India : The land of diversities

 *India: The Land of Diversities*

India Physiographic divisions

 1️⃣ Northern Mountain Ranges 

2️⃣ Northern Great Plains        

  3️⃣ Peninsular plateau

4️⃣ Coastal plain -Islands

📚 Northern Mountain Ranges

👉 In Northern mountain region there are three mountain ranges

They are:-

A) Trans Himalayas

B) Himalayas

C) Eastern Highlands

A) Trans Himalayas

✍🏻 Trans Himalayas include *Karakoram, Ladakh, and Zaskar* mountain ranges.

 ✍🏻 Mount K2 (8661m) also known as Godwin Austin, the highest peak in India, is in the Karakoram range. -The average height of the Trans Himalayas is 6000 meters.

B) Himalayas

✍🏻 The Himalayan mountain range forms an are shaped physical division extending between the north-west trans himalayas and the south-east eastern highlands.

✍🏻 These mountain ranges have a length of about 2400 kilometers.

✍🏻 Many of the world's highest peaks are situated here.

✍🏻 The height of these mountains tend to decrease towards the east.

👉 Himalayan ranges are divided in to three. They are:-

◻️Himadri,

◻️Himachal,

◻️Siwaliks.

👉 *Himadri*

◻️ The highest mountain range.

◻️ Average altitude is 6000 meters.

◻️ Origin of the rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra.

.

◻️Has a number of peaks above 8000 meters (Eg: Kanchenjunga, Nandadevi)

👉 *Himachal*

◻️Situated to the south of the Himadri.

◻️Average altitude is 3000 meters.

◻️The hill stations like Shimla, Darjeeling, etc. are situated in the southern slopes of this range.

👉 *Siwaliks*

◻️ Situated to the south of the Himachal.

◻️Average altitude is 1220 meters.

◻️ As the Himalayan rivers cut across this range, its continuity breaks at many places.

◻️Broad flat valleys seen along these ranges are called Duns. (Eg: Dehradun).

👉 *Human life in the lap of the Himalayas*

✍🏻 The major means of livelihood is animal rearing that depends purely on the grasslands here.

 ✍🏻 Sheep are commercially reared in Kashmir and Himachal.

✍🏻 Potato, barley, and saffron, fruits like apple and orange are cultivated in Siwalik valleys.

✍🏻 The largest production of tea in India comes from Assam mountain ranges.

✍🏻 Hill stations like Shimla, Darjeeling, Kulu, Manali, etc. are situated here.

*Eastern Highlands*

◻️This region which is at an altitude of 500 to 3000 meters is also known as Purvachal.

 ◻️Cherrapunji, the place receiving the highest rainfall in the world is situated here.

◻️This region is covered by dense tropical rain forests.

Major mountains in Eastern Highlands.

(1) Patkai Bum-Nagaland

 (2) Naga hills-Nagaland

(3) Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia hills-Meghalaya

(4) Mizo hills-Mizoram

*Significance of the Northern Mountains*

◻️Have been protecting us from foreign invasions from the north since ancient times.

◻️ Block the monsoon winds and cause rainfall throughout North India.

◻️ Caused the emergence of diverse flora and fauna.

◻️Source region of rivers.

Indian rivers.

 *Northern Great Plains*

◽During the formation of the Himalayas, a huge depression of more than 2000 metre depth took shape along the south parallel to the Himalayas.

◽This extensive plain took shape as a result of the continuous deposition by the rivers flowing down from the Himalayas for thousands of years. 

◽This plain, extending over seven lakh square kilometres and with kilometres of thick sediments, is one among the few extensive alluvial plains of the world.

◽This plain is generally known as the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra plain.

◽The highly fertile alluvial soil is a characteristic feature of this plain.

◽The granary of India. 

◽A variety of crops such as wheat, maize, rice, sugar cane, cotton, pulses, etc. Cultivated in Northern Great Plains. 

◽This region is known as the granary of India.

◽The Northern Great Plain is one of the most densely populated regions in the world.

📚 *Thar Desert*

✍🏻 Rainfall is scarce along the western parts of the northern plains.

✍🏻 That is why most regions in Rajasthan are deserts.

✍🏻 This desert is known as Thar Desert.

✍🏻 River Luni and the long vanished river Saraswathy have had significant role in the formation this portion of the plain.

✍🏻 Dry and salty desert soil is found in this Region.

✍🏻 Thorns and bushes form the natural vegetation here.

What are the main crops cultivated in Rajasthan.

 -Bajra,

-Jowar,

✍🏻 These crops require very little amount of water to grow. 

✍🏻 Here cultivation is done mainly with the help of irrigation.

👉 *The Peninsular Plateau*

📚 Entire portions of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as well as parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telengana, Odisha and West Bengal together form a plateau known as the *peninsular plateau*.

📚 The peninsular plateau made of hard crystalline rocks forms the oldest and the most extensive physical division of India.

📚 It extends about 15 lakh square kilometres.

📚 The highest peak in this region is the Anamudi (2695 m) situated in the Idukki district of Kerala.

 📚 As the peninsular plateau holds numerous deposits of diverse minerals, this region can be termed as the *Store house of minerals*.

📚 The trees found in this region are teak, sal, sandalwood, bamboo, etc.

 📚 Black soil is extensively found in this region made of igneous rocks, named basalt.

 📚 As this soil is best suited for cotton cultivation, it is also called *black cotton soil*.

📚 *Red soil also formed by the weathering of igneous and metamorphic rocks is comparatively less fertile*.

📚 The presence of iron gives red colour to this soil.

👉 *Peninsular Rivers*

◽The rivers originating from the elevated regions of the peninsular plateau are known as peninsular rivers.

◽Peninsular Rivers are divided in to two:-

◽West flowing rivers- Narmada & Tapti.

◽East flowing rivers-Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna & Cauvery.

◽Godavari is the longest among the peninsular rivers.

◽Waterfalls are common in most of the peninsularrivers.

◽The highest among these is the Jog Falls (225 metres).

◽Cotton, pulses, groundnut, sugarcane, maize, ragi, chilli, etc., are the major agricultural crops of this region.

◽Iron ore, coal, manganese, bauxite, limestone, etc. are the major minerals found here.

◽Hence agriculture, mining, and mineral based industries are the major economic activities.

👉 *Coastal plain of India*

✍🏻 The approximate length of this coast line is 6100 kilometres extending from the Rann of Kutchh in Gujarat to the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta.

✍🏻 The coastal plain of India can be divided into two. 

They are:

✅ *Western coastal plain*

◽Western coastal plain

Between the Arabian Sea and the

Western Ghats. 

◽From the Rann of Kutchh to Kanyakumari. 

◽Comparatively narrow

Can be divided into Gujarat coast, Konkan coast, and Malabar coast. 

◽Backwaters and esturies are seen. 

✅ *Eastern coastal plain*

◽Between the Bay of Bengal and theEastern Ghats. 

◽From the Sundarban delta region to Kanyakumari. 

◽Comparatively wide. 

◽Can be divided into north Zircar plain and Coromandal coast. 

◽Delta formation takes place. 

❓Main occupation of the 

people in the coastal plains.

◽Fishing

◽Tourism

◽Rice and coconut are the major agricultural crops along the west coast.

👉 *Major islands in India*

1️⃣ *The Lakshadweep islands*

2️⃣ *The Andaman and Nicobar islands* . 

*The Lakshadweep islands*

⚽ The Lakshadweep islands are situated in the Arabian Sea at a distance of about 300 kilometers off shore from Kochi.

⚽ There are 36 islands in this island group, of which only 11 are inhabited.

⚽ Kavarathi is the capital of Lakshadweep.

⚽ Lagoons, sandy beaches and coral reefs are the specialities of the Lakshadweep island group.

 

⚽ Fishing and tourism are the major sources of income.

*The Andaman and Nicobar islands*

⚽ The Andaman and Nicobar islands include about 200 islands of Andaman group and 19 islands of Nicobar group.

⚽ Most of these islands are not inhabited.

⚽ Many of them have dense forests.

⚽ The only volcano in India is situated in the Barren Island here.

⚽ Port Blair is the capital of Andaman and Nicobar islands.

*Himalayan rivers*

◻️Himalayan rivers

Originate from the Himalayan mountain

ranges. 

◻️Extensive catchment area. 

◻️Intensive erosion

◻️High irrigation potential. 

◻️Navigable along the plains. 

*Peninsular rivers*

🔸Originate from the mountain ranges in the peninsular plateau.

🔸Comparatively smaller catchment area. 

 

🔸Intensity of erosion is less. 

🔸Less irrigation potential. 

🔸 Potential for inland navigation is low

✒️ The factors influencing the climate of India. 

◻️Latitude

◻️Physiography

◻️Nearness to sea

◻️Altitude

◻️Mountains

◻️Winds

🔸The seasons in India can be generally classified into four.

1️⃣ *Cold weather season In India* (Winter)

◻️India experiences winter when the position of the sun is over the southern hemisphere.

◻️Most places in India experience intense fog and snowfall occurs in the valleys of the Himalayas during this season.

◻️The months of December, January, and February experienced cold weather in India.

◻️During the cold weather season days are generally warm and nights are severely cold in North India.

 ◻️Snowfall is a common phenomenon in the hill stations like Manali and Shimla.

❓What is Western Disturbance. 

◻️The cyclones originating in the Mediterranean Sea during winter, gradually shifts towards the east and reaches India.

This causes winter rainfall in the northern plains, especially in the Punjab region.

The phenomenon is called  *western disturbance* .

2️⃣ *Hot weather season* (Summer)

◻️India experiences hot weather when the sun is over the northern hemisphere. 

◻️In the months of March, April and May experienced Summer season in India. 

◻️It is in Barmer in western Rajasthan that the highest temperature of summer is felt.

 ◻️Loo, mango showers, etc. are some local winds experienced in India during this season.

3️⃣ *South west monsoon season*

◻️When the sun is over the northern hemisphere, North Indian regions experience intense low pressure. 

◻️In the months of June, July, August and September India experience south west monsoon season.

 ◻️Owing to the high pressure over the oceans, wind blows from high pressure to low pressure regions, that is, from the Indian Ocean to the Indian sub-continent.

◻️As the winds deflect towards right due to coriolis effect, they reach India as southwest monsoon winds.

 ◻️Because of the peculiar shape of the Indian peninsula, the southwest monsoon winds bifurcate into two branches on entering the land.

👉 *Arabian Sea branch*

👉 *Bay of Bengal branch*

◻️The Arabian Sea branch that reaches the coast of Kerala by early June causes heavy rainfall here. 

◻️The Arabian Sea branch of south west monsoon that reaches the coast of Kerala by early June causes heavy rainfall here.

◻️Then it advances to the states of Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, and Gujarat and causes rainfall in the western parts.

❓By what name is the southwest monsoon rain known in Kerala?

- *Edavappaathi*

👉 *Bay of Bengal branch*

◻️The Bay of Bengal branch of the monsoon advances northward by absorbing more moisture from the Bay of Bengal.

◻️On reaching West Bengal, crossing the Sundarban delta, it bifurcates into two branches.

◻️One branch reaches the northeastern states through the Brahmaputhra plains and causes heavy rainfall there.

◻️The other branch enters the Ganga plains and causes rainfall in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, etc.

 ◻️This branch merging with the Arabian Sea branch in the Punjab plains advances north further and causes heavy rainfall along the foothills of the Himalayas.

 4️⃣ *Retreating monsoon season* (North East Monsoon)

◻️By the end of September, as the sun apparently shifts towards the southern hemisphere, intense high pressure develops over the northern plains.

◻️Comparatively low pressure over the Indian Ocean causes wind to blow from the northern part of India towards the Indian Ocean.

◻️These winds known as north-east monsoon winds are dry winds that do not generally cause any rain in India.

◻️This season termed as north east monsoon. 

◻️This season is actually a transition period between the rainy season and the forth coming winter

 ◻️This season experienced during the months of October and November.

◻️This season termed as north east monsoon. 

◻️This season is actually a transition period between the rainy season and the forth coming winter. 

◻️This season experienced during the months of October and November.

◻️This is the main rainy season of Tamil Nadu. 

👉 *October heat*

◻️The days in October and November unbearable due to high temperature and humidity. 

◻️This phenomenon is known as October heat.

❓By what name is the northeast monsoon rain known in Kerala?

*Thulaavarsham*