Landforms and Life Social Studies - Landforms and Life

There are seven countries that share land boundaries with India. India shares its water borders with Sri Lanka and Maldives. Sri Lanka is separated from India by the Palk Strait. India is a vast country. For administrative purposes, the country is divided into 28 States and 8 Union Territories. Delhi is the national capital. The states have been formed mainly on the basis of languages. India is marked by a diversity of physical features such as mountains, plateaus, plains, coasts and islands. Standing as sentinels in the north are the lofty snow-capped Himalayas. Himalaya means The abode of snow7. The Himalayan mountains are divided into three main parallel ranges. The northernmost is the Great Himalaya or Himadri. The world’s highest peaks are located in this range. Middle Himalaya or Himachal lies to the south of Himadri. Many popular hill stations are situated here. The Shiwalik is the southernmost range. The Northern Indian plains lie to the south of the Himalayas. They are generally level and flat. These are formed by the alluvial deposits laid down by the rivers- the Indus, the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and their tributaries. These river plains provide fertile land for cultivation. That is the reason for a high concentration of population in these plains. In the western part of India lies the Great Indian desert. It is a dry, hot and sandy stretch of land. It has very little vegetation. To the south of northern plains lies the Peninsular plateau. It is triangular in shape. The relief is highly uneven.
This is a region with numerous hill ranges and valleys. Aravali hills, one of the oldest ranges of the world, border it on the north-west side. The Vindhyas and the Satpuras are the important ranges. The rivers Narmada and Tapi flow through these ranges. These are west flowing rivers that drain into the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats or Sahyadris border the plateau in the west and the Eastern Ghats provide the eastern boundary. While the Western Ghats are almost continuous, the Eastern Ghats are broken and uneven. The plateau is rich in minerals like coal and iron-ore. To the west of the Western Ghats and the east of Eastern Ghats lie the coastal plains. The western coastal plains are very narrow. The eastern coastal plains are much broader. There are a number of east flowing rivers. The rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri drain into the Bay of Bengal. These rivers have formed fertile deltas at their mouth. The Sunderban delta is formed where the Ganga and Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal. Two groups of islands also form part of India. Lakshadweep Islands are located in the Arabian Sea. These are coral islands located off the coast of Kerala. The Andaman and the Nicobar Islands lie to the southeast of the Indian mainland in the Bay of Bengal. Tsunami is a huge sea wave generated due to an earthquake on the sea floor.
Q.1. The Himalaya is located in which direction?
(a) East $\quad$ (b) West $\quad$ (c) North $\quad$ (d) South
Q.2. Where does the peninsular plateau lie?
(a) In the eastern part of India $\quad$ (b) In the western part of India
(c) In the northern part of India $\quad$ (d) In the southern part of India
Q.3. Where do the rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri drain?
(a) Western Ghats $\quad$ (b) Lakshadweep $\quad$ (c) Bay of Bengal $\quad$ (d) None of these
Q.4. Aravalli hill is located in which state?
(a) Rajasthan $\quad$ (b) Maharashtra $\quad$ (c) Tamil Nadu $\quad$ (d) None of these