Question

Give an account of the Northern Plains of India.
NCERT Class IX
Social Science - Contemporary India
Chapter 2. Physical Features of India

Answer 1

    







Question 1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.

(i) A landmass bounded by sea on three sides in referred to as

(a) coast
(b) island
(c) peninsula
(d) None of these

Answer (c)

(ii) Mountain ranges in the eastern part of India forming its boundary with Myanmar are collectively called as
(a) Himachal
(b) Uttarakhand
(c) Purvanchal
(d) None of these

Answer (c)

(iii) The Western coastal strip, South of Goa is referred to as

(a) Coromandel
(b) Konkan
(c) Kannad
(d) Northern Circar

Answer (c)

(iv) The highest peak in the Eastern Ghats is

(a) AnaMudi
(b) Kanchenjunga
(c) Mahendragiri
(d) Khasi

Answer (c)

Question 2. Answer the following questions briefly

(i) What are tectonic plates ?

Answer The convectional currents below the Earth’s crust split the crust into a number of pieces. These pieces are called tectonic plates. e.g., Eurasia plate, Indo Australian plate etc.

(ii) Which continents of today were part of the Gondwanaland ?

Answer The Gondwana land included India, Australia, South Africa and South America as one single land mass.

(iii) What is the Bhabar?

Answer Bhabar is a narrow belt of land about 8 to 16 km wide and covered with pebbles deposited by the rivers and lying parallel to the slopes of the Shiwaliks.

(iv) Name the three major divisions of the Himalayas from north to south.

Answer The 3 major divisions of the Himalayas from North to South are as folloWS

(a) The Great or Inner Himalayas or the Himadri It is a continuous range consisting of the highest peaks.
(b) Himachal or Lesser Himalayas The range lying to the South of the Himadri is known as Himachal or Lesser Himalayas.
(c) Shiwaliks The outermost range of the Himalayas is known as the Shiwaliks. These are the foothill ranges and represent the southernmost division of the Himalayas.

(v) Which plateaus lies between the Aravalli and the Vindhyan ranges?

Answer Malwa plateau lies between the Aravalli and the Vindhyan ranges.

(vi) Name of the Island group of India having coral Vindhyan

Answer Lakshadweep Islands are composed of small coral islands.

Question 3. Distinguish between

(i) Converging and diverging tectonic plates.

Answer Difference between Converging plates and Diverging plates



(ii) Bhangar and Khadar.

Answer Differences between Bhangar and Khadar

(iii) Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats.

Answer Difference between the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats.

Question 4. Describe how the Himalayas were formed.

Answer

(a) The oldest landmass of India (peninsular part) was a part of Gondwana land.

(b) Gondwana land included India, Australia, South Africa and South America as one single landmass.

(c) Convectional currents split the crust into a number of pieces, thereby leading to the drifting of the Indo – Australian plate after being separated from the Gondwana land towards the North.

(d) The Northward drift resulted in the collision of the plate with the much larger Eurasian plate.

(e) Due to this collision the sedimentary rocks which were accumulated in the geosyncline known as the Tethys, were folded to form the mountain systems of Western Asia and Himalaya.
(f) The Himalayas represent a youthful topography with high peaks, deep valleys and fast following rivers.

Question 5. Which are the major physiographic divisions of India? Contrast the relief of the Himalayan region with that of the Peninsular plateau.

Answer The major physiographic divisions of India are

The Himalayan mountains

The Northern plains

The Peninsular plateau

The Indian desert

The Coastal plains

The islands

Contrast between the Himalayan region and the Peninsular plateau

Question 6. Give an account of the Northern plains of India.

Answer

(a) The Himalayan uplift out of the Tethys sea and subsidence of the Northern flank of the peninsular plateau resulted in the formation of a large basin. In course of time, this depression gradually got filled with deposition of sediments from rivers flowing from the mountains In the north and led to formation of the fertile Northern plains.

(b) It spreads over an area of 7 lakh sq km. The plain IS about 2400 km long and 240-230 km broad
(c) It is a densely populated and an Intensively cultivated area.
(d) With Its adequate water supply and favourable climate, It is agriculturally a very productive part of India
(e) The Northern plains are broadly divided into 3 sections.
(f) The Western part of the Northern plans IS called the Punjab plains, formed by the Indus and its tributaries.
(g) The Ganga plain extends between the Ghaggar and the Teesta rivers, spread over the states of Haryana, Delhi, UP Bihar and West Bengal.
(h) The Brahmaputra Plain to the East of the Ganga plains lies the Brahmaputra plain covering the areas of Assam and Arunachal
Pradesh

Questions 7. Write short notes on the following

(i) The Indian Desert
(ii) The Central Highlands
(iii) The Island Groups of India