A VISIT TO THE NORTH

Q1. Describe about Himalaya ? or Himalayan range ?

A1. Himalaya is in the north of India. The length of Himalayan range is

approximately 2500 km and breadth varies from 150 km to 400 km. It starts from
Jammu & Kashmir and passes to Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim,
Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Assam and finally ends at
Arunachal Pradesh.

Q2. Why Himalayan range important to India? Or What is the importance of

Himalayan range ?

A2. Himalayan range is important because

1. It act as a boundary wall on the northern borders of our country
2. It protects us from cold dry winds that blow from central Asia
3. It blocks the monsoon winds from crossing the northern boundaries,
resulting in heavy rainfall in the northern plains.
4. We get medicines, wood and other useful products from the forests in
Himalayan region.
5. We get water for regular use and irrigation from the rivers originating in
the Himalayas.
6. We get electricity from the dams built across the rivers originating in the
Himalayas.

Q3. Himalayas consist of how many mountain ranges? Name them.

A3. Himalayas consist of three mountain ranges. They are
1. The Greater Himalayas or the Himadri range
2. The Middle Himalayas or the Himachal range
3. The Outer Himalayas or the Shiwalik range.

Q4. Write shot notes on “The Greater Himalayas”.

A4. The Greater Himalayas is also known as the Himadri range. It is the highest
range among all the three ranges of Himalayas. It remains covered with snow
throughout the year. Mount Everest the highest peak in the world lies in this range.
Many rivers originate from this range like Indus, Sutlej, Ganga, Yamuna and
Brahmaputra.

Q. What is the height of Mount Everest?

A. 8848 meter
Q. How are river formed in Greater Himalayan ranges?
A. Rivers are formed by the melting of glaciers.

Q. What is a Glacier ?
A. A slowly moving huge chuck of ice is known as glacier.

Q. Which Himalayan range has the world highest peak?

A. The Greater Himalayas or the Himadri range

Q5. Write shot notes on “The Middle Himalayas”.

A5. The Middle Himalayas is also known as the Himachal range. It is located to
the south of the Himadri range and also it is lower than the Himadri range. It has
many river valleys and passes. Many hill stations are located in this range such as
Shimla, Kullu, Mussoorie and Darjeeling. The slopes of mountains in this range
are covered by thick forests of pine and deodar.

Q. What do you mean by river valley and pass ?

A. Valley formed by the flowing water is called river valley
A narrow passage between two mountains is called pass.

Q. Name some of the hill station located in “The Middle Himalayas”.

A. Shimla, Kullu, Mussoorie and Darjeeling

Q. Where does “The Middle Himalayas” located from “The Greater Himalayan
ranges”?
A It is located to the south of The Greater Himalayan ranges.

Q. Which Himalayan ranges has river valleys and passes?

A. The Middle Himalayas or the Himachal range.

Q6. Write shot notes on “The Outer Himalayas” ?

A6. The Outer Himalayas is also known as the Shiwalik range. It is the southmost
and the lowest of the Himalayan ranges. The slopes of mountains in this range are
covered by dense forests. The north eastern parts of the Shiwalik are known as
Purvanchal range. Many small hills such as Garo, Khasi, Naga and Mizo are part
of Purvanchal range.
Q. Which of the three Himalayan range lies is the southmost and the lowest ?
A. The Outer Himalayas

Q. What is the north eastern parts of the Shiwalik are known as?
A. Purvanchal range

Q. Name some hills lies in Purvanchal range ?

A. Garo, Khasi, Naga and Mizo

Q. Why it is difficult to travel from one range to another?

A. Because these ranges are located side by side

Q. What needs to be done to travel easily from one range to another?.

A. Passes need to be built to travel easily from one range to another

Q. Name some passes of Himalayan range ?

A. Some passes are,
1. Karakoram in Kashmir
2. Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh.
3. Rohtang pass in Himachal Pradesh

Q. Name the first Indian to climb Mount Everest and in which year.
A. Bachendri Pal in the year 1984.
Q6. Write short notes on Northern Plains ?
A6. The Northern Plains stretch between the states of Punjab in the north west and
Assam in the north east. This region is also known as Indo-Gangetic plains.
Northern Plains are very fertile as rivers like Indus, Sutlej, Ganga and Brahmaputra
flow here.

Q. Why the Northern Plains are more fertile ?

A. Rivers such as Indus, Sutlej, Ganga and Brahmaputra originates from
Himalayas and flow through the Northern Plains and these rivers carry silt or
alluvium, which makes the land fertile.

Q. What is the name of the region in Northern Plains called?

A. Indo-Gangetic plains.

Q7. What is basin or river basin ?

A7. A river basin is an area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.

Q8. In how many basins the Northern Plains are divided? Name them.
A8. Northern Plains are divided into three basins. They are
1. Indus Basin
2. Ganga Basin
3. Brahmaputra Basin

Q9. Write short notes on three fertile basins of Northern Plains.

A9. Indus Basin: It lies in the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himanchal Pradesh,
Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Union Territory of Chandigarh. The river flow in
this basin are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas. The Bhakra-Nangal Dam,
highest dam in India, is built across the Sutlej river. Bhakra-Nangal Dam supply
electricity and water for irrigation to the states of Punjab and Haryana.

Ganga Basin: It lies in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. Some of
the river flow in this basin are Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. The confluence of
the three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati is known as Triveni Sangam, which
is in Allahabad.

Brahmaputra Basin: It lies in the states of Assam. The river flow in this basin is
Brahmaputra. Brahmaputra river originates from Tibet and is called Tsangpo. It
enters India though Arunachal Pradesh and flow though Assam and empties into
Bay of Bengal.

Q. From where does Ganga originates?

A Gangotri glacier in Himalayas.

Q What is the name of three rivers that meet at Allahabad and what it is called ?
A Three rivers are Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati is known as Triveni Sangam.

Q From where does Brahmaputra river originates? What is the name of

Brahmaputra river in this place?
A Brahmaputra river originates from Tibet and is called Tsangpo.

Q. What is the name of the highest Dam in India? In which river it is built.
A Bhakra-Nangal Dam, highest dam in India, is built across the Sutlej river.

Q Describes the life in North.

A. Climate- Most of the states in this region are cool in summer and cold in winter
because most of the peaks of Himalayas are covered with snow.
People- People living in mountain areas like Jammu and Kashmir speaks Kashmiri,
Ladakhi and Dogri, while people in plane areas like Uttar Pradesh speaks Hindi
and Urdu.
Vegetation- Mountains areas covered with thick forests of pine and deodar while
the plain areas are very fertile. Many crops like rice, jute, wheat, sugarcane and
maize are grown in northern plain.
Wildlife Sanctuaries and Parks- Some of the famous national park in mountains is
Jim Corbett National Park while Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary is the famous bird
sanctuary in the northern plain.
 THE GREAT INDIAN DESERTS

Q1. Which state is known as “Desert State of India” and Why?

A1. Rajasthan is known as Desert State of India because the Thar Desert covers the
large area of Rajasthan.

Q2. What is the name of desert in India or Rajasthan ?

A2. Thar Desert or The Great Indian Desert.

Q3. Write short notes on Thar Desert?

A3. Thar desert is the largest desert in India. It covers most part of the Rajasthan,
northern part of Gujrat and some parts of southern Haryana and Punjab. To the
south of Thar desert lies salt march of the Rann of Kutch and to the east lies the
Aravalli hills. Major part of the desert is covered with sand dunes.

Q4. What is sand dunes?

A4. Sand dunes are small hills of sand formed by wind.

Q5. What is sandstorms?

A5 A strong wind in desert carrying sand with them is called sandstorms.

Q6. How does the sand dunes get changed?

A6 Frequent sandstorms shift the sand dunes from one place to other.

Q What is the name of desert snake?

A Sand boa

Q7 Why days are hot and nights are cool in desert?

A7 Because the sand in the desert heats up and cools down very fast.

Q8 What climate does desert has?

A8 Hot and dry climate

Q9 What language does people living in Thar desert speaks?

A9 Gujarat people speaks Gujarati, Rajasthan people speaks Rajasthani, Haryana
people speaks Harayanvi and Punjab people peaks Punjabi.

Q10 Write short notes on the house of people lives in Thar desert.
A10 To keep the house cool, The house is made up of mud, the wall is thick and
windows are small. The wall, floor and ceilings of the houses are insulated with
cakes made of dried cow dung. The roofs are flat.

Q11. What is Dhaani ?

A11 Cluster of houses in the villages of Rajasthan is known as Dhaani.

Q12 Who are Banjara ?

A12 Some people living in the desert do not settle at one place, but move from one
place to another with their families and possessions (संपत्ति) in search of water.
These nomadic people are known as Banjara.

Q13 Write short notes on Banjars.

A13 Banjaraj are nomadic people in deserts. They wear colorful clothes with lots
of tiny mirrors fixed on them and turbans. They travel from one place to another on
camels.

Q14 What are the animals founds in deserts and why?

A14 Animals like Sheep, Goat and Camel are found because water is insufficient
or very less.

Q15 Which animal is called “The ship of the desert” and Why?
A15 Camel is called the ship of the desert because
1. Camel can survive for days without water and food.
2. Camel can walk in the desert sand with ease due their wide padded feet.
3. Camel can be used for carrying loads, ploughing fields and pulling carts.

Q16. Why camel is important for people living in desert?

A16 1. Camel can survive for days without water and food.
2. Camel can walk in the desert sand with ease due their wide padded feet,
which helpless the people to travel from one place to other.
3. Camel can be used for carrying loads, ploughing fields and pulling carts.
4. People drink camel’s milk.

Q17 What plants are grown in desert region?

A17 Due to scanty rainfall, shrubs, thorny bushes or cacti and trees like dates,
palms, kikar, babool and grasses grown in Thar desert.

Q Why it is difficult to grow plant in desert?

A Because of lack in water and dry sandy soil.

Q18 What is Oasis?

A18 Small areas in a desert where ground water reaches the surface in the form of
springs and is able to support vegetation is called oasis. Most of the villages are
located near or around oases.

Q19. To overcome scarcity of water in region what does Government of Rajasthan

did?
A19. They built Indira Gandhi Canal, which get water from river Sutlej. This water
is used for drinking as well as irrigation. By this they can grow jowar, millet,
wheat and other crops.

Q20 Name the wild animal found in deserts?

A20 Panther and Deers

Q21 Name some wildlife Sanctuaries in these region.

A21 Ranthambore, Bharatpur and Sariska.
 A VISIT TO THE SOUTH
Q1 Write short notes on Southern Plateau?
A1 It stretches from the south of the northern planes to the southernmost tip of
India. To its north west lies the Aravalli Hills, to the north east the Rajmahal Hills,
the Eastern Ghats lie along the east coast and Western Ghats lie along the west
coast. This plateau covers a larger part of the country. It expands approximately
1600 km from north to south and 1400 km from east to west.

Q2. Which river divides Southern Plateau? How many divisions does the river do?
What are their names?
A2. Narmada river divides the Southern Plateau into two parts. They are
1. The northern part is the Central Highlands
2. The southern part is the Deccan Plateau.

Q3. Write short notes on Central Highlands

A3. It includes Malwa Plateau in the north west and Chota Nagpur Plateau in the
north east.
Malwa Plateau- Lies between Aravalli Hills and Vindhyachal Range. It is spread
across Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. This plateau has two channels of drainage,
one towards Arabian sea (river Narmada and Tapti) and other towards Bay of
Bengal (river Chambal and Betwa) joining the Yamuna.

Chota Nagpur Plateau- Lies in eastern India. It covers Odisha, Chhattisgarh and
large part of Jharkhand.The region has two rivers Ganga and Mahanadi.

Q4 Write shorts notes on Deccan Plateau.

A4 Deccan Plateau is also known as Peninsular Plateau, bordered by Eastern Ghats
and western Ghats. Lies in south of Satpura Range and the river Narmada.
It Covers states of MP, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP,
Telangana, TN and Kerala. Rivers flow through the Deccan Plateau are Mahanadi,
Godavari (Dakshin Ganga), Kaveri, Krishna, Narmada and Tapti. Some of the river
falls from a height in a form of a waterfall like Jog Fall in Karnataka and
Hogenakkal Falls in Tamil Naidu.
Q5 Name two Dams in Deccan Plateau.
A5 Nagarjuna Sagar Dam on river Krishna and Hirakud Dam on river Mahanandi.

Q6 What are the uses of Dam?

A6 Dams are used for
1. Generating Electricity
2. Irrigation
3. Drinking Water

Q7 What do you mean by Coast ?

A7 A piece of land bordering a sea or ocean is known as coast.

Q8 How long is the coastal plain of India?

A8 India has 6100 km coastline from Gulf of Kutch to Bay of Bengal.

Q9 How many parts the coastline of India divided? What are those?
A9 Divided into two parts. They are
1. Eastern Coastline Plains
2. Western Coastline Plains
 FIELD TO KITCHEN

Q. What is a Crop? Give some example.

A. A crop is a plant that is grown or cultivated on a large scale. Example are
cereal, fruits and vegetables.

Q. What is Agriculture? Give some examples.

A. Cultivation of soil for growing crops in order to obtain food and raw materials
is known as agriculture. Examples
a. Vegetables, fruits, tea, coffee, groundnut, wheat, rice, tomato, jute, and
cotton are cultivated in the field.
b. Horticulture (art or practice of garden cultivation)
c. Livestock Rearing (domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting
to produce labor and commodities such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and
wool)
d. Fisheries (a place where fish are reared for commercial purposes)

Q. What are the steps for Agriculture?

A. 1. Ploughing
2. Sowing
3. Irrigation
4. Harvesting
5. Threshing
6. Winnowing

1. First step for Agriculture: Ploughing.

2. How Ploughing is done: Tractor or Oxen
3. What needs to be removed from soil before sowing seeds: Stones and
Weeds (harm the crop and needs to uproot).
4. What is the next step after Ploughing: Adding Manure and Fertilisers to the
soil.
5. What does soil get nutrition: From Manure and Fertilisers
6. How does soil becomes fertile: Manure and Fertilisers provides nutrition to
the soil to make it fertile and suitable for cultivation.
7. What is sowing: Scattering of seed on the ploughed field is called sowing.
8. What is irrigation: The process of watering the fields is called irrigation.
9. What are the sources of irrigation: Rainfall (Artificial), tanks, wells and
canals (Manmade).
 10. From whom the crop needs to be protected and how the crops are protected:
Crops needs to be protected from insect and pests like rats. Farmers spray
insecticides and pesticides on the crops to kill harmful insects and pests.
11. What is Harvesting: When the crop is mature, farmers cut and gather it,
this process is known as harvesting.
12. What tools the farmer use to harvest the crop.: Farmer use sickles and
scythes to harvest the crop. In large farm Special Machines are used for
harvesting.
13. What is the next step after harvesting: Threshing
14. What is threshing: Separating gains from husks and straws by beating the
gains or stems on the floor is called threshing. Now a days threshing is done
by machines.
15. What is the next step after Threshing: Winnowing
16.What is winnowing: Removing unwanted parts like husks and dust from
gain by allowing the gains to fall from height and letting the wind to blow
away the husks and dirt.
17. How the crop is stored: Crops are stored in gunny bags, cardboard and
wooden boxes and are kept in godown.
18.

Q. What are the types of Agriculture?

A. a. Subsistence Agriculture
b. Commercial Agriculture
c. Shifting Agriculture
d. Plantation Agriculture
e. Mixed Agriculture.

Subsistence Agriculture:
 Farmers cultivate crops on their farm to feed themselves and their families.
 They depend on monsoon for irrigation
 Most of them do not use insecticides, pesticides or fertilisers.
 They grow crops like rice, barley, wheat and vegetables.

Commercial Agriculture:
 Farmers cultivates crops on large scale to sold in the market
 Many people are employed for farming
 They use modern machines, modern methods of irrigation, insecticides and
pesticides for good yield.
 They grow rice, wheat, maize and sugarcane.
Shifting Agriculture:
 A small area of forest is cleared and cultivated for short period of time.
 Farming is then shifted to a newly cleared area in the forest
 It is also known as Jhum cultivation.
 They crow rice, maize and vegetables.

Plantation Agriculture:
 Single crop is cultivated on a large area for selling in the market.
 These crops are used as raw materials in industries and are often sold to
other countries.
 These crops are Tea and coffee.

Mixed Agriculture:
Framers use their fiels for growing various crops and rearing livestock.
Animals for mixed agriculture are cows, buffaloes, goat, sheep and hens.

Q. What are types of crops?

A. a. Food crops: They are the edible crops. They form the staple diet of the
people of the region in which they are grown in abundance. Example rice, wheat,
maize, millets and pluses.
b. Cash crops: They are edible or non edible. They are sold in market and
mainly used as raw materials for industries. Examples Sugarcane, Jute, Cotton,
Tea, Coffee, Spices and oil seeds.
Crop Type of State of Cultivation
Name Crop
Rice Food Crop Andhra Pradesh Staple diet of the people
Karnataka in southern India
Assam
Odisha
Wheat Food Crop Uttar Pradesh Staple diet of the people
Punjab in northern India
Haryana
Gujrat
Millets Food Crop Rajasthan Includes jowar,
Gujarat bajra, ragi
Maharashtra
Uttar Pradesh
Pulses Food Crop All parts of India Includes moong,
masoor, toor,
rajma.
Sugarcane Cash crop Uttar Pradesh We get Sugar and
Maharashtra Jaggery
Punjab
Gujarat
Jute Cash Crop Assam Making ropes, bags, Known as
Bihar carpets, sacks and ‘golden fibre’ of
West Bengal wrapping materials. its golden brown
Odisha colour.
Cotton Cash Crop Gujrat Making clothes, bags,
Maharashtra bead sheet.
Haryana
Punjab
Tea Cash Crop Assam Widely consumed India is largest
West Bengal beverage in India. producer of Tea
Tamil Nadu
(Nilgiris)
Coffee Cash Crop Kerala Important beverage in Found in coffee
Karnataka India. shop and cafes
Tamil Naidu
Spices Cash Crop Kerala Main ingredients in Refer SOF
Karnataka Indian cuisine.
Oil Seeds Cash Crop Gujarat We obtain oil. Groundnut
Tamil Nadu Cotton
Punjab Mustard
Assam Sesame
Q. What do you mean by coast? Describe about the Indian Coastline.
A. A piece of land bordering a sea or an ocean is known as coast.
Indian cost starts from Gulf of Kutch in Gujrat at west and ends at Bay of
Bengal at east. It covers the total length of 6100 km. Indian coast line is divided
into two parts
1. Eastern Coast Plains
2. Western Coast Plains

Q. Describe Eastern Coast Plains and Western Coast Plains.

A. Eastern Coast Plains: The Northern circars in the north and Coromandel cost
in the south together forms the Eastern Coast Plains. It stretch along WB, Odisha,
AP and TN. Main rivers are Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri.

Western Coast Plains: Gujrat coast in the north, Konkan and Malabar in the
south together forms Western Coast Plains. It stretches along Gujrat, Maharashtra,
Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. Main rivers are Narmada, Tapti, Zuari and Mandovi.

Q. What is Island? Describe two island of India.

A. Ac piece of land surrounded by water from all sides is called Island. Two Indian
Island are
1. Andaman and Nicobar Island: It is in Bay of Bengal. It is the group of 572
Island. The northern part is known as Greater Andaman and southern part is known
as Nicobar Island. Its capital is Port Blair. Cellular jail known as Kala Pani is in
Port Blair. It was built by British and now it is a tourist place.

2.Lakshadweep Island: It is in Arabian Sea. It is a group of 36 Island. It is close to

Malabar cost and is rich in coral deposits. Capital is….

Q. Describe the life in Southern Plateau.

A. Climate: It is too hot and the temperature goes to 40 degree centigrade. Summer
is from March to June. Monsoon is from July to October and winter is from
November to February. Temperature at some places goes to 10 degree centigrade

People: People speak different languages like People living in Karnataka speak
Kannada and Tulu. People lining in TN speaks Telugu, Urdu and Tamil.

Vegetation: The forest of southern plateau has oak, sandalwood, mahua and
bamboo tree. Crops grown are jowar, bajra, cotton, sugarcane, rice, grapes and
spices.
Wildlife centuries and Park:
Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary- Kerala
Mudumalai National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary- TN
Aanaimalai Wildlife Sanctuary- TN
Periyar National Park- Kerala
Bandipur National Park – Karnataka
Kanha National Park- Madhya Pradesh