Q1 Complete the sentences by choosing the right option :
(a) Brazil is covered mainly by …………. .
(i) Highlands.
(ii) Plains.
(iii) Mountainous region.
(iv) Dissected hills.
(b) Like Brazil, India too has ……………. .
(i) high mountains.
(ii) ancient plateau.
(iii) west-flowing rivers.
(iv) snow-capped mountains.
(c) The Amazon Basin is mainly ………. .
(i) characterized by droughts.
(ii) filled by swamps.
(iii) covered by dense forests.
(iv) fertile.
(d) Amazon is a large river in the world.
Near its mouth ……………………………. .
(i) deltaic regions are found.
(ii) no deltas are found.
(iii) deposition of sediments occurs.
(iv) fishing is done.
(e) The Lakshadweep Islands of Arabian Sea are ……………………………………….
(i) made from the part
separated from the mainland.
(ii) coral islands.
(iii) volcanic islands.
(iv) continental islands.
(f ) To the foot hills of the Aravalis …… .
(i) lies the Bundelkhand Plateau.
(ii) lies the Mewad Plateau.
(iii) lies the Malwa Plateau.
(iv) lies the Deccan Plateau.
Q 2 Answer the following questions
(a) Differentiate between the physiography of Brazil and India.
(b) What measures are being taken to control pollution in the rivers of India?
Rivers in India are getting polluted due to the sewage and effluents being added to it and thus affecting its quality. Following measures are being taken to control pollution in the rivers in India.
(i) Treating of the sewage before draining it into the rivers.
(ii) Reducing the use of pesticides and insecticides as they drain into the water sources and pollute it.
(iii) Discharge of industrial effluents into rivers without proper treatment is now controlled.
(iv) Reusing the water for different purposes which reduces the overuse and pollution of water.
(v) Carrying out the cleaning and purification of the river water under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP).
(vi) Creating awareness in the people about the importance of rivers and harmful effects of pollution.
(vii) Setting up of Pollution Control Boards (PCB) at the state and national level to curb pollution.
(c) Explain the characteristics of the North Indian Plains.
(i) This division lies between Himalayan Mountains in the north and the Peninsula in the south.
(ii) Similarly, it extends from Rajasthan and Punjab in the west to Assam in the east.
(iii) It is mostly a flat low lying area.
(iv) 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.
(v) Most of the Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh together constitute the delta of Ganga-Brahmaputra system. It is known as the Sunderbans. It is considered to be the world’s largest delta.
(vi) The western part of the North Indian Plains is occupied by desert known as the Thar Desert or Marusthali. Most of Rajasthan is occupied by this desert.
(vii) To the north of the desert lie the plains of Punjab.
(viii) This region is spread to the west of Aravalis and Delhi ranges. These plains have formed as a result of the depositonal work by river Satluj 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.
(d) What could be the reasons behind the formation of swamps in the extensive continental location of Pantanal ?
Pantanal is one of the largest wetlands in the world, lying in the south west part of the highland areas.
It is a region of swamps and marshes in northwestern part of Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil and it extends into Argentina too.
This region is drained by the river Paraguay and its tributaries.
They collect the water from the highland areas and deposit the sediments in the low lying Pantanal region.
Pantanal is a gently sloped basin which is submerged throughout the year due to the filling of the sediments and water in the depression area of the Pantanal.
(e) Which are the major water divides of India giving examples.
A mountain or an upland which separates two drainage basins is known as a Water Divide. The major Water Divides of India are :
Satpuda ranges: The Satpudas separate the Narmada drainage basin and the Tapi drainage basin.
Vindhya ranges: It divides the drainage basin of the River Ganga and the River Narmada.
Western Ghats: The Western Ghats acts as a water divide and separates the west flowing rivers like Zuari, Mandvi, Vaitama draining into the Arabian Sea, from the east flowing rivers like the Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri draining into the Bay of Bengal.
Aravali ranges : The Aravali ranges separate the west flowing river Luni from the east flowing river Banas.
Q 3 Write notes on
(a) Amazon River basin
Amazon collects its headwaters from the eastern slopes of Andes Mountains in Peru. It receives a huge discharge, about 2 lakh m3/s . As a result, Amazon washes off the load supplied to it from the catchment. Consequently, sediments are not deposited even at the mouth. A dense network of distributaries, which is a characteristic feature of river mouth areas, is by and large absent in the mouth region of Amazon. Instead, a series of islands developed along the mouth of Amazon beyond the coastline into the Atlantic Ocean can be found. Most of the course of the Amazon river is suitable for navigation.
(b) 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 range of Himalayas is known as the Siwaliks. It is also the youngest range. Beyond the Siwaliks are Lesser Himalayas (Himachal), Greater Himalayas (Himadri) and Trans Himalayan ranges from south to north. These ranges are young to old respectively. These mountain ranges can also be divided into Western Himalayas (or Kashmir Himalayas), Central Himalayas (or Kumaun Himalayas) and Eastern Himalayas (or Assam Himalayas).
(c) The coasts of Brazil
Brazil has a coastline of about 7400 km. They are divided into two parts namely northern coast and the eastern coast . The northern coast extends from Amapa province in the north to Rio Grande Do Norte in the east. This coast can be called as North Atlantic Coast. From here, the eastern coast extends towards the south.
The northern coast is characterized by mouths of many rivers including the Amazon. Therefore, this region is a low-lying region.
On this coast lie the Marajo island, Marajo and Sao Marcos Bays.
Marajo, a large coastal island located between River Amazon and River Tocantins, lies on the northern coast.
The eastern coast receives a large number of smaller rivers. The only major river which meets the Atlantic Ocean here is Sao Francisco.
The Brazilian Coast is characterized by a large number of beaches and sand dune complexes.
The Brazilian Coast is protected in some areas by coral reefs and atoll islands.
(d) The Indian 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 west are the oldest fold mountains here.
It includes a series of plateaus bordering the Plains, Vindhyas and Satpuda ranges in the central part and the hilly regions of Western and Eastern Ghats.
(e) The Great Escarpment
An Escarpment is a long, steep slope especially one at the edge of a plateau.
Though the Great Escarpment occupies a I very small area, the nature of its slope and the effect it has on the climate makes is a separate
physiographic region.
The eastern side of the Brazilian Highland is demarcated because of the escarpment.
In this region, the altitude of the escarpment is 790 m.
In some regions, the height decreases gradually.
The escarpment is very steep particularly from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre.
The escarpment acts as a barrier to the Southeast Trade Winds giving rise to the rainshadow area in the northeast part of the highlands. The region to the north of this area is called ‘Drought Quadrilateral’.
Q4 Write geographical reasons
(a) There are no west-flowing rivers in Brazil.
Even a cursory look at the map will make one realise that there is North Atlantic and South Atlantic Ocean to the northern and eastern coasts of Brazil respectively.
The southern Brazil is occupied by an extensive plateau. The height (altitude) decreases gradually to its north. A number of rivers take off from the terminal portion of the highlands and flow northwards to meet Atlantic Ocean. The only major river Sao Francisco flows towards the north for a distance and then takes a sharp eastward turn to enter the coastal strip along the Atlantic Ocean.
Moreover, Amazon which is the longest river in Brazil, originates from the eastern slopes of Andes Mountains in Peru, flows eastward and meet North Atlantic ocean.
Likewise, Parana, Paraguay and Uruguay originate from southern slopes of the Highlands and flows through the south-western part of Brazil. Therefore, there are no west-flowing rivers in Brazil.
(b) There are dissimilarities between the eastern and western coasts of India.
The western coast borders the Arabian Sea and the eastern coast borders the Bay of Bengal.
The western coast is by and large a rocky coast. At places, spurs starting from the Western Ghats have extended right up to the coast. The eastern coast has been formed as a result of depositional work of rivers.
The width of the western coast is narrow, whereas that of the eastern coast is wide.
Short and swift rivers originating from Western Ghats form estuaries on the western coast, whereas, because of the gentle slope the east flowing rivers flowing at low speed deposit sediments and form deltas on the eastern coast.
Thus there are dissimilarities between the eastern and the western coasts of india
(c) There are fewer natural ports on the eastern coast of India
The eastern coast borders the Bay of Bengal. It has formed as a result of depositional work of rivers.
The east-flowing rivers from all parts of the country empty in the Bay of Bengal on the east coast.
Since the slope of the land is gentle, rivers flow at lower velocities and deposit the sediments brought with them at the coast.
As a result, deltas are found along this coast. It is therefore difficult for ships to reach the East coast thus indicating less likely conditions favourable for the establishment of natural ports.
(d) As compared to Amazon, pollution in river Ganga will affect human life greatly
The Amazon Basin is a sparsely populated region of Brazil.. Unfavourable climate, heavy rainfall, inaccessibility and dense forest are the barriers for development of human settlements and industrialisation here.
On the other hand, the Ganga Plain region is one of the most densely populated regions of India.
Due to flat fertile plains, availability of water, suitable climate, dense human settlements have been established in this region.
Mining activities in the Amazon Basin causes pollution in the Amazon River, whereas industrial and domestic sewage adds to the pollution of River Ganga. Thus as compared to Amazon, the pollution in River Ganga affects human life greatly, as the Ganga Plain is more densely populated as compared to the Amazon Plains.
