Geography - World and India - 1st - Chapter

General Intelligence and Logical Reasoning
Chapter – 2
GEOGRAPHY (WORLD AND INDIA)

2.1 Universe and Solar System
2.1.1 Universe
➢ All the heavenly bodies like stars, planets, satellites, asteroids, meteors, comets are
called Celestial Bodies. These Celestial bodies together with everything that exists
from the tiniest sub-atomic particle to the largest structure is known as Universe.
➢ The science of studying these heavenly bodies is known as Astronomy and the
study of universe, its origin and nature is known as Cosmology. The origin of the
universe has been explained by Big Bang-Theory.
2.1.2 Galaxy
➢ In universe there are billions of Galaxies and in Galaxies there are millions of Stars.
Our Sun is only one star in the Galaxy which is so huge.
➢ Galaxies are mainly found in three shapes i.e. Spiral, Elliptical and Irregular.
➢ Our solar system is a part of Milky Way Galaxy which is spiral in shape. In India,
it is known as Aakash Ganga.
2.1.3 Stars and Constellations
➢ The Indian name for Constellation is ‘Nakshatras’. They are a group of stars that
forms a particular shape in the sky. E.g. Orion belt.
➢ The International Astronomical Union recognizes 88 Constellations covering the
entire Northern and Southern Sky.
➢ A Star is shining body in the sky which has light of its own as it is made up of hot
and burning gases. It’s colour indicates the temperature of its surface, blue
indicating the maximum temperature.
➢ The brightest star outside solar system is Sirius (Dog star) and the closest star to our
solar system is Proxima Centuari.
Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 1

2.1.4 The Solar System
➢ The solar system is the gravitationally bound system comprising the Sun and the
objects that orbit it.
➢ The objects which orbit Sun are eight major planets, one dwarf planet, satellites,
asteroids, meteors and comets etc.
➢ The planets haven been divided into inner outer planets. Inner planets are Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars and outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
➢ The Sun is about 150 million km away from the Earth and its light takes about 8.3
minutes to reach the Earth.
Specifics of the Planets
Biggest Planet Jupiter
Smallest Planet Mercury
Blue Planet Earth
Green Planet Uranus
Brightest Planet Venus
Coldest Planet Neptune
Hottest Planet Venus
Densest Planet Earth
Red Planet Mars
Earth’s Twin Venus
Farthest Planet Neptune
Slowest Rotation Venus
Slowest Revolution Neptune
Fastest Rotation Jupiter
Fastest Revolution Mercury
Evening Star Venus
Biggest Satellite Ganymede

Smallest Satellite Photos

2.1.5 The Earth
➢ The Earth is the only planet in our solar system where life exists.
➢ It is the third nearest planet to the Sun and it ranks fifth in size in our solar system.
Earth is almost identical to Venus. Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth.
➢ The only satellite with an atmos-sphere like Earth is Titan.
➢ The shape of the Earth is geoid and Geodesy is a branch of science that deals with
measuring the Earth’s size and shape.
➢ As a celestial body, Earth like other bodies have different spatial motions. They are
rotation, revolution, tiltation of axis etc.
➢ Earth rotates on its own axis from West to East once in every 24 hours and causes
day and night.
➢ With respect to the Stars the Earth completes one rotation on its axis in 23 hours 56
minutes and 4.9 seconds.
➢ Earth revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit once in every 3651/4 days and
is responsible for experience of seasons on Earth.
➢ The rotational axis of the Earth is tilted and the angles of tilt is about 23.5° with
respect to the normal to the plane of the ecliptic and give rise to varying lengths of
day and night.
21st March Spring Equinox

21st June Summer Solstice
23rd September Autumn Equinox
nd
22 December Winter Solstice
2.2 Earth’s Position with Respect to Sun and Moon
2.2.1 With Respect to Sun
➢ Perihelion is the position of Earth in its orbit when it is nearest to the Sun. It
happens on 3rd January and the distance is 147 million kilometer.
➢ Aphelion is the position of Earth in its orbit when it is at farthest distance from Sun.
It happens on 4th July and the distance is 152 million kilometers.

2.2.2 With Respect to Moon
➢ Apogee is the position of Moon when it is at farthest distance from Earth. It is

417x1000 km.
➢ Perigee is the position of Moon, when it is at nearest distance from Earth.
2.2.3 Eclipses
➢ The total or partial covering by shadow of one celestial body by another. There are
two majorly studied types of eclipses and they are Solar eclipse and Lunar eclipse.
➢ Lunar Eclipse It is the situation when the Earth comes in between Sun and Moon.
It occurs only on a full Moon day.
➢ Solar Eclipse It is the situation when the Moon comes in between Sun and Earth.
As we know the shadow of Moon is not as big as that of Earth because of its larger
size lunar eclipses are more common than solar eclipses. It occurs only on a new
Moon day.
➢ Blue Moon The second full moon in one calendar month is called a ‘Blue Moon’,
and this occurs approximately every 3 years.
2.2.4 Latitudes and Longitudes
➢ Latitudes and longitudes are imaginary lines drawn on the Globe to easily locate
places on the Earth.
➢ Latitudes are horizontal lines drawn on Globe and as the distance between them
remains same they are also called parallels of latitudes.
➢ All the latitudes are measured with respect to equator. Equator is an imaginary circle
around the Earth equidistant from the North and South poles, dividing the Earth into
Northern and Southern hemisphere.
➢ Most important latitudes are Equator (0), the Tropic of Cancer (231/2°N). Tropic
of Capricorn (231/2° S), the Arctic circle (661/2° N) and the Antarctic circle (661/2°
s).
➢ Most important longitudes are Prime Meridian (0°) and International Date Line
(180°) E or W).
➢ There are 360 longitudes and 180 latitudes. Each degree of latitude equals 111 km.

2.2.5 International Date Line
➢ International Date Line is 180° E or W Meridian, just opposite Prime Meridian (0°)
where the date changes exactly by one day when it is crossed.
➢ If you cross the date line moving East, you subtract a day whereas if you are moving
west you add a day.
➢ Japan is called the “Land of the rising Sun” because it is the Eastern most country
in the world and see the earliest Sunrise.
2.2.6 Standard Time and Time Zones
➢ Taking 0° longitude or Greenwich meridian as standard time zone, the whole world
is divided into 24 standard time zone, each differs from the next by 15° in longitude
or 1 hour time.
➢ The Indian Government has accepted the meridian of 82.5° E for Indian Standard
Time, which is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time.
2.2.7 Earth’s Interior
➢ Interior of Earth is divided into three main layers. The outermost layer is crust, then
comes mantle and the innermost layer of the Earth is called Core composed of Sial
(Silica & Aluminium), Sima (Silica & Magnesium ) and Nife (Nickel and Iron )
respectively.
➢ The thickness of crust is 8 to 40 km, mantle is 40 to 2900 km and that of core is
2900 km to 6370 km.
➢ The temperature and pressure increases as we go deep down inside Earth.
2.2.8 Composition of Earth’s Crust
➢ There are eight major elements found in the Earth’s crust. They are oxygen silicon,
aluminium, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium.
➢ Oxygen is the most abundant material having 46% share and magnesium (1.5%) is
the least found material.

2.2.9 Rocks
➢ Rock is usually defined as mixture of two or more minerals. The scientific study of
rocks is called petrology. On the basis of the mode or origin, rocks are of three types
.
✓ Igneous Rocks are also called primary rocks as they are formed due to the
cooling. Solidification and crystallization of hot and molten magma, e.g.
Granite When granite rocks get metamorphased, they form gneiss.
✓ Sedimentary Rocks are rocks formed on the surface of the Earth due to the
erosion and deposition of rock particles of igneous and metamorphic rocks into
layers. E.g. Shale, Limestone and Sandstone etc.
✓ Metamorphic Rocks are rocks which changes either in form or composition of
extreme pressure and heat. E.g. Marble, Slate etc.
2.2.10 Atmosphere of Earth
➢ Due to its gravity the Earth has its own atmosphere.

➢ Atmosphere is an envelope of gases surrounding the Earth or any planet in the
universe and Earth is the only planet in the solar system with an atmosphere that
can sustain life.
➢ It regulates temperature on Earth by preventing the Earth from becoming too hot or
too cold.
➢ Atmosphere is composed of gases, vapours and particulates and the major
constituents of air in the atmosphere are Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%), Argon
(0.93%) and Carbon-dioxide (0.3%).
2.2.11 Structure of Atmosphere
➢ Atmosphere of Earth has different layers varying from one another with respect to
density and temperature. There are five distinct layers of atmosphere.
➢ They are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere and exosphere.

Layer Description
Contains more than 90% of the atmosphere. As height increases
Troposphere
temperature decreases (about 6.5 C\km ascent)
Contains ozone layer. Temperature increases due to the absorption of

Stratosphere UV rays by ozone.
The decrease in temperature with increasing altitude is totally absent.
This is the coldest layer as the temperature falls as low as 90° C to-
Mesosphere 100° C. The decreases in temperature with increasing altitude is totally
absent.
Because of presence of ions, this layer is used for communication
Ionosphere purposes.
Temperature again starts increasing in the layer.
The outer space is merged with atmosphere here. The temperature of
Exosphere
this layer ranges from 300°C to 1650°C.
2.3 Earth’s Movement

2.3.1 Forces and Processes Affecting the Earth’s Crust
➢ The changes in the appearance of the Earth surface are because of Endogenic forces
(forces inside Earth like volcanoes, earthquake, landslides) and Exogamic forces
(forces affecting from outside like weathering, erosion, deposition).
➢ Earthquakes and volcanoes are result of endogenic or inside processes of Earth.
2.3.2 Earthquakes
➢ Earth + quake; where quake means shaking therefore earthquake in simple words
is shaking of Earth.
➢ The surface of Earth is made up of tectonic plates, the endogenic forces inside Earth
results in movement of these plates and movement of these plates results in shaking
of Earth’s surface known as Earthquake.

➢ The point inside Earth where earthquake originates is called focus and the point on
the surface vertically above it is known as epicenter.
➢ The magnitude of waves is measured by Richter Scale, the number on this scale is
from 0 to 9.
➢ The intensity of earthquake is measured by Mercalli Intensity Scale and the branch
of geology that deals with the study of earthquake is Seismology. Earthquake waves
are basically of two types i.e. body waves (Primary and Secondary waves) and
surface waves.
2.3.3 Volcanoes
➢ A volcano is an opening or vent on Earth surface that allow magma (molten rock)
from beneath the crust to reach the surface. The whole process of eruption is called
volcanism.
➢ This molten rock is called magma when it is beneath the surface and lava when it
erupts or flow from a volcano. Along with lava, volcanoes also release gases, ash,
water vapour, dust etc.
➢ On the basis of periodicity of eruption volcanoes are of three types active volcanoes,
dormant volcanoes and extinct volcanoes.
➢ About 68% of volcanoes occur in Pacific Ring of Fire and other major region is mid
Atlantic ridge, where 18-21% volcanoes occur.
2.4 Land Forms

❖ A landform is a recognizable, naturally formed feature on the Earth’s surface. E.g.
Mountains, Plateaus, Deserts, Grasslands etc.
❖ Seventy percent of the Earth surface is covered by ocean and remaining 30% is
made up of seven continental landmasses.
2.4.1 Continents
➢ A continent is “A large, continuous area of land on Earth”. There are seven

continents on Earth and they are Asia, Africa, North America, South America,
Antarctica, Europe, Australia /Oceania.

Continents Description
• Area & Population: Largest in terms of area and population.

Asia • Highest Peak: Mt. Everest (8848 m).
• Geographical Facts: Separated from Europe by Ural mountains
• Area: Second Largest continent
• Highest Peak: Kilimanjaro (5895 m).
• Largest Desert of the world is located here-Sahara.
Africa • Geographical Facts: Africa belongs to all four hemispheres and is the
only continent through which Tropic of Cancer, Equator and Tropic of
Capricorn passes.
• It is also called Dark Continent.
• Area: Third largest continent.
North • Highest Peak: Mckinley (6194 m).
America • Geographical Facts: Canada has the longest coastline in the world.
49th parallel forms boundary between Canada and USA
• Area: Fourth largest continent.
• Highest Peak: Aconagua (6960 m) and also has Andes they are the
longest mountain range of world.
South • Geographical Facts: It has Atacama desert, which is the driest place of
America Earth. It also contains world's highest waterfall, the Angel falls.
• Contopaxi in Ecuador has one of the highest active volcanes in world is
located in South America.
• Also has largest rainforest they are Amazon rainforest.
• Area: Fifth largest continent.
• Highest Peak: Mt. Elbrus (5642 m).
• Smallest Country of the world: Vatican city both in terms of Area and
Europe
Population is located here.
• Geographical Facts: Balkan States, Baltic States and Scandinavian
Countries are located in Europe.
• Area: Smallest continent of world.
Australia
• Highest Peak: Mt. Kosciusko (2228 m).

• Largest Coral Reef of World: Great Barrier reef is located in Australia.
• Geographical Facts: It is known as Forgotten land.
• Geographical Facts: It was discovered in 1820. It is known as

Antartica
Continent for science and white continent.
2.4.2 Mountains
➢ An uplifted surface above sea level at certain hieght is called a mountain.

➢ Based on their mode of formation four main types of mountain are
✓ Fold Mountains
✓ Block Mountains
✓ Volcanic Mountains
✓ Relict Mountains
Major Mountain Ranges
Range Location Length (KM) Highest Peak (m)

Andes South America 7200 Aconcagua (7,439)
Himalayan Asia 2400 Mount Everest (8,848)
Rockies North America 4800 Mount Elbert (4,401)
Great Dividing Mount Kosciuszko
East Australia 3500
Range (2288)
Atlas North-West Africa 2500 Toubkal (4167)
Alps Europe 1100 Mount Blanc (4,810)
Mount Narodonaya
Urals Asia/Europe 2500
(1895)
Trans Antatctic Mount Kirkpatrick
Antatctica 3500
Range (4,528)
Caucasus Europe/Asia 1100 Mount Elbrus (5,642)
Tien Shan Asia 1300 Jengish Chokusu (7439)

2.4.3 Plateaus
➢ Tabular upland having relief of more than 500 feet may be defined as plateau.
Major Plateaus
Plateau Location Height (m) Description
1. Kukenan Tepul Venezuela 2,680 It is the source of Kukenan river
It is part of the popular Conyonland’s

2. Island in the sky USA
National park.
3. Bogota Plateau Columbia 2,600
NW USA
4. Columbian Plateau (North- It was built up by Lava.
West)
South It is also known as Raraima Tepul or
5. Monte Roraima
America Cerro Roraima.
South Lake Titicaca is the plateau’s best known

6. Altiplano Plateau
America geographical features.
Tibet It is the largest and highest plateau in the

7. Tibetan Plateau 4,500
(Asia) world and called ’root of the world’.
It is sometimes referred to as the Polar
8. Antarctic Plateau Antarctica 3,000
plateau.
It is the largest plateau in North
9. Colorado Plateau USA
American continent.
A flat-topped mountain forming a
South
10. Table Mountain promient landmark overlooking the city
Africa
of Cape town.
Angel fails drops from a cleft near the
11. Auyantepui Venezuela 2,535
summit.
12. Deccan Plateau India Largest volcanic feature on Earth.
South Minerals like iron, gold, lead, zinc, silver

13. Kimberley Plateau
Africa and diamond are found here.
14. Katanga Plateau Congo Famous for copper production.

It is called as ‘mineral store’. World’s
15. Mexican Plateau Mexico biggest silver mine Chihuhua is situation
in the plateau.

2.4.4 Deserts
➢ A desert is characterized as an area whose landscape receives a significantly small

amount of rainfall throughout the year.
➢ Deserts can be of two types: Cold deserts and Hot deserts.
Major Deserts of the world are
Desert Area (Sq. Miles) Description
The entire Antarctica is a cold desert with an

Antarctica 5,500,000
annual precipitation of 200 mm.
Arctic 5,400,000 Second largest desert globally.
Africa, it is third largest desert overall and

Sahara 3,500,000
largest hot desert.
Arabian Desert 9,00,000 Located in far Western Asia.
Gopi Desert 5,00,000 It is termed as ‘rain shadow desert’.
Kalahari Desert 3,60,000 Southern Africa
Great Victoria
2,20,000 Australia
Desert
Patagonian Desert 2,00,000 Largest desert in South America.
Syrian Desert 2,00,000 North of the Arabian Peninsula in Syria.
Great Basin Desert 1,90,000 Largest desert in USA

2.4.5 Grasslands
➢ They are normally found between forest and deserts and are plane stretches of land
covered with grass.
➢ In the grasslands, trees do not replace the grasses as a part of ecological succession
because of water limits and fire.
➢ They are known by different names in different regions as
Grassland Area
1. Downs Australia
2. Prairies North America
3. Pampas South America
4. Steppes Central Eurasia
5. Savannas Africa
6. Velds South Africa
2.4.6 Hydrosphere
➢ The water component of the Earth is called hydrosphere which covers about 70%
of the surface of Earth.
➢ It includes oceans, ice caps, glaciers, ground water, lakes, soil moisture, streams
and rivers.
Water on Earth’s Surface
Water Body % of Total
Oceans 97.25%
Ice Caps and Glaciers 2.05%
Ground Water 0.68%
Lakes 0.01%
Soil Moisture 0.005%
Atmosphere 0.001%
Streams and Rivers 0.0001%
Biosphere 0.0004%

2.4.7 Oceans
➢ An ocean is a body of Saline water that comprises about 70% of the Earth’s surface.
Geographers divide the oceans into four major sections as Pacific ocean, Atlantic
ocean, Indian ocean and Arctic ocean
➢ The Southern ocean is the ‘newest’ named ocean officially created in 2000. It is the
ocean around Antarctic.
Oceans Important Information
• Largest and deepest ocean
• World’s deepest trench Mariana Trench is
1. Pacific
in Pacific ocean.
• Ocean with most trenches and coral reefs.
• It has the longest coastline.
• Busiest ocean for trade and commerce.
2. Atlantic
• It is ‘S’ shaped and second largest ocean.
• Puerto Rico Trench is the deepest point.
• It is only ocean named after a country.
• Second deepest ocean.
3. Indian
• Sunda Trench is the deepest point.
• The smallest island country is Maldives
• Smallest ocean
• Least Saline and Shallowest ocean.
4. Arctic
• Nansei Trench is the deepest point.

Seas of the World
Area (Sq. Max. Depth

Name Important Islands
km) (m)
Socotra, Lakshadweep, Masirah,
Arabian Sea 3,862,000 4652
Astola Island.
Caspian Sea 3,71,000 1025 Bulla island, Piralhi island, Nargin
Greater Antilles and Lesser

Caribbean Sea 2,754,000 7686
Antilles
Gulf of Mexico 1,550,000 4384 Arrecife Alcaranes
Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, Ibiza,
Mediterranean Sea 2,510,000 5267
Balearic, Crete.
Bahrain, Qeshm, Bubiyan, Kish,
Persian Gulf 2,51,000 90
Dalma
South China Sea 3,500,000 5016 Spartly, Paracel, Pratas, Riau
Sakhalin, Rishiri, Rebun,

Sea of Japan 9,77,980 3742 Okushiri, Teuri, Koima, Russky,
Sado, Ulleunz Tsushima
Major rivers of the world
Length
River Source Mouth Place
(approx.) Km
Nile 6690 Lake Victoria Mediterranean Sea Africa
Glacier-fed North
Amazon 6296 Atlantic Ocean
Lakes America
Central
Mississippi-Missouri 590 Red Rock Gulf of Mexico
America
Change Jang (Yanyze) 597 Tibetan Plateau China Sea Asia

Altai
Ob 556 Gulf of Ob Russia
Mountains
Eastern part of
Huang Ho (Yellow) 4667 Kunlan Gulf of Chihli Asia
Mountains
Confluence of
Zaire 4371 Lualab and Atlantic Ocean Africa
Luapula rivers
Niger 4184 Guinea Gulf of Guinea Africa
Volga 3687 Valdai Plateau Caspian Sea Russia
Brahmaputra 2897 Himalayas Ganges River Asia
Indus 2880 Himalayas Arabian Sea Asia
Black Forest,
Danube 2842 Black Sea Europe
Germany
Confluence of
Murat Nehri
Euphrates 2799 Shatt-at-Arab Asia
and Kara Su
rivers, Turkey
Ganges 2525 Himalayas Bay of Bengal Asia
Grand Country, North

Colorado 2348 Misissippl River
Pennsylvania America

2.4.8 Major Lakes
➢ Important lakes of the world are Caspian Sea, Dead Sea, lake Baikal, lake
Tanganyika, lake Victoria, lake Superior, Great lakes, Aral sea, African Great etc.
➢ Lake Baikal is the deepest lake (1637m) in the world located in Siberia, Russia.
➢ Lake Tanganyika is the longest lake (660 Km) and second deepest lake.
➢ The highest large lake in world is Pumoyong Tso in Tibet autonomous region of
China (5080 m. above sea level).
➢ The world’s highest commercially navigable lake is Lake Titicaca in Peru and
Bolivia border at 3812 m. It is also the largest lake in South America. World’s lowest
lake is Dead Sea at 418 m below sea level.
2.4.9 Major Lakes and their Continents
Major Lakes Continents
Lake Eyre Australia

Lake Victoria Africa
Lake Vostok Antarctica
Lake Baikal Asia
Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega Europe
Lake Superior North America

Lake Titicaca South America
Major Canals of the World
Canal Connects
Panama Pacific ocean with Caribbean Sea
Suez Mediterranean Sea to Red Sea
Erie Atlantic Ocean to Great Lakes
Kiel North Sea to Baltic Sea

2.4.10 Important Straits of the World
➢ Strait is a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or two other large areas of
water.
Straits Water bodies that are connected

Bering Strait Arctic ocean and Bering Sea
Gibraltar Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean
Palk Strait Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean
Malacca Strait Ava Sea and Bay of Bengal
Bab-al-Mandeb Red sea and Arabian Sea
Florida Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean
Megellan South Pacific and South Atlantic Ocean
Dover North Sea and Atlantic Sea
Major Waterfalls
Waterfall Location
Angel Fall Venezuela
Tugela Fall South Africa
Catarates Las Tres
Peru
Hermanas
‘Olu’ upena falls USA
Catarata Yumbilla Peru
Important International Boundary Lines
Name Related Countries Description

Demarcated by Henry MC
Mc Mahon Line China and India
Mohan
Redcliffe Line India-Pakistan Drawn by Sir Redcliffe in 194
Drawn by Sir Mortimer
Durand Line Afghanistan and Pakistan
Durand in 1893

Germans retreated in 1917
Hindenburg Line Germany-Poland
during World War
Drawn after the Second
Oder Neisse Line East Germany-Poland
World War
France drew this line as
Maginot Line Germany-France
protection from Germany.
38th Parallel line North Korea-South Korea Divided Korea into two parts
Divided America and Canada
49th Parallel line USA Canada
into two parts
Boundary line between India
24th Parallel line India-Myanmar
and Myanmar
Defined the boundary before
17th Parallel line North-South Vietnam
their Unification
2.5 Winds and Ocean Current

2.5.1 Global Winds
➢ The Beau fort wind force scale is used to measure wind velocity.
➢ The winds blowing almost in the same direction throughout the year are called
Planetary winds.
➢ The pressure difference is the major cause of the generation of the winds system.
The air moves from high pressure to low pressure.
➢ The slope of pressure from high to low is called as pressure gradient.
➢ Winds are named by the direction from which they blow like Easterlies, Westerlies
etc.
➢ The Globe is enriched by six major wind belts, three in each hemisphere.
➢ From Pole to equator, they are the Polar Easterlies, the Westerlies and the Trade
winds.
➢ Each belt occupies about 30 degrees of latitude, i.e. 0° to 30° Trade wind, 30° to
60° are Westerlies and 60° to 90° are Polar Easterlies in both the hemispheres
respectively.

2.5.2 Seasonal Winds
➢ The winds, which change their direction of blowing with the changing seasons, are
called seasonal winds.
➢ There are three main seasonal winds and they are monsoon winds, land and sea
breezes, mountain and valley breezes.
2.5.3 Local Winds
➢ The winds which blow in a small region are called local winds. Some of the local
winds are
Wind Area of Flow

1. Chinook Rockies
2. Foehn Alps
3. Sirocco Sahara
4. Norwester New Zealand
5. Loo Northern India and Pakistan
6. Mistral Spain
7. Blizzard Polar region of Canada and USA
8. Yoma Japan
9. Simoon Arabian Desert
10. Papagayo Mexico
2.5.4 Ocean Currents
➢ Currents are the movements of oceanic water in a fairly defined direction under the
influence of various forces.
➢ Ocean currents circulate in clockwise direction in Northern hemisphere and in anti-
clockwise direction in Southern hemisphere.
➢ Ocean currents are of two types warm currents and cold currents.
➢ Currents in Pacific ocean are North Equatorial current, Kuroshio current, Alaska
current, Oyashio current, Kuril current, California current and West wind drift, East
Australian current, South Equatorial current, Peruvian.

➢ Currents in Atlantic ocean are Florida current, Gulf Stream, North Atlantic drift,
Labrador current, Canaries current, Benguela current, Guinea current and
Equatorial current.
➢ Currents in Indian ocean are Mozambique current. Agulhas current, Equatorial
current, West wind drift, N.E. Monsoon Drift, S.W. Monsoon Drift Somalia current.
2.5.5 Tides
➢ Tides are the rise and fall of sea level caused by the combined effects of the
gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of Earth.
➢ There are two main types of Tides: Spring tides and Neap tides.
✓ Spring tides are the highest amplitude tides which occur twice every month
at New Moon and Full Moon day.
✓ Neap tides are the lower magnitude tides produced in first and third quarter
of the month.
2.5.6 Cyclones
➢ A cyclone is a large scale air mass that rotates around a strong center of low
atmospheric pressure.
➢ They rotate anti-clockwise in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise direction in
the Southern hemisphere.
➢ Cyclones are mainly of two types: Tropical cyclone and Temperature cyclone.
➢ They are named differently in different parts of the world like.
Name Area
North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico,

1. Hurricanes
Eastern North Pacific off the West Coast of Mexico
2. Typhoon Western Pacific and Eastern Asia

3. Cyclone Indian Ocean
4. Willy Willy Australia
5. Baguio China Sea

2.6 India Size and Location
❖ India is the 7th largest country with 2.42% area of world and also the second most
populous country with 17.4% of world population.
❖ India is located in North-Eastern hemisphere, the main land extending between
latitudes 8°4’ N and 37°6’ N and longitudes 68°7’ E and 97°25’ E.
❖ Tropic of Cancer (23°30’ N) divides the country into almost two equal parts and
passes through 8 states namely Gujarat, Rajasthan, M.P., Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,
West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.
❖ Southernmost point of India is Indira point or Pygmalion point and southernmost
point of mainland is Kanyakumari, Northernmost point is Indira Col, Easternmost
is Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh and Western most point is West of Ghaur Mota in
Gujarat.
❖ India’s Land Boundary is about 15,200 km and total coastline including islands is
7516.6 km. Northern-South and East-West extent of India is 3214 km and 2933 km
respectively.
❖ 82°30’ E is considered as Indian Standard Meridian for IST which is 5 hours 30
minutes ahead of GMT and passes through 5 Indian States: UP MP, Chhattisgarh,
Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
❖ India shares its borders with countries, sharing longest boundary with Bangladesh
(4096.km) followed by China (3488 km), Pakistan (3323 km), Nepal (1751 km) and
Afghanistan (106 km.).
❖ Five Indian states (Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim) share their
boundary with Nepal.
❖ Southern neighbors of India across sea are Sri Lanka and Maldives.
❖ India is separated from Sri Lanka by the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar.
❖ India’s political division has 29 States and Union Territories.
❖ Gujarat has the longest coastline.
❖ Goa is the smallest state in terms of area.
❖ In the North-West, India shares its land boundaries with Pakistan.
❖ The Ten degree (10°) channel is a channel that separate.
❖ The Andaman and the Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal and 9° channel
separates Lakshadweep and minicoy islands.

2.8 Physical Features of India (Physiography)
❖ The land of India is characterized by great diversity in its Physical features.
Physiography is a description of the features and phenomena of nature. Based on
micro variations, India can be divided into six physiographic divisions: The
Northern and N.E. mountains, Northern plains, peninsular plateau, Indian desert,
Coastal plains and The Islands.
2.9 Drainage System of India

❖ The flow of water through well-defined channels is known as ‘Drainage’ and
network of such channels is called a ‘Drainage System ‘. These networks can form
different patterns such as Dendritic, Ridial, Trellis and Centripetal.
❖ The catchment of large rivers are called rivers basins and those of small rivers is
referred as Watersheds. A land between two rivers is called ‘Doab’.
❖ India’s drainage system can be divided into
✓ On the basis of discharge of water into
a) Arabian Sea Drainage and
b) Bay of Bengal Drainage.
✓ On the basis of size of watershed into
a) Major
b) Medium
c) Minor river basins.
✓ On the basis of mode of origin, nature and characteristics into
a) Himalayan Drainage and
b) Peninsular Drainage
2.10 Himalayan Drainage System

❖ The Himalayan system is drained by 19 major rivers of which Indus, Ganga and
Brahmaputra rivers are most important.

2.10.1 Peninsular River System
➢ The Peninsular Drainage System is older than Himalayan one. The major river
systems of the Peninsular Drainage are the Mahanadi, The Godavari, the Krishna,
the Kaveri, the Narmada, the Tapi and the Luni. Most of the major Peninsular rivers
except Narmada and the Tapti flow from West to East. Narmada flow in a rift valley.
2.11 Climate, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

2.11.1 Climate
➢ ‘Weather’ refers to the state of the atmosphere over an area at any point of time
whereas ‘Climate’ refers to the sum total of weather conditions and variations over
large area for a long period of time (more than 30 years).
➢ Elements of Climate are: temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity and
precipitation.
➢ There are six major factors that affects the clo,ate of any place. They are; latitude,
altitude, pressure and wind system, distance from the sea, ocean currents and relief.
➢ Climate of India is described as “Tropical Monsoon Type”
➢ The duration of the monsoon is between 100-120 days from early June to mid-
September.
➢ Two types of Monsoon winds in India are 1) South-West Monsoon winds (June ,
July, August)
➢ 2) North-East Monsoon winds (September to December).
➢ Isohytes lines are imaginary lines which join places with same level of rainfall.
2.11.12 El Nino
➢ It is a narrow warm current, which occasionally appears off the coast of Peru in
December by temporarily replacing the cold Peru Current.
2.11.13 La Nino
➢ It is the reverse of El Nino. It is a harbinger of heavy monsoon showers in India.

Seasons in India
Temporal Other Climatic

Season Precipitation
Aspect Features
Cause rainfall in sub- Clear sky, low
November to
Winter Himalayan belt by Western temperature and high
March
disturbances humidity.
Only 1% rainfall of total
Summer Dry season, high
Indian rainfall mostly by
(Pre- March to June temperature and low
storms by convective
Monsoon) humidity.
current
High heat, high
humidity, extensive
June to Rainfall through South- cloud and several
Rainy
September West monsoon spells of moderate to
heavy rainfall are its
characteristics
Retreating monsoon causes
No cloud, severe and
Mid-September rainfall in Tamil Nadu and
Autumn devastating tropical
to November adjoining areas of Andhra
cyclone, clear sky
Pradesh and Kerala
2.11.14 Natural Vegetation
➢ India is a land of great variety of natural vegetation. It is one of the twelve mega
bio-diversity countries of the world.
➢ With about 47,000 plant species India occupies 10 th place in world and 4th in Asia
in plant diversity
➢ The term flora is used to denote plants. Plants occur in distinct groups of
Communities in areas having similar climatic conditions.

2.11.15 Types of Vegetation
Following major types of vegetation may be identified in India:
2.11.15.1 Tropical Evergreen and Semi Evergreen Forests

❑ Found in Western slope of Western Ghats, hills of the North-Eastern region,
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
2.11.15.2 Tropical Deciduous Forests
❑ Divided into
a) Moist deciduous forest and
b) Dry deciduous forest.
❑ These are the most widespread forests in India.
❑ These are called Monsoon forests.
❑ Found in N.E. states along the foothills of Himalayas, Eastern slopes of
Western Ghats, Odisha, rainier area of the Peninsula and plains of U.P. and
Bihar.
2.11.15.3 Tropical Thorn Forests
❑ Occur in areas which receive rainfall less than 50 cm and consists of variety
of grasses and shrubs. Found in semi-arid areas of South-West Punjab,
Hariyana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, M.P and U.P.
2.11.15.4 Mountain Forests
❑ Mountain forests are classified into a) Northern mountain forests and b)
Southern Mountain forests.
❑ Found in Himalayas, hilly areas of Uttaranchal, West Bengal, Western
Ghats, Vindhyas and Nilgiris.
2.11.15.5 Littoral and Swamp forests (Mangrove Forests)
❑ Found in Wetlands of country Mangrove forests in India comprises 7% of
the world’s Mangrove forests.
2.11.15.6 Alpine Grassland
❑ They are typical natural vegetation found above 3600 meters in the
Himalayan region.

2.11.16 Indian State of Forest Report (2019)
➢ The report is released by ministry of Environment, Forest and climate changes.

➢ The report has revealed that total forest and tree cover in India has increased of
over, 807,276 sq.km, which is one percent increase from 2017.
➢ Indian is ranked 10th in the world with 24.56% of land area under forest and tree
cover.
• Karnataka
Top 5 State with maximum • Andhra Pradesh
increase in Forest cover • Kerala
• Jammu & Kashmir
• Madhya Pradesh
Top 3 states with highest forest
• Arunachal Pradesh
cover
• Chhattisgarh
• Manipur
Top 3 states where forest cover
• Arunachal Pradesh
has decreased
• Mizoram
2.12 Soils in India

❖ Soils is the most important layer of the Earth’s crust. It is the mixture of rock debris
and organic materials which develop on the Earth’s surface.
❖ On the basis of genesis, color, composition and location the soils of India have been
classified into : Alluvial soils, Black soils, Red and Yellow soils, Laterite soils,
Arid soils, Saline soils, Peaty soils and Forest soils.
2.12.1 Soils and Related Crops

➢ There are many soils found in Indian continent. The transfer of minerals from top soil
to the subsoil through soil and water is called ‘Leaching’.
➢ Each soil, type has specific charateristics and is suitable to grow only certain types of
crops as mentioned below:

Soils Agricultural Crops Distribution
Alluvial Wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar,
jute etc. Jharkhand
Black Soil Cotton, sugarcane, jowar, Deccan Plateau, Valleys of
tobacco, wheat and rice. Krishna, Godavari, Andhra
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and
Tamil Nadu
Red Soil Wheat , rice, cotton, sugarcane Eastern parts of Deccan

and pulses. Plateau, Tamil Nadu, Goa,
Odisha and Meghalaya
Laterite Soil Tea, coffee, rubber, cashew and Summits of Eastern and
millets. Rubber is a product of Western Ghats, Asom hills,
latex. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
W.B and Odisha.
Desert (Arid Soils) Drought-resistant lime, millets, N.W. India, West of

barley, cotton, maize and Rajasthan, North Gujarat and
pulses. Southern Punjab
Mountain Tea, fruits and medicinal plans. Mountainous regions
Peaty and Marshy Rice and jute Kerala, Coastal regions of

Odisha, Tamil Nadu and
Sundarbans of West Bengal
2.12.2 Agriculture in India
➢ India is essentially an agricultural land. Two-thirds of its population still lives in

agriculture.
➢ Agriculture is primary activity, which includes farming, animal rearing and fishing.
➢ There are three crop seasons in India: 1) Kharif, 2) Rabi 3) Zaid.
➢ Types of Agricultural Practices are
✓ Shifting Agriculture
✓ Intensive Farming and
✓ Extensive farming.

2.12.3 Green Revolution
➢ This phase is generally used to describe the spectacular increase that took place
during 1968 and is continuing in the production of food grains in India.
➢ Norman Borlang is known as ‘Father of Green Revolution’ in India.
➢ The components of Green Revolution are
a) High yield variety of seeds
b) Irrigation
c) Use of fertilizers
d) Use of insecticide and pesticide
e) Command area development programme
f) Consolidation of holdings
g) Land reforms
h) Supply of agricultural credit
i) Rural electrification
j) Rural roads and marketing
k) Farm mechanization
l) Agricultural universities
2.13 Minerals and Energy Resources of India

2.13.1 Minerals
➢ ‘A Mineral is a natural substance of organic or inorganic origin with definite

chemical and physical properties”.
➢ Minerals provide necessary base for industrial development of any country and
India is fairly rich in mineral resource.
2.13.2 Types of Minerals
➢ On the basis of Chemical and Physical properties of minerals, they can be classified
in three main categories and they are
✓ Metallic Minerals such as Iron, Manganese, Copper lead etc.
✓ Non-Metallic Minerals such as Graphite, Phosphate, Mica etc. and
✓ Energy Minerals such as Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas.

2.13.3 Distribution of Important Minerals in India
➢ India is endowed with a rich variety of mineral resources due to its varied geological
structure but their distribution is highly uneven.
Minerals Distribution Highest Producing State

W. B. Jharkhand, Odisha, MP and
Coal Jharkhand
Chhattisgarh
M. P., Rajasthan, Jharkhand and
Copper Madhya Pradesh
Karnataka
Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand
Iron Odisha
and Odisha
Odisha, Maharashtra, MP, Karnataka,
Manganese Odisha
Andhra Pradesh
Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and
Mica Andhra Pradesh
Rajasthan
Gold Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh Karnataka
Diamond Panna (MP) and Banda (UP) Madhya Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, MP,

Limestone Andhra Pradesh
Gujarat and Chhattisgarh
Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Assam and

Crude Oil Maharashtra
U. P
K.G. Basin, Assam, Gulf of
Natural Gas Khambhat, Tamil Nadu and Assam
Rajasthan
2.14 Energy Resources

❖ For energy requirements, India has exploited almost all the sources of energy such
hydroelectricity, thermal energy, nuclear energy solar energy, wind energy etc.
Energy resources can be classified as conventional or non-renewable resources.
2.14.1 The Conventional or Non-renewable Resources
➢ They are such sources of energy which cannot be renewed and which are being used
since a long time. E.g. Coal, Petroleum, Natural Gas etc.

2.14.2 Thermal Energy
➢ Thermal electricity is produced with the help of coal petroleum and natural gas.
➢ About 65% of the total energy produced in India is thermal in character.
2.14.3 Nuclear Energy
➢ Although, nuclear power contributes a little over 3% of our total power generation,
at present, it has vast potential for future development. Important Nuclear power
plants in India are Tarapur, Rawatbhata, Kudankulam, Kaiga, Kakrapar ,
Kalpakkam and Narora. The Konvada Nuclear Power Project is proposed to be set
up in Andhra Pradesh.
2.14.4 Petroleum
➢ Assam is the oldest oil producing state in India. Digboi is the oldest oil field of
India.
➢ Ankleswar, Lunej, Kalol etc. are important oil fields of Gujarat.
➢ Saraswati and Rajeshwari are two onshore oil blocks in Barmer (Rajasthan).
Mumbai High, Bassein and Aliabet are important offshore oilfields in India.
2.14.5 Natural Gas
➢ Natural gas is also emerging as an important commercial source of energy in India.

➢ The large reserves of gas have been established in the South basin of West Coast of
India. About 30% of country’s output of LPG comes from this source and three-
fourth of the natural gas obtained from the Mumbai High.
➢ The onshore field in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat are major producers of natural
gas. World’s largest natural gas reserve is in Russia.
2.14.6 The Non-Conventional or Renewable Resources
➢ The non-conventional sources of energy include solar energy, hydel energy, tidal
energy, geothermal energy etc.

2.14.7 Solar Energy
➢ India being a tropical country is well endowed with plenty of solar energy.
➢ In India, the solar energy is exploited through both the thermal and photovoltaic
routes for a variety of applications like cooking, water heating, drying of the farm
products, water pumping, street lighting etc.
2.14.8 Hydel Energy
➢ The hydroelectric power generation in India made a humble start at the end of the
19th century, with the commissioning of electricity supply in Darjeeling in 1897
followed by hydropower station at shivana samudra in Karnataka in 1902.
➢ The Himalayan rivers are perennial rivers and supply water for hydroelectricity
production throughout the year.
➢ The peninsular rivers are poor with respect to the production of hydroelectricity as
they are seasonal and erratic.
2.14.9 Tidal Energy
➢ India has a long coastline with estuaries and gulfs, where tides are strong enough to
move turbines for electric power generation.
➢ Many locations have potential tidal range of 5-12 meters including Gulf of Cambay
and the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat on the West Coast and the Ganges delta in the
Sunderbans.
2.14.10 Geothermal Energy
➢ It is the heat energy in the Earth’s interior.

➢ In the Earth’s crust, the temperature rises by 1°c for every 30 m. This energy can
be tapped for our needs.
➢ Such energy is largely concentrated in volcanic regions of the Earth.

2.15 Transportation in India
2.15.1 Railways
➢ Indian Railway system is the second largest in Asia and the fourth largest in the
world.
➢ The Indian Railways operate in three different gauges.
i) Broad Gauge (Distance between rails is (1.676 m)
ii) Meter Gauge (Distance between rails in (1.00 m)
iii) Narrow Gauge (Distance between rails is (0.762 or 0.610 m)
➢ The longest railway platform in India is now Gorakhpur with a stretch of around
1.3 km.
Railway Zone Headquarters

Central Mumbai(CST)
Eastern Kolkata
Northern New Delhi
North-Eastern Gorakhpur
North-East Frontier Maligaon-Guwahati
Southern Chennai
South Central Secunderabad
South-Eastern Kolkata
Western Mumbai Churchgate
East Coast Bhuvaneshwar
East Central Hajipur
North Central Allahabad
North-Western Jaipur
South-Western Hubi
West Central Jabalpur
South-East Central Bilaspur
Kolkata Metro Kolkata
Western Coast Vishakha Patnam
➢ The first train ran in India between Bombay and Thane, a stretch of 34 km on 16th
April, 1853.
➢ The second train ran between Howrah and Hoogly in 1854.

➢ The first electric train in India was Deccan Queen. It was introduced in 1929
between Bombay and Poona.
➢ The longest train route is ‘Vivek Express’ from Dibrugarh in Assam to
Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. It covers a distance of 4273 km (2655 miles).
➢ The first Metro train was introduced in Kolkata (West Bengal) on 24th October,
1984. The two stations connected were Dumdum and Belgachhia.
➢ In 1990, Konkan Railway has been started between Goa, Maharashtra and
Karnataka.
➢ Indian Railways has a network of 7030 stations spread over a route length of 63974
km with a fleet if 8593 locomotives.
➢ Delhi metro rail was approved in 1996 but it was started in 2002on 25th December
between Shahdra and Tis Hazari.
➢ Rapid metro train has been started in Gurgaon (Haryana) on 14th November,2013.
2.15.2 Road Transport
➢ India has one of the largest road networks in the world (48 lakh km approx.). It
consists of National Highways, State highways; major/other district roads and rural
roads.
➢ NH 44 (3745 km) is the longest highway of India.
➢ NH 548,118 is the smallest highway of India.
➢ The North-South and East-West Corridor (NS-EW) is the largest ongoing
expressway project in India. It is the second phase of the National Highways
Development Project (NHDP) and involves building 7300 km of six lane
expressway connecting Srinagar, Kanyakumari, Porbandar and Silchar.
➢ NS-EW Corridor intersects at Jhansi.
➢ Maharashtra has the maximum length of surface roads in India.

Important National Highways
NH Connects
New Delhi-Ambala-Jalandhar-
NH 1
Amritsar
Le to Kashmir through Zozila
NH 1 A
Pass
Delhi-Mathura-Agra-Kanpur-
NH 2
Allahabad-Varanasi-Kolkata
NH 3 Agra-Gwalior-Nasik-Mumbai
Thane and Chennai via Pune and

NH 4
Bengaluru
NH 5 Kolkata-Chennai
NH 6 Kolkata-Dhule
Varanasi-Kanyakumari (2369
NH 7
km)
Delhi-Mumbai(via Jaipur,
NH 8
Vadodara and Ahmedabad)
NH 9 Mumbai-Vijayawada
NH 10 Delhi-Fazilka
NH 24 Delhi-Lucknow
NH 26 Jhansi-Lakhnadon

2.15.3 Water Transport
➢ The government has recognized the following National Waterways of India.
NW1 Allahabad to Haldia 1620 km
Sadia to Dhubri on
NW2 891 km
Brahmaputra River
NW3 Kollam To Kottapuram 168 km
Kakinada to Marak-kanam
NW4 along Godavari and Krishna 1095 km
River
Mangalgarhi to Paradeep and

NW5 Talcher to Dhamara along 623 km
Mahanadi and Brahmini
NW6 Lakhipur to Bhanga 121 km
13 Major Ports in India
Western Coast Eastern Coast

Paradip (exports raw iron to
Kandia (Child of partition) Gujarat
Japan) Odisha
Mumbai (busiest and biggest Visakhapatnam (deepest port)
Maharashtra) Andhra Pradesh
JL Nehru (fastest growing) Chennai (oldest and artificial)
Maharashtra Tamil Nadu
Ennore (most modern in private
Marmugao (naval base also) Goa
hands) Tamil Nadu
Mangalore (exports Kudremukh Tuticorin (Southernmost) Tamil
iron-ore) Karnataka Nadu
Port Blair (strategically
important) Andaman and Nicobar
Cochin (natural harbor) Kerala
Islands Enayam part in Tamil
Nadu

➢ Enayam near Colachel in Tamil Nadu is the newly recognized 13 th major port of
India.
2.15.4 Air Transport
➢ JRD Tata was the first person to take a solo flight from Mumbai to Karachi in
1931.
➢ In 1935, the ‘Tata Air Lines’ started its operation between Mumbai and
Thiruvananthapuram and in 1937 between Mumbai and Delhi.
➢ In 1953, all the private airline companies were nationalized and Indian Airlines and
Air India came into existence.
➢ Vayudoot Limited started in 1981 as a private air carrier and later on it merged with
Indian Airlines.
➢ International Airports Authority of India and National Airports Authority were
merged on 1995 to form Airports Authority of India.
➢ The Authority manages the Civil Aviation Training College at Allahabad and
National Institute of Aviation Management and Research at Delhi.
Major International Airports in India
International Airports City

Rajiv Gandhi International
Hyderabad
Airport
Calicut International Airport Calicut
Chhatrapati Shivaji
Mumbai
International Airport
Kempe Gowda International
Bengaluru
Airport
Goa Airport in Vasco de Gama
Goa
City
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
Kolkata
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Lokpriya Gopinath Bordolai
Guwahati

Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel
Ahmedabad
Indira Gandhi International
Delhi
Airport
Chennai international Airport Chennai
Shri Guru Ram Das Jee
Amritsar
2.16 Population (Demography) of India

❖ Demography is the study of human populations-their size, composition and
distribution across space-and the process through which population changes.
Population data is collected through census, held every 10 years in our country.
❖ The first population census in India was conducted in 1872 but the first complete
census was conducted only in 1881. Census of 2011 is the 15th National Census and
according to it recent statistics of population of India is
Demography at Glance
State U.T
Demography Data (India)
Highest Lowest Highest Lowest
Population 1210 millions U.P Sikkim NCR(Delhi Lakshadweep
Arunachal
Density of 382 Delhi Andaman and
Bihar (1106) (170
Population persons/Sq.km (11320) Nicobar (46)
Pradesh
Dadra and
Growth Rate Meghalaya Nagaland Lakshdweep
17.64% Nagar Haveli
(Popualtion) (27.95%) (-0.6%) (6.3%)
(55.86%)
Literacy Bihar Lakshdweep Puducherry
74.04% Kerala (94%)
Rate (61.8%) (91.8%) (85.8%)
Haryana Puducherry Daman and
Sex Ratio 940 Kerala (1084)
(879) (1037) Diu (618)

Andaman &
Child Sex Haryana
919 Mizoram (971) Nicobar Delhi (871)
Ratio (834)
(968)
Uttar Pradesh (in
SC
16.20% number) Punjab Maximum
Population
(in % age)
Madhya Pradesh
ST (in Maximum
8.20%
Population number) Manipur
(in% age
Level of Himachal Dadar and
31.16% Goa (61%) Delhi
Urbanization (10%) Nagar Haveli
2.17 Environment and Ecology

❖ Environment simply means the place, people, things and nature that surround any
living organism. It is a combination of natural and human made phenomena
commonly known as Abiotic (air, water, soil) and Biotic(Plants, animals and micro-
organism) (components).
❖ Ecology is the scientific analysis and study of interactions among organism and
their environment. It is an interdisciplinary field that includes biology, geography
and Earth Science.
❖ Ecosystem is simply defined as any community of living and Non-living things that
work together. It was a unit or a system which is composed of a number of sub-
units that are all directly or indirectly linked with each other like Forest Ecosystem,
Desert Ecosystem, Marine Ecosystem, River Ecosystem etc. ‘RIO +20’ is the name
for U.N. Conference on sustainable development.

2.17.1 Environmental Pollution
➢ Presence of dangerous and unnatural ingredients causing imbalance in the

ecosystem and health hazards to human beings and animals can be called as
pollution. To check climate change, Kyoto Protocol came into force in 2005.
➢ Various Types of Pollution are: Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Noise Pollution,
Soil Pollution, Marine Pollution, Radioactive Pollution, E-waste Pollution.
2.17.2 Green House Gas
➢ These are those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere (both natural and manmade)
that absorbs and emit radiation at specific wavelength within infrared radiation.
These gases heatens up the atmosphere and promotes greenhouse effect. Important
greenhouse gases are Methane, Water vapour, Carbon dioxide etc.
2.17.3 Biodiversity and its Conservation
➢ Biodiversity means species diversity and species richness. In other words

biodiversity refers to the variety and abundance of organisms living in a particular
region.
➢ India holds about 7-8% of the global biodiversity. Over 4,5000 species of plants and
91,000 species of animals have been recorded so far in India. India also has two of
the 34 identified hotspots of the world.
➢ Biodiversity Hotspots To qualify as a biodiversity hotspots, a region must have a
high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on planet and it must be threatened.
➢ Around the world, 35 areas qualify as hotspots; India has two of them Western Ghats
and astern Himalayas.
➢ Biodiversity Conservation Conservation is the planned management of natural
resource to retain the balance in nature and also retain the diversity. The method of
conservation of biodiversity can be n-Situ (on site0 or Ex-Situ (off site). Agenda 21
associated with Earth summit held at Rio de Janerio, (Brazil), deals with biodiversity
consequation.
➢ India has declared protected areas for conservation of Biodiversity. Protected areas
are Land or Sea areas dedicated to protect and maintain biodiversity. There are four

categories of the protected areas: 1) Wildlife Sanctuary, 2) National park, 3)
Biosphere reserves and 4) Community Reserves.
2.17.4 Wildlife in India
➢ Wildlife traditionally refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to

include all plants, fungi and other organisms that grow or live in a wild area without
being introduced by humans.
➢ Wildlife of India is a great natural heritage. About 4-5% of all known plant and
animal species on earth are found in India.
➢ India has about 2,000 species of bird constituting 13% of world’s total and 2,546
species of fish constituting nearly 12% of world’s stock.
➢ India also shares between 5 to 8% of the world’s amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
➢ India is the only country in the world that has been tigers and lions.
2.17.5 Wildlife Conservation in India:
➢ In 1972, a comprehensive wildlife Act was enacted for conservation and protection
of wildlife in India.
➢ Wildlife Conservation is the practice of protecting wild plant and animal species
and their habitats.
➢ There are 18 Biosphere reserves, 166 national parks and 515 wildlife sanctuary in
India.
➢ Rann of Kutch (Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary) is one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries
in India.
➢ India’s first National Park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park, now
known as Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand.
Biosphere Reserves of India
Biosphere Reserve Year State Key Fauna
Great Rann of Kutch 2008 Gujarat Indian Wild Ass
Gulf of Mannar 1989 Tamil Nadu Dugong or Sea Cow

West Bengal
Sunderbans 1989 Royal Bengal Tiger
Tiger
Himachal
Cold Desert 2009 Snow Leopard
Pradesh
Snow leopard,
Nanda Devi 1988 Uttarakhand Himalayan Black
bear
Tamil Nadu,
Nilgiri, Tahr, Lion-
Nilgiri 1986 Kerala and
Tailed Macaque
Karnataka
Arunachal
Dihang-Dibang 1998 Musk Deer
Pradesh
Madhya Giant Squirrel,
Pachmarhi 1999
Pradesh Flying Squirrel
Andhra
Seshachalam Hills 2010 Slender Loris
Pradesh
Gaur, Royal Bengal
Simlipal 1994 Odisha Tiger, Wild
elephant.
M.P. and Antelope, indian
Achanakmar Amarkantk 2005
Chhattisgarh wild dog, crane
Golden Langur, Red
Manas 1989 Assam
Panda
Snow Leopard, Red
Khangchendzonga 2000 Sikkim
Panda
Kerala ad Nilgiri Tahr,
Agasthyamalai 2001
Tamil Nadu Elephants
Andaman and
Great Nicobar 1989 Nicobar Saltwater Crocodile
Islands
Nokrek 1988 Meghalaya Red Panda

Dibru-Salkhowa 1997 Assam Golden Langur
Tiger, Chital,
Madhya
Panna 2011 Chinkara, Sambhar
Pradesh
and Sloth Bear
Rare Species Found in National Parks/Wildlife Sanctuaries
National Park/Wildlife Sanctuary State Rare Species
Manas National Park Assam Elephant, Tiger, Panther
Kaziranga National Park Assam One horned Rhinoceros
Tiger, Panther, Gaur, Cheetal,

Keibul Lamjao National Park Manipur
Sangai
Gir National park Gujarat Gir Lion, Tiger, Panther, Gaur
Maru Sanctuary Rajasthan Tiger, Panther, Guar, Leopard
Kanchenjunga National Park Sikkim Tiger, Panther, White Spoonbill
Simlipal National Park Odisha Elephant, Tiger, Leopard
Bhitarkanika National Park Odisha Tiger,Gaur, Wild Boar, Leopard
Dachigam National Park J and K Kashmiri Stag, Hangul
Dudhwa National Park UP Tiger, Panther, Nilgai
Keoladeo Ghana National Park Rajasthan Tiger, Panther, Gaur, Leopard
Himachal
Pin Valley National Park Chinkara, Sauraus, Gane
Pradesh
Jim Corbett National Park Uttarakhand Panda, Elephant, Gaur, Tiger

Solved Questions
Question 1:
Our solar system is part of which Galaxy and what is the shape of that Galaxy
a) Andromeda
b) Proxima Centauri
c) Milky Way Galaxy, Spiral
d) Ursa Major
Ans:- (c) Milky Way Galaxy, Spiral
Question 2:
Inner planets include
a) Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Earth
b) Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus
c) Mercury, Venues, Earth, Mars
d) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Uranus
Ans:- (c) Mercury, Venues, Earth, Mars
Question 3:
What is the distance between Sun and Earth
a) 150 million km
b) 130 million km
c) 125 million km
d) 165 million km
Ans:- (a) 150 million km

Question 4:
The rotational axis of the Earth is titled, the angle of tilt with respect to the normal plane of
its orbit is
a) 23.5˚
b) 66.5˚
c) 23˚
d) 65˚
Ans:- (a) 23.5˚
Question 5:
Lunar Eclips occurs on
a) Equinox day
b) Full moon day
c) Solstice day
d) New Moon day
Ans:- (b) Full moon day
Question 6:
The outermost layer of the Earth’s is known as
a) Crust
b) Mantle
c) Outer core
d) Core
Ans:- (a) Crust
Question 7:
What is the percentage of Nitrogen in atmosphere?
a) 80%
b) 21%
c) 78%
d) 0.03%
Ans:- (c) 78%

Question 8:
Which of the following belt are associated with seismic activity?
1. Circum-Pacific Belt
2. Circum Atlantic Belt
3. Mid-Continental Belt
4. Mid-Atlantic Belt
a) 1,2 and 4
b) 1, 3 and 4
c) 1, 2 and 3
d) 2, 3 and 4
Ans:- (b) 1, 3 and 4
Question 9:
The branch of geology that deals with the study of earthquake is
a) Geology
b) Geodesy
c) Geomorphology
d) Seismology
Ans:- (d) Seismology
Question 10:
Which is the only continent which belongs to all four hemispheres?
a) South America
b) Australia
c) Africa
d) North America
Ans:- (c) Africa

Question 11:
Table mountain Plateau is situated in which continent?
a) Australia
b) Africa
c) Asia
d) North America
Ans:- (b) Africa
Question 12:
The third largest desert overall and also largest hot desert of world is
a) Gobi
b) Kalahari
c) Sahara
d) Patagonian
Ans:- (c) Sahara
Question 13:
Which ocean is ‘S’ shaped?
a) Pacific ocean
b) Atlantic ocean
c) Mediterranean
d) Indian ocean
Ans:- (b) Atlantic ocean
Question 14:
The Dogger Bank, the main fishing area of Europe, lies in?
a) Baltic sea
b) English Channel
c) North sea
d) Norwegian sea
Ans:- (b) English Channel

Question 15:
Which river originates in Altai mountains, Russia?
a) Ob
b) Nile
c) Volga
d) Yellow river
Ans:- (a) Ob
Question 16:
The canal joining Baltic sea to North sea is
a) Neil canal
b) Kiel canal
c) Panama canal
d) Suez canal
Ans:- (b) Kiel canal
Question 17:
The winds blowing almost in the same direction throughout the year are called ______
a) Trade winds
b) Planetary winds
c) Polar Easterlies
d) Westerlies
Ans:- (b) Planetary winds
Question 18:
The highest amplitude tides which occur twice every month at new Moon and full Moon
day are _______
a) High tides
b) Neap tides
c) Low tides
d) Spring tides
Ans:- (d) Spring tides

Question 19:
India’s land boundary is about
a) 15200 km
b) 15300 km
c) 15400 km
d) 15600 km
Ans:- (a) 15200 km
Question 20:
In India, how many states share the Coastline of Indian mainland?
a) Seven
b) Eight
c) Nine
d) Ten
Ans:- (c) Nine
Question 21:
Which one of the following state is smallest state in terms of area?
a) Sikkim
b) Goa
c) Nagaland
d) Tripura
Ans:- (b) Goa
Question 22:
Trans Himalayas consists of Karakoram range, Ladakh range and ________ range.
a) Zaskar
b) Pir Panjal
c) Damodar
d) Kailash
Ans:- (a) Zaskar

Question 23:
River after descending from mountains deposites pebbles in a narrow belt of 8 to 16 km.
width lying parallel to Shiwali, where streams disappear is called
a) Terai
b) Bhangar
c) Khaddar
d) Bhabar
Ans:- (d) Bhabar
Question 24:
Palghat joins which of the following states?
a) Sikkim and West Bengal
b) Maharashtra and Gujarat
c) Kerala and Tamil Nadu
d) Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim
Ans:- (b) Maharashtra and Gujarat
Question 25:
What is the total length of Indus river which flows in India?
a) 2880 km
b) 1114 km
c) 2400 km
d) 2525 km
Ans:- (a) 2880 km
 Wish you all the Best 

Geography - World and India - 1st - Chapter

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Geography - World and India - 1st - Chapter

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

General Intelligence and Logical Reasoning

GEOGRAPHY (WORLD AND INDIA)

2.1.3 Stars and Constellations

Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 1

Specifics of the Planets

Biggest Planet Jupiter

Smallest Planet Mercury

Blue Planet Earth

Green Planet Uranus

Brightest Planet Venus

Coldest Planet Neptune

Hottest Planet Venus

Densest Planet Earth

Red Planet Mars

Earth’s Twin Venus

Farthest Planet Neptune

Slowest Rotation Venus

Slowest Revolution Neptune

Fastest Rotation Jupiter

Fastest Revolution Mercury

Evening Star Venus

Biggest Satellite Ganymede

Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 2

21st March Spring Equinox

Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 3

➢ Apogee is the position of Moon when it is at farthest distance from Earth. It is

2.2.4 Latitudes and Longitudes

Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 4

2.2.6 Standard Time and Time Zones

2.2.7 Earth’s Interior

2.2.8 Composition of Earth’s Crust

Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 5

2.2.10 Atmosphere of Earth

➢ Due to its gravity the Earth has its own atmosphere.

2.2.11 Structure of Atmosphere

Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 6

Contains ozone layer. Temperature increases due to the absorption of

2.3 Earth’s Movement

Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 7

2.4 Land Forms

➢ A continent is “A large, continuous area of land on Earth”. There are seven

Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 8

• Area & Population: Largest in terms of area and population.

Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 9

• Geographical Facts: It was discovered in 1820. It is known as

➢ An uplifted surface above sea level at certain hieght is called a mountain.

Major Mountain Ranges

Range Location Length (KM) Highest Peak (m)

Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 10

Plateau Location Height (m) Description

1. Kukenan Tepul Venezuela 2,680 It is the source of Kukenan river

It is part of the popular Conyonland’s

South Lake Titicaca is the plateau’s best known

Tibet It is the largest and highest plateau in the

South Minerals like iron, gold, lead, zinc, silver

14. Katanga Plateau Congo Famous for copper production.

Department of Employment and Training, Government of Tamil Nadu 11

➢ A desert is characterized as an area whose landscape receives a significantly small

Desert Area (Sq. Miles) Description

The entire Antarctica is a cold desert with an

Arctic 5,400,000 Second largest desert globally.

Africa, it is third largest desert overall and