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Chapter 6. Major Landforms of the Earth

Chapter - Review:

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• The surface of the Earth is not the same everywher.
• The earth has an infinite variety of landforms. Some parts of the lithosphere may be rugged and some flat.
• landform are a result of two processes. The 'internal process' leads to the upliftment and sinking of the Earth's surface. Second, external process is the continuous wearing down and rebuilding of the land surface.
• the wearing away to the earth's surface is called 'erosion'. The surface is being lowered by the process of erosion and rebulit by the process of 'deposition'.
• These two processes, that is, erosion and deposition are carried out by running water, ice and wind.
• Mountain is natural elevation of the earth surface. The mountains may have a small peak and a borad base.
• In some mountains, there are permanemtly frozen rivers of ice. They are called 'glaciers'.
• Less people live in the mountain areas because of harsh climate.
• Less land is available for farming because slopes are steep.
• Mountains arranged in a line is known as range.
• mountains arranged in a line is known as range.
• Mountains vary in their heights and shape.

         There are three types of mountains:

         1. Fold Mountains

         2. Block Mountains

         3. the volcanic Mountains

• Fold mountains are formed due to the processes of erosion.
• Block mountains are created when large area are broken and displace vertically. the uplifted blocks are termed as 'horsts' and lower blocks are called 'garben'.
• Volcanis mountains are formed due to volcanic activity.
• A plateau is an elevated flat land. It is flat - topped table land standing above the surrounding area. a plateau may have one sides with steep. These may be young or old, hundred metres to several thousand metres.
• Most of the planis are formed by rivers ahnd their tributaries. some o the largest plains made by the rivers are found in asia and North America.
• Generally, the plains are very fertile, easy to transport. Thus, these are thickly populated regions of the world.
• In Asia, Plains are formed by the Ganga and the brahmaputra in India and the Yangtze in chaina.
• Plains areas are useful for habitation. 

Chapter 6. Major Landforms of the Earth

Exercise - Question:

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Q1. Answer the following questions briefly.

(a) What are that major landforms ?

Ans. The surface of the earth is not same everywhere. It has an infinite variety of landforms. The major landforms are the mountains, hills, plateaus, basins, plains, islands etc.

(b) What is the difference between a mountain and a plateau ?

Ans.

Mountain

Plateau

1. Mountains are the high and steep landforms that extend above the surrounding areas.  2.Generally, mountains are the landforms that rise above 600 meters.   3. Their elevation can exceed 8000 m 4. Mountains are rich in forests.   5. More than half of the world's fresh water originates  in mountains.   6. Himalayas, Rockies and Andes are the main mountains in the world.

1. plateaus are the flat surfaced areas, bounded by steep slope.   2. These are huge land forms. they cover hundreds or even thousands of kilo meters. 3. Their elevation can exceed 4500 m, 4. Plateaus are the great reservoirs of different minerals. 5.The rivers of plateaus form waterfalls when they fall from a great height. 6. Deccan plateau, East Africa plateau and Tibet are the major plateaus in the world.

 

(c) What are the different types of mountains ?

Ans. There are three types of mountains in the world. These are the Fold mountains, block mountains and the Volcanic mountains.

(i) Fold mountains : They form when the earth's crust bends and buckles. Himalayas, Andes and Rockies are the main fold mountains.

(ii) Block mountains : They form when large areas are broken and displaced vertically. Vosges mountain of Europe is an example of block mountain.

(iii) Volcanic mountains : They form due to the volcanic activities. Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mt. Fujiyama in Japan are the major volcanic mountains in the world.

(d) How are the mountain useful to main because

* They are the large reservoir of water.

* They are the major  sources of river and river water is widely used for irrigation purposes and in the production of hydroelectricity.

* Mountains are rich in variety of flora and fauna.

* They provide fuel, shelter, fodder and other forest products.

* They also support tourism industry by giving scenic beauty, clean air and fresh climate.

* They also encourage sports like skiing and mountain climbing.

(e) How plains are formed ?

Ans. plains are the flat and relatively low-lying areas of the earth's surface. These plains are formed by rivers their tributaries  and distributaries. The rivers flow down from mountains and erode them. they carry the eroded material and deposit it along their courses or in their valleys. In this way, the plains  are formed with the help of deposit materials.

(f) Why are river plains thickly populated ?

Ans. Generally, the plains are flat and made up of the fertile soil. so, they provide favorable conditions for agriculture. In plains rivers flow slowly. Therefore, it can be used for navigation. The construction of transport network is easy in flat areas. Due to these qualities, the river plains are thickly populated.

(g) Why are mountains thinly populated ?

Ans. Mountains are thinly populated because they have steep slopes and lack in good soil. These conditions are not favorable for agriculture. The steep slopes, on the other hand, make the transportation and physical communication difficult. Mountain areas in the world are not much developed, so they can't provide modern facilities to their people.

Q2. Tick the correct answers.

(a) The mountain differnt from the hills in terms of

(i) elevation   (ii) slope    (iii) aspect

(b) Glacier are found in

(i) the mountains   (ii) the plains   (iii) the plateaus

(c) The Deccan Plateau is located in

(i) Kenya     (ii) Australia   (iii) India

(d) The river Yangtze flows in

(i) the South America

(ii) Australia

(iii) china

(e) An important mountain range of Europe is

(i) the Andes   (ii) the Alps  (iii) the Rockies

Ans. (a) (i), (b) (i), (c) (iii), (d) (iii), (e) (ii)

Q3. Fill in the blanks.

1. A ....... is an unbroken flat or a low-level land.

2. The Himalayas and the Alps are examples of ........ types of mountains.

3. ........ areas are rich in mineral deposits.

4.The ........ is a line of mountains.

5. The ........ areas are most productive for farming.

Ans. 1. plateau, 2. young fold, 3. plateau, 4. range, 5. plain.

Chapter 6. Major Landforms of the Earth

Additional - Question:

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Que: Whatn is internal process?

Ans: It is aa type of continuous movement within the earth that lead to the upliftment and sinking of the earth's surface at several places.

Que: What is exrternal process?

Ans: It is the continuous wearing down and rebuilding of the land surface.

Que: What is called, ersion?

Ans: The wearing away of the earth's surface is called ersodion.

Que: What happens when you go higher?

Ans: The Climate becomes colder.

Que: Give examples of young fold mountains.

Ans: The Himalayan Mountains and the Alps.

Que: What are features of young fold mountains.

Ans: They have rugged relief and high conical peaks.

Que: What is special with Mauna Kea?

Ans: It is higher than Mt. Everest being 10,205 metres high.

Que: give an example of block mountains.

Ans: The Rhines valley and the Vosges mountain in Europe.

Que: Give exaples of Volcanic mountains.

Ans: Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mt. Fujiyama in japan.

Que: Name the plateau which is famous for good and diamond mining.

Ans: the African plateau.

Que: Name some plain of india.

Ans: The Ganga - Brahmaputra plains and the Indo - gangrtic plains.

Que: Write some natural calamities.

Ans: Earthwuakes, floods, cyclone, drought, etc.

Que: 'Quite often we use the land in a wasteful manner'. What do gou mean by 'wasteful manner'?

Ans: Using fertile land for building houses.

Que: Write a few features of mountains.

Ans: 

1. Mountains are natural elevations of the earth's surface.

2. They are higher than the surrounding area.

3. Some of them are even higher than the clouds.

4. The climate of mountains is harsh, which makes them lesss suitable for human habitation.

5. Mountains have steep slopes. Hence, farming is quite difficult here.

Que: What are block mountains?

Ans: Block mountains are created when large areas are brokn and displace vertically. The uplifted blocks are known as horsts and the lowered blocks are known as garden. Examples: The Rhine valley and the Vosage mountains in Europe.

Que: How are plateaus useful for men?

Ans: Plateaus are very useful for man because they have rich mineral deposits. Many of the mining areas in the world are located in the plateau. For example, the African plateau is famous for glod and diamond mining. the Chhotanagpur plateau in India has huge reserves of iron, coal and manganese. In the plateau regions, one can find several waterfalls. Many plateaus have scenic spots which attract tourist on large scale.