Kerala State Syllabus 10th Standard Social Science Notes Chapter 7 India: The Land of Diversities
India is a land of diversity. India’s topography is diverse with lofty mountains, huge rivers, extensive plateaus, broad plains and long coastline. India also experiences regional and seasonal, climatic variations. Though a part of the Asian continent, India is distinct from other parts of Asia. The Himalayas and the Indian Ocean have helped India to have a culture and climate distinct from other countries. The basis of the growth and development of India, an agrarian country, are diverse topography, climate, soil and rivers. The chapter helps to get a glimpse of these facts.
India Topography
→ Physiographically India can be classified into five divisions:
- The Northern Mountain region
- The Northern Great Plains
- The Peninsular Plateau – iv. Coastal Plains
- Islands
→ Northern Mountain region : This stretches from Kashmir in the north west to the Indian border in the east.
→ This mountain belt is divided into three-Trans Himalayas, Himalayas and Eastern Highlands.
→ The Trans Himalayas comprises the Karakoram, Ladakh and Zaskar mountain ranges.
→ The highest peak in India, Mount K2 or Godwin Austin (861 f m) is in the Karakoram range.
→ Pamir Knot is called the roof of the world.
→ The Himalayas which tend in north west- south east direction for a length of2400 km is an arc shaped mountain range.
→ The three parallel ranges of the Himalayas are Himadri, Himachal and Siwalik.
→ Himadri : Northernmost and the highest Himalayan range. The mountain peaks Mount Everest (Sagarmatha), Kanchenjunga, Nandadevi and Dhaulagiri are in Himadri.
→ Mount Everest is in Nepal.
→ The valleys of Kulu, Manali, Shimla, Darjeeling, Nainital and Mussoorie are in
Himachal.
→ The Purvachal or the Eastern Highlands are in the north east of India. The thickly forested Khasi-Jaintia hills in this region are the world’s rainiest spots.
The Northern Great Plain : This zone lies between northern mountain region and peninsular plateau. This extensive plain took shape as a result of the continuous deposition by the rivers flowing down from the Himalayas for thousands of years. This is the most fertile region in India and so is densely populated. Known as the granary of India. The major divisions of this plain are Punjab – Haryana plain, Marusthali – Bagar plain, Gangetic plain and Brahmaputra plain.
→ Thar desert is in Rajasthan. It lies to the west of Northern plains. Aravalli ranges are responsible for the formation of Thar desert.
Peninsular Plateau : This is the oldest and the most extensive physiographic division in India.
→ The nine subdivisions of peninsular plateau are Aravalli range, Malwa plateau, Vindhya range, Satpura range, Chotanagpur plateau, Deccan plateau, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats and Kathiawar-Kachch regions.
Coastal Plains extend from the Rann of Kachch in Gujarat to the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta in West Bengal.
→ Coastal plains are divided into west coast plains and east coast plains.
→ The three divisions of west coast plains are Gujarat coastal plain (Rann of Kachch to Daman), Konkan coast (Daman to Goa) and Malabar coast (Goa to Kanyakumari).
→ The two subdivisions of east coast plains are Coromandel coast (Kanyakumari to Nellore in Andhra Pradesh) and North Sircar coast (Nellore to Sunderban in West Bengal).
→ Islands : Lakshadweep islands are in the Arabian sea. These are coral islands. The main islands are Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindive.
→ Known as Bay Islands, the Andaman and Nicobar islands are located in the Bay of Bengal. These islands are divided into Andaman group and Nicobar group. The only volcano in India, the Barren is situated in the Barren island of Mid Andaman.
INDIA – Rivers
→ The two river systems of India are Himalayan river system and Peninsular river system.
→ The main Himalayan rivers are the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
→ The east flowing peninsular rivers are Mahanadi, Krishna, Godavari and Kaveri. .
→ The west flowing peninsular rivers are Narmada and Tapti.
INDIA- Climate
→ India experiences monsoon climate. The four seasons of India are:
- Winter season – December to February
- Summer season – March to May
- South west monsoon season – June to September
- North east monsoon season – October to November
→ Land of Rising sun : Arunachal Pradesh is called the land of rising sun. This is because it is the easternmost part of India where the rays of the rising sun fall first in India.
→ Passes : The natural gaps in the mountain ranges which help to traverse the mountain without much difficulty.
→ Siachen Glacier : The second longest glacier in the world outside the polar regions is located jn the eastern side of the Karakoram Ranges. It is also known as ‘Third Pole’.
→ Western disturbance : Rainfall in north west India in the winter season due to the low pressure system originating in the Mediterranean sea.
→ Mangoshowers : Local winds that blow over South India during summer and give rainfall in Kerala and coastal Karnataka.
→ Kalbaisakhi : Dry local wind in West Bengal and Assam during summer causing thundershowers and hail storms.
Kerala Syllabus 10th Standard Social Science Notes