Structure of the Earth (UPSC Notes):- Download PDF Here

Structure of the Earth

 The Crust
 The Mantle
 The Core

The Crust

 The crust is the outermost solid part of the earth.

 It is fragile.
 The thickness of the crust varies under the oceanic and continental areas.
 Oceanic crust is thinner as compared to the continental crust.
 The continental crust is thicker in the areas of major mountain systems.
 The crust is made up of heavier rocks having a density of 3 g/cm3.
 The kind of rock seen in the oceanic crust is basalt.
 The mean density of material in the oceanic crust is 2.7 g/cm3.
 Silica (Si) and Aluminium (Al) are major constituent minerals. Hence it is often termed as
SIAL. Also, sometimes SIAL is used to refer to the Lithosphere.

The Mantle

 The portion of the interior beyond the crust is called the mantle.
 It is in a solid-state.
 It has a density higher than the crust portion.
 The thickness ranges from 10-200 km.
 The mantle extends from Moho’s discontinuity to a depth of 2,900 km.
  The asthenosphere is the upper portion of Mantle.
 It is the chief source of magma that finds its way to the surface during volcanic eruptions.
 The crust and the uppermost part of the mantle are called the lithosphere.
 The major constituent elements of the mantle are Silicon and Magnesium and hence it is
also termed as SIMA

The Core

 The core-mantle boundary is positioned at the depth of 2,900 km.

 The inner core is in the solid-state whereas the outer core is in the liquid state.
 The core is made up of very heavy material mostly constituted by nickel and iron. He

What is Geography?

 The term geography was first devised by Eratosthenes, a Greek scholar (276-194 BC.)
 Geography is a discipline of the combination of spatial synthesis and temporal synthesis.
 According to geography, Earth is described as the abode of human beings.
 Landforms provide the foundation on which anthropogenic activities are placed.
 The plains are used for agriculture.
 Plateaus provide a platform for minerals and forest.
 Mountains make available space for meadows, forests, tourist spots, etc. They are regarded
as the sources of rivers.

Geography as a Discipline (UPSC Notes):- Download PDF Here

Branches of Geography

1. Physical Geography
2. Human Geography
3. Biogeography
 Physical Geography

 Geomorphology is a branch of Geography dealing with the study of landforms, the

formation of landforms, and associated courses.
 Climatology includes the study of atmosphere structure, elements of weather, climate,
climatic types and climatic regions.
 Hydrology deals with the study of water present on the surface of the earth comprising
oceans, rivers, lakes and other water bodies, its influence on various life forms on earth and
allied activities.
  Soil Geography is to study the courses of soil formation, types of soil, fertility status of soils,
soil distribution and utilization.

2. Human Geography

 Social/Cultural Geography covers the study of society and the spatial dynamics of society
and the cultural aspects caused by society.
 Population Geography encompasses the population growth, density, distribution, migration,
sex ratio and occupational structure, and so on.
 Settlement Geography deals with the features of urban and rural settlements.
 Economic Geography is related to people’s economic activities comprising agriculture,
industry, services, trade, transport, infrastructure, etc.
 Historical Geography deals with the historical processes by which space gets organised.
The geographical features also go through temporal changes; these are the issues of
historical geography.
 Political Geography is the study of the spatially unbalanced results of political courses and
the various manners in which political processes are themselves influenced by spatial
structures.

3. Biogeography

 The interface between human geography and physical geography has led to the progress of
Biogeography which contains:

o Ecology and Ecosystem deal with the scientific study of the features of the habitat
of species.
o Plant Geography which deals with the spatial structure and order of natural
vegetation in their environments.
o Zoo Geography which is concerned with the spatial patterns as well as geographic
features of various fauna and their habitats.

Continental Drift Theory NCERT

Continental Drift Theory

 Continental drift theory was proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912.

 It was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 before fully being developed by Alfred
Wegener.
 The theory deals with the distribution of the oceans and the continents.
 According to Wegener’s Continental Drift theory, all the continents were one single
continental mass (called a Super Continent) – Pangaea and a Mega Ocean surrounded this
supercontinent. The mega ocean is known by the name Panthalassa.
 Although Wegener’s initial theory did not cover mantle convection until Arthur Holmes later
proposed the theory.
 The supercontinent was named Pangaea (Pangea) and the Mega-ocean was called
Panthalassa.
  According to this theory, the supercontinent, Pangaea, began to split some two hundred
million years back.
 Pangaea first split into 2 big continental masses known as Gondwanaland and Laurasia
forming the southern and northern modules respectively.
 Later, Gondwanaland and Laurasia continued to break into several smaller continents that
exist today.

Continental Drift (UPSC Notes):- Download PDF Here

Evidence supporting the Continental Drift Theory

1. The Matching of Continents (Jig-Saw-Fit)

 The coastlines of South America and Africa fronting each other have a remarkable and
unique match.
 In 1964, Bullard created a map using a computer program to find the right fit of the Atlantic
margin and it proved to be quiet.

2. Rocks of the Same Age across the Oceans

 The radiometric dating methods have helped in correlating the formation of rocks present in
different continents across the ocean.
 The ancient rocks belts on the coast of Brazil match with those found in Western Africa.
 The old marine deposits found in the coasts of South America and Africa belong to the
Jurassic Age. This implies that the ocean never existed before that time.

3. Tillite

 It is the sedimentary rock made from glacier deposits.

 The Gondwana system of sediments from India is recognized as having its counterparts in 6
different landmasses in the Southern Hemisphere.
 Counterparts of this series are found in Madagascar, Africa, Antarctica, Falkland Island, and
Australia not to mention India.
 At the base, the system has thick tillite signifying widespread and sustained glaciation.
 Generally, the similarity of the Gondwana type sediments shows that these landmasses had
exceptionally similar origins.
 The glacial tillite gives clear evidence for palaeoclimates and the drifting of continents.

4. Placer Deposits

 The presence of abundant placer deposits of gold along the Ghana coast and the complete
lack of its source rocks in the area is a phenomenal fact.
 The gold-bearing veins are present in Brazil and it is evident that the gold deposits of Ghana
in Africa are obtained from the Brazil plateau from the time when the two continents were
beside each other.
  The widespread distribution of Permo-Carboniferous glacial sediments in South America,
Africa, Madagascar, Arabia, India, Antarctica, and Australia was one of the major pieces of
evidence for the theory of continental drift.
 The continuity of glaciers, inferred from oriented glacial striations and deposits called tillites,
suggested the existence of the supercontinent of Gondwana, which became a central
element of the concept of continental drift.

5. Distribution of Fossils

 The interpretations that Lemurs occur in India, Africa, and Madagascar led to the theory of a
landmass named “Lemuria” connecting these 3 landmasses.
 Mesosaurus was a tiny reptile adapted to shallow brackish water.
 The skeletons of these creatures are found in the Traver formations of Brazil and Southern
Cape Province of South Africa.

Force for Drifting

 Wegener proposed that the movement accountable for the drifting of the continents was
instigated by tidal force and pole-fleeing force.
 The polar-fleeing force relates to the rotation of the earth.
 The shape of the earth
 The second force that was proposed by Wegener, the tidal force.
 Though, most of the scholars considered these forces to be insufficient.