CHAPTER 2 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. Peninsula
ii. Mountain ranges in the eastern part of India forming its boundary with Myanmar are collectively called:
Ans. Purvachal.
iii. The western coastal strip, south of Goa is reffered as 
Ans. Konkan
iv. The highest peak in the Eastern Ghats is:
Ans. Mahendragiri.

Q2. Answer these questions:

i. What is the bhabar

Ans. The rivers, after descending from the mountains deposit pebbles in a
narrow belt of about 8 to 16km in width lying parallel to the slopes of the
Shiwalik. It is known as bhabar.

ii. Name the three major divisions of the Himalayas from North to South

Ans:- Greater Himalayas, Lesser Himalayas & Shiwalik rangearethe three major divisions of the Himalayas from North to South.

iii. Which plateau lies between the Aravalli& the Vindhaya ranges?

Ans. Malwa plateau

iv. Name the island group of India having coral origin?

Ans. The Lakshadweep group of island of India have coral origin.

Q3. Distinguish between:

i.Bhangar and Khandar.

Ans. Bhangar: - The largest part of the Northern Plain is formed of older alluvium. They lie above the flood plains of the rivers and present a terrace like feature. This part is known as Bhangar.

Khadar: - the soil in this region contains calcareous deposits local known as Kanar. The newer, younger deposits of the flood plain are called khandar. They are renewed almost every year, and so are for intensive agriculture

ii. Western hats and Eastern Ghats:

Western Ghats:

1. Western hats form the western boundary of the Deccan plateau.
2. The average height is 1200 m. But some parts rise to 2480 m or more
3. Its average width is 50-80 km.
4. It is the source of many big-rivers.
5. It is a continuous mountains wall, with passes like the thalGhats and Pal Ghats.

Eastern Ghats:

1. Eastern Ghats form the eastern boundary of the Deccan Plat call. like the Thal Ghats, Bhor
2. The average height is 450 m, rarely exceeding 1200 m.
3. Its average width is 100 to 200 km.
4. No big rivers emerge
5. It is a discontinuous rang as many rivers, Mahandi, Godwari, Krishna,Kaveri, cut the passage to the sea.

 Q4. Which are the major physiographic divisions of India. Contrast the relief of the Himalayan region with that of the peninsular plateau.

Ans:-The major physiographic divisions of India are

1. The Himalayan mountains.
2. The Northern Plains.

3. The peninsular plateau.
4. The Indian desert.
5. The coastal plains.

6. The Islands.

Q:- Differentiate between Himalayan mountains And Peninsular plateau

Himalayan Mountains

i. It consists of loftiest mountains
& deep valleys

ii. It is formed due to the
collusion of the Indo-Australian
& Eurasian plates.

iii. It is formed at the edge of the
Indo-Gagnetic plain

iv. The Himalayan region
contains only a few minerals.

V: The rivers originated from the
Himalayas are perennial.

Peninsular Plateau

i. It consists of broad & shallow valleys & rounded hills.

ii. It is formed due to the drifting & breaking of Gondwana land

iii. It is formed at the edge of the Deccan plateau.
the

iv. The peninsular plateau is the store house of the minerals.  

v. The rivers that originate from the  platea are 
seasonal in nature 

Q5. Give an account of the northern plains of India?

Ans. The Great northern plains extended to about 3200 km between the mouths of the Indus in the west and Ganga in the east. The width varies between 150 + 300 km. width goes on decreasing from West to are broadly divided into three sections. east. The Northern plains

1. Indus Basin: - the indus basin is formed by the Indus and its tributaries. It forms the Western part of the Northern plains, referred to as the
Punjab plaids. The river Sutlej originated from the Mansarovar lake region in Libet, were as the other four rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas in the Himalayas.

2. The Ganga plain: -The Ganga plain extends between Ghager and Teerta rivers., it is spread over the states of North, India, Haryana,
Delhi, U.P, Bihar, Partly Jharkhand. The Ganga is joined by rivers like Yamuna, Gomiti, Ghara, Ghandak, Kosi, Chambal, Betwaken and son.

3. The Brahmaputra valley: - The Brahmaputra plain is about 650 km from West Bengal to Assam with a general width 90 to 100 km. The Brahamputra and Ganga rivers have formed the world's largest Delta known as Sundarbans.

Q6. Write Short notes of the following:

1. The Indian Deserts:

Ans. The Indian desert lies towards the Western margins of the Aravalli Hills. It is an undulating Sandy plain covered with Sand dunes. This

regions receiver very low rainfall below 150 mm per year. It has arid climate with low vegetation cover. Streams appear during the iny season.

Soon after the disappear into the sand as they do not have enough water to each the sea. Unions the only large river in this region

2. The central Highlands:

The central high lands are bounded by the Vindhya range in the south the Aravalli's on the West and the Chotanagpur pleatue in the east the central highlands merge with the Northern plains of India in the north 

All rivers the central Highland region join the Yamuna and the Ganga from the South. He Central highlands consisting of the following hill

ranges and plateaus.

I. The Aravalli range.

ii. The Vindhaya Range.

iii.The Malwa plateau.

iv.The Bundelkhand

v.The Baghel Khand

vi.The Chota Nagpur

vii. The Shilong plateau.

3. The Island group of India.

Ans. The island groups of India are the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep islands.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands: - They are a group 572 islands located in the Bay of Bengal. They are found at an average distance of 1200 km from the main land. Port Blair in the Andaman grou is the capital and port city. The ten-degree channel separates the Andaman group from the Nicobar group.

The Lakshadweep islands:

It is a group of 36 islands located in the Arabian Sea. These islands lie 300

km to the west of the coast of Kerala. All these islands have been built up

by coral polyps and have fringing very close to their shores.