Natural resources

Made by:Rinkal Rudrawad

Natural resources are natural things from the Earth that living things need.Trees are an example of natural resources.

What are Natural Resources?

Water resourcesWater is a basic need of life. It is used for cooking,

washing, cleaning and for growing crops.About 71 percent of earth’s surface is covered with

water. But we cannot use the water from seas and oceans as it is salty. We get fresh water from which is stored in lakes, ponds, snow and under the ground.

Farmers depend heavily on rainwater for agriculture.Rainfall is not uniform in India throughout the year that

means that farmers often face some problems in agriculture. Further, the availability of fresh water also varies from place to place. The government has started

Various irrigation projects to decrease our dependence on rain.

Water is conserved by building canals, dams, reservoirs, wells and tanks.

Now let us know more about canals, wells and tube wells, tanks and dams.

CANALS

Canals are long and narrow strip of water made for boats or irrigation.

Canals are dug near the rivers so that the water is carried to distinct places where there is no adequate water.

Some important canals in India are sirhind canal, Indira Canal, Buckingham Canal, etc.Indira Canal: It starts from the Harike Barrage in Punjab and flows through Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. It passes through seven districts of Rajasthan: Barmar, Bikaner, Churu, Hanumangarh, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Sriganganagar

TANKSTanks are built in the regions where it is very difficult to

dig wells.Rainwater is collected in Tanks or ponds. They are commonly found in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and

Andhra Pradesh.

DAMSDams are built across rivers. Walls are built to hold back

water. The Dam has special openings known sluice gates

which control the flow of the water.A reservoir is created behind the Dam where the water

is stored. Dams can be used for various purposes. They are useful for controlling floods, navigation, fishing

and generating hydroelectricity. Hence, they are known as multi-purpose projects.

India is country with some of the great rivers like Ganga, Narmada and Brahmputra. These rivers are having some of the big dams and largest reservoirs in India such as Nanak Sagar and Indira Sagar. Lalitpur district in Uttar Pradesh is well known for its 7 dams, those are Rajghat dam, Matateela dam, Govindsagar dam, Sehjaad dam, Saajnam dam, Jamini dam and Rohini dam. Matatila dam is the biggest one form all of them with height of 33.53 meters on Betwa river.

WELLS AND TUBE WELLSWells are dug in areas where underground water is easily

available. Underground water is drawn to the surface with the help

of a Persian wheel.Sometimes, the level of underground water is very deep.

It is not possible to dig a deep well. Thus a deep bore is made by using the machines, which is then fixed with a pipe.Water is pulled up through this pipe with the help of

electric pump. These wells are known as tube wells. They are generally found in the states of Bihar, Punjab,

Haryana, Utter Pradesh, etc.

Soil resourcesThe thin layer of grainy substance covering the surface

of the earth is called soil.It is one of the most Important natural resources. Without plants, there would be no food and shelter for

humans or animals.Soil is formed by breaking up of rocks which has organic

matter. This organic material is produced by decomposed dead plants and animal waste.

Soil is taken to varies places by natural forces such as wind, rain and running water. After thousands of years a cover of soil is formed.

The most vital aspect of soil is its fertility. It varies from place to place depending on the surface, climate and rainfall. The growth of crops depends upon the fertility of the soil. Different kinds of soil are adapted for different types of crops. In India, there are six main types of soil.

Forest is a large area of land, covered mainly with trees and other small plants.

They are useful to us in many ways. Forests supply oxygen to the air. It provides shelter to the wild animals. Forests give us timber which is used for building houses

and furniture; give us firewood which is used as fuel; wood pulp which is used to make paper, and medicinal trees such as the neem, tulsi etc.

It increases rainfall by keeping the air cool and releasing watervapour in the air.

In India, 23percent of the total land is under forests.There are five main types of forests in India. They are

the Deciduous forest, Thorn forests, Mountain forest, Mangrove forest and evergreen forest.

FORESTS

Forests are a natural home to wildlife. India has a large variety of wild animals. A large variety

of fishes, birds and reptiles are also found all over the country.

To protect wild life and forests, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries have been set up all over India.

There are about 100 national parks and 500 wildlife sanctuaries in India.

The government has also launched many programmers such as Social Forestry Movement and Vanamahotsavas to protect forests

India is quite rich in minerals. Substances which are found in the rocks generally under

the ground are called Minerals. These substances are mined out or pumped out of the

earth. Mines are an excavation in the Earth for extracting ores

and minerals.Metals are found in their crude form known as ores. The metals have to be obtained from their ores by

smelting. There are two types of minerals: metallic such as iron,

bauxite, etc and non metallic such as mica, graphite, etc. India has rich deposits of all these minerals. Fuel minerals like coal and crude oil are also available in plenty in India.

MINERALS

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