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 CONTENT
CLASS: 6 - THE EARTH: OUR HABITAT ................................................................................................. 4
CHAPTER: 1 - THE EARTH IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM ............................................................................. 4
CHAPTER: 2 - GLOBE: LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES ...................................................................... 5
CHAPTER: 3 - MOTIONS OF THE EARTH ................................................................................................ 8
CHAPTER: 4 - MAPS .................................................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER: 5 - MAJOR DOMAINS OF THE EARTH ............................................................................... 10
CHAPTER: 6 - OUR COUNTRY - INDIA .................................................................................................. 13
CLASS: 7 - OUR ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................................ 16
CHAPTER: 1 - ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................................... 16
CHAPTER: 2 - INSIDE OUR EARTH ........................................................................................................ 17
CHAPTER: 3 - OUR CHANGING EARTH ................................................................................................ 18
CHAPTER: 4 - AIR ...................................................................................................................................... 20
CHAPTER: 5 - WATER .............................................................................................................................. 22
CHAPTER: 6 - HUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS: THE TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL
REGION ...................................................................................................................................................... 25
CHAPTER: 7 - LIFE IN THE DESERTS .................................................................................................... 27
CLASS: 8 - RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................... 30
CHAPTER: 1 - RESOURCES...................................................................................................................... 30
CHAPTER: 2 - LAND, SOIL, WATER, NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES... 30
CHAPTER: 3 - AGRICULTURE ................................................................................................................ 33
CHAPTER: 4 - INDUSTRIES ..................................................................................................................... 35
CHAPTER: 5 - HUMAN RESOURCES...................................................................................................... 37
CLASS: 9 – CONTEMPORARY INDIA - 1 ............................................................................................... 39
CHAPTER: 1 - INDIA - SIZE AND LOCATION ....................................................................................... 39
CHAPTER: 2 - PHYSICAL FEATURES OF INDIA .................................................................................. 40
CHAPTER: 3 – DRAINAGE ....................................................................................................................... 42
CHAPTER: 4 – CLIMATE .......................................................................................................................... 44
CHAPTER: 5 – NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE ................................................................. 47
CHAPTER: 6 - POPULATION.................................................................................................................... 49
CLASS: 10 – CONTEMPORARY INDIA - II ............................................................................................ 52
CHAPTER: 1 - RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT .............................................................................. 52
CHAPTER: 2 – FOREST AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES ........................................................................ 56
CHAPTER: 3 – WATER RESOURCES ...................................................................................................... 57

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CHAPTER: 4 - AGRICULTURE ................................................................................................................ 59
CHAPTER: 5 - MINERALS AND ENERGY RESOURCES ...................................................................... 62
CHAPTER: 6 - MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES ................................................................................. 65
CHAPTER: 7 - LIFELINES OF NATIONAL ECONOMY ........................................................................ 67
CLASS: 11 – FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY ......................................................... 71
CHAPTER: 1 - GEOGRAPHY AS A DISCIPLINE .................................................................................... 71
CHAPTER: 2 – THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF TH EARTH .......................................................... 72
CHAPTER: 3 - INTERIOR OF THE EARTH ............................................................................................ 73
CHAPTER: 4 - DISTRIBUTION OF OCEANS AND CONTINENTS....................................................... 77
CHAPTER: 5 - GEOMORPHIC PROCESSES ........................................................................................... 81
CHAPTER: 6 - LANDFORMS AND THEIR EVOLUTION ...................................................................... 86
CHAPTER: 7 - COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF ATMOSPHERE .............................................. 92
CHAPTER: 8 - SOLAR RADIATION, HEAT BALANCE AND TEMPERATURE ................................. 94
CHAPTER: 9 - ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION AND WEATHER SYSTEMS .................................... 97
CHAPTER: 10 - WATER IN THE ATMOSPHERE ................................................................................. 101
CHAPTER: 11 - WORLD CLIMATE AND CLIMATE CHANGE .......................................................... 103
CHAPTER: 12 - WATER (OCEANS) ....................................................................................................... 107

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 CHAPTER: 13 - MOVEMENTS OF OCEAN WATER ............................................................................ 110
CHAPTER: 14 - BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION ................................................................... 112
CLASS: 11 – INDIA PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................... 116
CHAPTER: 1 - INDIA– LOCATION ........................................................................................................ 116
CHAPTER: 2 - STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOGRAPH ............................................................................. 117
CHAPTER: 3 - DRAINAGE SYSTEM ..................................................................................................... 121
CHAPTER: 4 - CLIMATE ......................................................................................................................... 125
CHAPTER: 5 - NATURAL VEGETATION ............................................................................................. 129
CHAPTER: 6 - NATURAL HAZARDS AND DISASTERS .................................................................... 133
CLASS: 12 – INDIA PEOPLE AND ECONOMY .................................................................................... 139
CHAPTER: 1 - POPULATION: DISTRIBUTION, DENSITY, GROWTH AND COMPOSITION ........ 139
CHAPTER: 2 - HUMAN SETTLEMENTS ............................................................................................... 141
CHAPTER: 3 - LAND RESOURCES AND AGRICULTURE ................................................................. 143
CHAPTER: 4 - WATER RESOURCES..................................................................................................... 150
CHAPTER: 5 - MINERAL AND ENERGY RESOURCES ...................................................................... 153
CHAPTER: 6 - PLANNING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN INDIAN CONTEXT ........... 157
CHAPTER: 7 - TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION ...................................................................... 159
CHAPTER: 8 - INTERNATIONAL TRADE ............................................................................................ 161
CHAPTER: 9 - GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON SELECTED ISSUES AND PROBLEMS ........ 163
CLASS: 12 - FUNDAMENTALS OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY ............................................................. 166
CHAPTER: 2 - THE WORLD POPULATION: DISTRIBUTION, DENSITY AND GROWTH ............. 166
CHAPTER: 3 - HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................. 168
CHAPTER: 4 - PRIMARY ACTIVITIES .................................................................................................. 169
CHAPTER: 5 - SECONDARY ACTIVITIES ........................................................................................... 173
CHAPTER: 6 - TERTIARY AND QUATERNARY ACTIVITIES .......................................................... 176
CHAPTER: 8 - INTERNATIONAL TRADE ............................................................................................ 177

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 CLASS: 6 - THE EARTH: OUR HABITAT
CHAPTER: 1 - THE EARTH IN THE SOLAR
SYSTEM
• The sun, the moon and all those objects
shining in the night sky are called celestial
bodies.
• Some celestial bodies are very big and hot.
They are made up of gases. They have their
own heat and light which they emit in large
amounts. These celestial bodies are called
stars. The sun is a star.
• While watching the night sky, you may
notice various patterns formed by different
groups of stars. These are called
constellations. Ursa Major or Big Bear is
one such constellation. One of the most
easily recognizable constellations is the
Saptarishi (Sapta-seven, rishi-sages). It is a
group of seven stars that forms a part of Ursa
Major Constellation. Ask someone elder in
your family or neighbourhood to show you
more stars, planets and constellations in the
sky.
• In ancient times, people used to determine
directions during the night with the help of
stars. The North Star indicates the north
direction. It is also called the Pole Star. It
always remains in the same position in the
sky. We can locate the position of the Pole
Star with the help of the Saptarishi. You will
notice that, if an imaginary line is drawn
joining the pointer stars and extended further,
it will point to the Pole Star.
• Some celestial bodies do not have their own
heat and light. They are lit by the light of the
stars. Such bodies are called planets. The
word 'planet' comes from the Greek word
"Planetai" which means ‘wanderers’. The
earth on which we live is a planet. It gets all
its heat and light from the sun, which is our
nearest star. If we look at the earth from a
great distance, say the moon, it will appear to
be shining just as the moon.
• Interesting Fact Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus
have rings around them. These are belts of
small debris. These rings may be seen from
the earth with the help of powerful
telescopes. The moon that we see in the sky
is a satellite. It is a companion of our earth
and moves round it. Like our earth, there are
eight other planets that get heat and light
from the sun. Some of them have their
moons too.
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
• The sun, eight planets, satellites and some
other celestial bodies known as asteroids and
meteoroids form the solar system. We often
call it a solar family, with the sun as its Head.
Fig. The Solar System
THE SUN
• The sun is in the centre of the solar system. It
is huge and made up of extremely hot gases.
It provides the pulling force that binds the
solar system. The sun is the ultimate source
of heat and light for the solar system.
• But that tremendous heat is not felt so much
by us because despite being our nearest star,
it is far away from us. The sun is about 150
million km away from the earth.
PLANETS
• There are eight planets in our solar system.
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In order of their distance from the sun, they
are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
• An easy way to memorise the name of the
planets in order of their distance from the sun
is: My Very Efficient Mother Just Served Us
Nuts.
• All the eight planets of the solar system
move around the sun in fixed paths. These
paths are elongated. They are called orbits.
Mercury is nearest to the sun. It takes only
about 88 days to complete one round along
its orbit. Venus is considered as 'Earth's-twin'
because its size and shape are very much
similar to that of the earth.
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 Fig. The World:
Continents and
Oceans
• The conventional symbols give a lot of
information in a limited space. Blue colour is
used for showing water bodies, brown for
mountains, yellow for plateau and green is
used for plains.
SKETCH
• A sketch is a drawing mainly based on
memory and Spot observation and not to
scale. A rough drawing is drawn without
scale is called a sketch map.
PLAN
• A plan is a drawing of a small area on a
large scale. There are certain things which
we may sometimes want to know, for
example, the length and breadth of a room.
CHAPTER: 5 - MAJOR DOMAINS OF THE
EARTH
• As you have read in the first chapter, the
earth is the only planet which has life.
Human beings can live here because the life
sustaining elements of land, water and air are
present on the earth.
• The surface of the earth is a complex zone in
which three main components of the
environment meet, overlap and interact. The
solid portion of the earth on which we live is
called the Lithosphere. The gaseous layers
that surround the earth, is the Atmosphere,
where oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and
other gases are found. Water covers a very
big area of the earth's surface and this area is
called the Hydrosphere. The Hydrosphere
comprises water in all its forms, that is, ice,
water and water vapour.
• The Biosphere is the narrow zone where we
find land, water and air together, which
contains all forms of life.
LITHOSPHERE
• The solid portion of the earth is called the
Lithosphere. It comprises the rocks of the
earth's crust and the thin layers of soil that
contain nutrient elements which sustain
organisms.
• There are two main divisions of the earth's
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surface. The large landmasses are known as
the continents and the huge water bodies are
called the ocean basins. All the Oceans of
the world are connected with one another.
• The level of seawater remains the same
everywhere Elevation of land is measured
from the level of the sea, which is taken as
zero.
• The highest mountain peak Mt. Everest is 8,
848 metres above the sea level. The greatest
depth of 11, 022 metres is recorded at
Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Could
you imagine that depth of sea is much more
than the highest point?
Continents
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 CLASS: 7 - OUR ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER: 1 - ENVIRONMENT
• The place people, things and nature that
surround any living organism is called
environment. It is a combination of natural
and human made phenomena. While the
natural environment refers to both biotic and
abiotic conditions existing on the earth,
human environment reveals the activities,
creations and interactions among human
beings.
Fig. Components of Environment
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
• Land, water, air, plants and animals comprise
the natural environment. You are familiar
with the meaning of lithosphere,
hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere from
your previous class. Let us learn some more
facts about these domains.
• Lithosphere is the solid crust or the hard top
layer of the earth. It is made up of rocks and
minerals and covered by a thin layer of soil.
It is an irregular surface with various
landforms such as mountains, plateaus,
plains, valleys, etc. Landforms are found
over the continents and also on the ocean
floors.
• Lithosphere is the domain that provides us
forests, grasslands for grazing, land for
agriculture and human settlements. It is also
a source of mineral wealth.
• The domain of water is referred to as
hydrosphere. It comprises various sources of
water and different types of water bodies like
rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, etc. It is essential
for all living organisms.
• The atmosphere is the thin layer of air that
surrounds the earth. The gravitational force
of the earth holds the atmosphere around it. It
protects us from the harmful rays and
scorching heat of the sun. It consists of a
number of gases, dust and water vapour. The
changes in the atmosphere produce changes
in the weather and climate.
ECOSYSTEM
• It is a system formed by the interaction of all
living organisms with each other and with
the physical and chemical factors of the
environment in which they live, all linked by
transfer of energy and material. Plant and
animal kingdom together make biosphere or
the living world. It is a narrow zone of the
earth where land, water and air interact with
each other to support life.
• All plants, animals and human beings depend
on their immediate surroundings. Often they
are also interdependent on each other. This
relation between the living organisms, as
well as the relation between the organisms
and their surroundings form an ecosystem.
There could be an ecosystem of large rain
forest, grassland, desert, mountains, lake,
river, ocean and even a small pond.
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HUMAN ENVIRONMENT
• Human beings interact with the environment
and modify it according to their need. Early
humans adapted themselves to the natural
surroundings. They led a simple life and
fulfilled their requirements from the nature
around them. With time needs grew and
became more varied. Humans learn new
ways to use and change environment. They
learn to grow crops, domesticate animals and
lead a settled life.
• The wheel was invented, surplus food was
produced, barter system emerged, trade
started and commerce developed. Industrial
revolution enabled large scale production.
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 form sedimentary rocks. When the
Earth movements
igneous and sedimentary rocks are
subjected to heat and pressure they
change into metamorphic rocks. The Endogenic forces Exogenic forces
metamorphic rocks which are still
under great heat and pressure melt Erosional and
Sudden forces Diastrophic forces
depositional
down to form molten magma. This
molten magma again can cool down
Building River
and solidify into igneous rocks. Earthquake Volcano Landslides mountains
• Rock Cycle Rocks are made up of Wind

different minerals. Minerals are Sea waves

naturally occurring substances which
have certain physical properties and
definite chemical composition.
Minerals are very important to
humankind. Some are used as fuels. For
example, coal, natural gas and petroleum.
They are also used in industries -iron,
aluminium, gold, uranium, etc., in medicine,
in fertilisers, etc.
Glaciers
• Endogenic forces sometimes produce sudden
movements and at the other times produce
slow movements. Sudden movements like
earthquakes and volcanoes cause mass
destruction over the surface of the earth.
• A volcano is a vent (opening) in the earth's
crust through which molten material erupts
suddenly.

Fig. A Volcano

Fig. Rock Cycle • Similarly, when the Lithospheric plates

move, the surface of the earth vibrates. The
vibrations can travel all-round the earth.
CHAPTER: 3 - OUR CHANGING EARTH
These vibrations are called earthquakes.

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• The lithosphere is broken into a number of The place in the crust where the movement
plates known as the Lithospheric plates. starts is called the focus. The place on the
You will be surprised to know that these surface above the focus is called the
plates move around very slowly -just a few epicentre.
millimetres each year. This is because of the
movement of the molten magma inside the
earth.
• The movement of these plates causes
changes on the Surface of the earth. The
earth movements are divided on the basis of
the forces which cause them. The forces
which act in the interior of the earth are
called as Endogenic forces and the forces
that work on the surface of the earth are Fig. Origin of an Earthquake
called as Exogenic forces. • Vibrations travel outwards from the epicentre
as waves. Greatest damage is usually closest

18
 CLASS: 8 - RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER: 1 - RESOURCES
• Any object or substance, living or non-living
that has utility is known as resources. All
resources have some value.
• Value means worth. Some resources have
economic value and some do not, but both
are important and satisfy human needs.
• Some resources can become economically
valuable with time.
TYPES OF RESOURCES:
1. Natural Resources: Natural resources are
those resources that are drawn from nature
and are used without much modification-air,
water, soils, minerals are the natural
resources
• Natural resources are classified into
different groups depending upon their
level of development and use, origin,
renewability and distribution.
• On the basis of level of their
development and use, resources can be
classified into actual and potential
resources
❖ Potential resources are those
resources whose entire quantity
may not be known and these are
not being used at present and
could be used in the future.
❖ Actual resources are those
resources whose quantity is
known.
• On the basis of origin, the natural
resources can be biotic or abiotic.
❖ Biotic resources include all the
living things like plants and
animals.
❖ Abiotic resources are non-living
things like soil, rock and
minerals.
• On the basis of renewability, natural
resources can be categorized into
renewable and non-renewable
resources.
❖ Renewable resources are those
which can get renewed or
replenished quickly, such as solar
and wind energy.
❖ Non-renewable resources are
those which have a limited stock.
Once the stocks are exhausted it
may take thousands of years to be
renewed or replenished, such as
coal, petroleum and natural gas.
2. Human Made Resources:
• The resources which are created from
the natural resources by the human
resources by the human beings to
produce useful products are known as
Human made resources. Like roads,
machinery, vehicles, etc.
• Technology is also a human made
resources.
3. Human Resources:
• Human resources refers to the number
and abilities of the people. People can
make the best use of nature to create
more resources when they have the
knowledge, skill and the technology.
People are human resources.
• Human resources development refers
the improving the quality of people’s
skill so that they are able to create
more resources.
CONSERVING RESOURCES
• Conservation of resources refers to using
natural resources carefully so that they could
be renewed and continue to be used in future.
• Sustainable use of resources refers to
carefully utilizing resources and balancing
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the need to use resources and also conserve
them for the future generation.
CHAPTER: 2 - LAND, SOIL, WATER,
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
RESOURCES
•Land, soil, water are the resources which
belong to abiotic resources and are the most
important resources.
• Whereas natural vegetation and wildlife
resources come under biotic resources.
LAND
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 CLASS: 9 – CONTEMPORARY INDIA - 1

CHAPTER: 1 - INDIA - SIZE AND countries of East Asia. No other country has
LOCATION a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India
has. India’s contacts with the World have
LOCATION continued through the ages. The spices,
• India is lying entirely in the Northern muslin and other merchandise were taken
hemisphere as shown in the figure below. from India to different countries. On the
• The land extends between latitudes 8°4’N other hand, the influence of Greek sculpture,
and 37°6’N and longitudes 68°7’E and and the architectural styles of domes and
97°25’E. minarets from West Asia can be seen in
• The Tropic of Cancer (23° 30’N) divides different parts of India.
India into almost two equal parts.
SIZE
• India’s total area accounts for about 2.4% of
the total geographical area of the world.
Thus, it is the 7th largest country in the
world, by its size.
• India has a land boundary of about 15,200
km.
• The total length of the coastline of the
mainland is 7,516.6 km including Andaman
and Nicobar and Lakshadweep.
• India is bounded by the mountains in the
northwest, north and northeast. South of
about 22° north latitude, it begins to taper
and extends towards the Indian Ocean,
dividing it into two seas, the Arabian Sea on
the west and the Bay of Bengal on its east.
• Time along the Standard Meridian of India
(82°30’E) passing through Mirzapur (in Uttar
Fig. India: Extent and Standard Meridian
Pradesh) is taken as the standard time for
India.

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Fig. India on International Highway of Trade

INDIA’S NEIGHBOURS
Fig. India in the World • India has 28 states and 8 Union Territories.
INDIA AND THE WORLD India shares its land boundaries with:
• The Indian landmass has a central location Pakistan and Afghanistan in the northwest
between the East and West Asia. India is a China (Tibet), Nepal and Bhutan in north
southward extension of the Asian continent. Myanmar and Bangladesh in east.
The trans-Indian Ocean routes connect the • The southern neighbours across the sea
Countries of Europe in the West and the consist of the two island countries, Sri Lanka

39
 • The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats
mark the western and the eastern edges of the
Deccan Plateau respectively.
The Indian Desert
• The Indian desert lies towards the western
margins of the Aravali Hills. It is a sandy
plain covered with sand dunes.
• This region receives very low rainfall below
150 mm per year. It has a dry climate with
low vegetation cover.
The Coastal Plains
• A coastal plain is a flat, low-lying piece of
land next to the ocean. To the east and west
of the peninsular plateau, 2 narrow strips of
plain lands are found, which are respectively
called Eastern Coastal Plain and Western
Coastal Plain.
Eastern Coastal Plain
• The Eastern Coastal Plains is a wide stretch
of the landmass lying between the Eastern
Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. In the northern
part, it is referred to as the Northern Circar,
while the southern part is known as
the Coromandel Coast.
• Large rivers, such as the Mahanadi the
Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri have
formed extensive delta on this coast. Lake
Chilika is an important feature along the
eastern coast
Western Coastal Plain
• The western coast is sandwiched between the
Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. It is a
narrow plain and consists of 3 sections as
o The Nicobar in the south
• These islands lie close to the equator and
experience equatorial climate and have thick
forest cover.
• The diverse physical features of India have
immense future possibilities of development
because of the following reasons.
o The mountains are the major sources of
water and forest wealth.
o The northern plains are the granaries of
the country. They provide the base for
early civilisations.
o The plateau is a storehouse of minerals,
which has played a crucial role in the
industrialisation of India.
o The coastal region and island groups
provide sites for fishing and port
activities.
CHAPTER: 3 – DRAINAGE
The area drained by a single river system is called
a drainage basin. Any elevated area, such as a
mountain or an upland which separates two
drainage basins is known as a water divide.

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mentioned below:
DRAINAGE SYSTEMS IN INDIA
• The northern part of the coast is called
The Indian Rivers are divided into two major
the Konkan (Mumbai – Goa)
groups:
• The central stretch is called the Kannad
• The Himalayan rivers
Plain
• The Peninsular rivers
• The southern stretch is referred to as
the Malabar coast
The Islands
• An island is a piece of sub-continental land
that is surrounded by water. Lakshadweep
Islands group is composed of small coral
islands which were earlier known as
Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindive. The
entire group of islands is divided into 2 broad
categories:
o The Andaman in the north

42
 CLASS: 10 – CONTEMPORARY INDIA - II

CHAPTER: 1 - RESOURCES AND

DEVELOPMENT Resouces

• Everything in our environment which can be

Natural Human
used to satisfy our needs and is
technologically accessible, economically Renewable Non-
Renewable Structures Quantity
and and
feasible and culturally acceptable is termed Contino institutions Quality
Recyck Non-
as ‘Resource’. us or
flow Biological
able Recycla
e.g., ble e.g.,
• Human beings themselves are essential
e.g., fossil
wind, metals
fuels
water
components of resources. They transform Natural
vegetation Wildlife
material available in the environment into (forests)

resources and use them. • On the Basis of Ownership –

CLASSIFICATION OF RESOURCES
Resources can be classified in the following ways:
• On the basis of origin – biotic and abiotic
• On the basis of exhaustibility – renewable
and non-renewable
• On the basis of ownership – individual,
community, national and international
• On the basis of the status of development –
potential, developed stock and reserves
• On the Basis of Origin – Biotic and Abiotic
1. Biotic Resources are obtained from the
biosphere and have life. Eg: Human
beings, flora and fauna, fisheries,
livestock etc.
2. Abiotic Resources: All those things
which are composed of non-living
things are called abiotic resources. Eg:
rocks and metals.
• On the Basis of Exhaustibility –
1. Renewable - The resources which can
1. Individual Resources are owned
privately by individuals. In villages
people own lands whereas in urban
areas people own plots, houses and
other properties. Eg: Plantation, pasture
lands, ponds, water in wells etc.
2. Community Owned Resources are
accessible to all the members of the
community. Eg: Grazing grounds,
burial grounds, public parks, picnic
spots, playgrounds etc.
3. National Resources are owned by a
nation or country. All the minerals,
water resources, forests, wildlife, land
within the political boundaries and
oceanic area up to 12 nautical miles
(22.2 km) from the coast termed as
territorial water and resources therein
belong to the nation. Eg: Roads, canals,
railways etc.

be renewed or reproduced by physical,
chemical or mechanical processes are
known as Renewable or
Replenishable Resources. The
renewable resource may further be
divided into continuous or flow. Eg:
Solar and wind energy, water, forests
and wildlife, etc.
2. Non-Renewable Resources occur over
a very long geological time. These
resources take millions of years in their
formation. Some of the resources like
metals are recyclable and some like
fossil fuels cannot be recycled and get
exhausted with their use. Eg: Minerals
and fossil fuels.
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4. International Resources are regulated
by international institutions. The
oceanic resources beyond 200 nautical
miles of the Exclusive Economic
Zone belong to open ocean and no
individual country can utilise these
without the concurrence of
international institutions.
• On the Basis of the Status of Development
1. Potential Resources are the resources
which are found in a region but have
not been utilised. Eg: Rajasthan and
Gujarat have enormous potential for
the development of wind and solar
energy, but so far these have not been
developed properly.

52
 7. Forest Soils
• These soils are found in the hilly and
mountainous areas.
• The soil texture is loamy and silty in
valley sides and coarse grained in the
upper slopes.
• In the snow covered areas of
Himalayas, these soils experience
denudation and are acidic with low
humus content. The soil is fertile on the
river terraces and alluvial fans.
erosion. Wind blows loose soil off flat or
sloping land known as wind erosion.
• Different Ways for Soil Conservation
1. Ploughing along the contour lines
decelerate the flow of water down the
slopes. This is called
Contour Ploughing.
2. Terrace cultivation restricts erosion.
This type of agriculture practice is
done in Western and Central
Himalayas.
3. When a large field is divided into strips
and strips of grass are left to grow
between the crops. Then, this breaks up
the force of the wind. This method is
known as Strip Cropping.
4. Planting lines of trees to create shelter
helps in the stabilisation of sand dunes
and in stabilising the desert in western
India. Rows of such trees are
called Shelter Belts.

CHAPTER: 2 – FOREST AND WILDLIFE

RESOURCES
FLORA AND FAUNA IN INDIA
India is one of the world’s richest countries in
terms of its vast array of biological diversity.
Different varieties of forest and wildlife resources
are found in India. Based on the International
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN), we can classify different
categories of existing plants and animal species as
SOIL EROSION AND SOIL CONSERVATION
follows:
• The denudation of the soil cover and
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1. Normal Species: Species whose population
subsequent washing down is described as soil
levels are considered to be normal for their
erosion. The soil erosion is caused due to
survival, such as cattle, sal, pine, rodents, etc.
human activities like deforestation, over-
2. Endangered Species: These species are in
grazing, construction and mining etc. Also,
danger of extinction. For examples, species
there are some natural forces like wind,
are black buck, crocodile, Indian wild ass,
glacier and water which lead to soil erosion.
Indian rhino, lion tailed macaque, sangai
Soil erosion is also caused due to defective
(brow anter deer in Manipur), etc.
methods of farming.
3. Vulnerable Species: These are species
• The running water cuts through the clayey
whose population has declined to levels that
soils and makes deep channels as gullies. The
it is likely to move into the endangered
land becomes unfit for cultivation and is
category in the near future if it continues to
known as bad land. When water flows as a
decline in the same manner. Eg: Blue sheep,
sheet over large areas down a slope and the
Asiatic elephant, Gangetic dolphin, etc.
topsoil is washed away, it is known as sheet

56
 CLASS: 11 – FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
CHAPTER: 1 - GEOGRAPHY AS A
DISCIPLINE
WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
• Geography is concerned with the description
and explanation of the areal differentiation of
the earth’s surface, which is important for
human beings.
• Plateaus provide forests and minerals.
• Mountains provide pastures, forests, tourist
spots and are sources of rivers providing
water to lowlands.
BRANCHES OF GEOGRAPHY
Branches of Geography (Based
on regional approach)
Regional
studies/Area Regional
Development
studies
Macro Meso Micro
Regional
studies
Regional
studies
Regional
Studies
1. Physical Geography
• Geomorphology is devoted to
the study of landforms, their
evolution and related processes.
• Climatology encompasses the
study of structure of atmosphere
and elements of weather and
climates and climatic types and
regions.
• Hydrology studies the realm of
water over the surface of the
earth including oceans, lakes,
rivers and other water bodies
and its effect on different life
forms including human life and
their activities.
• Soil Geography is devoted to
study the processes of soil
formation, soil types, their
fertility status, distribution and
use.
2. Human Geography
• Social/Cultural Geography
encompasses the study of
society and its spatial dynamics
as well as the cultural elements
contributed by the society.
• Population and Settlement
Geography (Rural and Urban).
It studies population growth,
distribution, density, sex ratio,
migration and occupational
structure etc. Settlement
geography studies the
characteristics of rural and urban
settlements.
• Economic Geography studies
economic activities of the
people including agriculture,
industry, tourism, trade, and
transport, infrastructure and
services, etc.
Regional Regional • Historical Geography studies
Analysis Planning
the historical processes through
Country/Ru
which the space gets organised.
Town/Urba
ral
Planning
n Planning Every region has undergone
some historical experiences
before attaining the present day
status. The geographical features
also experience temporal
changes and these form the
concerns of historical
geography.
• Political Geography looks at
the space from the angle of
political events and studies
boundaries, space relations
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between neighbouring political
units, delimitation of
constituencies, election scenario
and develops theoretical
framework to understand the
political behaviour of the
population.
3. Biogeography: The interface between
physical geography and human geography
has lead to the development of Biogeography
which includes:
• Plant Geography which studies
the spatial pattern of natural
vegetation in their habitats.
71
 • Ozone which absorbs ultra violet radiation in
the stratosphere is very effective in absorbing
terrestrial radiation when it is present in the
lower troposphere.
• The largest concentration of GHGs in the
atmosphere is carbon dioxide.
• The emission of CO2 comes mainly from
fossil fuel combustion (oil, gas and coal).
Forests and oceans are the sinks for the
carbon dioxide.
• Forests use CO2 in their growth. So,
deforestation due to changes in land use, also
increases the concentration of CO2.
CHAPTER: 12 - WATER (OCEANS)
HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
• Water is a cyclic resource. It can be used and
re-used.
• The hydrological cycle, is the circulation of
water within the earth’s hydrosphere in
different forms i.e., the liquid, solid and the
gaseous phases. It also refers to the
continuous exchange of water between the
ocean’s atmosphere, land surface and
subsurface and the organisms.
• About 71 per cent of the planetary water is
found in the oceans.
• The remaining is held as freshwater in
glaciers and icecaps, groundwater sources,
lakes, soil moisture, atmosphere, streams and
within life.
• Nearly 59 per cent of the water that falls on
land returns to the atmosphere through
evaporation from over the oceans as well as
from other places. The remainder runs-off on
the surface, infiltrates into the ground or a
part of it becomes glacier.
RELIEF OF THE OCEAN FLOOR
• The oceans are confined to the great
depressions of the earth’s outer layer.
• The oceans, unlike the continents, merge so
naturally into one another that it is hard to
demarcate them.
• The Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian and the
Arctic. The various seas, bays, gulfs and
other inlets are parts of these four large
oceans.
• A major portion of the ocean floor is found
between 3-6 km below the sea level.
DIVISIONS OF THE OCEAN FLOORS
• The ocean floors can be divided into four
major divisions:
• Continental Shelf: The continental shelf is
the extended margin of each continent
occupied by relatively shallow seas and
gulfs. It is the shallowest part of the ocean
showing an average gradient of 1° or less.
o The shelf typically ends at a very steep
slope, called the shelf break.
o The average width of continental
shelves is about 80 km.
o The shelves are almost absent or very
narrow along some of the margins like
the coasts of Chile, the west coast of
Sumatra, etc. On the contrary, the
Siberian shelf in the Arctic Ocean, the
largest in the world, stretches to 1,500
km in width. The depth of the shelves
also varies.
o It may be as shallow as 30 m in some
areas while in some areas it is as deep
as 600 m.
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o Massive sedimentary deposits received
over a long time by the continental
shelves, become the source of fossil
fuels.
Fig. Relief features of ocean floors
• Continental Slope
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 CLASS: 11 – INDIA PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER: 1 - INDIA– LOCATION

• India, extends from Kashmir in the north to
Kanniyakumari in the south and Arunachal
Pradesh in the east to Gujarat in the west.
India‘s territorial limit further extends
towards the sea upto 12 nautical miles
(about 21.9 km) from the coast.
Statute mile = 63,360 inches
Nautical mile = 72,960 inches
1 Statute mile = about 1.6 km (1.584 km)
1 Nautical mile = about 1.8 km (1.852 km)

• Southern boundary extends upto 6°45' N

latitude in the Bay of Bengal.
• The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of
India, they are roughly about 30 degrees,
whereas the actual distance measured from
north to south extremity is 3,214 km, and
that from east to west is only 2,933 km.
• Distance between two longitudes decreases
towards the poles whereas the distance
between two latitudes remains the same Fig. India: Administrative Divisions
everywhere.
• Southern part of the country lies within the
tropics and the northern part lies in the sub-
tropical zone or the warm temperate zone.
This location is responsible for large
variations in land forms,
• That is why 82°30' E has been selected as
the standard meridian of India. Indian
Standard Time is ahead of Greenwich
Mean Time by 5 hours and 30 minutes.
Fig. Location of India in the Eastern World

• There are some countries where there are
more than one standard meridian due to
their vast east-to-west extent. For example,
the USA has seven time zones.
• Name a few places in India through
which the standard meridian passes -
India with its area of 3.28 million sq. km
accounts for 2.4 per cent of the worlds land
surface area and stands as the seventh
largest country in the world.
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SIZE
Indian subcontinent-
• It includes the countries — Pakistan, Nepal,
Bhutan, Bangladesh and India.
• The Himalayas, together with other ranges,
have acted as a formidable physical barrier in
the past.
• Except for a few mountains passes such as
the Khyber, the Bolan, the Shipkila, the
Nathula, the Bomdila, etc. it was difficult to
cross it.
• Peninsular part of India extends towards the
Indian Ocean.
• Provided the country with a coastline of
6,100 km in the mainland and 7,517 km in

116
 Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, effect. These gases have been contributing
Ladakh and most of western Rajasthan to global warming. It is said that due to
receive rainfall below 50 cm. Snowfall global warming the polar ice caps and
is restricted to the Himalayan region. mountain glaciers would melt and the
Monsoons and the Economic Life in India amount of water in the oceans would
• Monsoon is that axis around which revolves increase.
the entire agricultural cycle of India. It is • The mean annual surface temperature of the
because about 64 per cent people of India earth in the past 150 years has increased. It
depend on agriculture for their livelihood is projected that by the year 2,100, global
and agriculture itself is based on southwest temperature will increase by about 2°°C.
monsoon. This rise in temperature will cause many
• Except Himalayas all the parts of the other changes: one of these is a rise in sea
country have temperature above the level, as a result of melting of glaciers and
threshold level to grow the crops or plants sea-ice due to warming. According to the
throughout the year.. current prediction, on an average, the sea
• Regional variations in monsoon climate level will rise 48 cm by the end of twenty
help in growing various types of crops. first century. This would increase the
• Variability of rainfall brings droughts or incidence of annual flooding.
floods every year in some parts of the
country.
• Agricultural prosperity of India depends
very much on timely and adequately
distributed rainfall. If it fails, agriculture is
adversely affected particularly in those
regions where means of irrigation are not
developed.
• Sudden monsoon burst creates problem of
soil erosion over large areas in India.
• Winter rainfall by temperate cyclones in
north India is highly beneficial for rabi
crops.
• Regional climatic variation in India is
reflected in the vast variety of food, clothes

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and house types.
GLOBAL WARMING
• The temperature of the world is
significantly increasing. Carbon dioxide
produced by human activities is a major
source of concern. This gas, released to the Figure. India Annual Rainfall
atmosphere in large quantities by burning of
fossil fuel, is increasing gradually. Other CHAPTER: 5 - NATURAL VEGETATION
gases like methane, chlorofluorocarbons, • Natural vegetation refers to a plant
and nitrous oxide which are present in community that has been left undisturbed
much smaller concentrations in the over a long time, so as to allow its
atmosphere, together with carbon dioxide individual species to adjust themselves to
are known as greenhouse gases. These climate and soil conditions as fully as
gases are better absorbers of long wave possible.
radiations than carbon dioxide, and so, are
more effective at enhancing the greenhouse

129
 CLASS: 12 – INDIA PEOPLE AND ECONOMY

CHAPTER: 1 - POPULATION:
DISTRIBUTION, DENSITY, GROWTH AND
COMPOSITION
DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION
• India has a highly uneven pattern of
population distribution
• Uttar Pradesh has the highest population
followed by Maharashtra, Bihar, West
Bengal and Andhra Pradesh
• Climate along with terrain and availability
of water largely determines the pattern of
the population distribution
• Evolution of settled agriculture and
agricultural development;
DENSITY OF POPULATION
• Density of population, is expressed as
number of persons per unit area. It helps in
getting a better understanding of the spatial
distribution of population in relation to land.
The density of population in India (2011) is
382 persons per sq km. There has been a
steady increase of more than 200 persons per GROWTH OF POPULATION
sq km over the last 50 years as the density of • Growth of population is the change in the
population increased from 117 persons/ sq number of people living in a particular area
km in 1951 to 382 persons/sq km in 2011. between two points of time. Its rate is
• The data shown in Appendix (i) give an idea expressed in percentage. Population growth
of spatial variation of population densities in has two components namely; natural and
the country which ranges from as low as 17 induced. While the natural growth is
persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh to analysed by assessing the crude birth and
11,297 persons in the National Capital death rates, the induced components are
Territory of Delhi. explained by the volume of inward and
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• Among the northern Indian States, Bihar outward movement of people in any given
(1102), West Bengal (1029) and and Uttar area.
Pradesh (828) have higher densities, while • However, in the present chapter, we will
Kerala (859) and Tamil Nadu (555) have only discuss the natural growth of India’s
higher densities among the peninsular Indian population. The decadal and annual growth
states. States like Assam, Gujarat, Andhra rates of population in India are both very
Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha have high and steadily increasing over time. The
moderate densities. The hill states of the annual growth rate of India’s population is
Himalayan region and North eastern states of 1.64 per cent (2011).
India (excluding Assam) have relatively low Four distinct phases of growth identified-
densities while the Union Territories • Phase I - (1901-1921)
(excluding Andaman and Nicobar Islands) o Growth rate was very low, even
have very high densities of population recording a negative growth rate
(Appendix–i). during 1911-1921.

139
 • Awareness of water as a scarce resource
should be fostered.
• Conservation consciousness should be
promoted through education, regulation,
incentives and disincentives.
Jal Kranti Abhiyan (2015-16)
• Water is a recyclable resource but its
availability is limited and the gap between
supply and demand will be widening over
time. Climate change at the global scale
will be creating water stress conditions in
many regions of the world. India has a
unique situation of high population growth
and rapid economic development with
high water demand. The Jal Kranti
Abhiyan launched by the Government of
India in 2015–16 with an aim to ensure
water security through per capita
availability of water in the country.
• People in different regions of India had
practised the traditional knowledge of
water conservation and management to
ensure water availability.
CHAPTER: 5 - MINERAL AND ENERGY
RESOURCES
• A mineral is a natural substance of organic or
inorganic origin with definite chemical and
physical properties.
TYPES OF MINERAL RESOURCES
• On the basis of chemical and physical
properties, minerals may be grouped under
two main categories of metallics and non-
metallics.
Minerals
Metallic
Mineral
Fuel Mineral
Ferrous (e.g) Non-Ferrous
Iron, (e.g.) Copper,
(e.g.) Coal,
Petroleum
Manganese, Bauxite, etc. Natural gas,
etc.
etc.
• Metallic minerals are the sources of metals.
Iron ore, copper, gold produce metal and are
included in this category.
▪ Metallic minerals are further divided
into ferrous and non-ferrous metallic
minerals.
▪ All those minerals which have iron
content are ferrous such as iron ore
itself and those which do not have iron
content are non-ferrous such as copper,
bauxite, etc.
• Non-metallic minerals are either organic in
origin such as fossil fuels also known as
mineral fuels which are derived from the
buried animal and plant life such as coal and
petroleum. Other type of non-metallic
minerals are inorganic in origin such as mica,
limestone and graphite, etc.
DISTRIBUTION OF MINERALS IN INDIA
• Most of the metallic minerals in India occur
in the peninsular plateau region in the old
crystalline rocks.
• Over 97 per cent of coal reserves occur in the
valleys of Damodar, Sone, Mahanadi and
Godavari.
• Petroleum reserves are located in the
sedimentary basins of Assam, Gujarat and
Mumbai High i.e. off-shore region in the
Arabian Sea.
• New reserves have been located in the
Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri basins. Most
of the major mineral resources occur to the
east of a line linking Mangalore and Kanpur.
• Minerals are generally concentrated in three
broad belts in India. belts are:
1. The North-Eastern Plateau Region
i. This belt covers Chotanagpur
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(Jharkhand), Orissa Plateau, West
Bengal and parts of Chhattisgarh.
ii. It has variety of minerals viz. iron ore
coal, manganese, bauxite, mica.
2. The South-Western n Plateau Region
Non-metallic
mineral i. This belt extends over Karnataka, Goa
and contiguous Tamil Nadu uplands and
Kerala. This belt is rich in ferrous metals
Other non-
metallics (e.g.)
Mica,
and bauxite.
Limestone,
graphite, etc.
ii. It also contains high grade iron ore,
manganese and limestone.
iii. This belt packs in coal deposits except
Neyveli lignite.
iv. This belt does not have as diversified
mineral deposits as the north-eastern
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 CLASS: 12 - FUNDAMENTALS OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
CHAPTER: 2 - THE WORLD POPULATION:
DISTRIBUTION, DENSITY AND GROWTH
PATTERNS OF POPULATION
DISTRIBUTION IN THE WORLD
• The term population distribution refers to the
way people are spaced over the earth’s
surface.
• 90 per cent of the world population lives in
about 10 per cent of its land area.
DENSITY OF POPULATION
• The ratio between the numbers of people to
the size of land. This ratio is the density of
population. It is usually measured in persons
per sq km.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE
DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION
1. Geographical Factors
• Availability of water: It is the most
important factor for life. So, people
prefer to live in areas where fresh
water is easily available
• Landforms: People prefer living on
flat plains and gentle slopes. This is
because such areas are favourable for
the production of crops and to build
POPULATION GROWTH
roads and industries.
• Climate: An extreme climate such as
very hot or cold deserts are
uncomfortable for human habitation.
Areas with a comfortable climate,
where there is not much seasonal
variation attract more people. Areas
with very heavy rainfall or extreme and
harsh climates have low population.
Mediterranean regions were inhabited
from early periods in history due to
their pleasant climate.
• Soils: Fertile soils are important for
agricultural and allied activities.
Therefore, areas which have fertile
loamy soils have more people living on
them as these can support intensive
agriculture.
2. Economic Factors
• Minerals: Areas with mineral deposits
attract industries. Mining and industrial
activities generate employment. So,
skilled and semi–skilled workers move
to these areas and make them densely
populated. Katanga Zambia copper belt
in Africa is one such good example.
• Urbanisation: Cities offer better
employment opportunities, educational
and medical facilities, better means of
transport and communication. Good
civic amenities and the attraction of
city life draw people to the cities. It
leads to rural to urban migration and
cities grow in size. Mega cities of the
world continue to attract large number
of migrants every year.
• Industrialisation: Industrial belts
provide job opportunities and attract
large numbers of people.
3. Social and Cultural Factors
• Some places attract more people
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because they have religious or cultural
significance. In the same way – people
tend to move away from places where
there is social and political unrest.
• The population growth or population change
refers to the change in number of inhabitants
of a territory during a specific period of time.
This change may be positive as well as
negative.
• It can be expressed either in terms of
absolute numbers or in terms of percentage.
Population change in an area is an important
indicator of economic development, social
upliftment and historical and cultural
background of the region.
166
 • Joint Sector Industries are managed by joint
stock companies or sometimes the private
and public sectors together establish and
manage the industries.
CHAPTER: 6 - TERTIARY AND
QUATERNARY ACTIVITIES
• Involve the commercial output of services
rather than the production of tangible goods.
• They are not directly involved in the
processing of physical raw materials.
Common examples are the work of a
plumber, electrician, technician, launderer,
barber, shopkeeper, driver, cashier, teacher,
doctor, lawyer and publisher etc.
• The main difference between secondary
activities and tertiary activities is that the
expertise provided by services relies more
heavily on specialised skills, experience and
knowledge of the workers rather than on the
production techniques, machinery and
factory processes.
TYPES OF TERTIARY ACTIVITIES
1. Trade and commerce
2. Wholesale Trading
3. Transport
4. Communication
5. Telecommunications
6. Services
PEOPLE ENGAGED IN TERTIARY
ACTIVITIES
• Today most people are service workers.
Services are provided in all societies. But in
more developed countries a higher
percentage of workers is employed in
providing services as compared to less
developed countries.
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• The trend in employment in this sector has
been increasing while it has remained
unchanged or decreasing in the primary and
secondary activities.
SOME SELECTED EXAMPLES
1. Tourism
• Tourism is travel undertaken for
purposes of recreation rather than
business.
• It has become the world single largest
tertiary activity in total registered jobs
(250 million) and total revenue (40 per
cent of the total GDP).
176