UNIT- 2 INDIAN PHYSIOGRAPHY | SSLC SOCIAL SCIENCE NOTES ENGLISH MEDIUM | 10TH SOCIAL SCIENCE PASSING PACKAGE IN ENGLISH |

UNIT- 2

INDIAN PHYSIOGRAPHY

India has a variety of land forms . Mountain, plateau, plains, valleys and coastal areas .

Physical divisions of India:

1. The northern mountain

2. The northern great plains

3. The Peninsular plateau

4. The coastal plain and islands

I.THE NORTHERN MOUNTAIN:

● It comprise Himalayas young fold mountains. Highest mountain ranges in the world

and have a peaks ,valleys,glaciers and passes

● It is extended from Indus river gorge to Brahmaputra river gorge. Length 2400 km

● Its area is about 500000 kilometre square. Have slope towards south and gentle

towards Tibet

● There are three ranges Greater,Lesser and Shivalik

1.Greater Himalayas:

● They are innermost, continuous and highest mountains. Average height is about

6100 m. Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world, about the 8848 m.

● Kanchana junga , Dhavalagiri ,Manaslu ,Nanda Devi are notable peaks.

● They are covered with snow throughout the year hence they are called Himadri .

● It is the home of many glaciers Gangotri and Yamunotri

● There are some passes in this region ie Burzil , Lozi la, shipki la

● Mountains lying to the Northwest of Himadri are called Trans Himalayas

● Godwin Austen or K2 is the highest peak in India it is located in Karakoram range

2.The lesser Himalaya:

● These are located to the south of the greater Himalayas

● These are also called Himachal

● The height is about 1500 to 4500m.

● There are many parallel ranges such as Pir Panjal ,Dauladhar ,Nagtiba Mussoorie,

Mahabharat, Darjeeling.

● There are many valleys such as Kashmir Valley, Kangra valley, Kullu Valley.

● It is noted for hill station those are Shimla ,Ranikhet, Mussoorie ,Nainital and

Darjeeling.

3.The Shivalik Hills:

● These are the outermost Ranges or foothills of Himalaya located to the south of the

Himalaya so these are called outer Himalaya

● These are the lowest mountains about 600 to 1500 M height

● These mountains have very flat at bottom ,structured valley known as Doons .

Dehradun

Importance of Himalaya:

● Himalayas act as Natural frontiers and prevent foreign invasion

● They prevent cold winds from Central Asia

● The Abstract rain bearing winds and causes heavy rainfall

● Their slopes have thick forest and ideal for plantation crops

● Himalayas are the storehouse of minerals place of many rivers Falls used to

generate hydroelectricity.

II.THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS:

● THESE ARE LOCATED BETWEEN HIMALAYA AND PENINSULAR PLATEAU AND

FORMED BY THE DEPOSITIONAL WORK OF RIVER SYSTEM

● It is the largest Alluvial soil tract in the world

● It is about 2500 kilometre extension and 340 km width. About 700000 kilometre

square area

● This is the very fertile plain rocks not exposed to the surface

Importance:

● This is very suitable for irrigation and Agriculture

● This area has perennial rivers and watched fertile Alluvial soil

● This land is very level and supports for a network of roads, rail and means of

communication

● This is very useful for industrialisation and urbanisation and trade

● The number of pilgrim centres are located in this region

III.THE PENINSULAR PLATEAU:

● It is the largest physical division of India and the oldest landmass related the part of

Gondwanaland

● It lies to the south of great plain about the 16 lakh square kilometres

● It is roughly triangular in shape it is extended up to Cape Kanyakumari in the

southern extremity.

● It is bounded by Aravali, Vindhya, Satpura ,Western Ghat, Eastern Ghat, Chota

Nagpur Plateau and Malwa plateau.

Aravali:

● These are the oldest fold mountains Guru Shikhar 1772 m is the highest in Abu hill.

Vindhya and Satpura attached to the Aravali Hills Narmada and Tapi river flow

between Vindhya and Satpura.

The Western Ghat:

● A continuous range running parallel to the West Coast of India

● There are also known as Sahyadri mountains these are very steep on western side

and the gentle on Eastern side

● Passes; Borghat , Talghat , Palghat .

● South of Palghat the Western Ghat continuous as Anaimalai , palani , Cardamom

hills (Elaimalai)

● Anamudi is the highest peak in South about 2695 M

Eastern Ghat:

● These Mountains are most runs parallel to the East Coast and extended from

Mahanadi river to Nilgiri Hills

● They are lower than the Western Ghat and not continuous. The highest peak of

eastern Ghat is Armaconda

IV. Deccan Plateau :

● It is bounded by Satpura and vindhyas in the north west. Western Ghat is located in

the western part. Eastern Ghat is located in the Eastern part. Mahadev and Maikal

range in the north. Chota Nagpur Plateau in the North East.

● Importance:

● The plateau is rich in minerals, forest and biodiversity

● It influences on Southwest monsoon winds

● It is covered with black soil and useful for agriculture

● It is the birth place of many South Indian rivers and useful for generation of

hydroelectricity.

● It is well known for hill station such as Ooty in Tamilnadu.

V. THE COASTAL PLAIN:

● IT IS EXTENDED FROM RANN OF KUTCH TO DELTA OF GANGA. There are two

parts West Coast and east coast.

1. The Western Coastal plain:

● it lies between Western Ghat and Arabian Sea

● It is extended from Rann of Kutch to Kanyakumari

● It is narrow steep and Rocky

● have two parts that is Konkan and Karnataka coast and Malabar Coast

2. The eastern coastal plain:

● Is extended from subarnarekha river to Kanyakumari .

● It is located between Eastern Ghat and Bay of Bengal

● Many rivers flows across and formed deltas such as Mahanadi Godavari Krishna and

Kaveri

● There are some lagoons are formed in the coast like Chilka Pulicat and Kolleru

● There are two parts in eastern coast Northern circars and Coromandel

Importance:

● It provide natural harbours helps in foreign trade. Kandla marmagoa Kochi

Visakhapatnam and Kolkata

● They are useful for fishing, useful for Ship Building, agriculture and salt production

● They attract tourist and useful for navigation

Islands of India:

There are 247 Islands in India.

204 are in Bay of Bengal

43 are in Arabian Sea

Lakshadweep Island is formed by coral. Andaman Nicobar is formed by volcanic activities.