Chapter 1

INDIA – SIZE AND LOCATION

Location of India

 Located in the northern hemisphere between latitude 8o4' N to 37 o6'

N( distance 3214 km)

 Longitude between 68o7' E to 97 o 25’ E,(distance 2933 Km)

 Tropic of cancer 23 o 3' divides India into two nearly half parts and it passes
through 8 Indian states namely Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, West
Bengal, Jharkhand, Tripura, and Mizoram.

 The southern point of India is Indira point.

 Northern most point – Indira col

 Easternmost point – kibithu (arunachal pradesh)

 Western most point - Ghuar Mota (kutch, Gujarat)

India's Size and boundaries

 Having 2.4% of global geographical areas.

 3.28 million square km of land.

 7th largest country of the world after Russia, Canada, USA, China, Brazil,
and  Australia

 The land boundary is 15200 km

 Coastal boundaries including Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep Island

is 7516.6 km.

 The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of India is approximately 30 o.

 Indian standard time (IST) longitude 82.3o E passes through Mirzapur UP.
India and the world 

 India's landmass located in the central part between east and west Asia.

 Strategic locations to India in the Indian Ocean. That connects the countries
of Europe in the west and south-east Asia in the east.

 No other countries have a long coastline in the Indian Ocean as India has.

 India's eminent position in the Indian Ocean justified the naming after India.

 Opening of the Suez canal in 1869, India's distance from Europe is reduced
by 7,000 Km.

 India's contact with the world through land routes is much older than sea
routes. It can be proved by the following :

 India's influence on the world: the ideas of Upanishads, Ramayana,

stories of pancha tantra, numerical decimal system.

 In India, the influence of Greek sculpture, architectural stupas of

dome and mineral from West Asia can be seen in different parts of
the country.

India's details

28 states and 9 union territories.

 Union territories in western coast:

 Daman and diu

 Dadra and Nagar haveli

 Lakshwadeep

 In the eastern coast:

 Puducherry

 Andaman and Nicobar

Neighbouring countries bordering with the Indian States

 Pakistan:

 Gujarat

 Rajasthan

 Punjab

 Jammu and Kashmir.

 China:

 Ladakh

 Himachal Pradesh

 Uttarakhand

 Sikkim

 Arunachal Pradesh

 Myanmar:

 Arunachal Pradesh

 Nagaland

 Manipur

 Mizoram

 Bangladesh:

 West Bengal

 Assam

 Meghalaya

 Tripura

 Mizoram

 Nepal:

 Uttarakhand

 Uttar Pradesh

 Bihar

 West Bengal

 Sikkim
  Bhutan:

 West Bengal

 Assam

 Sikkim

 Arunachal Pradesh.

Exercises:

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.

(i) The Tropic of Cancer does not pass through

(a) Rajasthan 

(b) Odisha 
(c) Chhattisgarh

(d) Tripura

Answer. B-Odisha 

(ii) The easternmost longitude of India is

(a) 97° 25' E 

(b) 68° 7' E 

(c) 77° 6' E

(d) 82° 32' E

Answer. a-97° 25' E 

(iii) Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim have common

frontiers with

(a) China 

(b) Bhutan 
(c) Nepal

(d) Myanmar

Answer. C-Nepal

(iv) If you intend to visit Kavaratti during your summer vacations, which one of the
following Union Territories of India you will be going to

(a) Puducherry 

(b) Lakshadweep 
(c) Andaman and Nicobar

(d) Daman and Diu

Answer. b-Lakshadweep 

(v) My friend hails from a country which does not share a land boundary with

India. Identify the country.

(a) Bhutan 

(b) Tajikistan
(c) Bangladesh

(d) Nepal

Answer. b- Tajikistan

2 Answer the following questions briefly.

(i) Name the group of islands lying in the Arabian Sea.
Answer: Lakshadweep

(ii) Name the countries which are larger than India.

Answer:
The following countries are larger than India:
Russia, Canada, USA, China, Brazil, and Australia.

(iii) Which island group of India lies to its south-east?

Answer:
Andaman and Nicobar

(iv) Which island countries are our southern neighbours?

Answer.
Sri Lanka and Mauritius. 

3 The sun rises two hours earlier in Arunachal Pradesh as compared to Gujarat

in the west but the watches show the same time. How does this happen?
Answer. Because India has only one standard time and Indian standard time( IST)
longitude 82.3oE passes through Mirzapur UP.

4 The central location of India at the head of the Indian Ocean is considered of
great significance. Why?
Answer.
The following are the significance:

 India's landmass located in the central part between east and west Asia. 

 Strategic locations to India in the Indian ocean. That connects the countries
of Europe in the west and south-east Asia in the east. 

 No other countries have a long coastline in the Indian Ocean as India has
 CHAPTER-2
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF INDIA

Practically, India has all the major physical features of the earth. Such as mountain,
plains, desert, plateau, and island:-

 Peninsula plateaus made by basalt lava, igneous and metamorphic rocks. It

is one of the oldest stable landmasses in the world.

 The Himalayas are unstable and have very youthful topography with high
peaks, deep valleys, and a fast-flowing river.

 Northern plains are the latest landforms made by alluvial deposits.

Major physiographic division of India

 The Himalayas mountains

 Northern Plains

 Peninsula plateaus

 Great Indian desert

 Coastal plains

 Islands.

The Himalayas Mountains:

 Geologically: young mountain, made by granite sedimentary Rock.

 Structurally: fold mountain

It stretches from west to east as an arc from river Indus to river Brahmaputra
about 2400 km.

 Width varies from 400 km in Kashmir to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh.

 Altitude variations are greater in the Eastern half than the western half.

Latitudinal division:
  Karakoram, Ladakh, and Zaskar ranges lie north to the The Himalayas
mountains.

 The Himalayas mountains comprise of three parallel ranges, a number of

vallies lie between these ranges.

 Greater or inner Himalaya or Himandri: 

 Lies on the northern side.

 The average height is about 6000 km.

 Himachal or lesser The Himalayas or Dhauladhar range

 Siwalik.

Longitudinal division:

 Punjab The Himalayas; 

 between Indus and Sutlej river

 Kumaon The Himalayas; 

 between Sutlej and Kali river

 Nepal The Himalayas; 

 between Kali and Teesta river

 Assam The Himalayas; 

 Between Teesta and Dihang river.

 Beyond the Dihang gorge in the east, The Himalayas bend in South and
spread along the Eastern boundary between India and Myanmar known as
Purvachal or eastern hill. It is made of sandstone or sedimentary rock.

 Purvachal comprises of from north to South:

 Patkai hills

 Naga hills

 Manipur hill

 Mizo hills

Northern Plains
  It is formed by three major river systems and its tributaries that is Indus,
Ganga, and Brahmaputra.

 Spread in 2400 km long and 240 to 320 km broad areas comprising of 7

lakh square km.

 It is made by alluvial soil and having adequate water and favourable climate
support for the dense population.

 Due to gentle slope velocity of water decreased; as the result, riverine

islands are formed. For example, Majuli island in Brahmaputra river is the
largest river island in the world.

Northern plain are divided into three parts:

 Punjab plains on western parts: 

 It is made by the Indus River and its tributaries. The land between
two water bodies is called Doab.

 Ganges plains:

 It is made by the Ganges, the Ghaghra and the Teesta river, and their
tributaries.

 Brahmaputra or Assam plains

According to the variation in relief features; northern plain can be divided into
four regions:

 Bhabar:

 it is lying parallel to the southern side of the Shivalik range. It is

about 8 to 16 km narrow belt. The river disappeared in the Bhabar
belt.

 Terai:

 It is in the south of the Bhabar belt. The stream of river re-emerged

and created wet, swampy, marshy region known as Terai. It is a thick
forest region and full of wildlife. Dudhwa national park is located in
this region.

 Bhangar: 
  Older alluvial soils lying above the flood plains of the river and
present terrace-like features is called Bhangar. It is the largest part of
the northern plain. It contains calcareous deposits known as Kankar.

 Khadar:

 It is newer and younger deposits of flood plains. It is renewed almost

every year and it is fertile for intensive agriculture.

The peninsular plateau

It is a table-land composed of old crystalline, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. It is

the oldest landmasses due to the breaking and drifting of Gondwanaland. Shallow
valley and rounded hills are important features of the peninsula plateau.
Two broad division peninsula plateau:

 Central highlands

 Deccan plateau (in triangular shaped)

Central highlands:

 It is lying north of the Narmada river, coverings major areas of Malwa

plateau called central highlands.

 Vindhya and Satpura as south

 Aravali as north

 Sand and rocky desert in the west.

 River flow: Chambal, Sindh, Betwa, and Ken

 The slope from the southwest to the northeast.

 It is wider in the west and narrows in the east.

 Eastern extension of the plateau is known as Bundelkhand and

Baghelkhand.

 ChhotNagpur in eastern extensive drainage by Damodar river.

Deccan plateau:
  Lies to the south of Narmada.

 Satpura in north

 Eastern extensions are Mahadev, Kaimur hills, and maikal hills.

 Higher in west and slope gently in Eastward.

 Extension of a plateau in the northeast also known as Meghalaya's, Karbi

angling plateaus. It is separated by a fault from Chhota Nagpur plateau.
Garo, Khasi, Jaintia are important hills from west to east in this plateau.

 The unique fertile soil of volcanic origin found in the Deccan trap.

 Western ghats and eastern ghats mark the western and eastern boundaries
of the Deccan plateau.

Western Ghats:

 The average elevation is about 900 to 1600 meters.

 The highest peak is the Anaimudi 2,637 meters.

 It is a continuous range, which causes orographic rainfall.

Eastern Ghats:

 The average elevation is about 600 meters.

 Spread from Mahanadi valley in the north to Nilgiri hills in South.

 It is a discontinuous range.

 The highest peak is Mahendra Giri about 1501 meters.

 Shevroy and Javed hills are located in southeast

 Ooty or Udaga Mandalam is in the Eastern Ghats.

Great Indian desert:

 It lies towards the west to Aravali hills

 Covered with sand plains with sand dunes.

 Dunes are two types:

  Barchans dune is in Crescent shape and it is more prominent in these
regions.

 Longitudinal dune.

 Rainfalls below 15 cm or 150 mm

 Arid climate with low vegetation cover

 The stream disappears into the sand , so it does not have enough water to
reach the sea.

 Luni is only a large river in this region.

Coastal plains:

The narrow strip of coastal plains is found along with the Arabian Sea and Bay of
Bengal.
Western coastal plains:

 Narrow width divided into three parts

 Konkan ( Mumbai to Goa)

 Kannada central plains

 Malabar coast in Kerala.

Eastern plains:

 It is broader as compared to western coastal plains.

 The largest salt lake is Chilika lake located in eastern parts.

 Can be divided into 3 parts:

 Northern circle

 Coromandel coast

 Delta made by Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri

The islands
Two groups of islands.

 Lakshadweep island

 Andaman and Nico bar

Lakshadweep island: 

 Comprises of Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi.

 It is close to the Malabar coast.

 It is made by Coral.

 Kavaratti Island is the administrative headquarters of Lakshadweep.

 Pitti island is uninhabited and has a bird sanctuary.

What is Coral?

 Coral polyps are a short-lived microscopic organism, which live in colonies.

 They flourish in: shallow, mud-free, warm Water.

 They segregate calcium carbonate.

 Their skeletons form coral reefs.

Three types of a coral reef:

 Atoll

 Barrier reef

 Fringing reef

Atoll: 
In circular and horseshoe-shaped coral reef.
Barrier reef:
The great barrier reef of Australia is examples of the barrier reef.

Chapter 3
 DRAINAGE
 

Drainage means the river system of an area.

Drainage basin

An area drained by a single river system is called a drainage basin. World's largest
drainage basin is Amazon rivers.

Water divide

Any elevated areas such as mountain which separate two drainage basin. Such
uplands are known as water divides.

The drainage system in India:

The two major group of drainage system:

 The peninsular rivers

 The The Himalayas rivers

The peninsular river

The following are characteristics:

 Seasonal river: flow is dependent on rainfall.

 The shallow and shorter course

 Most are originated in western Ghats.

The The Himalayas rivers:

The following are characteristics:

 Perennial river:
  Water flows throughout the years and gets water from rain and
glaciers.

 Landform features:

 deep gorges

 Meanders

 Oxbow lake

 Flood plains

 Delta

 Intensive erosion in the upper course; carry a huge load of silt and sand.

 Indus, Brahmaputra, and Sutlej originated in the North of The Himalayas.

The Indus river system:

 Origin: near lake Mansarovar in Tibet

 Enter India through Ladakh Union territory

 In Kashmir: Zaskar, Nubra, Shyok, and Hunza join the Indus River.

 Total length: 2900 km

 1/3rd of the Indus river basin is located in India and the rest is in Pakistan.

Brahmaputra river basin:

 Origin: east of Mansarovar lake close to Sources of Indus and Sutlej.

 On Yamaha Barwa, it takes U-turn and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh.

 From Tibet, a smaller volume of water and less Silt from Tibet.

 The huge large amount of silt and water receive from India causes the river
base to rise.

 Dibang and lohit are important tributaries.

 It has different names:

 Tsang Po in Tibet.

 Dihang in Arunachal Pradesh

  The Brahmaputra in Assam

 Jamuna in Bangladesh

The Ganga  river system:

 Origin: in Gangotri, Glaciers join by Alaknanda in Devprayag, Uttrakhand.

 At Haridwar, the Ganga emerged from mountain to plains.

 The Yamuna rises Yamunotri glacier in the Himalayas.

 Ghaghra, Gandak, Kosi rises in Nepal Himalayas.

 Ganga  distributors :

 Bhagirath

 Hoogli

 Length: 2500 km.

Peninsular rivers:

Water divides of the peninsular river is western Ghats.

Two major groups of the peninsular river:

 West flowing rivers

 Narmada basin

 Tapi river

 East flowing rivers

 Godavari

 Mahanadi

 Krishna

 Kavery

West Flowing rivers

Narmada basin:

 Origin: Amarkantak hills in MP.

 Flow to west in rift valleys formed due to faulting.

 Many picturesque locations:

 Marble rocks near Jabalpur

 Dhauladhar falls

 States: Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat

Tapi basin:

 Origin: Satpura range, Betul district Mp.

 It flows parallel to the Narmada but covers a very shorter distance.

 Others west-flowing rivers:

 Sabarmati, Mahi, Periyar

East flowing rivers

Godavari basin:

 Origin: Nasik  district of Maharashtra

 Length: 1500 km

 Largest drainage basin in peninsular rivers.

 Cover: Maharashtra ( 50 %)

 MP, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh.

 Tributaries:

 Purna, wardha, pranhita, manjara, wasnganga, penganga.

The Mahanadi basin

 Origin: highlands in Chhattisgarh

  Cover: Chhattisgarh and Odisha

 Length: 860 Km.

 Drainage basin in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha

The Krishna river:

 Origin: Mahabaleshwar

 Flow: 1400 km

 Tributaries: Tungbhandra, Koyama, Ghatprabha, Bhima, and Musi

 States: Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh

Kaveri river basin:

 Origin: Brahmagir hills in Karnataka.

 Length: 760 km

 Tributaries:

 Amravati, Bhavani, Kabini, Henavati

 Waterfalls: Shiva Sundaram falls, second largest in India.

What are the uses of lakes:

The following are uses:

 Prevent flooding when heavy rainfall occurs

 Source of water in dry times

 Used for hydro power

 Moderate the climate of the surroundings

 Maintain aquatic ecology

 Natural beauty and attracts tourism

Role of rivers:
Rivers are essential for various human activities such as irrigation, navigation, and
hydropower generation
 Chapter 4
CLIMATE
 

Climate:

Climate refers to the sum of a total of weather conditions and variation over large
areas for a long period of time( more than 30 years.)

Weather:

It refers to a state of the atmospheric conditions over a geographical area at any

particular time.

Elements of climate and weather:

 Wind

 Temperature

 Humidity

 Atmospheric pressure

 Precipitation

Climatic control

Six major control of climate of any geographical area:

 Latitude

 Altitude

 Pressure and wind system

 Distance from sea or continentality

 Ocean current
  Relief

Latitude:
Due to the rotation of the earth in the tilted axis and spherical shape of the earth,
the amount of solar energy receives varies according to latitude; temperature
decrease from the equator to Poles.

Altitude;
The atmosphere becomes less dense and temperature decrease as we go higher
altitude. Hills are cooler in summer.

Pressure and wind system:

It depends on latitude and altitude and it also influences temperature and rainfalls.

Distance from the sea or continentality:

As the distance from sea increases moderating influence of sea decreases and
people feel extreme weather conditions in interior continents also known as
continentality.

Ocean current:

 Coastal along with warm ocean current does not freeze in winter and also
gets sufficient rainfall.

 Coastal along with cold ocean current are desert-like climate. Because of
cold ocean currents, most deserts are located in the western margin of the
continent in the subtropics region.

Relief:
High mountains act as a barrier for cold or hot winds and it causes Orographic
rainfall if relief is high enough.

Factor affecting India' s climate:

Latitude:
  Tropic of Cancer passes the middle of the country from Runn of Kuchchh in
the west to Mizoram in the east.

 Half of the country lying south of cancer belongs to tropical areas.

 The rest half of the country lying north of tropics of cancer belong to
subtropical areas.

 India's climate is characterized by tropic as well as subtropical climate.

Altitude:

 The Himalayas mark the northern boundary of India having an average

height of 6000 meters and it prevents cold winds from central Asia from
entering India, hence feel mild winter as compare to the same latitude in
central Asia.

Pressure and wind system:

The climate and associated weather conditions are governed by the following
atmospheric conditions:

 Pressure and surface winds

 Upper air circulation

 Western cyclonic disturbances and tropical cyclone

Western cyclonic disturbances and tropical cyclone:

India lies in the region of the north-eastern winds. These winds originate from
subtropical high-pressure belts in the northern hemisphere. They blow southward
and get deflected right due to Coriolis force. These winds carry little moisture as
they originated and blow over lands.

During winter:

High-pressure areas in the north of The Himalayas. Cold dry winds blow from this
region to this region to low-pressure areas over the ocean to the south.
During Summer:

Low-pressure areas developed over interior Asia as well as north-western India.

Because of this, a complete reversal of the direction of winds during summer. Air
moves from a high-pressure area over the southern Indian ocean and Cross the
equator and turns right (due to Coriolis force) towards low-pressure areas. This is
known as the southwest monsoon. As it blows over the warm ocean and gathers
moisture and brings huge rainfall over mainland India.

Upper air circulation:

It is dominated by the westerly flow. Important components are westerly and

easterly Jet streams.
Jet streams:

 It is located approximately 27o to 30o north latitude. Therefore also known

as subtropical westerly jet stream. It blows south of the Himalayas all the
year except in summer.

 Western cyclonic disturbances experienced in north and north-western part

of India are brought by the western subtropical Jet stream.

 In summer; with the apparent movement of the sun, the subtropical

westerly jet stream moves north of the Himalayas.

Easterly jet stream:

It is also called subtropical easterly jet stream blow over peninsular India.
Approximately over 14o N during summer.

Coriolis force or Ferrel law:

It is caused by earth rotation and is responsible for deflecting the winds towards
the right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern hemisphere.

Jet stream:

 A narrow belt of high altitude ( 12 km) winds in the troposphere.

 Wind speed: 110 km per hour in summer

 184 km per hour in winter.

  Types:

 Mid-latitude

 Subtropical jet stream

Indian monsoon

The monsoon is experienced in tropical areas roughly between 20 o N and 20o S.

The following facts are important to understand the mechanism of monsoon:

 The differential heating and cooling of land and water. During summer,
low-pressure areas are created in landmass and high-pressure areas in the
water.

 The shift of the position of the inter tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) over
Ganga in summer. Monsoon trough or equatorial trough normally position
in 5o N of the equator.

 The presence of high-pressure areas east of Madagascar; approximately 20 o

S over the Indian Ocean.

 The Tibetan plateau gets intensely heated during summer. At the result,
strong vertical air current and formation of low-pressure areas at 9 km
above the sea level.

 During summer, movement of the westerly jet stream in North of The

Himalayas and presence of tropical Easterly jet stream over the Indian
peninsula.

 SO or southern Oscillation.

ITCZ (inter tropical convergence zone)

 Generally, ITCZ lies parallel to the equator but moves north and south with
the apparent movement of the Sun.

 It has a broad trough of low pressure in an equatorial latitude where north-

east and south-east trade winds converge.

Southern Oscillation:
Normally, tropical eastern south pacific ocean experiences high pressure and
tropical eastern Indian ocean experiences low pressure. But in certain years, there
is a reversal in pressure condition, the coastal area of Peruvian has low pressure as
compared to the eastern Indian ocean. This phenomenon is known as Southern
oscillation or SO.

If the pressure in Peruvian coast > pressure in northern Australian coast  then
Below average of late monsoon.

El Nino condition: 
if cold Peruvian current replaced by the warm ocean current.

The onset of the monsoon:

Monsoon is not steady winds as trade winds.

A burst of monsoons:
Normal rainfall increases suddenly and continues constantly for several days called
a burst of monsoon.
Two Branches of monsoon:

 Southwest branches from the Arabian sea.

 the southeast branch from the Bay of Bengal.

Arabian and Bay of Bengal branches of monsoon merged over the northwestern
part of Ganga plains.

Withdrawal of monsoon:
The retreat of monsoon is a gradual process. It begins in the northwestern state of
India by Early September. By the end of December or early January, India is under
the influence of winter monsoon.

Four seasons in India:

 Winter season

 Summer season

 Rainy season or advance monsoon

 Retreating or post-monsoon season

Distribution of rainfall:

Annual rainfall is highly variable from year to year. Variability is high in the region
of low rainfall such as Rajasthan and leeward side of Western Ghats.

High rainfall areas: 

Over 400 cm of rainfall annually received on the western coast and north-eastern
India.

Moderate rainfall areas:

Northern plains and Deccan plateau

Low rainfall areas:

 Less than 60 cm rainfall annually in western Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat.

 Low rainfall in the interior of the Deccan plateau.

 Very low rainfall in Leh areas of Ladakh region.

Monsoon as a unifying bond:

 As the The Himalayas protect subcontinent from extremely cold winds from
central Asia and peninsular plateau under the influence from the sea from
three sides enable the moderate temperature.

 Despite such moderate influence, there is a great variation in temperature.

Monsoon on the other hand is a unifying features that binds the whole
country by providing water to set agricultural activities.

Chapter 5
NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
 

India is one of the 12 mega biodiverse countries in the world in plant and animal
diversity.
In-plant diversity:

 10th place in the world and 4th is in Asia with having approximately 47,000
plant species in India.

 Approx. 15000 flowering plants comprising 6 % of the world’s total number

of flowering plants.

In animal diversity:

 Approx. 90,000 animal species with a rich variety of fish in fresh as well as in
marine water.

 Natural vegetation-It refers to plant communities which are grown naturally

without the help of human and left undisturbed by human over a long
period of time. It is also known as virgin vegetation.

Types of natural vegetation:

Two types of natural vegetation:

 Endemic or indigenous

 Exotic plants

Endemic :
The plants which are purely Indian is called endemic.

Exotic plants:
The vegetation which came from outside India are termed as exotic plants.

Flora:
Flora word is used to denote plants of the particular region over the period.

Fauna:
The species of animals are referred to as fauna.

The huge diversity of flora and fauna is due to the following factors:

 Relief: land, soils

  Land:

 Different type of vegetation is found in mountain, plateau, and plain

areas.

 Fertile land is used for agriculture.

 Rough terrain is for grassland and woodland.

 Different types of vegetation are found in different soil.

 Sandy soils: cactus, thorny bushes vegetation.

 Wet, marshy, deltaic soils: Mangrove vegetation.

 Hillslope with a depth of soils:

 Conical trees.

 Climate:

 Three major deciding factors:

 Temperature

 Photoperiod ( sunlight)

 Precipitation

 Temperature:

 Based on the temperature tropical, subtropical, temperate, and

alpine vegetation are grown.

 Tropical:

 Mean temp. More than 24oc

 Mean temp. In January: more than 18o C

 Subtropical:

 17 o C to 24 o C

 10 o C to 18 o C in january

 Temperate:

 7 oC to 17oC

 -1 oC to -10 oC in january

 Alpine:
  -7 oC

 Less than -1 oC in january

 Photoperiod:

 Due to the larger duration of sunlight in the summer season, the tree
grows faster.

 Precipitation:

 Dense vegetation is grown in heavy rainfall areas.

Importance of forest:

The following are of the importance:

 Enhance the quality of the environment

 Forests modify local climate, temperature, and cause rainfall.

 Control soil erosion

 Regulate streamflow of air

 Provide a scenic view

 Provide humus to the soils

 Provide habitats to wildlife

 Support a variety of industries

 Provide fuel

 Control wind forces

 Control soil erosion.

As per 2011 India state forest report:

 Forest cover in India is 21.05 %

 Highest forest cover in %: Mizoram 90%

 Lakhswadeep 85%

 Andaman and Nicobar 81 %

 Arunachal Pradesh 80 %
  Punjab and Haryana: 5 %

Types of vegetation in our country

 Tropical evergreen forest

 Tropical Deciduous Forest

 Tropical thorny shrub forest

 Montane forest

 mangrove forest

Tropical evergreen forest:

 These forests are found in heavy rainfall areas ( more than 200 cm annual)

 Great height: 60 meter

 Since warm and wet climate all the year, hence luxurious vegetation of all
types such as a tree, shrubs, creepers. It gives a multilayer structure of
vegetation.

 Vegetation appears green all the year, as no definite time to shed their
leaves.

 Vegetation such as Ebony, Mahogany, Rosewood, Rubber.

 A common animal such as:

 Elephant, one Horned rhinoceros, monkey, lemur, deer

 Areas;

 Western Ghats

 Lakshadweep

 Andaman Nicobar

 Tamil Nadu coast

 The upper part of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, and

Nagaland.
Tropical deciduous forest:

 It is also known as the monsoon forest.

 Spread in a large part of India.

 Rainfall 200Cm to 70 cm

 Shed their leaves for about six to eight weeks in dry summer.

 It is further divided into:

 Moist tropical deciduous forest

 Dry deciduous forest

Moist tropical deciduous forest:

 Found in areas between 200 to 100 cm rainfall.

 Trees are:

 Teak, Bamboos, Sal, Shisham, Sandal Wood, Khair.

 Areas;

 Eastern part of India

 Northeastern states

 Foothills of The Himalayas

 Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh

Dry deciduous forest:

 Found in rainfall area between 100 to 70 cm

 Trees:

 Teak,
 sal,
 peepal, and
 bean

 Parts of peninsular plateau, plain areas of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The thorny forest and shrubs:

 Rainfall less than 70 cm.

 Plants:

 Acacias

 Palm

 Euphorbias

 Thorny trees and bushes

 Animals:

 Lions, rats, tigers, foxes, deer, camels, horses, wild ass, rabbits

 Trees have long roots and penetrate deep into the soil to get more
moisture.

 Leaves are small and thick to minimize evaporation.

Montane Forest:

 In mountainous areas, the decrease in temperature with increasing with

height leads to a change in vegetation.

 The succession of natural vegetation belts in the same order as we see

tropical to tundra region.

 1000 to 2000 meters: wet temperate forest, evergreen broadleaf tree such
as oaks.

 1500 to 3000 meters: Temperate forest. Coniferous trees such as pines,

deodar, silver fur, cedar. These trees mostly covered the southern slope of
the The Himalayas.

 3,600 meters or more altitude : Alpine vegetation

 Higher altitude: Mosses and lichen's form parts of tundra vegetation.

 Common animal:

 Kashmir stag, spotted deer, yak, snow leopard, wild sheep, Tibetan
antelope.

Mangrove forest:
  The mangrove forest is found in coastal areas where the least influence of
tides, Mud, and silt gets accumulated.

 Rooted plants submerged under Water.

 Sundari trees are found in Ganga Brahmaputra delta.

 Animals:

 Royal Bengal tiger, turtle, crocodile, gharial, and snakes.

 Medicinal plants:

 2000 plants described by Ayurveda.

 Sarpagandha: use to control blood sugar.

 Jamun: use to control diabetes.

 Neem: has high antibiotics and anti-bacterial properties.

 Tulsi used to cure cough and cold.

Wildlife:

India has:

 90,000 animal species

 2000 bird species which comprises 13 % of the world

 2,546 species of fish 12 % of the world total.

 India has 5 to 8 % of the world's reptiles and mammals.

 The elephants live in hot wet Forest

 One Horned rhinoceros: live in swamps and marshy lands.

 Wild ass and camels: arid (Lacking sufficient water or rainfall) areas of rann
(salt marsh- Low lying wet land that is frequently flooded with saltwater) of
Kachch, Thar desert.

 Indian Bison, deer, and several species of monkeys.

 1972 : wildlife protection act.

 India is the only country that has both a lion and a tiger.

 Gir forest in Gujarat is home to Indian lion.

  Mp, Sundarbans, and The Himalayas region are home of Tiger.

 In the The Himalayan region yak, wild ox, Tibetan antelope, snow leopard,
and red panda.

Conservation:

 Every species has a role to play in ecosystems. Hence, conservation is

needed.

 As insects help pollination of crops.

 Due to the excessive exploitation of plants and animal resources by a

human being, the ecosystems have been disturbed.

 1300 plants species endangered

 Many species are extinct and endangered.

 The major threat by:

 Hunting

 Pollution due to chemical and industrial waste and acid deposits.

 Introduction of alien species

 Reckless cutting of forest leads to habitat loss.

Conservation measures:

 18 biosphere reserve set up for flora and fauna. 10 of these included the
world network of the biosphere reserve.

 Financial and technical assistance to many botanical gardens such as Kachh,

cold desert, Seschachalam, Panna

 Project tiger, project Rhino, project great Indian Bustard (a bird).

 103 national park, 535 wildlife sanctuary, and zoological garden.

Chapter 6
 POPULATION

Importance of human:

 Human utilize resources

 Human change object to resources. As coal is just piece of rock but human
changed it into resources.

 A human develops the economy and society.

 Natural events like floods or tsunami become disasters only when they
affect human settlement.

 Resources, calamities, and disasters are meaningless without humans.

 Human number, distribution, growth, and quality provides the basic

background for understanding all aspects of the environment.

 Human beings are producers and consumers on the earth's surface.

 The population is a pivotal element in social studies.

Three major categories:

 Population size and distribution

 Population growth and process of population change

 Characteristics or qualities of the population such as age, sex composition,

literacy level, occupation structure, health condition.

Population size and distribution:

As on March 2011:

 1.21 billion population:

 17.5 % of the world population

 Unevenly distribution in 3.2 million square km that is 2.4 % of world areas.

  Uttar Pradesh has the highest population that is 199 million population
comprises 16 % of India's population.

 Sikkim: 0.6 million ( lowest in States)

 Lakshadweep has 64,429 people.

 Half of India population is in five states:

 Utter Pradesh: 16%

 Maharashtra: 9%

 Bihar:9%

 West Bengal: 8%

 Andhra Pradesh: 7%

 Rajasthan: 6%

 MP/ TN: 6%

India's population distribution by density:

 Population density provides better pictures of the unequal distribution of

population.

 Population density=number of person per unit areas.

 Only Bangladesh and Japan have a higher population density than India.

 India: 382 per sq. km population density

 Bihar: 1,102 per sq. km population density ( highest among states)

 Arunachal Pradesh: 17 per square km.

Reason for the sparse population;

 Rough terrains

 Unfavourable climate condition

Moderate population density: Assam and peninsula plateau

High population density: plain areas of northern plain and Kerala plain as they
provide fertile land and have abundant rainfall.
Population growth and process of population change:

The population is a dynamic phenomenon. The numbers, distribution, and

composition of the population are constantly changing. The following three
process changes the population;

 Birth

 Death

 Migration

Population growth:
The growth of the population refers to a change in the number of inhabitants of
the country during a specific period of time. It can be expressed in two ways:

 Absolute number

 Terms of percentage changes

India population:

 1901: 238 million

 1951: 361 million

 2011: 1210 million;6 times in 100 years

Population growth of India decreasing trends:

 1981: 2.22%

 1991: 2.16%

 2001: 1.97%

 2011: 1.64%

Decadal growth: 

 1971 - 81: 24.66%

 1981-91: 23.87%

 1991-2001: 21.54

 2001-2011: 17.64%
Growth Trend since 1901:

 1901-1921: Stagnant Population. Population even declined in 1921.

 1921-1951: Steady Growth

 1951-1981: Rapid High Growth

 1981-2001: High Growth with declining sign

Birth rate: number of live birth per thousands person in a year.

Death rate: number of death per thousands person in a year.

The major cause of population growth in India: a decline in death rate.

Migration:
It is the movement of people across regions and territories. Migration can be: 

 Internal: within a country

 External: between countries

 Internal migration: does not change the size of the population but
influences the distribution of population and composition of the
population.

A push factor is responsible for internal migration in India. Rural to urban

migration due to poverty and unemployment in rural areas.

Push factor; 
The city provides economic opportunities and better living conditions.
Due to migration and birth rate: the urban population increases:

 1951: 17.29 % urban population

 2001: 31.80 % urban population

Million plus cities increased from 35 to 53 between 2001 to 2011.

Age composition:
A person's age influence what he/she needs.
The social and economic structure determined by children, working-age, and aged
groups.

Three broad categories of age:

 Children ( below 15 years): 

 Economically unproductive and need to provided food, clothing,

education, and medical care.

 Working-age:( 15 - 59 years):

 Economically productive and biological reproductive.

 Aged( above 59 years):

 May be economically productive by voluntary work.

The percentage of children and aged effect the dependency rate.

The dependent population comprises children and the aged group.

 As of now, children (34.4%) and aged( 6.9%) are dependent population and
58.7% are working-age populations.

Sex ratio:
It defined as the number of females per 1000 males.

 1951: 946

 2001: 933

 2011: 943

As in 2011, sex ratio in:

 Kerala: 1084

 Puducherry: 1038

 Delhi: 866

 Haryana: 877

Literacy rate:
A person above 7 years of age who can read and write with any language is called
literate.
The literacy rate is an important quality of the population. As only informed,
educated citizens can make intelligent choices and research and development
activities. The low literacy rate is a serious obstacle to economic growth. 
As in 2011, the literacy rate of India:

 73% overall, 80.9 % males, 64.6 % females

Occupation structure:
The distribution of the population according to different types of occupation is
called occupation structure.
Occupation is:

 Primary activities:

  agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, fishery, and mining.

 Secondary activities: 

 Manufacturing, industry, building construction.

 Tertiary activities; 

 transport, communication, commerce, and administration.

In developed countries, a higher percentage of the population involved in

secondary and tertiary activities.
Developing countries-a higher proportion of the population involved in primary
activities.
In India: 

 64% population is engaged only in agricultural activities.

 13 % in secondary activities

 20 % in tertiary activities.

The health of the population affects the process of development. The following
data show the health condition of india.:

 1951: 25/1000

 2011: 7.2/1000

 Life expectancy: 1951: 36.7 years

 2012: 67.9 years.

Health improvement from:

 Public health
  Percentage of infection disease

 Prevention of disease

 Modern medical facilities

Per capita calorie consumption is much below the recommended level is called
malnutrition.
Only 2/3rd of the population get safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

Adolescent population: 

 Age group 10 to 19 years.

 These are the most important resources of the future generation.

 It is composed of 20% of the Indian population.

 Nutrition requirements of the adolescent are higher than adults and

children.

 Poor nutrients lead to deficiency and stunting.

 The girl suffers from Anemia.

National population policies:

Planning of families would improve individual health and welfare.

1952: comprehensive family planning program:

 Family welfare program

 Promote responsible and planned parenthood on a voluntary basis.

2000:  national population policy (NPP)

 Free and compulsory school education up to 14 years of age.

 Reduction of infant mortality rate below 30 / 1000 live birth.

 Achieving universal immunization of children against all disease

 Promoting delay marriage for girls.

 Making family welfare a people central program.

 NPP 2000 identified adolescent as one of the major section of the
population that needs greater attention in the:

 sexually transmitted disease

 Nutrition requirements

 Unwanted pregnancy

 Education of adolescent about the risk of unprotected sex

 Making contraceptive services accessible and affordable

 Provide food supplement and nutrition services

 Strengthen legal measures to prevent child marriage.

 People are the nation's most valuable resources, well educated and healthy
population provides potential Power.