Physical Features of India

Q31. What are the features of the Eastern coastal plains?

Ans. Features

                         i.        The plains along the Bay of Bengal are wide and level.

                        ii.        In the northern part, it is referred to as the Northern Circar, while the southern part is known as the Coromandel Coast.

                       iii.        Large rivers such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri have formed extensive delta on this coast.

                       iv.        Lake Chilika is an important feature along the eastern coast.

Q32. Classify the Northern Plains on the basis of its location.

Ans. Plains on the basis of location:

Punjab Plains: The Western part of the Northern Plain is referred to as the Punjab Plains. Formed by the Indus and its tributaries, the larger part of this plain lies in Pakistan.

The Ganga plain: The Ganga plain extends between Ghaggar and Teesta rivers. It is spread over the states of North India, Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar, partly Jharkhand and West Bengal to its East.

Brahmaputra plain: Most of Brahmaputra plain is located in Assam.

Q33. How is Peninsular plateau formed? Name two broad divisions of this plateau? Write one characteristic of each division?
Or
What are the two main divisions of the Peninsular plateau?
Or
What are the features of Peninsular plateau?

Ans. Peninsular plateau

                        i.        The Peninsular plateau is a tableland composed of the old crystalline, igneous and metamorphic rocks.

                       ii.        It was formed due to the breaking and drifting of the Gondwana land.

                      iii.        The plateau has broad and shallow valleys and rounded hills.

                      iv.        This plateau consists of two broad divisions, namely, the Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau.

                      v.        The Central Highlands are wider in the west but narrower in the east.

                     vi.        The Deccan Plateau is higher in the west and slopes gently eastwards.

Q34. Name the two coastal strips that flank the Peninsular plateau. Distinguish the two by giving two characteristics of each.

Ans. The Peninsular plateau is flanked by stretch of narrow coastal strips, running along the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east. Two coastal strips are:

The Western coastal strip

Characteristics of the Western Coastal strip:

(i) It is sandwiched between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea.

(ii) It is a narrow plain.

The Eastern coastal strip

Characteristics of the Eastern Coastal strip:

(i) This part is along the Bay of Bengal.

(ii) It is wider plain.

Q35. What are the features of the Western coastal plains?
Or
Which coastal plain lies along the Arabian Sea? State four features of it.

Ans. Features

                       i.        The western coast is sandwiched between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea.

                      ii.        It is a narrow plain.

                     iii.        It consists of three sections.

                     iv.        The northern part of the coast is called the Konkan (Mumbai – Goa), the central stretch is called the Kannad Plain while the southern stretch is referred to as the Malabar coast.

Q36. What are the four divisions of Northern Plains on the basis of relief? Explain.

Ans. According to the variations in relief features, the Northern plains can be divided into four regions.

Bhabar - 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.

Terai - South of Bhabar belt, the streams and rivers re-emerge and create a wet, swampy and marshy region known as terai.

Bhangar - The largest part of the northern plain is formed of older alluvium. They lie above the flood plains of the rivers and present a terrace like feature. This part is known as bhangar.

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

Q37. Give an account of the four divisions of Himalayas from west to east.

Ans. Besides the longitudinal divisions, the Himalayas have been divided on the basis of regions from west to east.

                       i.        The part of Himalayas lying between Indus and Satluj has been traditionally known as Punjab Himalaya but it is also known regionally as Kashmir and Himachal Himalaya from west to east respectively.

                      ii.        The part of the Himalayas lying between Satluj and Kali rivers is known as Kumaon Himalayas.

                     iii.        The Kali and Tista rivers demarcate the Nepal Himalayas.

                     iv.        The part lying between Tista and Dihang rivers is known as Assam Himalayas.