Assignment 7 Class VIII Geography Chapter 8 INDIA
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Assignment 7 Class VIII Geography Chapter 8 INDIA : GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES Note: The Study Material consists of 3 parts - ○ Part I - The important highlights of the chapter. ○ Part II - The activity based on the chapter. ○ Part III - The questions based on the study material that you need to answer in your respective notebook and submit when you are back to the school. 1. INTRODUCTION India, officially known as, the (Sovereign, Socialist Secular, Democratic) Republic of India, is the world's seventh largest country. It has a varied landscape. It is rich in natural landscape with bountiful natural resources. 2. LOCATION AND EXTENT Its latitudinal and longitudinal extent is approximately 8° North to 37° North and 68° East to 97° East. ● The Andaman and Nicobar Islands extend further southwards and add to its latitudinal extent. ● The north-south extent of mainland India from Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari in the south is 3214 km. Its west to east extent from Rann of Kutch in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east is 2933 km. The length of the coastline along the peninsular India is abou 6100 km. ● The Tropic of Cancer (23½°N) passes through the middle of the country, dividing it into two latitudinal halves, north temperate and south tropical lands. It passes through the state of Madhya Pradesh, covering the longest distance. ● Cape Comorin in Tamil Nadu near Kanyakumari is the southernmost tip of India. India takes its Standard time from 822° E meridian which passes through Allahabad. Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5½ hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) ; it is situated to the East of Greenwich Meridian. 3. BOUNDARIES AND NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES OF INDIA The Indian Peninsula is bounded on three sides by the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal respectively. In the north, India is separated from the rest of Asia by a mountain wall - the Great Himalayas. Hence, India's international boundaries are formed by the lofty Himalayas and its offshoots in the north, northwest and northeast. ● In the south, southwest and southeast, its coast is washed by the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal respectively ● Immediately across India's border in the north is the Tibet Plateau. ● Our next immediate neighbours are China, Nepal and Bhutan in the north. ● East to Nepal across Sikkim is Bhutan. ● At the easternmost point of the Indian border is the Eastern tri junction where India, China and Myanmar meet. ● Bangladesh is bordered on three sides by India.To the east lies Myanmar. ● To the west, our immediate neighbour is Pakistan created after partition of the country in 1947 4. POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF INDIA - STATES AND CAPITALS India is divided into 28 states and 9 union territories including Delhi. (Delhi is given the status of National Capital Region (NCR) or National Capital Territory.) The present political division of India into the states and union territories is on the basis of various factors like geography, population, local culture and languages. ● The states and union territories are further divided into districts and tehsils, managed by the state governments. ● The new states, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh were created from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh respectively. ● Telangana was created out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. In August 2019, the state of Jammu & Kashmir was bifurcated to form two union territories - J & K and Ladakh. ● As per the 2011 census, Uttar Pradesh is the most populated Indian state accounting for 16.49 per cent of the total population. ● Sikkim has the lowest population. ● Area-wise Rajasthan is the largest while Goa is the Smallest state. ● Density wise Arunachal Pradesh has the lowest density of population and Bihar has the highest density of population (1102 persons per sq km) as per the 2011 census. PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS OF INDIA India, along with its neighbouring countries, . Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives, is called the Indian subcontinent. Together it forms a well defined geographical unit and is a peninsula, completely isolated from mainland to Asia by a wall of young fold mountains, the Himalayas. India's vast east-west and north-south extent includes a variety of physical features like high mountains, extensive plains, deserts and plateaus. Broadly speaking, India's physical features can be divided into following physical divisions (a) The Himalayas (b) Northern Plains (c) Peninsular Plateau (d) Coastal Regions (e)Islands (a) The Himalayas It includes the Pamir mountain ranges in Central Asia, north of India formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tien Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun and Hindukush ranges. The Karakoram and Himalayas are located along the northern boundary of India. The northern mountains can be divided into three divisions : i. Northwest Range - It is a series of mountain ranges radiating from the Pamir knot known as the roof of the world. The main mountain ranges are: • Hindukush Southwest • Kunlun East . Karakoram Southeast • Ladakh and Zaskar running parallel to the great northern wall. ii. The North Himalayan Range or Northern Arc or Great Northern Himalayas The North Himalayan range runs in the form of an arc from Kashmir in the north to Assam in the east. The westernmost limit of the northern area is Nanga Parbat and the easternmost limit is marked by Namcha Barwa. The Northern Himalayan range comprises of three distinct parallel ranges: 1. Himadri 2. Middle or Lesser Himalayas • 3. The Shivalik range iii. The Northeast Himalayas or Purvanchal These are a series of hills running through Arunachal Pradesh. Nagaland, Manipur,Assam and Mizoram. They consist of: Patkai Bum and Naga hills in the north Mizo hill (Lushai hills) in northwest Garo. Khasi and Jaintia hills in the centre. (b) Northern Plains The vast plain of India between Himalayas to the north and the peninsular plateau to the south is formed by the Indus-Ganga Brahmaputra river. 1. It is an aggradational plain formed by the depositional work of three major river systems viz. the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra 2. This plane is the largest alluvial tract of the world extending for a length of nearly 3200 km from the mouth of Indus to the Ganga, of which the Indian sector alone accounts for 2400 km. The great plains of India can be divided into four major parts (i) The Thar Desert (ii) The Indus Punjab-Haryana plain (iii) The Ganga (iv)The Brahmaputra plain i.The Thar Desert : 1. It is a sandy desert in northwest India and eastern Pakistan. 2. It is also called desert or Marusthali. This desert is known as the Thar desert. 3. The western part of the desert is covered by shifting sand dunes locally known as dhrian. 4. The eastern part of the desert upto Aravali range is a semi-arid plain called Rajasthan Bagar. 5. The most important river is Luni which flows southwards to the Rann of Kutch. North of Luni basin there are several saltwater lakes in. Sambhar and the Kuchaman. 6. The Central Arid Zone Research Institute in Jodhpur is using the latest technology of remote sensing to study the extension of desert area in this region. (ii) Indus Punjab-Haryana Plain : The Indus Punjab-Haryana plain is formed by the sediments carried by the five tributaries of Indus Jhelum, Ravi. Beas, Sutlej and Chenab flowing through the region. This is known as Punjab plain - the land of five rivers. It is primarily made up of doabs the land between two rivers. The eastern part of the Punjab plain is relatively flat, but the northern part is extensively eroded by the numerous streams coming down the Siwalik hills. The network of such streams is locally known as Chos. (iii) The Ganga Plain : Most part of the deltaic plain of Bengal is now in Bangladesh. The whole deltaic plain is composed of old and new alluvium and mud and is full of marshy areas. To the north lies the Ganga Brahmaputra Doab region. (iv)The Brahmaputra Plain : The Brahmaputra plain extends from Sadiya in the east to Dhubri in the west. 1. Its length is nearly 640 km and width is only 100 km or less. 2. The plain is made up of alluvium carried by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries The Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra plain is the home of millions of Indians. (c) Peninsular Plateau The Indian plateau is also known as the Peninsular plateau (peninsula: a tract of land having water on three sides). 1. It is a part of the old landmass called the Gondwana land. 2. It is made up of igneous and metamorphic rocks. 3. The peninsular plateau lies to the south of Vindhya and Satpura ranges. It consists of four parts: (1) The Indian Plateau (ii) The Deccan Plateau (iii) The Western Ghats (iv) The Eastern Ghats (i) The Indian Plateau The Indian plateau begins from the Aravali hills in the north west. The Aravalis form the oldest mountain system of India. Further south, between the Aravali and the Vindhya range lies the Malwa plateau. Then follows almost parallel ranges of the Vindhyas and Satpuras. The Vindhyas extend in east-West direction and form the northern boundary of the Deccan. To the northeast of the plateau is Chhota Nagpur plateau, noted for its valuable mineral deposits. To the west of Aravallis is the Thar desert. ii. The Deccan Plateau The word Deccan means south. Plateau to the south of Narmada river is the largest plateau in India. 1. It is made up of lava flows which are several hundred metres thick. 2. The northern part of the Deccan has some minor ranges. 3. They are Rajmahal Mahadeo hills and Maikal range in Madhya Pradesh and Ajanta and Satmala hills in Maharashtra.