MODERN DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL

SESSION-: 2020-21,CLASS VI, UNIT – 4

CHAPTER-7
OUR COUNTRY – INDIA
HIGHLIGHTS

The Himalayas are a major source of perennial

rivers, hydroelectric power, forests, flora and fauna.

The Northern plains from time immemorial have

provided the base for early civilizations.

The Peninsular plateau is a mine house for

minerals, essential for growth of industries.

The Peninsular plateau is divided into two parts:

The Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau.

The Eastern coastal plain is broader than the

Western coastal plain.
MIND MAP
 INTERESTING FACTS RELATED TO INDIA

 India is the seventh largest country in the world.

 Deccan Plateau is the largest plateau of India and the Ladakh Plateau is the highest plateau of
India.

 Gujarat has the longest coastline among all the states in India.

 Kanchenjunga is the highest mountain peak of India.

 Drass, located in western Ladakh is the coldest inhabited place in India.

 India has an area of about 3.28 million sq.km.

 The north-south extent from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is about 3,200 km. and the east-west extent
from Arunachal Pradesh to Kuchchh is about 2,900 km.

 India is the second most populous country of the world after China.
 ORIGIN OF THE INDIAN LANDSCAPE

Millions of years ago, the Peninsular Plateau region (the oldest landmass) was a part of the
Gondwana Land which covered India, Australia, South Africa, and South America. Over
hundreds of years of shifting landmass broke this landmass into multiple pieces.
One such piece- the Indo-Australian plate started shifting northwards, where it collided with
the Eurasian plate (now Europe). Consequently, this collision caused the landmass to fold
and become what we know as the Himalayas today. Thereafter, many such geological events
led to the formation of each of the varied physical features of India.
 
LOCATIONAL SETTING

India is located in the northern

hemisphere. The Tropic of
Cancer (23°30'N) passes
almost halfway through the
country. From south to north,
main land of India extends
between 8°4'N and 37°6'N
latitudes. From west to east,
India extends between 68°7'E
and 97°25'E longitudes. If we
divide the world into eastern
and western hemispheres,
India lies in the Eastern
Hemisphere.
STANDARD MERIDIAN OF INDIA

Due to great longitudinal extent of about 29°,

there could be a wide differences in local time of
places located at two extreme points of India. As
such, the difference between these two points
would be of about two hours. The local time
changes by four minutes for every one degree of
longitude. The sun rises about two hours earlier
in the east (Arunachal Pradesh) than in the west
(Gujarat). The local time of longitude of 82°30'E
has been taken as the Indian Standard Time.
This meridian or longitude is also termed as the
Standard Meridian of India.
INDIA’S NEIGHBOURS

India shares borders with several countries; it shares

land borders with China, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and
Afghanistan in the north or north-west, and with
Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east. India also
shares water borders with Sri Lanka, Maldives and
Indonesia. Sri Lanka is separated from India by the
Palk Strait.
 
POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS

Before we get into the States, Union Territories and

their capitals, let us first have a look at the recent
updates on UT's as of November 2020.
1.Since 26th January 2020, India has 8 union
territories. The U.T Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli have become a single union territory.
2.On August 5, the central government had also
announced the abrogation of the special status given
to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and its
division into two Union Territories i.e. UTs of Jammu
and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

 
 States and Capitals of India 2020

S.No States Name Capital Founded on

1 Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad (Proposed Capital 1 Nov. 1956
Amaravati)
2 Arunachal Pradesh Itanagar 20 Feb. 1987
3 Assam Dispur 26 Jan. 1950
4 Bihar Patna 26 Jan. 1950
5 Chhattisgarh Raipur 1 Nov. 2000
6 Goa Panaji 30 May. 1987
7 Gujarat Gandhinagar 1 May. 1960
8 Haryana Chandigarh 1 Nov. 1966
9 Himachal Pradesh Shimla 25 Jan. 1971
10 Jharkhand Ranchi 15 Nov. 2000
11 Karnataka Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) 1 Nov. 1956
12 Kerala Thiruvananthapuram 1 Nov. 1956
13 Madhya Pradesh Bhopal 1 Nov. 1956
14 Maharashtra Mumbai 1 May. 1960
15 Manipur Imphal 21 Jan. 1972
16 Meghalaya Shillong 21 Jan. 1972
17 Mizoram Aizawl 20 Feb. 1987
18 Nagaland Kohima 1 Dec. 1963
19 Odisha Bhubaneswar 26 Jan. 1950
20 Punjab Chandigarh 1 Nov. 1956
21 Rajasthan Jaipur 1 Nov. 1956
22 Sikkim Gangtok 16 May. 1975
23 Tamil Nadu Chennai 26 Jan. 1950
24 Telangana Hyderabad 2 Jun. 2014
25 Tripura Agartala 21 Jan. 1972
26 Uttar Pradesh Lucknow 26 Jan. 1950
27 Uttarakhand Dehradun (Winter) 9 Nov. 2000
Gairsain (Summer)
28 West Bengal Kolkata 1 Nov. 1956
 Union Territories of India

Union Territories Names Capital Founded on

SL NO
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Port Blair 1 Nov. 1956

1
Chandigarh Chandigarh 1 Nov. 1966
2
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman Daman 26 Jan. 2020
& Diu
3
Delhi New Delhi 9 May. 1905
4
Srinagar (Summer)

5 Jammu and Kashmir 31-Oct-19

Jammu (Winter)
Lakshadweep Kavaratti 1 Nov. 1956
7
Puducherry Pondicherry 1 Nov. 1954
8
Ladakh Leh 31-Oct-19
9
PHYSICAL DIVISIONS OF INDIA

India is marked by a diversity of

physical features such as mountains,
plateaus, plains, coasts and islands.
• The Himalayan Mountains.
• The Northern Plains.
• The Peninsular Plateau.
• The Indian Desert.
• The Coastal Plains.
• The Islands.
The Himalayan Mountains

Standing as sentinels in the north are the lofty

snow-capped Himalayas. Him+alaya mean ‘the
abode of snow’. The Himalayan mountains are
divided into three main parallel ranges. The
northernmost is the Great Himalaya or
Himadri. The world’s highest peaks are located
in this range.
Middle Himalaya or Himachal lies to the south
of Himadri. Many popular hill stations are
situated here. Kullu, Manali, Dharamsala,
Dalhousie and Gulmarg are some of the hill
stations situated in the Middle Himalayas. The
Shiwalik is the southernmost range.
The Northern Plains

The Northern Indian plains lie to the south

of the Himalayas. They are generally level
and flat. These are formed by the alluvial
deposits laid down by the rivers– the Indus,
the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and their
tributaries. These river plains provide fertile
land for cultivation. That is the reason for
high concentration of population in these
plains.

 
 The Indian Desert

In the western part of India lies the Great Indian desert. It is a dry, hot and sandy
stretch of land. It has very little vegetation.
 The Peninsular Plateau

To the south of northern plains lies the Peninsular plateau. It is

triangular in shape. The Peninsular plateau is divided into two
parts: The Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau.
The relief is highly uneven. This is a region with numerous hill
ranges and valleys. Aravali hills, one of the oldest ranges of the
world,
border it on the north-west side. The Vindhyas and the Satpuras
are the important ranges. The rivers Narmada and Tapi flow
through these ranges. These are west-flowing rivers that drain
into the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats or Sahyadris border the
plateau in the west and
the Eastern Ghats provide the eastern boundary. While
the Western Ghats are almost continuous, the Eastern
Ghats are broken and uneven. The plateau is rich in minerals like
coal and iron-ore.

 
 The Coastal Plains

To the West of the Western Ghats and the East of Eastern Ghats lie the Coastal plains. The western
coastal plains are very narrow. The eastern Coastal plains are much broader. There are a number
of east flowing rivers. The rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri drain into the Bay of
Bengal. These rivers have formed fertile deltas at their mouth. The Sunderban delta is formed
where the Ganga and Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal.

 
The Islands

Two groups of islands also form part of India.

Lakshadweep Islands are located in the
Arabian Sea. These are coral islands located
off the coast of Kerala. The Andaman and the
Nicobar Islands lie to the southeast of the
Indian mainland in the Bay of Bengal.

 
2004 INDIAN OCEAN EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI

Tsunami is a huge sea wave generated due to

an earthquake on the sea floor.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and
tsunami occurred on 26 December, with
an epicenter off the west coast of
northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It was
an undersea mega thrust earthquake that
registered a magnitude of 9.1–9.3 Mw. The
earthquake was caused by a rupture along
the fault between the Burma Plate and
the Indian Plate.

 
 BULLET POINTS

 The Karakoram is the northernmost mountain range of India.

 Shiwalik is also known as the outer Himalayas.
 The Eastern Ghats are lower as compared to the Western ghats. They rise gently from
east coast.
 Barren Island of Andaman and Nicobar is the only active volcano of India.
 The seven states that lie in the north east part of India are popularly known as the ‘ Seven
Sisters’. These states are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,
Manipur and Tripura.

 
 DEFINITIONS

1. Peninsula: page 47 …. Yellow box

2. Alluvial deposits: page 51 ….yellow box.
3. Tributary: page 51……yellow box
4. Delta: An area of low, flat land, sometimes shaped like a triangle, where a river divides
into several smaller rivers before flowing into the sea.
5. Corals: pg 52 …blue box… 1st sentence.
 

 
 NCERT ANSWERS
NCERT QUESTION ANSWERS
Ans 1(a) India has diverse physical features. The major physical divisions of India are:
The Great Himalayas
The Northern Plains
The Peninsular Plateau
The Great Indian Desert
The Coastal Plains
The Islands
 
(b) The countries that share land boundaries with India are:
Afghanistan
Bangladesh 22
Bhutan
China
Pakistan
Nepal
Myanmar
 
(c) Narmada and Tapi are the two major rivers that fall into Arabian Sea.
 
(d) The Ganga and the Brahmaputra form the Sundarbans delta, the world’s largest delta.
 NCERT ANSWERS
NCERT QUESTION ANSWERS
(e) There are 28 States and 8 Union Territories. The states of Haryana & Punjab have a common capital ie.Chandigarh
(f) Large number of people live in the Northern plains due to the following reasons:
These plains are generally found to be level and flat which results into better dwellings.
They are favourable for agriculture as they provide fertile land.
The region possess a good network of transportation system.
(g) Lakshadweep island is known as a coral Island because it has been formed of corals, which are skeletons of tiny
marine animals called polyps.
When the living polyps die, other polyps grow on top of their hard skeletons. They grow higher and higher and thus
form coral islands.
  23
Question 2
(a) Shiwaliks (b) Western Ghats (c) India and Sri Lanka
(d) Lakshadweep Islands (e) Aravali hills
Question 3
(a) 3.28 million sq. kms. (b) Himadri
(c) Rajasthan (d) Arabian Sea
(e) Tropic of Cancer
 H A NK
T
Y O U
GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT