E-Content Geography Class-9 Dated: 11.05.20

Duration: 45mnts

Chapter-2 Physical Features of (contd…):

Famous Mountain Passes in the : - Shipki-La: It is located in the -Himalayan Road. It lies in the Satluj valley in - Nathu-La: It is on the way from India to Lhasa (the capital of Tibet). It lies in the Chumbi valley in . - Bomdi-La: It lies further east in Arunachal Pradesh. It leads to Arunachal- border. - Pass: It lies in the Kashmir-China border, beyond the Himalayas in Karakoram mountain range.

The PurvaChal: The eastern extension of Himalayas beyond Dihang gorge (Brahmaputra gorge) in the east is called Purvachal. - They comprise the Patkai Bum and Naga Hills in the north. - The Mizo Hills in the south. - Along Bangladesh-India border in Meghalaya, these hills are known as Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills from west to east directions. (Refer relief map of India in page no-10 in NCERT Text Book.)

Salient Features of Purvachal: - These hill ranges are located beyond Dihang gorge along Indo- Myanmar border. - All these hills are much lower and smaller than the Himalayas. - Unlike Himalayas, these hill ranges are highly dissected or broken hill ranges and their average height never exceed 3000m from the mean sea level. - They have low and rounded peaks and are practically devoid of snow. - They don’t’ have proper lay-out as these hill ranges extend in different directions. - These hills are mostly composed of strong sandstones which are sedimentary rocks and all these hills are covered with dense forests.

Significance of the Himalayas: - As a mighty mountain wall, the Himalayas separate the Indian subcontinent from the rest of Asia due to which India is a well-knit natural separate geographical unit in the world having distinct identity of its own. - They have huge snowfields and glaciers which give rise to numerous perennial rivers such as the Ganga, the Yamuna etc. and these rivers are useful for irrigation, navigation and production of hydro-electric power. - The Himalayas act as a climatic barrier by stopping the freezing cold winds blowing from the north (from Central Asia) and they also stop and deflect the rain-bearing monsoon winds which provide much needed rainfall to India. - The forests and pastures on the slope of Himalayas provide a variety of major and minor products such as timber, bamboo, medicinal herbs, resin, gum etc. - The forests of Himalayas provide suitable habitat for a wide variety of wildlife and due to which there are many wildlife sanctuaries and bio reserves in Himalayas. - The beautiful landscape features of Himalayas, the presence of diverse flora and fauna, the beautiful hill stations and valleys etc. provide scope for tourism and recreation.

Assignment: 1) What is a ? Name the famous passes of Himalayas and their locations. 2) What are Purvachal? Name all the hill ranges of Purvachal and the directions of their extent . 3) Discus the significance of Himalayas.