Shiwaliks with a width of about 8 to 16 kms. It is known
as Bhabar. All the streams disappear in this Bhabar belt.
(iv) Name the three major divisions of the Himalayas from north to south.
1. The Great Himalayas or Inner Himalayas or ‘Himadri’
2. Himachal Himalayas or Lesser Himalayas
3. Shiwaliks
(v)
Which plateau lies between the Arvali and the Vindhyan ranges?
Malwa Plateau
(vi) Name the island group of India having coral origin.
Lakshadweep
3 Distinguish between
(i) Converging and diverging tectonic plates
The crust of the earth has been formed out of 7 major and some minor plates.
These plates are above the mantle of the earth. These plates move due to
tectonic (force originating within the earth). The movements of these plates lead
to folding, faulting and volcanic eruptions. If some tectonic plates come towards
each other and form convergent boundary, they are called converging tectonic
plates.
If some tectonic plates move away from each other and form divergent
boundary, they are called diverging tectonic plates. (85 words) (Also you can
draw Figure 2.1 Plate Boundaries page 7 in text book)
(ii) Bhangar and Khadar
The Northern Plains can be divided into 4 regions. They are: 1. Bhabar 2. Terai
3. Bhangar 4. Khadar. Bhangar and Khadar are two divisions of the Northern
Plains. The differences between Bhangar and Khadar are:
Bhangar
Khadar
1. Bhangar is the older alluvium of
1. Khadar is the new, younger
Northern Plains.
alluvium deposits of the flood plains.
2. The larger part of Northern plains
comes under Bhangar category. It lies
above flood plains of the rivers and
present a terrace like feature.
2. Smaller part of Northern Plains
comes under Khadar category. It is
subject to floods.
3. It is not renewed every year by the
Himalayan rivers.
3. It is renewed almost every year by
the Himalayan rivers.
4. Hence it does not have very fertile
4. Hence it has very fertile soil and
soil. The soil in Bhangar region
suitable for intensive agriculture.
contains calcareous deposits locally
known as Kankar.
(iii) Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats
The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats are part of the Deccan Plateau; and
they are located at the western and eastern edges of the Deccan Plateau
respectively. The differences between Western and Eastern Ghats are:
Western Ghats
Eastern Ghats
1. Western Ghats are located in the
1. Eastern Ghats are located in the
western edge of the Deccan Plateau
eastern edge of the Deccan Plateau
and lie parallel to the western coast.
and lie parallel to the eastern coast.
2. The Western Ghats are higher than
the Eastern Ghats. The average
elevation of the Western Ghats is 900
to 1600 metres.
2. The average elevation of the Eastern
Ghats is 600 metres.
3. The Western Ghats are continuous
and can be crossed through passes
only. Thal, Bhor and the Pal Ghats are
in the Western Ghats.
3. The Eastern Ghats are
discontinuous and irregular and
dissected by rivers draining into Bay
of Bengal.
4. The Anaimudi (2,695 metres) and
the Doda Betta (2,637 metres) are the
highest peaks in the Western Ghats.
4. Mahendragiri (1,501 metres) is the
highest peak in the Eastern Ghats.
5. The Western Ghats cause
orographic rain by facing the rain
bearing moist winds to rise along the
western slopes of the Ghats.
5. The Eastern Ghats do not cause
orographic rain.
6. Not many famous hill stations are
located in the Western Ghats.
6. The famous hill stations like Ooty
and Kodaikanal are located here.
Shevroy and Javadi Hills are located
in the Eastern Ghats.
4 Describe how the Himalayas were formed.
The crust of the earth has been formed out of 7 major and some minor plates.
The convectional currents split the crust into number of pieces. So, IndoAustralian Plate was drifted from the Gondwana land. This northward drift
resulted in the collision of Indo-Australian Plate with larger Eurasian Plate. In
between these two plates there was Tethys sea. Due to this collision, the
sedimentary rocks in Tethys sea were folded and led to the formation of the
Himalayan mountain and Western Asia mountain system.
5 Which are the major physiographic divisions of India? Contrast the relief of the
Himalayan region with that of the Peninsular plateau.
The major physiographic divisions of India are:
(i) The Himalayan Mountains
(ii) The Northern Plains
(iii)The Peninsular Plateau
(iv) The Indian Desert
(v) The Coastal Plains
(vi) The Islands
Contrasts between the Himalayan Region and the Peninsular Plateau are:
Himalayan Region
Peninsular Plateau
1. The Himalayas are geologically
1. Peninsular Plateau, geologically the
young and structurally fold mountains. oldest landmass, was formed due to
breaking and drifting of the Gondwana
land.
2. The Himalayan mountains form an
unstable zone.
2. The Peninsular Plateau is supposed
to be a stable land block.
3. The Himalayas have recent
topography with high peaks, deep
valleys and fast flowing rivers.
3. The Peninsular Plateau has gently
rising rounded hills and shallow and
wide valleys.
4. The Himalayas have granite,
compressed and altered rocks and
sedimentary rocks.
4. The Peninsular Plateau is composed
of the old crystalline, igneous and
metamorphic rocks.
5. The average altitude of the
Himalayas is 6000 metres from MSL.
The highest peak is Mount Everest
with a height of 8848 metres.
5. The mountains of the Peninsular
Plateau have an average height of 9001600 meter from above MSL. The
highest peak is Anai Mudi at 2695
metres.
6. They are snow covered and contain 6. The mountains of this plateau are
many glaciers. Example: Siachin,
not snow covered and do not contain
Gangotri.
glaciers.
7. They are the major sources of water 7. The Peninsular Plateau is
and forest wealth.
storehouse of minerals.
6 Give an account of the Northern Plains of India.
1.The Northern Plains have been formed by the interplay of the three major
river systems, namely- the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with
their tributaries.
2.The Northern Plains have alluvial soil. The major rivers and tributaries
deposit this soil.
3.Northern Plains spread over an area of 7 lakh sq.km. The length of the plain is
about 2400 km and its breadth is about 240 to 320 Km.
4.The Northern Plains can be divided into three broad sections: 1. Punjab Plain
2. The Ganga Plain and 3. The Brahmaputra Plain.
5.The Northern Plain has an average altitude of about 300 Metres. However, it
relief features has certain variations. Based on the variations in the relief
features, the vast Northern Plains can be divided into 4 regions – 1. Bhabar 2.
Terai 3. Bhangar 4. Khadar.
6.Northern Plain has rich fertile alluvial soil, adequate water supply and
favourable climate. Hence, it is agriculturally a very productive part. The
Northern Plains are the granaries of India.
7 Write short notes on the following.
(i) The Indian Desert
The Indian Desert lies towards the western margins of Aravali Hills. It is an
undulating sandy plain covered with sand dunes. This region receives very low
rainfall below 150 mm per year. Streams appear during rainy season. Luni is the
only large river in this region. Barchans (crescent shaped dunes) cover larger
areas. Longitudinal dunes are found in Indo-Pakistan boundary.
(ii) The Central Highlands
The Central Highlands are part of the Peninsular Plateau. The part of the plateau
lying to the north of the Narmada river covering a major area of the Malwa
plateau is known as the Central Highlands. The Vindhyan range is bounded by
the Central Highlands on the south and the Aravalis on the northwest and sandy
rock desert of Rajasthan on the west.
The Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa and Ken are rivers flowing in this region
from southwest to northeast.
The Central Highlands are wider in the west but narrower in the east.
The eastward extensions of this plateau are locally known as Bundelkhand and
Baghelkhand. Further east of this Highlands, the Chotanagpur Plateau is there
drained by the Damodar river.
(iii) The Island groups of India
India has vast main land. Besides this, India has two groups of islands, namely,
i) the Lakshadweep Islands group and ii) the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Lakshadweep is located in the Arabian Sea. It is lying close to Malabar
coast of Kerlaa. It covers small are of 32 sq.km. It is composed of small coral
islands. Kavaratti is the administrative headquarters of Lakshadweep.
The Andaman and Nicobar islands is located in the Bay of Bengal. These
islands are numerous and scattered. The group of islands is divided into two
categories: 1. The Andaman in the north 2. Nicobar in the south. These islands
are elevated portion of submarine mountains. These islands close to the equator.
Hence, they experience equatorial climate and have thick forest cover. There is
a great diversity of flora and fauna. Andaman and Nicobar islands are of great
strategic importance to India. Port Blair is the administrative headquarters of the
Anadaman and Nicobar Union Territory.
PROJECT/ACTIVITY
Locate the peaks, passes, ranges, plateaus, hills, and duns hidden in the puzzle.
Try to find where these features are located. You may start your search horizontally,
vertically or diagonally.
Horizontal:
Row 1:
Row 3:
Row 6:
Row 8:
Row14:
Row15:
Row16:
Nathula
Cardemom
Garo
Kanchenjunga
Anaimudi
Everest
Patli
Vertical:
Col 1:
Col 3:
Col 4:
Col 5:
Col 6:
Col 9:
Col10:
Col13:
Col15:
Col16:
Chotanagpur
Aravali
Konkan
Jaintia
Nilgiris
Coromendal
Kaimur
Vindhya
Lakshadweep
Sahyadri