Page 133 - SST Class 06
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stations are situated here, like Srinagar Shimla , the Rann of Kutch to Haryana. In the west, it
Mussoorie , Nainital and Darjeeling . The beautiful extends into Pakistan. This Western Desert is
Kashmir , Kullu and Kangra valleys are located in known as the Thar Desert or Indian Desert .
this range.
The desert is about 500 kilometres long and 100-
The Shivalik range is the southernmost range of 300 kilometres wide. The land is covered with
the Himalayas. This is the lowest in height which sand-hills called sand dunes . A sand dune is a
ranges between 900 metres to 1,200 metres. It is a loose soil because there is no vegetation to hold
discontinuous range which lies on the northern the sand, so it keeps shifting from one place to
border of the Gangetic plains and extends towards another and results in sandstorms.
the east.
There is little or no vegetation in the desert due to
Quiz Time severe scarcity of rain. Some scattered bushes and
thorny shrubs grow here, such as cacti, keekar,
Fill in the blanks :
babool, prickly pears etc. Its arid and
1. The official name of India is ____________ . unfavourable climate makes this region sparsely
2. India shares its borders with a number of populated.
____________ . The Southern Peninsula
3. Sri Lanka lies in the ____________ sea. To the south of the Northern Plains lies the old
4. The Shivalik range is a ____________ range. land mass of the peninsular India. It is highland
and comprises of two distinct parts—the Malwa
5. The eastern Himalayas are known as
____________ . Plateau and the Deccan Plateau .
The Malwa Plateau comprises the northern region
The Great Northern Plains
of the peninsular India. It is bounded by the
Located to the south of the great Northern Aravalli hills in the north-west and the Vindhya
Mountain wall are the great Northern Plains. hills in the south. Both the Aravalli and the
These are the most fertile part of the world. The Vindhyas are low old mountains which form the
Northern Plains extend from the Sutlej in the west edges of this plateau. The Malwa Plateau,
to the Brahmaputra in the east and measure about especially the Chota Nagpur region is the richest
2,500 kilometres. They are made up of the silt mineral-producing area. The chief minerals found
brought by the rivers which originate in the here include iron ore, coal, manganese, mica etc.
Himalayas. This silt has made these plains very The Deccan Plateau is almost triangular in shape.
fertile. This silt is called alluvial soil . The four
important rivers which contribute in the formation It extends from the Satpura hills in the north to
Kanyakumari in the south. On its western side are
of these great Northern Plains are the Sutlej, the located the Western Ghats which are formed by
Yamuna, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. The
Ganga and the Brahmaputra join in their lower the Sahyadri, the Nilgiri, the Annamalai and the
Cardamom hills. The Western Ghats run along the
course and form the world’s largest delta, called Arabian Sea and their height increases towards the
the Sundarbans , before falling into the Bay of
Bengal. south. Anaimudi in Kerala is the highest peak in
the peninsular India with a height of 2,695 metres.
The fertile Northern Plains have resulted in high The famous hill station Udagamandalam (formerly
concentration of population. known as Ooty) is located in the Nilgiri hills.
The Western Desert The Deccan Plateau gradually slopes towards the
The Western Desert lies in the state of Rajasthan east to the Bay of Bengal. The Eastern Ghats have
and is located to the west of Northern Plains. The discontinuous hills and are called the Mahendra
Aravalli hills divide Rajasthan into two parts. The Giri.
western part is rocky and sandy. It extends from
India : Our Country
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