Physical Features of India

Q21. Which river has the largest inhabited riverine island in the world?
Or
Name the largest inhabited riverine island in the world.

Ans. Majuli, in the Brahmaputra River is the largest inhabited riverine island in the world.

Q22. What are Duns?

Ans. The longitudinal valley lying between lesser Himalaya and the Shiwaliks are known as Duns. Dehra Dun, Kotli Dun and Patli Dun are some of the well-known Duns.

Q23. Write a short note on Aravali hills.

Ans. The Aravali Hills lie on the western and northwestern margins of the peninsular plateau. These are highly eroded hills and are found as broken hills. They extend from Gujarat to Delhi in a southwest-northeast direction.

Q24. Why does India have diversity in its relief? State any two reasons for it.

Ans. Reasons for diversity in relief:

(i) Different geological periods.

(ii) Different geological processes - Weathering, erosion and deposition.

Q25. What are the features of Khadar?  

Ans. Features

                       i.        The newer, younger deposits of the flood plains are called khadar.

                      ii.        They are renewed almost every year and so are fertile, thus, ideal for intensive agriculture.

Q26. What are the two parts of the eastern coastal plains?

Ans. The eastern coastal plain lies between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. In the northern part, it is referred to as the Northern Circar, while the southern part is known as the Coromandel Coast.

Q27. Which is the highest peak in Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats?

Ans. The highest peaks in Western Ghats include the Anai Mudi (2,695metres) and the Doda Betta (2,637 metres). Mahendragiri (1,501 metres) is the highest peak in the Eastern Ghats.

Q28. What is the Deccan Trap?

Ans. One of the distinct features of the peninsular plateau is the black soil area known as Decean Trap. This is of volcanic origin hence the rocks are igneous. Actually these rocks have denuded over time and are responsible for the formation of black soil.

Q29. What do you mean by the 'Theory of Plate Tectonics'?

Ans. According to this theory, the crust (upper part) of the earth has been formed out of seven major and some minor plates. The movement of the plates results in the building up of stresses within the plates and the continental rocks above, leading to folding, faulting and volcanic activity.

Q30. Answer the following questions briefly.
(i) What are tectonic plates?

Ans. The crust (upper part) of the earth has been formed out of seven major and some minor plates. These are called tectonic plates.

(ii) Which continents of today were part of the Gondwana land?

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

(iii) What is the bhabar?

Ans. The rivers, after descending from the mountains deposit pebbles in a narrow belt of about 8 to 16 km in width lying parallel to the slopes of the Shiwaliks. It is known as bhabar.

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

Ans. The Himalaya consists of three parallel ranges in its longitudinal extent.

                        i.        Great or Inner Himalayas or the ‘Himadri’

                       ii.        Himachal or lesser Himalaya

                      iii.        Shiwaliks

(v) Which plateau lies between the Aravali and the Vindhyan ranges?

Ans. Malwa plateau lies between the Aravali and the Vindhyan ranges.

(vi) Name the island group of India having coral origin.

Ans. Lakshadweep Islands is the island group of India having coral origin.