Maharashtra Board Class 10 Geography Chapter 3 Physiography And Drainage PDF Download

Physiography And Drainage

Observe the map given in figure 3.1 and answer the following questions:

In which direction does the region with an altitude of more than 6000m lie in India?

Look for the south-flowing river in the peninsular region. In which river basin does it lie?

In which direction is the slope of the region in the north shown in dark green?

Make a list of plateaus located in between Aravali ranges and Chhota Nagpur Plateau.

Name the peak shown in the Eastern Ghats

Which mountains demarcate the deep plains of Brahmaputra?

Teacher's Note

Physiography means the shape and features of the land. In India, we have high mountains in the north and flat plains in the middle. This is like how your school building has different rooms on different floors.

Exam Trick

Remember: The Himalayas are in the NORTH, the Plains are in the MIDDLE, and the Peninsula is in the SOUTH. Think of India as a layer cake - each layer is different.

Points to Remember

India has five main land divisions.

The Himalayas are young mountains with snow and ice.

The North Indian Plains are flat and good for farming.

The Peninsula has plateaus and hills.

The Coastal Plains border the sea.

Make Friends With Maps!

Observe figure 3.2 and answer the following questions:

What is the range of the altitude of Amazon river basin?

Between which two highlands is the Amazon river basin located?

Observe the region with the altitude 500 to 1000 metres. Describe the locational extent of this region shown in yellow with reference to direction.

What do the isolated regions shown in yellow indicate?

Besides the Amazon river basin, where else do you find regions with an altitude of less than 200m?

Describe the plateau region with height of 200 to 500 m through which tributaries of Amazon flow in your own words.

Give the relative location of the Nilgiri Hills.

In which direction does the height of the Sahyadri hills increase?

The Vindhyas act as water divide between which two river basins?

Teacher's Note

A water divide is where mountains split water to flow in different directions. In your area, you have high points where water flows down on both sides, just like the ridges on a roof.

Exam Trick

Remember: HIGH LAND = Water divides. When you see a mountain top, water from the top flows down on BOTH sides to different rivers.

Points to Remember

Plateaus are flat highlands.

Altitude means height above sea level.

Water divides separate river basins.

Yellow shows medium height areas.

Green shows the lowest and flattest areas.

Geographical Explanation

India

Figure 3.1 shows the physiography of India. The country is divided into five major physiographic divisions.

The Himalayas

The North Indian Plains

The Peninsula

Coastal Plains

Island groups.

Himalayas

The Himalayas is one of the young fold mountains in the world. The Himalayas extend from Pamir Knot in Tajikistan to the east. It is a major mountain system of the Asian continent. In India, it extends from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh.

The Himalayas is not a single mountain range. There are many parallel ranges in the system. The southernmost is known as Siwaliks. It is also the youngest range. Next to Siwaliks are Lesser Himalayas, Greater Himalayas (Himadri) and Trans Himalayan ranges from south to north. These ranges are young to old respectively.

These mountain ranges are also divided into Western Himalayas (or Kashmir Himalayas), Central Himalayas (or Kumaun Himalayas) and Eastern Himalayas (or Assam Himalayas).

Teacher's Note

The Himalayas are very tall mountains in the north of India. They are young mountains that are still growing. The Siwaliks are the smallest and youngest mountains at the bottom.

Exam Trick

Remember: YOUNG mountains = TALL mountains with lots of snow. OLD mountains = SHORT mountains without snow. The Himalayas are young, so they are very, very tall.

Points to Remember

The Himalayas stretch from Tajikistan to Arunachal Pradesh.

There are four main parallel ranges in the Himalayas.

The Siwaliks are the youngest and smallest.

The Greater Himalayas are the tallest.

There are three divisions: Western, Central, and Eastern.

North Indian Plains

This division lies between Himalaya Mountains in the north and the Peninsula in the south. Similarly, it extends from Rajasthan and Punjab in the west to Assam in the east. It is mostly a flat low lying area. The North Indian Plains are divided into two parts.

The part lying to the east of the Aravalis is the basin of the river Ganga and is therefore known as the Ganga Plains. It slopes eastward.

Most of the West Bengal State of India and Bangladesh together constitute the delta of Ganga-Brahmaputra system. It is known as Sunderbans. It is considered to be the world's largest delta. See Fig 3.3.

The western part of the North Indian Plains is occupied by desert. It is also known as Thar Desert or Marusthali. Most of Rajasthan is occupied by this desert. To the north of the desert lie the plains of Punjab. This region is spread to the west of Aravalis and Delhi ranges. These plains have formed as a result of the depositional work by river Sutlej and its tributaries. The slope of the plains is towards the west. Because the soil here is very fertile, agriculture is largely practised in this region.

Teacher's Note

The North Indian Plains are very flat and perfect for farming. The Ganga river brings water and good soil here. Farmers in Bihar and Punjab grow lots of rice and wheat in these plains.

Exam Trick

Remember: PLAINS = Flat + Fertile + Rivers. When you see plains, think of good farming, rivers, and flat land with no mountains.

Points to Remember

North Indian Plains are between the Himalayas and the Peninsula.

They extend from Punjab to Assam.

The Ganga Plains slope towards the east.

The Thar Desert is in the western part.

The soil is very fertile for farming.

The Peninsula

The area lying to the south of North Indian Plains and tapering towards the Indian Ocean is called Indian Peninsula. It consists of many plateaus and hill ranges. The Aravalis in the north are the oldest fold mountains here. It includes a series of plateaus bordering the Plains, Vindnyas and Satpuda ranges in the central part and the hilly regions of Western and Eastern Ghats.

Teacher's Note

The Peninsula looks like a triangle pointing down into the ocean. It has old mountains and plateaus. The Deccan Plateau is a big, flat area in the middle of the peninsula with some hills.

Exam Trick

Remember: PENINSULA = Triangle shape + Old mountains + Plateaus. The Western Ghats are on the left side, and the Eastern Ghats are on the right side of the peninsula.

Points to Remember

The Peninsula is shaped like a triangle.

It has many plateaus and hill ranges.

The Aravalis are the oldest mountains here.

The Western and Eastern Ghats are important hill ranges.

The Deccan Plateau is very large.

Can you tell?

On the basis of Fig 3.1, answer the following questions:

In which direction do the Aravalis lie?

Aravali ranges act as a water divide between which rivers?

Name the hills located on the plateaus to the east of Aravalis.

Across which states has the Deccan Plateau spread?

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