phisical division of india

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Based on altitude the regions of India can be divided intodifferent physiographic divisions.

Topography, water, soil, climate, vegetation etc are the mostimportant factors that influence habitation in a place.

The physiographic divisions of India are the great Himalayanranges, the Northern plains, the Peninsular plateau and thecoastal plains.

Indian rivers can be classified as Himalayan Rivers andPeninsular Rivers.

Different types of soils are distributed in India.

India can be divided into different regions based on theamount of rainfall.

What we have learnt

INDIA -PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY5

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There are many factors that influence theculture and development of a place. They arethe latitudinal and longitudinal position of thatplace, topography, climate, soil and vegetation.India is a land of diverse topography, soils,

climate and vegetation. Let us enquire into thecultural diversity of India and the physicalfeatures that support it.

Find out the position of India on the worldmap (Fig. 5.1)

India, which lies between 804’ N and 3706’ N latitude and 6807’ E and 97025' Elongitude, has a total geographic area of 32,87,782 km

2. This is only 2.42 % of

the total geographic area of the world.

Asia

Australia

India

Europe

Africa

AtlanticOceanNorth

America

SouthAmerica

PacificOcean

IndianOcean

World Map

figure 5.1

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figure 5.2

Kerala

Tamil Nadu

AndhraPradesh

KarnatakaGoa

Maharashtra

Orissa

WestBengal

Chha

ttisga

rh

MadhyapradeshGujarat

Rajasthan

Punjab

Haryana

Jammu Kashmir

HimachalPradesh

Uttaranchal

Uttar Pradesh

Bihar

Jharkhand

Sikkim

Assam

Arunachal

Pradesh

NagalandMeghalaya Manipur

MizoramTripu

ra

INDIAStates

International BoundaryState BoundaryPondicherry

NepalBhutan

Bangladesh

ChinaTibet

Arabian Sea

Pakis

tan

Lakshadweep

Afghanistan

Bay of Bengal

Indian Ocean

Myanmar

Andam

an and

Nicobar Islands

Sri Lanka

Chandigarh

PPPondicherry

P

Daman and DiuDadra & Nagar

Haveli

vNew DelhiDelhi

72o80o 84o76o

88o 92o

72o 80o 84o76o 88o 92o68o92o

8o

12o

16o

20o

24o

28o

32o

36o

8o

12o

16o

20o

24o

28o

32o

36o

Indira Point

Based upon Survey of India map with the permission of Surveyor General of India. © Government of India, Copyright 2003

60


Try to find out the answers to thefollowing questions from the map (figure 5.1and 5.2).

In which part of Asia is India located?

Which part of India is nearest to theEquator?

In which hemisphere does India situate?

Which are the other countries in the Indiansub-continent?

Which are the ocean bodies that surroundpeninsular India?

Although India is a part of Asia, it keepsan identity of its own. Its size, topography,climate, culture, etc. are entirely different. Thehuge mountain ranges of the Himalayas in thenorth protect it from the extreme cold climateof interior Asia. India experiences a uniqueclimate due to the influence of the Himalayasand the ocean bodies that surround thepeninsular region.

Indian Peninsula

This is a land unit jutting out into thesea on the southern end of the Indiansubcontinent. This land unit issurrounded by the Indian Ocean. Thesea which lies in the west is knownas the Arabian Sea and that in the eastas the Bay of Bengal

Area wise, what is the place of Indiaamong the countries of the world?

Find out from a world map, the countriesthat are larger than India

Russia

Find out the group of islands belongingto India from the map (figure 5.2)

Which are the neighbouring countriesof India in the Indian Ocean?

Strait

A narrow stretch of water body thatconnects two large water bodies is astrait. Eg: Palk Strait in the Bay ofBengal.

Isthmus

A narrow stretch of land, whichconnects two large landmasses, is anisthmus. Eg: Panama Isthmus.

India has a length of 3214 km from northto south and 2933 km from east to west. Ithas a land frontier of 15200 km and has acoastline of 6083 km.

Draw an outline map of India and showthe different states, their capitals, unionterritories and their head quarters.

Find out from the map (fig 5.2) the regionthrough which the Tropic of Cancer passes.Which are the states crossed by this line?

82030’ E longitude is considered as theIndian Standard Meridian. The local time ofthis longitude is taken as the Indian StandardTime (IST). This is 5½ hours ahead of theGreenwich Mean Time.

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PhysiographyIndia is a land of diversities. Great

mountains, rivers, wide plateaus and plains,lengthy coastlines etc., constitute thetopography of our country. It has a monsoonclimate with local and seasonal climaticdiversities. We shall look at the topography,rivers and climate of our country.

Physiographically, India can be classifiedinto four divisions.

The Northern mountain region

The Great plains of the north

The Peninsular plateau

The Coastal plains and Islands

Find out the different physiographicdivisions from the map (figure: 5.3)

The Northern mountain region

This is the great wall like physiographicunit, which stretches from Kashmir in the northwest to the Indian border in the east. Thisregion is formed by the Karakoram, Ladakh,Zaskar and the Himalayan range of mountainsand the eastern highlands. These mountainranges are subdivided into three divisionsnamely, Trans Himalayas, Himalayas and theEastern Highlands.

The Trans Himalayas comprises theKarakoram, Ladakh and Zaskar ranges thatoriginate from the Pamir Knot. The highestpeak in India, ‘Mount K2’ (Mt. GodwinAustin, 8611m) is in the Karakoram Range.The Trans Himalayas, in which there areseveral gorges and mountain passes, has anaverage height of above 6000m.

The roof of the world

The Pamir plateau with the PamirKnot in the central Asian country ofTajikisthan, is known as the roof ofthe world. Mountain ranges such asthe Hindukush, Sulaiman, Tienshan,Kunlun and Karakoram run todifferent directions from the PamirKnot. The Kailas range in Tibet is anextension of the Karakoram Range.

The Himalayas, a part of the Northernmountain region, which trend in NW-SEdirection for a length of about 2400km is anarc shaped mountain range. This mountainregion with an area of about 5 lakh km

2 is the

highest region in the world. The width of thismountain range, is about 400 km in Kashmir,and it shrinks to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh.There are three parallel mountain ranges in thisphysical division, which is composed of manydeep valleys and extensive plateaus. Find outthese ranges from the map (figure 5.4) andlearn their importance from the table givenbelow (Table: 5.1).

The Himalayas, still growing!

Himalaya means the abode of snow.It is the youngest fold mountainsystem of the world. These mountainranges are formed due to theintensive folding of the floor of anancient sea called Tethys. The fossilsof different marine organisms, foundat various locations on the mountainranges support the fact that the regionwas covered by sea in the past.

62


Bay of BengalArabian Sea

{Sri Lanka

Nepal

Bhutan

Bangladesh

Myanmar

ChinaTibetPak

ista

n

Lakshadweep

INDIAPhysiography

Afghanistan

Indian Ocean

Andam

an and

Nicobar Islands

Northern Mountain regionGreat plains of the NorthPeninsular plateauCoastal plains

figure 5.3

North Great Plains

Peninsular plateau


Northern Mountain region

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The height of the mountain rangesgradually decrease as they approach theeastern parts of the Northern mountainousregions. This region with an average height of

500m to 3000m above MSL is known as theEastern highlands (Purvachal). The thicklyforested Khasi-Jaintia hills in this region arethe world’s rainiest (wettest) spots.

Greater/Inner Himalayas

The highest mountain rangeof the Himalayas.Under perpetual snow, theseranges have an averageheight of about 6000m.Mountain peaks with a heightof more than 8000m aresituated in this mountainrange. (Eg: Kanchenjunga-8595m, Nangaparbat-8126m)The source of Ganges andYamuna

Lesser/Middle Himalayas

Situated to the south of theHimadri

Average height is above3000m

Many health resorts are situ-ated on the southern slope ofthe mountain range, eg:Shimla, Darjeeling.

Outer/Lower Himalayas

This is the outer most range,situated on the south of thelesser Himalayas.

These discontinuous rangesjoin the lesser Himalayas inthe extreme east.

Its average height is about1200m

There are several elongatedand flat valleys runningparallel to the mountainranges. They are called“duns”. (Eg: Dehradun)

Table- 5.1

figure 5.4

Pamir

Karakoram

LadakhZasker

Himadri

Himachal

Siwalik

Hindukush Kunlun

Kailas Rage

Sulaim

anRa

nges

Khasi GaroJaintia hills Na

ga H

ills

Northern MountainRanges

64


Find out from the map, the states thatfall in the Eastern highland region.

With the help of an atlas, mark thelocation of the Pamir Knot and theregions of the Northern mountainranges on the map given at the end ofthe textbook.

Traveller’s Paradise

On 29th May, 1953 Edmund Hillaryand Tenzing Norgay conquered thesnow clad summit of the world ie,Mt. Everest. Many others repeatedthis feat, which remains a greatachievement till date. The Himalayanvalleys attract not only mountaineersbut also many tourists of the world.The valleys of Kulu, Manali, Shimla,Darjeeling, Naini Tal and Mussoorievalleys are some of examples.

Prepare a report, based on thedescriptions and maps, about theNorthern mountain region. You canenrich your knowledge with morereading materials and references.

Himalayan Rivers

Now you have understood thecharacteristic features of the Himalayanmountain ranges. The snow clad peaks andglaciers are excellent sources of fresh water.Several great river systems originate from themelt waters of these glaciers. Abundant rainfallin the valleys enriches the flow of these rivers.

Find out the Himalayan rivers from themap given (fig: 5.5). Make a list of the sourceregions of these rivers, their tributaries, thestates through which they flow and the seaswhich they join, and complete the table givenbelow, (Table: 5.2)

Tributaries and distributaries

Tributaries are those small and bigstreams that join a river. Uponreaching a plain the rivers branch outand join the sea. These branches arecalled distributaries.

River Indus

Originating at a height of about 5180mfrom the Manasarowar in Tibet, River Indusflows northwest through Tibet and entersJammu and Kashmir. Flowing through the deepvalleys of Ladakh, Baltistan and Gilgit, River

Himalayan rivers Sources Tributaries State through Sea whichwhich they flow they join

Indus

Ganga Gangotri,AlakapuriGlaciers

Brahmaputra

Table 5.2

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Bay of Bengal

Arabian Sea

Indian Ocean

Sri Lanka

Nepal Bhutan

Bangladeshv

Myanmar

China

Tibet

Pakistan

Lakshadweep

Andam

an and

Nicobar Islands

Afghanistan

figure 5.5

Indus

Jhelum

ChenabRavi Beas

Satlej

Ganga

YamunaChambal

Ken

Son

GomathyGhaghara

Gandak Kosi

Damodar

Betwa

Brahmapu

tra

Hoogly

Tista Mana

s

SubansiriLuhith

Mahanadi

Krishna

Godavari

Cauvery

NarmadaTapi

INDIARivers

Periyar

Tungabhadra

Godavari

Penganga

Luni

Wular la

ke

Gangothri

lake Manasarovar Tsangpo

Ganga


66


Indus crosses the Indian border and reachesthe plains through Attok in Pakistan. Having alength of about 2880 km, it is one of the longestrivers of the world. Only a length of 709 kmof the river is in India. Flowing through theplains of Pakistan, Indus branches out intomany distributaries and merges with theArabian sea to the south of Karachi. Jhelum,Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej are theimportant tributaries of the Indus.

River Ganga

The river Bhagirathi, which originates fromthe Gaumukh caves of the Gangotri Glacierand the river Alaknanda, which originates fromthe Alakpuri glacier meet at Devaprayag andflows further as the Ganga. Flowing throughthe snow-clad valleys, it enters the plains atHardwar and becomes sluggish. After flowingthrough different states the river flowssoutheast and enters Bangladesh at Farrakkain West Bengal. The Ganga, with a length ofmore than 2500 km is the river with the largestnumber of tributaries in India. Importanttributaries of the Ganga are

Yamuna Son GhagharaKosi Gandak.

Do all the tributaries of Ganga receivewater from the Himalayan ranges?Find out with the help of an atlas.

Hooghly is an important distributary of theriver Ganga. Kolkata city is situated on thebanks of the river Hooghly. The river Damodaris a tributary of the river Hooghly.

The river Damodar is known as"Sorrow of Bengal". This is becauseof the severe threat it posed to the lifeand property due to the frequent floods

and change in river course. Theconstruction of dams across the riverDamodar has mitigated this havoc toa considerable extent.

The Ganga is known as Padma inBangladesh. The river Padma joins theBrahmaputra near Chandpur in Bangladeshand is known as Meghna and Jamuna. Later itflows as a number of distributaries and buildsan extensive delta. It then merges into the Bayof Bengal.

Farrakka Barrage

It was with the aim of developingwater transport in Hooghly river thatthe Government of India decided toconstruct a barrage across the riverGanga. The barrage, which wascompleted in May 1986 has a lengthof 2240 m. The barrage is bridgedwith rail and road. The railway thatconnects the Eastern states withKolkata passes over this barrage.Travelling by train over the roaringgreatness of the river Ganga is anunforgettable experience.

River Brahmaputra

The Chemayungdung glacier (5150m) onthe Kailas range about 100 km from theManasarowar lake in Tibet is the source ofthe river Brahmaputra. Having a length of2900 km, the Brahmaputra is one of thelongest rivers of the world. This river, which isknown by different names in Tibet andBangladesh, has a length of 725 km in India.The river Tista, river Manas, river Luhit andriver Subansiri are the major tributaries. Withthe maximum discharge among the Himalayan

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rivers, Brahmaputra causes severe floods inAssam and Bangladesh.

The red river of India

The Brahmaputra is also known as thered river of India. It's red colour is dueto the suspension of red soils of Assam.Brahmaputra is known as Tsangpo inTibet and Jamuna in Bangladesh.

Water way on mountains !

Ferries and boats of bamboo andleather are in use at a height of 3658 mabove MSL. This is a spectacular scenein Brahmaputra River in the Tibetanregion. This waterway has a length of670 km.

In the mountainous zone, deep valleyshave been formed due to soil erosion forcenturies by rivers that originate from theHimalayas. These valleys break the continuityof the Himalayas. The Himalayas are dividedinto different divisions. The regions from oneriver bank to other have different names too.

From River Indus to River Sutlej –Punjab Himalaya

From River Sutlej to River Kali –Kumaon Himalaya

From River Kali to River Tista –Nepal Himalaya

From River Tista to River Brahmaputra-Assam Himalaya

What are the different landforms formeddue to the depositional activity of rivers at thefoot of the mountains?

Alluvial fans

Northern Great Plains

Extensive plains have been formed dueto the continuous depositional activity of theHimalayan rivers. With several thousandkilometres of thickness, the Northern Greatplains spread out to about 7 lakhs km

2. This

plain is one of the world's most extensivealluvial plains.

Examine the map (figure: 5.5) and find outin what different physiographic divisions theNorthern Great Plains are situated? Theseplains are known in different names based onthe depositional activity of different river sys-tems responsible for their formation. Find outthese divisions from the table (5.3).

Name of the The riverplain causes

the formation

Punjab – Haryana River Indus andplain its tributaries

Marusthali – Bagar Luni andplains in Rajasthan Saraswathi rivers

Gangetic plains River Ganga -and its tributaries

Brahmaputra plains in BrahmaputraAssam and its tributaries

On the outline map of India given atthe end of the textbook demarcate thedifferent parts of the Great Plains incolours.

The south-western part of theNorthern Great Plains is a desert. Findout the name of this desert from atlas.

Table 5.3

68


The disappeared RiverSaraswathi

Saraswathi was an ancient river, whichoriginated from Himachal Pradeshand flowed to the south and then tothe southwest direction. The riverwhich is mentioned in the Rig Vedaremains totally disappeared. Studies,with the help of satellite imageriesindicate that the river still flows,beneath the ground!

The Northern mountain zone and theNorthern Great Plains have a remarkable rolein shaping the physiography, climate, culture,human life, agriculture and economy of India.Examine the table (5.4).

After a clear scrutiny of the table 5.4, andfrom reading materials and mass media,collect more information about the role ofthese regions in the evolution and spread ofthe Indian society and conduct a seminar inthe class.

Can you find answers to the followingquestions after examining the maps (Fig: 5.3,5.5).

Which are the tributaries of River Ganganot originating from the Himalayas?From which zone do these riversoriginate?

Peninsular Plateau

You have learnt about continental drift. Thepeninsular plateau is a landmass believed to

Northern mountain zone

Stands as a natural barrier in the northernpart of India

Prevents foreign invasion to a certainextent

Supports an indigenous culture

Protects India from the cold winds blowingfrom the northern parts of Asia

Obstruct south western monsoon winds andprovides rain throughout India

Forms the source of several rivers

This region has a remarkable role in theformation of the Northern Great Plains,which is the food bowl of India

It is the abode of diverse animal and plantspecies.

This region with cool climate and serenenature is a heaven for tourists

Northern Great Plains

This is the birth place of Indian culture

It forms the backbone of Indian agriculture

One of the world’s most densely populatedregions

Many metropolitan cities and industrialcentres are situated in this zone.

There is an extensive network of rail androad system in this zone

Table- 5.4

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have got separated from the ancientGondwanaland. This zone is built of stablerocks and is the most extensive physiographicdivision of India. Note the characteristicfeatures of the peninsular plateau given below.

This physiographic division has an areaof about 15 lakh km

2

It has a diverse topography of mountains,plateaus and valleys

The plateaus of this physiographic divisionhas an average altitude of above 400mfrom mean sea level.

Anamudi with a height of 2695m is thehighest peak in this zone

Most of the rivers that originate from thiszone flow towards the east

There are large deposits of differentminerals occur in this zone

Based on the uniqueness of the differentregions, the peninsular plateau has been dividedinto nine subdivisions. The Aravalli hills, Malwaplateau, Vindhya ranges, Satpura ranges, theChotta Nagpur plateau, the Deccan plateau,the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats, theKachchh and Kathiawar of Gujarat are thesesubdivisions. Many small and large hills andplateaus are also included in these subdivisions.Find out these from the map. (figure 5.6)

Deccan Trap Region

The northwestern part of the Deccanplateau was formed due to the coolingdown of lava from volcanic eruptionthat occurred millions of years ago.Formed out of igneous rocks, this

region is known as the Deccan Trap.Black soils have developed as a resultof weathering of rocks in the lavaplateau, one of the largest in theworld. This black soil, also known asregur (black cotton soil) is mostsuitable for cotton cultivation.

Based on the lesson and the map (figure5.6) collect more information about thepeninsular plateau and prepare adetailed note on it.

Rann of Kachchh

The brackish swampy region in thenorthwestern part of Gujarat is calledthe Rann of Kachchh. High tides fromthe Arabian Sea and the rivers Luni andBanas, inundate this region. There aretwo different divisions in the Rann ofKachchh, namely the Great Rann andthe Little Rann. The Great Rann whichis situated to the north of the Kachchhpeninsula, is a region filled by blacksedimentary deposits and salts.

On the outline map of India providedat the end of the textbook, mark thesub divisions of the peninsular plateauusing different colours.

Peninsular Rivers

Examine the maps (figure 5.5 and 5.6)and find the rivers that originate from thepeninsular plateau and classify them in thefollowing table according to the rivers thatmerge into the Arabian Sea and those thatmerge into the Bay of Bengal.

70


Figure- 5.6

Bay of Bengal

Arabian Sea

Sri Lanka

Nepal

Bhutan

Bangladesh

Myanmar

ChinaTibetPakis

tan

Lakshadweep

Afghanistan

Indian Ocean

INDIAPeninsular Plateau

Andam

an and

Nicobar Islands

Aravalli Range

Malwa plateau

Vindhya range

Satpura rangeSatmala

Ajantha hillsMahadev hills

Maikal range

Rajmahal hillsBundelkhand

Baghelkhand

Balaghat rangeMaha

rashtr

a plate

auTel

anga

napla

teau

Karnataka plateau

Deccan

plateau

Nilgiri hillsAnamudiWes

tern

gha

ts

Eastern ghats

Chhattisgarh plateau

Kachchh peninsula

Kathiawar

Peninsula


Chota Nagpurplateau

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Name of river Debouching Place

Mahanadi Bay of BengalNarmada Arabian Sea

The peninsular rivers can be divided intotwo, namely, east flowing rivers and westflowing rivers. For additional information, refertable, (5.5)

Classify the peninsular rivers as eastflowing rivers and west flowing rivers. Findout the states through which these rivers flowand make a report on it. For this, you can makeuse of the drainage map of India, political mapof India as well as table (5.5)

Originating from the PeninsularPlateau, rivers Chambal, Betwa, Kenand Sind flow towards the north and

joins the Yamuna and the river Sonjoins the River Ganga. Whencompared to other peninsular rivers,these rivers are comparativelysmaller in length.

Let us now have a comparative study ofthe Himalayan rivers and the Peninsular riversbased on their characteristic features. Examinetable (5.6).

With the help of an atlas find out thelocation of the urban centres shown below andthe river banks on which they situate.

Thanjavur GuwahatiBaruch CuttackAgra KolkataVijayawada LadakhSurat DevaprayagThiruchirapalli

River Source Length Major The sea totributaries which it merges

Mahanadi Maikala ranges 857 km Ib, Tel Bay of Bengal(Madhya Pradesh)

Godavari Western Ghats 1465 km Indravati, Bay of Bengal(Nasik district of Maharashtra) Sabari

Krishna Western Ghats (a spring to the 1400 km Bhima, Bay of Bengal north of Mahabaleshwar in Tungabhadra

Maharashtra)

Cauveri Western Ghats (Brahmagiri hills 800 km Kabani, Bay of Bengalin Coorg district of Karnataka) Amaravati

Narmada Maikala ranges 1312 km Hiran, Arabian Sea(Chhattisgarh) Bajan

Tapti Multai plateau (Betul 724 km Aanar, Girna Arabian Seadistrict of Madhya Pradesh)

Table 5.5

72


Mark the course of the major rivers ofIndia on the outline map (river systems) of In-dia given at the end of the textbook and namethem.

Coasts and Islands

Examine the map of India (fig: 5.2) andfind out the states with coastline.

Extending from the Rann of Kachchh inGujarat to the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta, ithas a length of about 6083 km and lies dividedinto the west and the east coasts. You can learntheir characteristic features from table 5.7.

Peninsular Rivers

Comparatively small catchment area

Rainfed

Low erosive capability

Deep valleys are not produced as they flowthrough hard crystalline rocks

Less chances for inland navigation.

Himalayan Rivers

Extensive catchment area

Rain fed and snowfed

High erosive capability

Develop gorges in the mountains and mean-ders in the plains

Inland navigation is possible in the plains.

Table- 5.6

Islands

There are many islands situated in theIndian Ocean, which form part of our country.These are distributed in the Bay of Bengal,Arabian Sea and in the Gulf of Mannar,between India and Sri Lanka.

Lakshadweep means a hundred thousandislands. But, there are only 36 coral islandspresent in this group of islands. Only ten islandsin the group have been inhabited. This groupof islands is situated about 300 km away fromthe Kerala coast. Kavarati is the capital of

West Coast

Between Arabian Sea and Western GhatsStretches from Rann of Kachchh toKanyakumari.Comparatively narrowDivided into Gujarat coastal plain, Konkancoast and Malabar coastLagoons and estuaries are formed in thewest coastHighly influenced by the south westmonsoon

East Coast

Between Eastern Ghats and Bay of BengalStretches from Sundarbans to Kanyakumari.Comparatively widerDivided into Coromondel coast and NorthSircar coastal plainsDeltas are formed in this coastal stretchInfluenced by north east monsoons

Table- 5.7

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Lakshadweep. With the help of additionalreferences gather information and find out theinhabited islands in the Lakshadweep group.

Known as Bay Islands, the Andaman andNicobar islands are located in the Bay ofBengal. There are about 200 islands, in thisgroup the majority of which are uninhibited.The Barren volcano is situated in the BarrenIsland of this island group.

ClimateNote the news reports given below.

the climate of the whole country as a tropicalone. The great Himalayas obstruct themonsoon winds and provide rain throughoutthe country as well as protect from the coldwinds which blow from the North.

Though there is much local diversity inclimate, India in general, has a monsoonclimate.

With the seasons

The Arabs who traded with India usedthe seasonal winds for sailing theirships. They called these winds“Mousim” which means season. Theterm monsoon has evolved fromMousim. It was the Greekphilosopher Hippallus who for the firsttime observed and recognised theseasonal winds that blow betweenAfrica and India.

Have you learnt about monsoon winds?Which are the seasons in which they blow?Which are the two rainy seasons we have?

Based on temperature and rainfall theseasons of India are divided into four.

Cold weather seasonHot weather seasonSouth West monsoon seasonNorth East monsoon season (season ofretreating monsoons)

Cold Weather Season

Have you heard of the extreme cold innorth India? Extreme cold and dense fog isexperienced in certain months, throughoutnorth India. Some places experience heavysnowfall. Even airports remain closed down

Idukki Oct 27:Heavy rain continues inthe district for the pasttwo days. Land slideshave been reportedfrom many parts....

Severe hot wave continues in DelhiMay : 28

Cold Wave continuesin Delhi

Jan: 17

Snow fall in Shimla:

Traffic su

spended

Jan: 17

Flood in Assam:Death toll crossed 40

July: 17

From the reports, it can be presumed thatin all places of India, the climate is not thesame in all the months. Find out the factorsthat are responsible for climatic changes.

Latitude of a placeNearness to sea

Although the Tropic of Cancer dividesIndia into tropical and sub tropical regions,India is considered to be a tropical country.The Himalayan Mountains and the sea aroundthe peninsula have a major role in maintaining

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and vehicular transport gets affected in thisseason.

Which are the months in which we havecold season in India?

The average daily temperature recordedat different places from south to north for twodifferent months is given in the table5.8.Examine the temperature for January and findout the direction in which the temperaturechange occurs.

Place Temperature (in 0C)

January May

Thiruvananthapuram 26.5 28.5

Chennai 24.3 29

Bangalore 21.0 29.4

Pune 20.6 29.7

Kolkata 18.5 30.6

Delhi 13.8 33.2

The distribution of temperature in Indiafrom December to February is almost like this.This period is the cold season in India. In thisperiod, north India experiences moderatetemperature in the day time and cold conditionat night. You might have read in thenewspapers about the snowfall in the coldseasons in the hill stations away from the coast,such as Shimla, Darjeeling, Manali andMussorie. In this season, the north east windsthat blow from the land to the seas produce adry climate throughout the country.

But, these winds cause high rainfall in theeast coast of India during this period, especiallyon the Tamil Nadu coast.

Condensing moisture

Condensation is the process ofcooling down of moisture that hasevaporated. Based on the rate ofcondensation, it has been classifiedinto dew, mist, fog, snow, rain,hailstone, etc.

The phenomenon of “westerndisturbance” is another feature of the coldseason. When these winds reach the HimalayaMountains, they lead to severe snow fall. Theintensity of rainfall due to this wind graduallyweakens as it moves towards north and east.With the arrival of the western disturbancewinter rains occur in the northern plainespecially in Punjab. This is ideal for thecultivation of rabi crops.

During the winter season, extremelow pressure is formed over theMediterranean Sea. It movesgradually towards the east andthrough the passes in theSulaiman ranges of Pakistan. Thisphenomenon which causes heavyrainfall to Punjab, Haryana, Delhiand Uttar Pradesh is known asWestern Disturbance. Jet streamshave a major role in bringing thewestern disturbance to India. Astrong flow of air through thetropopause is called the JetStreams.

Extreme cold season is not felt in thenorthern states. What could be thereason for this?

Table- 5.8

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Holi – the festival of colours

Spring season comes after winter.Blooming grasses, shrubs and trees,all heralding the advent of springseason is a period of joy and festivalto our motherland. The people ofnorth India celebrate it as 'Holi'.Today all Indians celebrate theoccasion alike strewing colours andwarmth in each and every minds.

Hot weather Season

Burning sun above, parched fields anddried up streams below......... Cattlegrazing on the arid grounds, villagewomen carrying pots and walking formiles in search of potable water, thehot dusty wind that blows all around....

What you read is a sketch of an Indianvillage during hot-weather season. This seasonin India is from March to June. Examine thetable 5.8 and find out how the temperature isdistributed in the month of May.

Didn't you understand that some placesexperience different temperatures in differentmonths. The apparent movement of the sunis the reason for this. In India, summer occurswhen the sun shines above the northernhemisphere. Likewise when it is winter thesun’s position is in the southern hemisphere.The maximum temperature recorded ever inIndia is at Barmer (550C) in the western borderof Rajasthan.

To manage drought

Western Rajasthan, Kachchh,Telengana regions, Karnataka, Tamil

Nadu and some places in Orissa areregions that experience extremedrought conditions. Today, Kerala hasalso started experiencing droughtconditions. How can we tackledroughts?

Give more importance to watershed development programmes.

Establish local developmentprogrammes on a par with water-shed regions.

Cultivate crops which can resistdrought.

Popularise rain pits and rainwaterharvesting.

Plant trees

Participate in awarenessprogrammes for the conservationof water and motivate others toparticipate in such programmes.

Due to intense hot condition that continuesfrom March to May over the northern plains,a low-pressure region is formed. During thisseason a dry dusty wind called ‘Loo’ blowsover the north western Uttar pradesh andRajasthan resulting in the rise of atmospherictemperature further. Other local winds thatblow in this season are the Kalbaisakhi,Mango showers, etc.

Local winds of India

Kalbaisakhi is a dry local wind of WestBengal during summer season.Originating from the Chota Nagpurplateau and influenced by thewesterlies, this warm wind moves

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eastwards and is responsible for heavyrain and hailstones in West Bengal,Assam and Orissa. These winds manya time cause destruction to life andproperty. Cherry Blossom is a localwind blows over the interiorKarnataka during the same season isgood for coffee cultivation. Mangoshower is another local wind thatblows during the summer seasonalong the Karnataka coast and inKerala.

South West Monsoon Season

Which are the months in which thesouth west monsoon is experienced inIndia?

Why does India receive extensiverainfall during the south westmonsoon?

Examine the map (fig: 5.7)

The south west monsoon appears to enterthe Indian subcontinent in two branches; theArabian Sea branch and the Bay of Bengalbranch. The Arabian Sea branch causesextensive rainfall in the western and centralstates and the Bay of Bengal branch givesrainfall to the northeastern states and easterncoastal plains.

What is the reason for heavy rainfallin the western slopes of the WesternGhats while the Eastern Ghats receivescanty rainfall?

The Arabian Sea branch, which givesmoderate rainfall in the Deccan plateau andMadhya Pradesh, joins the Bay of Bengalbranch over the Gangetic plains. A branch of

the Arabian Sea branch monsoon blows overSaurashtra and Kachchh in Gujarat and it givesscanty rainfall in broken spells as it reacheswestern Rajasthan. But when it reachesPunjab and Haryana it joins with the Bay ofBengal branch and blows northwards and givesgood rainfall in the northern Himalayan regions.

Aravalli Mountains

One of the oldest mountains of theworld, Aravalli extends from Delhi tothe northern part of Gujarat coveringa distance of about 800km. Themountain range has played a majorrole in the formation of Rajasthandesert (Thar desert). Lying parallelto the monsoon winds from theArabian sea, it cannot obstruct themoisture-laden monsoon winds.Rajasthan receives only scanty rainfalldue to this reason. The highest peakGuru Sikhar, (1722m) in the Aravallirange is located in Mount Abu.

The Bay of Bengal branch monsoonwhich enters Bangladesh and West Bengalfrom the south and southeast directions,bifurcates into two as it crosses WestBengal. One branch enters the Brahmaputravalley and gives heavy rainfall in the northand north-eastern regions. The Khasi-Jaintia hills of Meghalaya obstruct thesewinds and cause heavy rainfall in theseregions. Cherrapunji and Mousinram are inthis region.

The other branch moves towards thenorthwest and through the Ganga plains itreaches Punjab - Haryana plains and joins theArabian Sea branch.

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Figure- 5.7

Bay of Bengal

Arabian Sea

{Sri Lanka

NepalBhutan

BangladeshMyanmar

ChinaTibet

Pakistan

Lakshadweep

INDIASouth West Monsoon

Season

Afghanistan

Indian Ocean

Andam

an and

Nicobar Islands

June

1

June

5

June10

June 15July 1

July15

July 15July 1

June 15June10

June

5

June

1

Sout

h w

est

mon

soon

Sout

h wes

t

mon

soon

Thiruvananthapuram

ChennaiBangalore

Hyderabad

Goa

Mumbai

Nagpur

BhopalAhmedabad

Bhubaneswar

Jaipur Lucknow

Patna

Kolkata

Delhi

Chandigarh

Dacca

ShillongImphal

Srinagar


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India receives about 60% of its totalrainfall during the south west monsoon season.

Land of Rain

No doubt it is Cherrapunji – thevillage, which receives rain throughoutthe year is the rainiest place on earthfor many centuries, is situated about56kms from Shillong, the capital ofMeghalaya in a height of about 4500ftabove MSL in between Khasi, Gharoand Jaintia hills. The Britisherspronounced the word Sohra as Chira.'Sohra' means not suitable forcultivation. 'punji' means soil.'Cherrapunji' means the soil notsuitable for cultivation. This regionhas very poor topsoil has largereserves of coal and limestonebeneath. Therefore water is notavailable in the wells in this regionalthough the topsoil is wet due torainfall year round. The coveted placeof Cherrapunji with an average rainfallgreater than 1080cms was taken overby another place in India some yearsback. Mousinram, 6 km away fromCherrapunji was the place thatcaptured the position. The HawaiianIslands have also claimed the honourof being the rainiest spot on earth. Butrecently Cherrapunji has come backto regain the first place. Ourneighbouring country Bangladeshprays not to have heavy rains inCherrapunji – for the reason thatwhen heavy rainfall occurs inCherrapunji many places inBangladesh will get inundated.

Measures to be taken at the time of floods

You might have heard about the floods inthe north Indian rivers from newspapers,television etc. Do floods occur in rivers ofyour place during rainy seasons? What are theprecautionary measures to be taken during aflood?

Do not ignore the governments warningsissued by the authorities regarding theopening of dams during a flood.Avoid entering rivers during flood.Move to secure places from areas whichcould be affected.Be cautious about contagious diseasesduring flood seasons.Be cautious about broken power linesduring thunderstorms.

North East Monsoon Season

Study the map (fig: 5.8)

What difference can you notice in thewind direction from that of South Westmonsoon?

Name the months during which themonsoon winds blow in the directionas shown in the map (fig 5.8).

During the northward march of the sunthe monsoon blows towards the north andduring the southward march of the sun it blowsto the south. This southward progression iscalled the retreating monsoon. You have learntthat during the southward movement of the sunthe northern hemisphere is gripped by coldweather conditions. During this season the lowpressure formed over the Bay of Bengalattracts air from the north. These winds pick

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Figure 5.8

Bay of Bengal

Arabian Sea

Sri Lanka

Nepal Bhutan

Bangladesh

Myanmar

ChinaTibetPakist

an

Lakshadweep

Afghanistan

Indian Ocean

Andam

an and

Nicobar Islands

INDIANorth East Monsoon

Season

Thiruvananthapuram

Chennai

Bangalore

Hyderabad

Goa

Mumbai

Nagpur

BhopalAhmedabad

Bhubaneswar

Jaipur Lucknow

Patna

Kolkata

Delhi

Chandigarh

Dacca

ShillongImphal

Srinagar

Dece

mber

15

Dec

embe

r 1

Novem

ber 1

5

Novem

ber 1

Octobe

r 15

October1

September15September 1

September 1September

15

October 1

October 15November 1

November 15December 1

Nort

h Eas

tM

onso

on

Nort

h Eas

tM

onso

on


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up moisture as they pass over the Bay andblow against the east coast.

Soon after the monsoon season, placesall over India experience clear skies and hightemperatures. During this time there will be ahigh diurnal temperature and a very low nighttemperature. Although the land is wet andmoist during these days, the temperature andhigh humidity make day time veryuncomfortable. This phenomenon is called“October heat”. By the middle of Octoberatmospheric temperature decreases fast andwinter season begins in north India.

October - November months are a gapbetween rainy season and winter. During thisperiod the low pressure region that occur inthe Bay of Bengal causes the formation ofcyclones. These cyclones give extensiverainfall in the eastern coastal states of Indiaand cause destruction to the highly populateddeltaic regions of Godavari, Krishna andCauvery. The influence of this rainfall isexperienced in the state of Karnataka, TamilNadu and Kerala also.

Traditional Indian seasonsAncient Indians had recognised anddemarcated different seasons muchbefore the development ofmeteorological studies. They haddivided the year into six differentseasons.

Vasantham March - AprilGrishmam May - JuneVarsham July - AugustSharath September - OctoberHemantham November -DecemberShishiram January - February

Distribution of rainfall

Is the amount of rainfall the sameeverywhere in India?

What could be the reasons for thedisparity in the distribution of rainfall?

Examine the map showing the distributionof rainfall (figure 5.9)

In India there are places like Cherrapunjiwith more than 1080cm of annual rainfall andplaces like Jaisalmer with less than 12 cm ofrainfall. While the western coastal plain andthe north-eastern region receive an annualrainfall greater than 400cm. western Rajasthan,Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab have annualrainfall less than 60cm. Based on thedistribution of rainfall India has been dividedinto different rainfall regions.

Draw the rainfall map of India with thehelp of a tracing table. Superimpose this mapon the physiographic map of India and analysethe relation between distribution of rainfall andphysiography. What conclusions can we have.

High rainfall regions and their reasonsReasons for the local difference in thedistribution of rainfall

We can have a discussion in the classbased on the information gathered. Prepare areport incorporating the information gatheredfrom the discussion.

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Figure 5.9

Bay of BengalArabian Sea

Sri Lanka

Nepal

`q´m≥

Bangladesh

Myanmar

ChinaTibet

Pakistan

Lakshadweep

Afghanistan

Indian Ocean

INDIADistribution of

Rainfall

Andam

an and

Nicobar Islands

Bhutan

More than 200cm100-200cm60-100 cmLess than 60cm


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India is a unique land with diverse physiography, climate and many rivers

India with an area of 3287782 km2 and an extent of 3214 km from north

to south and 2933km from east to west is situated between 804’N and3706’N and from 6807’E to 97025’ E.

Physiographically, the regions of India has been divided into the NorthernMountain region, the Great Plains of the North, Peninsular plateau, theCoastal plains and Islands.

Although there is climatic diversity, the climate of India is termed as mon-soon climate

Based on temperature and rainfall the seasons of India have been dividedinto four viz., cold, weather season, hot-weather season southwest mon-soon season and northeast monsoon season.

QUESTIONS

1. Describe the importance of Northern mountain regions and Northern GreatPlains.

2. Explain the role of Northern mountain regions in the formation of NorthernGreat plains

3. Explain the differences between Peninsular Rivers and Himalayan Rivers.4. Classify the Indian seasons based on temperature, and rainfall and pre-

pare a report.5. What are the differences between the western coastal plains and eastern

coastal plains?

oooooooo

SUMMARY

phisical division of india

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