Chapter 4.

Major Landforms

QA. Fill in the blanks:

1. A group or chain of mountains is called a mountain range.

2. Oases are small areas in deserts where water is found.
3. A large area of sand that receives little or no rainfall is called a Desert.
4. Plains are formed by the deposition of silt and sand by rivers.
5. Deserts are usually found on the western side of continents.

QB. State whether these statement are true or false:

1. The Himalayas are very old mountains.(False)

2. Plateaus are highlands with a flat top.(True)
3. Plains from a natural barrier against cold and hot winds.(False)
4. During the second stage of a river, it forms a delta and flows into the sea.(False)
5. The Sahara Desert is located in Africa.(True)

QC. Answer these question?

1> What is a mountain? List the important features of mountains.

Ans- Mountains are landforms that rise above the area around them. They are very
high. Mountains usually have steep and sloping sides the top of a mountains is called its
peak.

The important features of mountains are:

i. The peaks of the mountains remain covered with snow for most of the

year. Ii. Mountains form a natural barrier against cold and hot winds.

iii. Mountains are the source of many rivers and a rich source of minerals.

Iv. The regions around mountains develop into important tourist spots.
2. List any two features of plateau.

Ans: Two features of plateau are following:

i. The vegetation in plateaus differs from region to region. Low plateaus are often suitable
for agriculture, while high plateaus are usually suitable for cattle and sheep rearing.

ii. Some plateaus are extremely large and cover hundreds of kilometers.For example,The Deccan
plateau in India is a large which extends over eight states.

3. How are plains formed?

Ans: Plains are formed by river that rise in the mountains and flow down. In the process, rivers
carry sand and silt along and deposit them on riverbanks. Over a period of time, Plains are formed
by these deposits.

4. Write a note on the features of a desert.

Ans: Desert experience an extreme climate. The days are very hot and nights are cold .The vegetation
in desert is less as there is very little or no rainfall. Desert plants include cacti and date palms. oases
are areas in desert where water is found . Date palms grow around an oasis. sand dunes are small hills
of sand found in the desert.

5. what is a delta?

Ans: An area of land where a river spilts into smaller rivers before entering the sea is called Delta.

6. Describe the three stages of a river.

Ans: The first stage of the river is its upper stage. In this stage, the river flows rapidly down
the mountain slopes and cuts through the mountain forming valleys, waterfalls, rapids and
canyons.

The second stage begins as it enters the plains. Here, it widens as it is joined by its tributaries
.it deposits silt on its sides making the land fertile

The third stage of the river is also known as the old stage. The movement of the river becomes very
slow. Just before entering the sea, it branches out into many small streams called distributaries,
forming a delta.