Alexander VonHumboldt, consideredto be the foundingfather of physicalgeography

Carl Ritter -considered to be oneof the founding fathersof modern geography

Physical geographyPhysical geography focuses ongeography as an Earth science(and is sometimes called EarthSystem Science).

The word 'geography' derivesfrom the greek words ‘geo’(meaning 'the earth') and“graphia” (meaning 'to write').Geography is the science thatdeals with the description ofEarth’s surface.

World Day of Water .................................................

March 22

World Environment Day ............................................... June 5

Earth Day ..................................................

................ April 22

World Meteorological Day ....................................... March 23

World Solar Energy Day ............................................... May 3

World Environment Day ............................................... June 5

World Food Day ..................................................

.. October 16

World Forestry Day .................................................

March 21

World Habitat Day ............................... Ist Monday in October

World Standard Day .............................................. October 14

World Animal Welfare Day ..................................... October 4

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

For hundreds of millions of years, all theland of Earth was joined together in onelarge mass or super continent. Scientistscall it Pangaea (meaning "all lands" inGreek)..

Then about 200 million years ago theland began to drift apart. It broke intotwo pieces, and scientists have calledthe continent in the North Laurasia andthe continent in the SouthGondwanaland.

The two large continents continued tobreak apart into the smaller continents

Gondwanalandthat exist today. Scientists call this move-ment 'continental drift'.

It included most of the landmasses in today'ssouthern hemisphere, including Antarctica,South America, Africa, Madagascar, Austra-lia-New Guinea, and New Zealand, as well asArabia and the Indian subcontinent.

Gondwanaland was named by Eduard Suess,an Austrian geologist.

Gondwanaland was a hot and dry place withrainy seasons. The first tree ferns and conif-erous trees appeared there. Dinosaurs livedthere at one time too.

SSC CGL 2017 - Geography Guidebook

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Physical Geography

Geomorphology studies the Earth’sstructure, the rocks that make upthe earth, relief features likemountains and plains and theirevolution.

Hydrology is the study of themovement, distribution and qualityof water throughout the earth.

Oceanography is the study ofocean currents, waves and tides.

Climatology is the study of climaticfeatures such as temperature,precipitation and humidity.

Biogeography is the science thatdeals with the distribution of floraand fauna in different parts of theworld.

Pedology is the study of soils andsoil formation.

Paleontology is the study of fossils.

Cartography: Deals with the pro-duction and study of maps andcharts.

Chorology : Study of geographi-cal areas, plants and animal distri-bution.

Demography : Described as popu-lation geography, it examines thestructure of human populations andtheir dynamic aspects.

Lithology: Deals with the charac-teristics of rocks.

Geology: Study of the chemicalcomposition of earth’s crust.

Potamology: Study of rivers.

Orology: Study of mountains.

Petrology: Study of the origin, com-position and structure of rocks.

The Origin of theEarth

Most of the theories concerned withthe origin of the earth emphasise thatthe planet originated as a hot gaseousmass, which on cooling, turned firstinto a liquid and then into a solid mass.

Continental drift theoryContinental Drift Theory was put for-ward by the German scientist AlfredWegner in 1915. According to the Con-tinental Drift Theory, part of the crustare capable of horizontal movementround the globe causing the conti-nents to slowly change their positionsin relation to one another.

The fact that South America is amirror image of Africa is presented asa proof of the continental drift theory.

Plate Tectonics TheoryPlate tectonics theory was put forward by A.Holmes. According tothis theory the lithosphere of earth is considered to be divided intolithospheric plates. Each plate is capable of moving over theasthenosphere carrying oceanic or continental crust alike. At plateboundaries major landforms are created.

Most theories about the origin of the earth assumes that it began ina gaseous state.

Life appeared on earth only when the earth cooled from its gaseousstate to solid one.

Carbon dating is the most important method for estimating the age offossils found in the rocks of the earth's crust.

The age of the earth is estimated to be about 4.6 billion years.

Alfred Lothar Wegener(1880 – 1930)

Wegener was a German interdisciplinaryscientist and meteorologist, who becamefamous for his theory of continentaldrift.

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Structure of Earth1. Crust :This is the outer layer of the Earth varying between 5 to 50 km in depth under the surface of the

earth.2. Mantle: This portion is made up of iron and magnesium silicates, with temperature ranging up to 16000

C and extends downwords to a depth of about 1000 km. The thickness of the lower mantle is about 1900km.

3. Core: The outer core, approximately 2100 km thick, consists of molten iron and nickel with temperaturesranging between 20000 C and 50000 C. Below this is the solid inner core which has diameter of 2,740 km.

Crust is the outermost andthinnest layer of the earth’ssurface.

The crust comprises about 5%of the earth body.

Thickness of the crust is moreunder the continents and lesserunder oceans.

The outermost layer of thecrust is composed of lightersilicates termed as sial (Silica+ Aluminium).

Moho or Mohorovicic discon-tinuity separates crust frommantle.

The average density of thislayer is 2.7

The Mantle a layer betweencrust and the core.

Mantle contains 83% of thetotal volume and 68% of thetotal mass of the earth. Aver-age density of this layer is 5.68.

Place of the Earth in the UniverseTwo theories have been given to locate the earth’s position in

the universe. These are Geocentric theory and Helio centric theory.Geocentric TheoryThis theory prevailed in ancient and middle ages. According tothis theory, the earth is located in the centre of the universe andall the planets revolves around it.Heliocentric theory

This theory states that the sun is the centre and all the planetsincluding the earth revolves around it.

Mantle is separated from thecore by Gutenberg discontinu-ity.

It is largely composed of sili-con and magnesium calledsima.

The rocks in this layer may bein the glassy state.

Core is the central region ofthe earth.

It is 3475 km in radius.

By volume, it is 16% of theearth body .

By mass, it constitutes 32%of the mass of the earth.

The temperature of the innercore is 60000 C - 70000 C

The inner core is composed ofNiFe (Ni for Nickel Fe for Iron.).

Density of this part is 17.2. Average density of earth is

5.53.

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The EarthAge : 4.6 billion yearsMass : 5.976 ×1024 kg.Volume : 1.083 × 1024 litresMean Density : 5.518 kg/litresShape : An oblate spheroid or a geoid.Size : Polar diameter 12,713.54 km;

Equatorial diameter 12,756,32 km;Polar circumference 40,008.00 km andEquatorial circumference 40,075.16 km.

Area : Total surface area 509,7000,000 sq. km; Land area about 148,400,000 km (about 29per cent of the total area); Water area about 361,300,000 sq. km. (about 71 per centof the total surface area).

Motions : (i) Rotation (spinning motion on polar axis), once every 23 hours 56 minutes and4.09 seconds

(ii) Revolution (around the sun), once every 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 9.54seconds.

Surface Features : Highest point on land - Mt Everest 8,848 m above the sea level. Lowest area on land-shore of Dead Sea (399 m below sea level). Mean height of land 756 m.

Ocean Depths : Deepest area - Mariana Trench in Pacific Ocean south-west of Guam (11,033 mbelow the sea surface). Average depth of oceans 3,730 m.

Chemicalmake up of theEarth’s Crust : (percent by weight): oxygen 46.6, silicon 27.7, aluminium 8.1, iron 5.0, calcium 3.6,

sodium 2.8, potassium 2.6, magnesium 2.0 and other elements 1.6.Mean SurfaceTemperature : 14°C, Highest temperature 58°C at Al Aziziyah, Libya and the lowest temperature

-89.6°C at Vostok Station in Antarctica.Inclination of thePolar Axis to theOrbital Plane : 23 deg. 26 min. 59 second.Orbital Speed : 29.8 km/sAbout the SunMean DistanceFrom the Sun : 149,598,500 km (one astronomical unit). The maximum distance at the time of

aphelion between July 2 and 5 is about 152 million km and the minimum distanceat perihelion between January 2 and 5 is about 147 million km.

The rotation of the earth causes day and night and the revolution of theearth results in the change of the seasons. Since the path of the earthabout the sun is elliptical, the distance between the two keeps changing.

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Earth is lyingbetween the Venus

and Mars. It is the thirdplanet of the solar system.It ranks fifth in size with a

mean radius of 6371 kilome-ters. The shape of the earth is

oblate spheroid, ie, almostspherical, but flattened alittle at the poles with a

slight bulge at thecentre (equator).

Geographic InformationSystems (GIS) GIS uses computers for storing

and processing informationabout the Earth's surface andland use.

Geographic Information Sys-tems or GIS is a technology thatattaches a database to an elec-tronic map.

GIS technology can be used forscientific investigations, re-source management and devel-opment planning.

GIS is used to calculate the emer-gency response in the event ofa natural disaster.

GIS can help to pinpoint wet-lands that need protection frompollution.

The map gives detailed data, i.e.,every asset in a municipality,town or even a park, primaryschool, hospital, housing can beshown on the map.

The National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS) is one of the largest non-

profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the

promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the studyof world culture and history.

It is located in Washington D.C. The National Geographic magazine is currently published in 32 lan-

guage editions in many countries around the world. National Geographic Channel, is a television channel that airs non-

fiction television programs produced by the NGS.

Lithosphere,Asthenosphere &

Centrosphere The earth is divided into

lithosphere, asthenosphere andcentrosphere.

Lithosphere is the outer por-tion of the earth, including thecrust and the upper mantle.

Asthenosphere is the upperpart of the mantle which is about250 km thick. The rocks con-tained in the asthenosphere arepartially molten.

Centrosphere is the centralpart of the earth which inspiteof having a very high tempera-ture behaves like solid due toimmense pressure of the over-lying rocks.

Composition of theEarth's Crust

Most abundant element in at-mosphere is Nitrogen (78%)then Oxygen (21%). But themost abundant element in theuniverse is hydrogen.

The crust is made up of rocks.The rocks are made up of min-erals in a consolidated form.

The process of rock formation,consolidation of mineral parti-cles is called lithification.

A rock can be defined as anaggregate of minerals.

The ratio between the totalamount of light reflected froman object in space and the to-tal amount of light falling onan object is called albedo.

A perfect reflector has analbedo of 1 and earth has analbedo of 0.34 (34%).

Position, Shape andSize of Earth

Earth moves around the sun inan elliptical orbit. The spinning(rotation) of the earth at a highspeed has caused its mass tobulge at the equator and sinkin at the poles.

The bulging of central part(equatorial region) is due tocentrifugal force.

The plane passing through theEarth's orbit is called orbitalplane. The Earth's axis is in-clined and makes an angle66½0 with the orbital plane.

The difference between theequatorial diameter (12,755 km)and the polar diameter (12, 712km) of earth is 43 km.

71% of the total surface areaof earth is water and 29% island.

Earth has 40,005 km polar cir-

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cumference and 40,077 kmequatorial circumference.

Motions of the Earth andtheir Consequences

The movement of earth can bemainly divided into two as, ro-tation and revolution.

Rotation is the spinning ofearth on its own axis.

Earth spins on its axis at anangle of 66½0 to the plane ofearth from west to east.

Earth’s rotation takes 23 hours,56 minutes and 4.091 secondsto complete one rotation.

Rotation results in the forma-tion of day and night, changesin the direction of wind andocean currents. The daily oc-currence of tides twice is alsoresulted by the rotation ofearth.

Day and night are not of equalduration throughout the yearbecause of the tilt of earth’saxis.

Earth rotates 10 in 4 minutes.Therefore earth rotates 150 inone hour. It takes 24 hours(one day) to complete one ro-tation (3600).

Day and night are equal at theequator throughout the year,because the circle of illumina-tion always divides the equa-tor into two equal parts.

The duration of day and nightat the poles is six months each.

Rotation also causes coriolisforces (named after the Frenchmathematician Gaspard deCoriolis who first explainedthem mathematically) which arerelated to the decreasing rota-tional velocity with increasinglatitude and tend to deflect any-thing which is moving over theearth’s surface.

Coriolis force is zero at theequator and increases progres-sively towards either poles.

Revolution is the movement ofearth in its orbit around thesun, along an almost circularpath (elliptical) called its orbit.The earth revolves approxi-mately one degree in one day.The speed of revolution ofearth is 29 km/second.

The earth’s revolution causesa change in seasons. Seasonsare classified into four called theSpring, Summer, Autumn andWinter. The earth’s axis is in-clined at an angle of 66 ½0 tothe plane of its orbit.

Equinoxes are dates when thenight and days are equal. Dur-ing these days the sun shinesvertically on the equator. Thisoccurs twice a year. March 21is called the vernal equinox orSpring equinox and September23 is called autumnal equinox.

Solstice is the time of the yearwhen the difference between

The movement of earth can be mainly divided into two as,

rotation and revolution. Rotation is the spinning of earth

on its own axis. Earth takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes

and 45.51 seconds for one revolution around the sun. It is

called one solar year. Earth has to cover 938 million kilometers

along its elliptical orbit to complete one revolution.

Earth’s Plates The Earth's rocky outer crust

solidified billions of years ago,soon after the Earth formed.

The top layer of the Earth'ssurface is called the crust (itlies on top of the plates). Oce-anic crust (the thin crust un-der the oceans) is thinner anddenser than continental crust.Crust is constantly being cre-ated and destroyed; oceaniccrust is more active than con-tinental crust.

The plates are made of rock anddrift all over the globe; theymove both horizontally (side-ways) and vertically (up anddown). Over long periods oftime, the plates also change insize as their margins are addedto, crushed together, or pushedback into the Earth's mantle.These plates are from 50 to 250miles (80 to 400 km) thick.

The current continental andoceanic plates include: theEurasian plate, Australian-In-dian plate, Philippine plate,Pacific plate, Juan de Fucaplate, Nazca plate, Cocos plate,North American plate, Carib-bean plate, South Americanplate, African plate, Arabianplate, the Antarctic plate, andthe Scotia plate. These platesconsist of smaller sub-plates.

Type of Plate Movement: Di-vergence, Convergence, andLateral Slipping.

When two continental platescollide, mountain ranges arecreated as the colliding crustis compressed and pushedupwards.

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the length of days and thelength of nights is the largest.During these days, the sunshines vertically over thetropic.

On or around June 21, theNorth pole tilts towards the sunand the sun shines directlyover the tropic of cancer. Thisis called Summer Solstice. Onor around December 22, theearth is at the end of its orbit.The South pole tilts towardsthe sun and the North poleaway from it, which is called asWinter Solstice.

Tropics are the regions circlingthe earth between the Tropicof Cancer (230 27'N) and theTropic of Capricorn (230 27'S).These imaginary lines of lati-tude, mark the farthest pointsreached by the sun’s verticalrays. The 23½0 North parallelis termed as Tropic of Cancerand the 23½0 South parallel istermed as Tropic of Capricorn.

Sun rays fall vertically at theTropic of Cancer on June 21and they fall vertically at theTropic of Capricorn on Decem-ber 22.

Aphelion is the point in theearth’s or other planets orbit

which is farthest from the sun.Earth is at its aphelion on July4 every year at a distance of152 million kilometers.

Perihelion is a point in the or-bit of a planet or any other ce-lestial body at which it passesclosest to the sun. Earth willbe at its peri helion on January3 every year at a distance of147 million kilometres.

Perigee is the point in the or-bit of the moon at which it isclosest to the earth. Apogee isthe point in the orbit of themoon at which it is farthestfrom the earth.

Location of Place andTime on the Earth's

Surface Equator is an imaginary line

passing round the earth mid-way between the north andsouth poles, dividing the earthinto two equal halves.

Latitude is the angular dis-tance in degrees on the earth’ssurface measured north andsouth of the equator. The lati-tude of any point on the earthis most precisely expressed indegrees, minutes and seconds.

There are about 180 parallellatitudes. The distance be-tween any two parallel lati-tudes is always equal. One de-gree of latitude is approximatelyequal to 111 km.

A meridian is an imaginary lineextending from the north poleto the south pole at right an-gles to the equator.

Prime Meridian is the 00 merid-ian which passes throughGreenwich,a place near Lon-

Longest day (shortest night) in the north-

ern hemisphere is June 21and shortest day (longestnight) is December 21. Long-est day in the southern hemi-

sphere is Dec. 22 and shortest day is June 21.

don. It is also known as theGreenwich meridian.

Longitudes are equi-distantlines drawn east and west ofthe Greenwich meridian. Theydenote the angular distancesof a place due east or west ofthe Greenwich meridian. Thereare 360 meridians oflongitudes.

One hour is equal to 150 of lon-gitude.

Longitude is an important fac-tor in determining the time inall parts of the world. Localtime of a place is calculatedwith respect to the mid dayposition of the sun at thatplace.

Local time varies from Green-wich time (London) at the rateof four minutes / degree of lon-gitude.

Standard time is the uniformtime fixed by each country.

Standard time in India is thelocal time of a place nearAllahabad at 82 ½oE longitude.

Greenwich Mean Time is thestandard time of U.K. It isbased on the local time of themeridian passing throughGreenwich near London.

If a person going east of Green-wich for 1800, he would put hisclock forward by 12 hours. Atthe same time if another per-son is going to west of Green-wich for 1800, he would put hisclock backward by 12 hours.When they meet on the Inter-national Date Line, there wouldbe one day’s difference be-tween them.

Earth is divided into 23 full timezones and two half time zones

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each having longitudinal widthof 150 and 7½0 respectively.

The International Date Line issituated at 1800 meridian fromGreenwich. It runs down the midPacific Ocean, veering to keepall of the islands in a group.

When one crosses the Inter-national Date Line from east towest the date is to be advancedby one day (loses one day).Similarly when one crosses theDate Line from west to east, thedate is to be set back by oneday (gains one day).

A ship while crossing the DateLine eastwards gains a day,while it loses a day crossingwestwards.

The local time of ArunachalPradesh is two hoursahead of that of Gujarat be-cause Arunachal Pradesh is300 east of Gujarat.

Russia, the largest country inthe world, extends 1650 fromEast to West. Therefore it isdivided into eleven time zones,each differing in one hour.

The distance between any twomeridians is not equal. Theyget closer from the equator topoles.

Since earth rotates 150 in onehour, there is a difference ofone hour in local time to every150.

Sidereal day is the time be-tween two observed passagesof a star over the same merid-ian of longitude.

Sidereal day = 23 hrs. 56 min.4.09 seconds.

Solar day is the time betweentwo successive transits of thesun over the same meridian.

Mean solar day = 24 hrs.

Volcanoes A volcano is formed when the

molten magma in the earth’s in-terior escapes through the crustby vents and fissures accom-panied by steam gases (hydro-gen sulphide, sulphur dioxide,hydrogen chloride, carbon di-oxide etc) and pyroclastic ma-terials.

The molten rock material is themost common form of volcanicmatter ejected during volcanicactivity. This material is calledMagma. Upon reaching thesurface of the earth, it is calledLava.

Volcanic activity is an impor-tant process of construction onthe earth’s surface.

Crater is a funnel shaped de-pression having a circular plan

The difference between the

Greenwich Mean Time and In-

dian Standard Time is 5 ½

hours. Greenwich Mean Time

is the standard time of United

Kingdom. Indian Standard time

is the local time of a place near

Allahabad at 82 ½oE longitude.

and a neck at the centre. Cra-ters are formed by explosion orsubsidence.

Some times, the volcanic ma-terial may not be able to reachthe surface and it may get de-posited in the layers of thecrustal rocks. This type of ac-tivity is called intrusive vol-canic activity.

Lava that is rich in silica andpoor in metallic minerals iscalled acid lava.

Lava that is rich in metallic min-erals has a low melting pointand remains liquid for a longertime even with some loss ofheat. Therefore such lava ismore likely to reach the surface,is called basic lava.

Circular deposit of lava mayremain higher than the areassurrounding it. Such a featureis called a volcanic plug.

Concave Saucer shaped de-posits of lava in the crustalrocks are called lopoliths.

There are three types of volca-noes - active, dormant and ex-tinct.

An active volcano erupts oc-casionallyeg: Mount Stromboli in Italy,Barren Islands in India (Theonly active volcano in India).Mt. Etna in Sicily and Cotopaxiin Ecuador.

Mt. Stromboli whose frequenteruptions that resulted in morelike a summit glow, haveearned it a crown title 'Lighthouse of the Mediterranean.'

A dormant volcano has notbeen seen to erupt, but itshows evidence of recent ac-tivity.

Pinatubo ash plume reaching a heightof 19 km, 3 days before the climac-tic eruption of 15 June 1991.

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Mt. Vesuvius and Mt.Krakatau are examples of dor-mant volcano.

An extinct volcano shows nosign of life.Eg: Mt. Kilimanjaro

Fumaroles are fissures in theground of volcanic areasthrough which gases includingnitrogen, ammonia, carbon mon-oxide and methane are given off.

The Pacific belt is known asthe Ring of fire because of thelargest number of active vol-canoes along the coasts ofAmerica and Asia on theocean.

Batholiths are a large mass ofmagma which often forms theroot of a mountain and is madeup of granite.

Famous volcanoes of theworld: Cotopaxi (Ecuador), Mt.Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Mt.Etna (Italy), Mt. Vesuvius(Italy), Mt. Popa (Myanmar),Mauna Lao, Mt. Kenya, Mt.Stromboli (Italy).

The volcanic islands of Hawaiin the mid pacific, the famoushot water geycers of the Yel-low Stone region of NorthAmerica are examples ofinplate volcanoes.

Surtsey, is an island born froma series of volcanic explosionsfrom deep within the earth'score culminated in the creationof a barren crest of rock thatjutted from the Atlantic Ocean.

Earthquakes An earthquake (also known as

a quake, tremor or temblor) isthe result of a sudden releaseof energy in the Earth's crust

that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes which originates

naturally below the surfacesending out a series of shockwaves.

Earthquakes are frequently as-sociated with faults. The placeof origin of an earthquake in-side the earth is called its fo-cus.

Epicentre is the point on theearth’s surface vertically abovethe focus. On the earth’s sur-face the maximum damage iscaused at the epicentre.

Most of the earthquakes origi-nate at a depth of about 60 kmbelow the surface of the earth.The point of origin of an earth-quake in the interior of the earthis called the seismic focus.

Seismology is the study ofearthquakes and their impact.There are two correspondingmeasures of the severity of anearthquake : intensity and mag-nitude.

Intensity is the measure of thelocal effect which varies ac-cording to both the distancefrom the source of the earth-quake and the intr insicstrength of the earthquake.The intensity is expressed inPoints.

About 68% of all earthquakesare observed in the vast region

of the Pacific ocean as a 'Ringof fire'.

Some earthquakes are causedby the movement of lava be-neath the surface of earth dur-ing volcanic activity.

The Kutch earthquake (1819),the Assam earthquake (1897),the Kangra earthquake (1905),the Bihar earthquake (1934),the Lathur, Maharashtra earth-quake (1993) and the Gujarat(Kutch) earthquake (2001) arethe well known examples ofearthquakes in India.

Tsunami Tsunamis (tidal waves) are

long-wave length, long-periodsea waves produced by thesudden or abrupt movement oflarge volumes of water.

The Japanese word for a greatsea wave, 'tsunami', has cameinto general use to identify aseismically generated seawave.

Earthquakes, volcanic erup-

The Aravallis is the oldestmountain range in India.

The Himalayas are theyoungest fold mountains in

India. The Himalayas, theAlps, the Andes, the

Rockies etc. are examplesof fold mountains or young

mountains. The Pyrenees(Europe), Appalachians

(America) and the Aravallis(India) are examples of old

mountains. They wereformed in the pre-drift

area.

Earthquakes aremeasured with a seismo

meter; a device which alsorecords is known as a

seismograph.

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Ritcher Scale & Seismograph An earthquake is measured by its Magnitude and Intensity. Magnitude is a measure of the strength of the earthquake at its source (focus). It is assessed in Richter scale. Seismometers are instruments that measure motions of the ground, including those of seismic waves gener-

ated by earthquakes, nuclear explosions, and other seismic sources. It is also used to measure the strength(intensity) and location of earthquakes.

Richter Magnitude Scale was developed in 1935 by Charles F Richter of the California Institute of Technol-ogy as a mathematical device to compare the size of earthquakes. The magnitude of an earthquake isdetermined from the logarithm of the the amplitude of waves recorded by seismographs.

On the Richter Scale, magnitude is expressed in whole numbers and decimal fractions. The Richter magnitudesare based on a logarithmic scale (base 10). What this means is that for each whole number you go up on theRichter scale, the amplitude of the ground motion recorded by a seismograph goes up ten times.

The Richter Scale has no upper limit. Recently, another scale called the Moment Magnitude Scale has beendevised for more precise study of great earthquakes.

Earthquakes with magnitude of about 2.0 or less are usually called microearthquakes; they are not com-monly felt by people. A magnitude 5.3 might be computed for a moderate earthquake, and a strong earth-quake might be rated as magnitude 6.3. The magnitude ranging ‘7’ is severe and magnitude ranging ‘8’ isdevastating.

Petrology is the study of theorigin, composition andstructure of rocks, while

Lithology is the study of thecharacteristics of rocks.

tions and other underwater ex-plosions (including detona-tions of underwater nuclear de-vices), landslides and othermass movements, meteoriteocean impacts or similar impactevents, and other disturbancesabove or below water all havethe potential to generate a tsu-nami.

Tsunamis can also travel thou-sands of kilometers acrossopen ocean and wreak destruc-tion on far shores hours afterthe earthquake that generatedthem. Most destructive tsuna-mis are caused by earthquakesof magnitude 7.5 or more.

Rocks and Minerals Rocks and minerals mainly

constitute the upper part of theearth’s crust. Minerals arenatural substances havingcharacteristic properties and

more or less specific chemicalcompositions.

Rocks are solid materials thatmakes up the earth’s crust. Onthe basis of texture, structureand composition, rocks maybe classified into igneous, sedi-mentary and metamorphic.

Igneous rocks are formed bythe solidification of moltenmagma from the interior of theearth. About 95% of the earth’scrust is made up of this type ofrocks generally do not occurin layers. Most of them arecrystalline.eg: Granite, Volcanic rocks andBasalt.

Also called primary rocks; theyare generally hard, massive,crystalline and contain no fos-sils.

Intrusive igneous rocksformed due to solidification oflava under the surface of theearth. They have content ofsilica and poor in metallic min-erals. Also called acid lavarocks.

If the lava has very high melt-ing point it may get solidifiedat great depths. Rocks thusformed are called plutonicrocks. Granite is a common plu-tonic rock.

Extrusive igneous rocks areformed when the lava reach thesurface of the earth and thensolidify. It is also called basiclava rocks. e.g., Rhyolite, basaltetc.

Sedimentary rocks are formedfrom the sediments depositedon the ocean beds. They com-

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prise only about 5% of theearth’s crust, but covers about75% of the total land surface.Sedimentary rocks are gener-ally softer, fossils are com-monly found in these rocks.These rocks are also calledstratified rocks.eg: Sandstone, Limestone etc.

Shale is the most abundant ofall sedimentary rocks which iscomposed of silt and clay.

Sandstone is a common sedi-mentary rock which is formedmainly of quartz particles ce-mented together by silica, limeor iron oxide.

Metamorphic rocks areformed when pre-existing sedi-mentary or igneous rock is al-tered as a result of changes inphysical or chemical condi-tions.eg : Quartzite and Marble

The process which producesmetamorphic rocks is calledmetamorphism.

Quartzite is the metamorphicform of the sedimentary rock,sandstone.

Slate is formed by the com-pression of sedimentary rockslike shale and mudstone.Gneiss is formed by the meta-morphosis of igneous rockslike granite.

Chalk is a calcareous rock madeup of microscopic skeletal ele-ments from a variety of limesecreting organisms.

Coal and Peat represents theaccumulation of vegetationwhich originated in swamps.Peat is the first stage in the trans-formation of vegetable matterinto coal.

'Black Twins' is the name givento iron and coal. 'Black lead' isgraphite. Anthracite is themost superior type of coal.

Classification ofLandforms

There are three major landforms -mountains, plateaus and plains.Mountains: An uplifted portion of the

earth’s surface is called a hillor a mountain.

In our country, a mountain isdifferentiated from a hill, whenits summit or top rises to morethan 900 metres above thebase.

Those with less than thiselevation are called hills.

On the basis of their origin ormode of formation, themountains are classified asstructural or tectonic, residualor dissected and volcanic.

Structural mountains: All great mountain systems of

the earth are of this type. Such systems are hundreds of

kilometres wide and thousandsof kilometres long.

Many of them lie near or parallelto continental coastlines.

Both the fold and the blockmountains are included in thistype.

(1) Fold mountains: The major mountains of the

present day including the Alpsin Europe, the Rockies of NorthAmerica, the Andes of SouthAmerica and the Himalayas ofAsia are structural foldmountains.

The granitic core of suchmountains is surrounded by

metamorphic rocks, mergingwith sedimentary layers alongthe margins.

These young fold mountainsare still r ising under theinfluence of the earth’stectonic force.

The Aravallis are considered tobe one of the oldest mountainson the earth.

(2) Block mountains: These mountains are formed

when great blocks of the earth’scrust may be raised or loweredduring the late stages ofmountain building.

The land between the twoparallel faults, either risesforming block mountains orhorsts, or subsides into adepression termed as a riftvalley or graben.

An old fold mountain may alsobe left as block mountains dueto continuous denudation.

The Vosges in France, Blackforest mountains in Germanyand Salt Range in Pakistan arecited as typical examples ofblock mountains.

River Rhine in Europe flowsthrough a rift valley.

(3) Volcanic mountains: As these are formed by the

accumulation of volcanicmaterial, they are also knownas mountains of accumulation.

The matter is thrown out anddeposited around the crater toform a mountain.If the lava is thin and basic inits composition, it spreads along distance forming a flattercone of gentler slope and oflowe elevtation

If it is thick and of acid

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composition a small volcaniccone sharply pointing out isthe result.

Sometimes lava is thrown outalong with ash and cinders.Such a volcanic cone is termedas ash and cinder cone.

(4) Residual or DissectedMountains:

They owe their present formdue to erosion by differentagencies.

That is why they are alsoknown as relict mountains ormountains of circumdenu-dation.

Hills like the Nilgiris, theyParsanath, the Girnar andRajmahal in India are examplesof this type.

Plateaus A plateau is an elevated area

generally in contrast to thenearby areas.

It has a large area on its topunlike a mountain and has anextensively even or undulatingsurface.

The rocks of the plateau arelayered with sandstones,shales and limestones.

But an inclined or a tilted stratamany also become flat throughcontinuous wearing down.The great Deccan Plateau withits slope towards east is a tiltedplateau in our country.

Very often, rivers and streamscut out deep valleys andcanyons in a plateau regions.The plateaus are of four typeson the basis of their situation.(1) intermontane plateaus(2) continental plateaus(3) piedmont plateaus(4) lava plateaus

(1) Intermontane plateaus: The plateaus which are partly

or fully enclosed by mountainsare known as intermontane.Plateaus.

The highest and extensiveplateaus of the world suchasTibet, Bolivia and Mexicoare of this category.

These are the results of themountain-building processwhich was accompanied by avertical uplift of the adjoiningenclosed lands.

(2) Piedmont Plateaus: Situated at the foot of a

mountain, they are boundedon the opposite side by a plainor an ocean.

The plateau of Malwa in India,Those of Patagonia in Argen-tina and the Appalachian in USare some of the examples

(3) Continental plateaus: They rise abruptly from the

lowlands or from the sea. They are the result of a

continental uplift producinglarge tablelands like theplateaus of Brazil, South Africa,West Australia, Chotanagpurand Shillong. Their heightsvary from 600-1500 metres.

Sometimes a plain or a low-lying area is vertically upliftedand gives rise to a plateau.

In India plateaus of Kaimur,Rohtas, Ranchi and Karnatakaare of this type.

(4) Lava plateaus: When lava spreads out to

cover the pre-existing landsurface, a lava plateau isformed which is also called aplateau of accumulation.

The horizontal sheets of lavaflow have trapped the originaltopography varying in depth

from 1200-1500 metres overlarge parts of Maharashtra andthe adjoining areas in Deccan.

Plains A relatively flat and a low-lying

land surface with least differe-nce between its highest andlowest points is called a plain.

The plains are usuallylowlands.

Plains can be placed accordingto their position and surfacerelief but are better classifiedon the basis of their mode offormation.

They are sub-divided intostructural, erosional anddepositional plains.Structrural plains: These plains are fomed by the

uplift of a part of the sea floorusually bordering a continent,that is the continental shelf.

On the other hand, there arestructurally depressed areaswhich make up very extensivelowlands on the earth.

Erosional plains: These are formed when an

elevated tract of land, forinstance, a mountain, a hill or aplateau is worn down to a plainby the process of erosion.

Over long ages, the higher landis levelled down into a sort ofplain.

The surface is hardly smoothand forms almost a plaintermed as a peneplain.

These are found in river, iceand wind eroded regions.

Depositional plains: These plains are formed by the

filling up of sediments intodepressions along the foothills, lakes and seas.

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The deposition at sediments,eroded and brought down bylarge rivers, forms riverinealluvial plains.

The Indo-Ganga plains in theIndian subcontinent is anexample of alluvial plain.

Peneplains are formed by thewearing down of land due toweathering and erosion.

Coastal plains are those partsof the continental shelf whichhave been uplifted.

Glacial plains are formedthrough glacial erosion anddeposition.

Lacustrine plains are old lakebeds and are made up of sedi-ments deposited by rivers etc.

Karst plains are formed inlimestone areas mainly by theagency of underground water.

Flood plains, delta plains andalluvial plains are all formedthrough the deposition oferoded material by rivers.

Movements of theEarth's Crust

Warping and Isostasy consti-tute vertical movements, whilefolding, faulting and continen-tal drift constitutes horizontalmovement.

Folding is the process wherebythe rock strata are bent into aseries of arches (anticlines) andtroughs (synclines) as a resultof the horizontal earth move-ments which cause compres-sion within the crust.

Fold mountains are formed bythe crumbling or folding ofrocks.

The Himalayas, the Alps, the

Andes, the Rockies etc. areexamples of fold mountains.

Faulting is the process bywhich the tensional earthmovements under the effect ofconsiderable pressure createsa fracture in the earth’s crust.

Faulting gives rise to relief fea-tures such as block mountainsand rift valleys.

Block mountains are formed bythe lifting up of land betweenfaults or by the sinking of landoutside the faults. They areusually steep sidedeg: The Vosges.

A Rift valley is a long, relativelynarrow depression formed bythe sinking of a block of landbetween two or more or lessparallel faults.eg: East African Rift Valley.

Warping is the deformation ofearth’s crust which affects verylarge areas on the earth’s sur-face. It results in the formationof domes, shields and depres-sions.

Isostasy is a condition of gravi-tational balance between thecrustal segments of differentthickness.

Continental drift refers to thehorizontal movements of thecontinents on a vast scale.

The Himalayas, The Andes,The Rockies and The Alps areexamples of young mountains.They came into being after thecontinental drift.

The Pyrenees (Europe), Appa-lachians (America) and theAravallis (India) are examplesof old mountains. They wereformed in the pre-drift area.

The Rockies are North Ameri-can mountain ranges while theAlps are European, the Andesbelongs to South Americanrange. Mt. Blanc is the highestpeak in the Alps.

The Vindhyas separatesSouthern India from NorthernIndia.

Satpuras lies in betweenNarmada and Tapti andNarmada lies in betweenVindhya and Satpura.

The southernmost tip of West-ern Ghats is calledCardamom Hills. Sahyadri andNilgiri are parts of the WesternGhats. Western Ghats and East-ern Ghats meet at Nilgiri Hills.

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Earth’sRotation

Earth's rotation is the rotationof the solid Earth around its ownaxis. The Earth rotates towardsthe east. As viewed from theNorth Star Polaris, the Earthturns counter-clockwise.

Earth's rotation period relativeto the Sun (true noon to truenoon) is its true solar day orapparent solar day.

The velocity of the rotation ofEarth has had various effectsover time, including the Earth'sshape (an oblate spheroid), cli-mate, ocean depth and currents,and tectonic forces.

Earth’s rotation results in the de-flection of all moving objects onthe earth’s surface.

The primary effect of Earth's ro-

tation is the phenomenon of dayand night.

Due to the rotation of the earth,the stars, the planets, the moonand the sun appear to move inthe opposite direction viz., fromeast to west (e.g. the sun risesin the east in the morning, movesoverhead at noon and sets in thewest in the evening.)

If there is no rotation, one sideof the earth will always be fac-ing the sun and be excessivelyhot. The other side will havedarkness always and be exces-sively cold.

Another effect of spin or rota-tion placed on weather systemsby what is called Coriolis effect.

The rotation of the Earth also

Moment Magnitude

Scale (MMS)MMS was developed in the

1970s to succeed Richter Scale.

The magnitude is based on the

moment of the earthquake. The

MMS is used to estimate

magnitudes for all modern large

earthquakes by the United

States Geological Survey.

Mercalli ScaleThe intensity ofearthquake is measuredusing Mercalli Scale. TheMercalli scale quantifiesthe effects of anearthquake on the Earth’ssurface, humans, objectsof nature, and man-madestructures on a scale of 1through 12. This wasdeveloped by Italianvolcanologist GiuseppiMercalli in 1902.

The Atmosphere Atmosphere is defined as an

envelope of gaseous mixturescovering the earth held to it bygravitational forces. Atmos-phere is essential for the lifeon earth.

The principal constituents ofthe lower atmosphere areNitrogen (78.08% by volume)Oxygen (20.94%)Argon (0.93%)Carbondioxide (0.033%)Besides, there are minute pro-portions of other gases.

Oxygen is the most importantcomponent among atmosphericgases.

Nitrogen which is an importantconstituent of all organic com-pounds is relatively inert.

The main function of nitrogenis to control combustion by di-luting oxygen, thus it acts as adilutant.

contributes to the shift of theshape of our home planet.Earth's shape has actually beenmodified by its rotation, and wedescribe its shape as that of anoblate spheroid.

The most celebrated test ofEarth's rotation is the Foucaultpendulum first built by physi-cist Léon Foucault in 1851.

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The amount of carbondioxidevaries from place to place, be-ing greatest around the citiesand smallest in the countryside. Green plants during pho-tosynthesis absorb carbondio-xide from the atmosphere anduse it to manufacture food andkeep other bio-physical proc-esses going.

Ozone (O3) consisting of threeoxygen atoms chemicallylinked is another variable con-stituent of the atmosphere. Inthe lowest layers, the propor-tion of ozone is very low (lessthan 0.00005 by volume of at-mosphere).

Between 20km and 40 km al-titude greater concentrationsof ozone are found. At levelsabove 32 km, it increases form-ing what is known as the ozonebelt. It plays a crucial role inblocking the harmful ultravio-let radiation from the sun.

Water vapour is one of themost variable gaseous sub-stances present in the atmos-phere, constituting between0.02% and 4% of the totalvolume in cold dry and hu-mid tropical climates respec-tively. 90% of moisture con-tent in the atmosphere existswithin 6km on the surface ofearth.

Atmosphere also containshuge numbers of solid and liq-uid particles called aerosols. Inaddition, negligible quantitiesof other gases such as argon,neon, helium, hydrogen, xe-non, krypton, methane etc arepresent in the atmosphere.

Structure ofAtmosphere

The earth’s atmosphere ismade up of a series oflayers on the basis of the ver-tical distribution of tempera-tures.

Troposphere is the lowest layerof the atmosphere and extendsroughly to a height of 7 to 8km near the poles to some 16kmover the equator. The thicknessis greater at the equator, be-cause the heated air rises togreater heights.

Stratosphere is a region ofuniform temperature extendingfrom an altitude of about 11kmabove the earth to a height ofnearly 50km. It is free from wa-ter vapour, clouds and dust.

The upper part of the strato-sphere has plenty of ozonewhich affords protection tohuman beings on the earthagainst the fatal effects of ul-traviolet radiations.

The Stratosphere also pro-vides ideal conditions for fly-ing aeroplanes. The upper limitof this layer is calledstratopause.

Mesosphere is a very cold re-

gion above the stratospherewhich extends from 50 or 80kmabove the earth’s surface.

Within the mesosphere thetemperature decreases with al-titude from about 0oC atstratopause to about –100oC atmesopause. Mesopause is theboundary line between iono-sphere and mesophere.

Thermosphere is the upper-most layer of the atmosphere

The Atmosphere is divided into layersaccording to major changes in temperature. 99% of

the total mass of the atmosphere is below 32 kilometers.Atmosphere can be classified into five main layers. troposphere,stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere (Ionosphere) and the

Magnetosphere. Troposphere - 0 to 12 km, Stratosphere - 12 to50 km, Mesophere - 50 to 80 km, Thermosphere - 80 km

and up. Thermosphere contains Ionosphereand Exosphere.

MagnetosphereMagnetosphere is the area

around the earth that extendsbeyond the atmosphere. The

earth's magnetic field operateshere. It begins at about 1000

km. It is made up of positivelycharged protons and nega-

tively charged electrons. Thistraps the particles that are

given off by the sun. They areconcentrated into belts orlayers called the Van Allen

radiation belts. The Van Allenbelts trap deadly radiation.

When large amounts are givenoff during a solar flare, theparticles collide with each

other causing the auroraborealis or the northern lights.

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extending from the mesopauseat an altitude of about 85 kmsto the outer limits of atmos-phere.

Ionosphere is that part of thethermosphere which extendsabove the mesosphere from 65km to nearly 400 km above theearth’s surface. It is an electri-cally charged layer character-ised by the ionisation of atoms.

Due to the presence of electriccharge in the Ionosphere, ra-dio waves transmitted from theearth are reflected back to theearth by this layer.

Exosphere is the uppermostregion of the atmosphere. Itextends beyond the iono-sphere above a height of about400km. The air is extremely rar-efied and the temperaturegradually increases throughthe layer. Here the gravity ofearth is exceedingly weak.

The lowest temperature of airis recorded just before sunrise,because of the predominanceof land over water in the north,the northern hemisphere iswarmer.

The pressure exerted by at-mosphere as a result of itsweight above a unit area of theearth’s surface is called the at-mospheric pressure.

Atmospheric pressure is ex-pressed in millibars (mb) andis measured with a mercurybarometer.

Two principal types of barom-eter used are mercury barom-eter and aneroid barometer.

One millibar of atmosphericpressure is equal to the forceof one gram on a square centi-metre.

The normal pressure at sealevel is taken to be about 76centimetres (1013.25 millibars).

Aurora are produced bycharged particles from the suncaptured by earth’s magneticfield at a height of about 100km.

Aurora Borealis is a luminousphenomenon in the northernhemisphere and AuroraAustralias is a luminous phe-nomenon in the southern hemi-sphere.

Insolation is the radiant energythat reaches the surface of theearth from the sun. Insolationis the most important singlesource of atmospheric heat.

Winds A wind can be defined as a

stream of air in a fairly well-defined direction. Winds aregenerated due to differences inpressure from one place to theother.

Wind is ‘air in motion’ andplays an important role in cli-matic variations on the earth.

Air always moves from a re-gion of high pressure to a re-gion of low pressure. The chiefcause of winds is the differencein pressures.

Winds can be classified into Regular winds (Primary)

eg: tradewinds and westerlies. Periodical winds (Secondary)

eg: monsoon winds. Variable winds (Tertiary)

eg: cyclones and other localwinds

Trade winds refers to thewinds that blows from thesub-tropical belts of highpressure towards the equato-rial region of low pressure.

The effect of rotation of earth

on the direction of winds is

called the Coriollis effect. This

effect causes deflection in the

direction of winds.

International Date LineThis line is a zig-zag line and roughly coincides with the 180th merid-ian.

When the date line is crossed from the east to the west, the date mustbe advanced by one day, when the line is crossed from the west to theeast, the date must be set back by one day.

The International Date Line (the meridian 180°) was chosen becauseit passes through the mid-Pacific, where there are no land masses.

It goes zig-zag in some places to avoid land and leaves some islandgroups wholly on the same side of the line.

It deflects to the east of 180° the Bering Strait, between Siberia andAlaska.

It deflects to the West of 180° to leave the Hawaiian group of islandson the East of the line.

It deflects again to the East, South of the equator to avoid the Fiji andTonga islands, on the same side as New Zealand. If the date line isdrawn exactly North and South, it will cut inhabited islands makingwhat is Tuesday to one man, a Wednesday his next door neighbour.

The twenty-four hour time is increasingly used by railways, airlinesetc. for dispensing with the suffix a.m. and p.m.

The day begins at midnight, the zero hour and the following hoursare numbered from 0 to 23 hours.

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Trade winds blow towards theequator between 50 and 300

north and south latitude. The word ‘trade’ comes from

the saxon word ‘tredon’ whichmeans 'to tread and follow aregular path.'

Trade winds are also calledtropical easterlies.

Trade winds are called so be-cause prior to the steamage;sailing ships carrying goods oftrade and cargo depended onthese winds.

Westerlies or Anti-Tradewinds are regular winds whichblows outside the tropics in thetemperate zone. These windsblow from the sub-tropical highpressure areas to sub-polar lowpressure areas and between350 and 600 North and Southlatitudes.

Polar Easterlies constitute thewind system characteristic ofthe arctic and polar zones.They extend from about 600

north and 600 south latitude tothe poles.

Monsoon winds are seasonalwinds which blow briefly overIndia, Sri Lanka, China andnorth-west Australia.

Monsoon climate is marked bysummer rains and winterdroughts.

The word 'monsoon' derivedits name from the Arabic word‘mausin’ meaning seasonalwinds. Traditionally monsoonhas been considered as a re-sult of the differential heatingof land and sea.

According to dynamic theory,monsoon are a result of the shiftof the Inter Tropical Conver-gence Zone (ITCZ) under theinfluence of the vertical sun.

Polar winds are winds whichblow from the high pressurearea around the poles towardsthe temperate regions.

Planetary winds are permanentwinds which blow throughoutthe year from one latitude to theother in response to the latitudi-nal differences in air pressure.They blow over the vast areasof continents and oceans.

Horse Latitudes are sub-tropi-cal belts of variable winds andcolumns that lie between thelatitudes of 250 and 350 Northand South. They coincide withthe sub-tropical high pressurebelts.

Horse Latitude winds are weakand shifting. In early days, thesailing vessels with a cargo ofhorses found it difficult to sailunder such calm conditions.They used to throw horses intothe sea to save valuable drink-ing water and this part there-fore came to be called as HorseLatitudes.

A gale is a strong wind having the speed between 56 and 72 kmper hour.

A storm refers to a strong wind whose speed exceeds 72 to 121km/hr.

Doldrums are equatorial beltsof low pressure where thenorth-east and south-easttrade winds converge on andmeet each other approximatelybetween 50 south and 50 northlatitude. The belt is character-ised by extremely low pressurewith calm conditions.

Roaring Forties are powerfulwesterly winds that blowthroughout the year over theoceans of the southern hemi-sphere between 400 and 600

south latitudes. They arecalled Best brave winds andbring storms and heavy rain-fall.

The winds which developedbetween 450

and 550 are calledFurious Fifties and that devel-oped between 550 and 650 arecalled Shrieking sixties. Theseare the dreaded terms used bysailors.

Local winds develop as a re-sult of the local differences intemperature and pressure.They affect the smaller areasand are restricted to the low-est levels of the troposphere.

Local winds includes hot, cold,convectional and slope winds.

The most famous local coldwinds that blow from Alps overFrance towards the Mediterra-nean sea is the mistral.

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Loos are very hot and dry lo-cal winds that blows from thewest in the months of May andJune, usually in afternoons inthe plains of Northern Indiaand Pakistan. Its temperatureinvariably varies between 450Cand 500C. It may cause sun-stroke to people.

Local convectional winds areof two types - Land breeze andsea breeze.

Land breeze is defined as theprocess by which cold windsblows from the land to sea dur-ing night. Land breeze is notas strong as the sea breeze.

During the day time, the landget warmer than the sea pro-ducing low pressure over theland into which cooler airmoves from over the sea. Thelocal winds that blows from seato land during the day time iscalled Sea breeze.

Valley breeze and mountainbreeze are the counterparts ofland and sea breeze. During theday time the slopes of themountain gets heated morethan the valley floor. As suchthe air from the valley flows upthe slope. This is called theValley breeze. After sunset theprocess is reversed. Rapid lossof heat through terrestrial ra-diation along the mountainslopes results in the sliding ofcold dense air from higher el-evations to valleys. This iscalled the mountain breeze.

Jet streams are narrow con-centrated bands ofmeandering high velocitygeotrophic streams boundedby low speed winds and is apart of upper level westerlies.

The Jet streams have an averagevelocity of 120 km per hour in win-ter and 50km per hour in summer.

A hurricane is a strong windwhose speed exceeds 121 km/hr.

Cyclones are irregular windmovements involving closedair circulation around a lowpressure centre. Cyclones areassociated with destructiveand violent disturbances suchas heavy squalls and torren-tial rainfall.

Cyclones are called hurri-canes in the South-eastCarribean region.

In the Philippines islands,eastern China and Japan, cy-clones are called Typhoons.

Around South-east Africancoast, Madagascar, Mauritiusislands and North-west Aus-tralia they are called WillieWillies.

If the speed of cyclone isgreater than 250 km/hr, it isknown as Super Cyclone.

Tornadoes are violently rotat-ing storms, characterised by afunnel shaped cloud in whichwinds whirl around a small areaof extremely low pressure. Theyare generally accompanied bytorrential rains.

Water Spout is a tornado occur-ring in the sea usually in tropicaland sub-tropical regions whichconnects a whirling cone ofdense cloud with a cone of

spray raised from sea and thusraises a huge column of water.

Anti–cyclone is a high pressurewind blowing outwards from thecentre, clockwise in the North-ern Hemisphere and anti-clock-wise in the Southern Hemi-sphere.

Coriolis force is a ‘fictious’force needed to relate themovement of air masses overthe earth’s surface to its rotat-ing co-ordinate system (thegrid). It was named after theFrench mathematician Gaspardde Coriolis, who first describedit in 1835.

Coriolis force is absent at theequator and increases towardsthe poles. The force is respon-sible for the formation and di-rection of movement of anti-cy-clones and whirlpools.

Clouds Clouds are a visible mass of

small water drops or ice crys-tals formed by the condensa-tion of water vapour in the at-mosphere, usually at a consid-erable height above the earth’ssurface.

Clouds are caused mainly bythe adiabatic cooling of air be-low, its dew point.

On the basis of appearance, theclouds can be identified as(i) Cirrus clouds are high,white & thin. They are com-posed of ice crystals. They

Wind Wane : Instrument for knowing the direction of wind. Anemometer : Measures the velocity of the wind. Beaufort wind scale is an internationally accepted wind scale

which consists of a series of number devised by Sir FrancisBeaufort in 1805 to indicate different wind strengths.

Instruments to Measure Wind

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form delicate patches and givea fibrous and feathery appear-ance.(ii) Cumulous clouds : have aflat base and have the appear-ance of rising domes. Theseclouds are often described ashaving cauliflower structure.(iii) Stratus clouds : as sheetsof layer that covers much or allof the sky.

Stratiform clouds - Theseclouds are fairly thin and blan-ket like. Subdivided into highclouds, medium clouds andlow clouds.

Alto and Nimbo are the twoprefixes which refer to middlelevel clouds and low clouds ofconsiderable thickness withdark grey appearance respec-tively.For eg:- (1) Low clouds includestratocumulus, stratus,nimbostratus, cumulus andcumulo nimbus. (2) Mediumclouds include alto cumulusand alto stratus. (3) Highclouds include cirrus, cirro stra-tus and cirro cumulus.

Precipitation is the formationof water particles or ice withinthe cloud that falls towards theearth’s surface. It occurs whencondensation takes placerapidly within the cloud.

Precipitation in the form of ice-pellets (hail stones) that devel-ops in and fall from cumulonimbus clouds, either at a coldfront or where intense heatingof the surface causes rapidlyascending convection cur-rents called Hails.

Climatic zonesof the Earth

Equator is the biggest circledrawn on the globe.

The regions between 5o northand 50 south of the equator iscalled the Equatorial region.Here the temperature is veryhigh and rainfall is very heavy.

Torrid zone which is the hot-test zone lies between 23½0

North and 23½0 South. ie., be-tween the Tropic of Cancerand Tropic of Capricorn.

Temperate zone: Lies between23½o north and 66 ½o northNorth Temperate zone andSouth Temperate zone lies be-tween 23½o south and 66½o

south. This zone has a markedannual range of temperature.

Frigid zone lies between 66½0

north and 900N in the case ofnorth frigid zone and 66½o

south and 900 south in the caseof south frigid zone. They areextremely cold regions.

Climatic Conditionsof Earth

The world climate can beclassified into Tropical Climate,

Dry Climate, Humid MesothermalClimate, Humid Microthermal

Climate, Polar Climate andHighlands Climate.

Tropical Climate Major subtypes of tropical cli-

mate are the tropical rainforest,tropical monsoon and tropicalsavanna climates.

Occurs in the tropical zonewhere the mean monthly tem-perature remains generallyabove 22°C.

Dry Climate This climate is characterised by

a general water deficit. It can be classified into-tropi-

cal and substropical desert,and tropical and subtropicalsteppes.

Humid Mesothermal Climate It is subdivided into - Mediter-

ranean type, China type andWest European type.

Humid Microthermal Climate Based on the type of forests

growing in the region, this cli-mate is also known as ‘taiga’.The summer temperature ishigher than 10°C, but the tem-peratures in the winter seasongo below the freezing point andremain so for eight months.

This type of climate is experi-enced in North America andEurasia.

Polar Climate This climate is also known as

the tundra and is experiencedin the polar regions.

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Fog-Smog-Mist

Fog is made up of droplets of water suspended in the lower layers

of atmosphere resulting from the condensation of water vapour

around nuclei of floating dust or smoke particles.

Smog also called smoke fog, is a form of fog that occurs in areas

where the air contains a large amount of smoke.

Mist is the term given for a reduction of visibility between 1 -

2km caused by the condensation, producing water droplets

within the lower layers of atmosphere. It is the intermediate be-

tween fog and haze.

Mist and fog are identical and are formed in the same way. The

only difference is that in a fog, the particles of water are smaller

and visibility is poorer than in a mist.

Haze is formed by water particles that have condensed around

the nuclei in the atmosphere but may also be a result of particles

of smoke, dust or salt in the air.

It is experienced in Arctic mar-gins of North America andEurasia and the Antarctic con-tinent.

Highland Climate It is significantly modified by

the altitude and the aspect ofthe slope and these regionshave a variable climate.

This climate is experienced inthe mountainous regions ofHimalaya, Tibetan Plateau,Rockies, Andes and Alps.

Weather is a condition of theatmosphere at a certain placeand time, with reference to tem-perature and the presence ofrain, sunshine, wind etc.

Climate is the regular patternof weather conditions of a par-ticular region.

Humidity is the degree of watervapour present in the air. For anyspecified temperature, there is adefinite limit to the maximumquantity of moisture that canbe held by the air. This limit isknown as the saturation point.

Humidity can be measured bymeans of a hygrometer.

Relative humidity is the ratiobetween the amount of watervapour actually present in anair mass and the maximumamount that the air mass canhold at that temperature. It isexpressed in terms of percent-age.

Vapour Pressure - The amountof pressure exerted by a givencolumn of air differs accordingto the varying amounts of wa-ter vapour present in it. Thatpart of barometric pressure dueto water vapour alone is knownas vapour pressure.

Vapour pressure is maximum at

the equator (about 30 mb) anddecreases towards the poles(less than 10 mb).

Dew is the moisture depositedin the form of water dropletson the earth’s surface or on ob-jects near the earth’s surface.

Dew point is the temperatureat which air is fully saturatedand below which condensa-tion normally occurs.

Condensation is the physicalprocess of transformation fromthe vapour to liquid state. Con-densation occurs when tem-perature reaches the dew point.

Frost is a weather conditionthat occurs when the air tem-perature is at or below 0oC. Themoisture on the ground sur-face and objects, freezes toform an icy deposit.

Global warming andclimate

Global warming refers to anaverage increase in the Earth’stemperature, which in turn,

causes changes in climate. Awarmer earth may lead tochanges in rainfall patterns, arise in sea level and a widerange of impacts on plants,wildlife and humans.

Average global temperatureshave risen (0.6+ 0.2°C) sincethe late 19 th century. Thescientific consensus is that asignificant proportion of thispast rise, particularly in the last25-50 years, is due tohumanity’s emission of greenhouse gases such as carbondioxide. (CO2)

The impact of climate change.Carbon dioxide emitted mainlyby the burning of fossil fuelsand the emission of methane,nitrous oxide, CFC’s and othergreen house gases thickens theblanket of greenhouse gasesover the earth’s atmosphereupsetting the natural flow ofenergy from the sun.

Deforestation acceleratesglobal warming by reducing theabsortption of carbon dioxidein the atmosphere.

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Based on current emissionlevels, it is estimated that theglobal tremperature will rise bybetween 1°C and 3.5°C by theyear 2100.

The mean sea level may riseupto 100 cm by the year 2100,causing flooding andsubmergence of many islandsand coastal cities.

Ozone depletion The Ozone layer is found in the

atmosphere between 20-50 kmfrom the Earth’s surface.

The Ozone layer is region ofconcentration of the allotropeof an oxygen molecule knownas Ozone (O3) which isproduced by the action of Solarradiation on ordinary Oxygenatoms.

It filters sunlight and preventsthe harmful ultravioletradiation from reaching theEarth’s surface by absorbingmost of the ultra violetradiation.

If these ultraviolet rays wereto reach the Earth’s surface infull intensity all exposedbacteria would be destroyedand animal tissues damagedseverely.In this protective role, thepresence of the Ozone layer isan essential factor in the lifeenvironment.

There are certain householdand industr ial chemicals,having widespread applicationin refrigeration, air conditi-oning, fire extinguishing anddry cleaning, that are knownto deplete this life-saving layer.These chemical are calledOzone-Depleting substances

and include primarily theChlorofluoro Carbons (CFCs),Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl4)and Hydro Chloro fluorocarbons (HCFCs)

Molecules of thesesubstances drift upwardthrough the troposphere andeventually reach thestratosphere.

As these compounds absorbultra violet radiation they aredecomposed and chlorine isreleased.

The Chlorine in turn attacksmolecules of Ozone, conver-ting them in large numbers intoordinary oxygen molecules.

In this way, the Ozone concen-tration within the stratosphericozone layer can be reduced.With less ozone in theatmosphere, more ultravioletradiation reaches the earth,leading to a higher incidenceof skin cancer (or melanomia)catarats, destru-ction ofcertain forms of aquatic life,reduction in crop yields anddamage to the immune system.

Oceanography It deals with the study of

oceans and is concerned withelucidation of the physical andbiological characteristics of theoceans.

Pacific Ocean This is the largest ocean in the

world. One-third of the earth is

covered by this ocean. Itcovers an area of 166 millionsq.km. and has a volume of 696million cubic km.

The outer boundary of the

There are five majoroceans each encompassingwithin it a large number ofseas, bays and gulfs. Theyare the Pacific, theAtlantic, the Indian, theArctic and the Antarcticor the Southern Ocean.

deep ocean-type structure iscalled the andesite line, sonamed after the andesite rockthat is found only in the oceanbottoms and not on thecontinents.

The name ‘Pacific’ was givenby Magellan who was the fistEuropean to cross it in 1521 toreach Philippines.

The Mariana Trench in theChallenger Deep of the PacificOcean is the deepest point onthe earth.

In shape, it resembles a broadtriangle with its apex in thenorth at the Bering Strait andthe base to the south.

Atlantic Ocean This is the second largest

ocean in the world. It is the busiest ocean route in

the world. The Atlantic Ocean separates

American continents fromEurope and Africa.

The greatest depth in theAtlantic is Milwaukee depth inthe Puerto Rico Trench.

Bermuda Triangle is located inthe Atlantic Ocean.

Indian Ocean Indian Ocean is the third

largest ocean in the world andthe only ocean named after acountry, India.

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The days and years are based on solar (sun) time. One day equals to the length of time it takes for the earth to make one complete revolution in its

own axis. One year is the approximate time taken by the earth to make one complete revolution around the sun. The Sumerians, Babylonians and ancient Egyptians had calendars based on the lunar month. The

original Roman calendar apparently covers only agricultural months. A calendar instituted in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII has now been used in most of the world. Its

distinguishing feature is that, in it a century year is a leap year. Leap year is an year which is exactly divisible by four. But the last year of a century will be a leap

year only if it is exactly divisible by 400. Thus 1700, 1800, 1900 are not leap years but 1600, 2000,2400 etc are leap years. This correction was made by Pope Gregory XIII in AD 1582.

A year with 366 days is called a leap year. In a leap year, February will have 29 days. The concept of leap year was introduced in the Roman calendar by Julius Ceasar in

46 BC, on the advice of his astronomer Sosigenes. Britain introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1752.

Years, Months & Calendars

The greatest depth in theIndian Ocean is the JavaTrench (7,725 m).

Madagascar is the largestisland in the Indian Ocean.

Indian Ocean is mostlyconfined to the SouthernHemisphere while in theNorthern Hemisphere, itextends only to a few degreesof latitude. Due to this fact, theIndian Ocean is often calledhalf an ocean.

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is connected

to the Pacific Ocean throughthe narrow Bering Strait and tothe Atlantic Ocean throughlarge openings of the BarentsSea, Greenland Sea andnumerous straits in theCanadian archipelago.

This ocean is roughly circularin shape and it surrounds theNorth Pole.

Antartic Ocean (Southern Ocean) The Antarctic Ocean flows in

the eastern direction. The Antarctica Ocean is the

fourth largest among the fivemain oceans .

The current, popularly knownas West Wind Drift moves theocean from west to east allaround Antarctica. Thiscurrent mixes the ends of thePacific, the Southern ends ofthe Atlantic, and the IndianOcean.Ocean MovementsThere are three types of

motions in the oceans viz., thetides, the waves and the

currents. Tides imply a rhythmic rise and

fall in the level of water in theoceans and seas. They arecaused by the gravitationalpull of the moon and the sunon the surface of the earth.

An earthquake originating onthe sea bottom may give rise

to very high magnitude wavescalled tsunamis.

Both the tides and the wavesdo not involve large scalemovement of water from oneregion to the other.

SubmarineTopography

Ocean Currents General movement of a mass

of surface water in a fairlydefined direction is known asan ocean current.

Ocean currents are of twokinds:(i) Warm Currents(ii) Cold Currents

Warm currents which flowsfrom a warmer region to acolder region (equatorial to thepolar regions).

Cold currents which flow froma colder to a warmer region (po-lar region to the equatorial re-gion).

Ocean currents are caused by

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several interacting forces. Oneof the prime causes, particu-larly of surface currents iswind.

Florida current and Brazil cur-rent are warm currents of theAtlantic ocean.

Kuroshio current is in the Pa-cific Ocean.

Agulhas current is a majorwarm current of Indian Ocean.

Ocean currents change theirdirection annually in the IndianOcean.

Labrador, Canaries, Beneguelaand Falkland are cold currentsof Atlantic Ocean.

Alaska, Peruvian or Humboldtand California are cold cur-rents of the Pacific Ocean.

Ocean currents influence theclimate of the regions they passthrough.

Tides Tide is the periodic rise and

fall of sea water. The tides arecaused by gravitational pull ofthe moon and sun on earth’ssea water.

The time period between ahigh tide and a low tide is ap-proximately six hours. Each ofthem happens twice a day.

Highest tidal amplitude andrange was found in Bay ofFundy.

Highest tides recorded in In-dia is at Okha, Gujarat.

Generally, tides occur twice aday. But in Southampton, alongthe southern coast of England,experiences tides 4 times a day.

A rise in the water level iscalled high tide and a fall iscalled low or ebb tide. Tidesare of two types, Spring Tidesand Neap Tides.

Spring Tides are caused as aresult of the moon and sunpulling the earth gravitationallyin the same direction. Theyoccur twice a month around thefull moon and new moon. It isthe tide of maximum rise.

Neap Tides are caused whenthe moon and the sun pull theearth gravitationally in oppo-site directions. These tides areproduced when the moon andthe sun are at right angles tothe earth. It is the tide of mini-mum rise, occuring twice amonth. They occur on halfmoon days.

Waves A wave is an undulation that

moves across the surface ofthe sea caused by the transferof energy from the wind to thesea.

Standing waves or stationarywaves are caused by storm orsudden disturbances in wateror atmosphere.

Tidal waves or seismic wavesor tsunamis are waves whichare formed by underwaterearthquakes in volcanic erup-tions at the sea bottom. Theyhave a long tidal period and avery high speed.

A canyon is a deep narrow val-ley with almost upright sidesformed by the denudation ofsoft rocks by rivers and rainwater.eg : Grand canyon on the Colo-rado River in U.S.A

Coral reef is a ridge of rock inthe sea that is composedchiefly of the skeletons of smallanimals called reef - buildingcoral polyps.

The most extensive of all thebarrier reefs is the Great Bar-rier Reef of Australia.

Atoll is a circular or horse–shoe shaped coral reef sur-rounding a lagoon either hav-ing an island or submergedplateau in it. They are foundchiefly in the Pacific Ocean.

Lagoon is a shallow stretch ofwater separated completely orpartly from the sea by a nar-row strip of land.

Isthmus is a narrow strip ofland joining two larger areas ofland that would otherwise beseparated by water. The isth-mus of Panama joins North andSouth America.

Strait is a narrow passage ofwater connecting two seas ortwo large areas of water.

A bay is a part of the sea or ofa large lake enclosed by a widecurve of the shore.

Gulf is a part of the sea almostsurrounded by land. Gulfstreams are warm currentsflowing across the AtlanticOcean from the gulf of Mexicotowards Europe.

High seas are the open seas oroceans outside any territorialwaters of countries. They arealso known as Internationalwaters.

The laws binding the territo-rial right over the sea has beenfixed by the UN and have beenaccepted since 1974. Withinthe Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ) the coastal state has theright to exploit all economicresources - fish, minerals, oiland gas and energy produc-tion.

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An estuary is the single v-shaped mouth of a river whenit merges into the sea. It is wid-est near the sea.

A delta is a triangular tract ofalluvium, usually fan shaped atthe mouth of a river where itdeposits more material thancan be carried away. The rivergets divided into two or morechannels (distr ibutaries),which may further divide andrejoin to form a network ofchannels.The world’s largest deltaSunderbans, is formed bythe Ganges and theBrahmaputra in Indiaand Bangladesh. Its areais nearly 75,000 sq.km.

Beach is the shore of a sea,consisting of a strip of pebbles,sand or mud lying between lowand high water marks.

Shoal is a shallow region in asea, river or lake.

Waterbodies Hydrosphere - The mass of

water that covers about 71%of the earth's surface. Oceansare the largest single constitu-ent unit of the hydrosphere.

Average depth of the ocean isabout 4 km.

Oceans contains more than97% of the total water on theearth.

The study of various aspectsof oceans is called oceanogra-phy.

Oceans predominate over landareas in southern hemisphere.

The greatest depth in Indianocean is the DiamentinaTrench.

Arctic ocean is the smallest

ocean in the world. The two most abundant ele-

ments in sea water are chlorineand sodium.

Peninsula is a piece of landalmost surrounded by water.Southern India is a peninsula.

The sea with the highest de-gree of salinity is the Dead Sea.No fish live in this sea, henceit is called Dead Sea.The Panama Canal links

the Pacific Ocean with the At-lantic Ocean. The length ofPanama Canal is 82 km (50miles). It was built by the USAduring 1904-14. Now the con-trol of the canal is with Panama.

Kiel canal, an internationalcanal linking the North Seawith the Baltic sea was built bythe Germans in the years be-fore first world war. It is 96 kmlong. It was declared an inter-national waterway by theTreaty of Versailles in 1919.

Berring Strait connects thePacific Ocean and the ArcticOcean in the north, which sepa-rates Asia and North America.The International Date Linepasses through the BerringStrait.

Baffin Bay lies in betweenGreenland and Canada.

The Grand Banks are the fa-mous fishing grounds in theNorth-West Atlantic.

Abyssal Plain - The deepestand most extensive part of theocean floor and it accounts forthe largest proportion of thetotal area of the oceans.

A waterfall is simply the fall ofan enormous volume of waterfrom a great height. Jog orGersoppa Falls on Sharavati (atributary of Cauvery) inKarnataka is the highest wa-terfall in India.

A glacier is a moving mass ofice at a speed averaging be-tween 30 to 40 cm and 15 to 18metres per day. It originates athigh altitudes due to low tem-peratures and high orographicprecipitation.

Rivers The Nile (6670 km) which is the

longest river in the worlddrains into the MediterraneanSea.

The Amazon, flowing into theSouth Atlantic, is the largestriver in terms of size and vol-ume of water discharged. It is

The Suez Canal

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, con-

necting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

Opened in November 1869, it allows water transportation be-

tween Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa.

The canal was nationalised by Col. Nasser on July 26, 1956.

Suez Canal is an artificial water way from Port Said to Suez. It is

169 km long (105 mile). It separates Asia from Africa. It was

opened in 1869 and nationalised in 1956. Suez Canal has short-

ened the distance between Southampton and Mumbai by about

6500 km.

Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French architect designed it.

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6437 km long. It makes the larg-est river basin in the worldcovering an area of 7,045,000sq.km.

The longest river in Europe isthe Volga, 3690km.

The longest river of Oceania isthe Murray in Australia(3220km).

The Indus (2900km) is the long-est river of the Indian subcon-tinent. The longest river of In-dia is the Ganges (2640km).

Indus river system is the mostextensive river system in theIndian subcontinent. It in-cludes - Indus, Ravi, Beas,Sutlej, Jhelum, Chenab.

The Brahmaputra (2688km) isbigger than the Ganges; butonly a small part of it flowsthrough India. It originatesfrom Manasarovar Lake in Ti-bet. In Tibet, its name isTsangpo.

The only river that crosses theequator twice is river Congo.

Victoria falls are in river Zam-bezi.

The only river to cross theTropic of Capricon twice isriver Limpopo in South Africa.

City at the confluence of Blueand White Nile is Khartoum,capital of Sudan.

DesertAntartic Deserts, Arctic,

Sahara (Africa), ArabianDesert (Middle East), GobiDesert (Asia), Kalahari Desert(Africa), Pantago nian Desert(South America), Great Victo-ria Desert (Australia), SyrianDesert (Middle East), GreatBasin Desert (North America)are the ten largest deserts inthe world .

Hot deserts have sparse veg-etation often found in clumpsover small patches of land.

Cacti are the most typical plant.In some places, dwarf trees likeAccacia, Date palms etc are alsofound.

June 17 : World day to com-bat desertification

The Takla Makan (32,000 sq.km)is the largest desert in China; Gobi(Mongolia) is the coldest desertin the world. Largest Desert inIndia is Thar Desert.

Camel is known as the ship ofthe desert.

Atacama Desert in NorthernChile is the driest place onEarth. It is virtually sterile be-

Longest river of Asia ................................ Yangtze (Chang Jiang) Longest river of Europe ..................................................... Volga Longest river of North America ...................... Missisipi-Missouri Longest river of South America ..................................... Amazon Longest river of Australia ............................................... Murray Longest river of Africa ......................................................... Nile Longest river of South East Asia ................................... Mekong Longest river of South West Asia ............................... Euphrates Longest river of Russia ......................................................... Ob Longest river of Sri Lanka ................................ Mahaweli Ganga World's longest rivers in descending order of length are Nile, Ama-zon, Chang Jiang and Missisipi-Missouri.

Lakes Lake Superior (North America) is the largest freshwater lake in the

world. The Caspian Sea is the largest salt water lake. It borders with Russia,

Kazakhistan, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan. Lake Baikal (Russia) is the deepest freshwater lake (depth 1620 m). The highest navigable lake in the world: Lake Titicaca in Peru and

Bolivia. The saltiest lake in the world : Lake Van (Turkey) Great lakes arranged from west to east are Lake Superior, Lake Michi-

gan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario. Great lake lying entirely in USA is Lake Michigan.

cause it is blocked from mois-ture on both sides by the An-des mountains and by the Chil-ean Coast Range.

Kalahari Desert lies in South-ern Africa. The Bushmen arethe aborigines of Kalahari.

Hottest Place - Denakit Depres-sion, Ethiopia, 34.4oC

Hottest inhabited place - DjiButi.

Islands Greenland (Kalaait Nunait),

which is the largest island inthe world, is in North Atlantic(2, 176,000 sq.km). It is a terri-tory of Denmark.

Archipelago is a group of is-

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lands. Indonesia is the largestarchipelago in the world.

Ireland is known as the Emer-ald Island. Baharain is knownas the Pearl Island.

The second largest island isNew Guinea.

Malagasy (Madagascar) is thelargest island in the IndianOcean (588,000 sq.km).

Andaman and Nicobar Islandsis the biggest union territoryin India. It lies in the Bay ofBengal. Its capital is at PortBlair. There are 223 islands inthe group.

Lakshadweep is in the ArabianSea. There are 27 coral islandsin the group.

Japanese archipelago of over4000 islands.

Japan comprises 4 islands -Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyshu,Shikoko. Among this Honshuis the biggest island.

The Sahara (8,400,000 sq.km) is the largest desert inthe world. It spreads over nearly 6% of world’s total

land area and 28% of the land area of Africa.

Ten Degree Channel -----Little Andaman and NicobarDuncan passage ----------South Andaman and Little AndamanCape of Good Hope ------Located at the southern tip of African continent.Cape of Horn ---------------Located at the southern tip of South America.Strait of Malaca ------------Between Malaysia and SumatraBarents Strait --------------Between Scandinavian countries and Arctic Ocean.Palk Strait --------------------Between India and Sri LankaEnglish Channel ----------Between England and FranceBerring Strait ---------------Russia and the USAFlorida Strait----------------Cuba and USAStrait of Gibralter ---------Spain and MoroccoStrait of Magellan ---------Tip of South AmericaBass strait -------------------Separates Australia from Tasmania

Important Straits

Types of Island1. Continental Islands2. Oceanic Islands3. Tropical Islands4. Desert Islands

Greenland is the example ofContinental Island.

Natural Vegetation Natural vegetation refers to a

plant community that has beenleft undisturbed over long time.

Flora denotes the plants of aparticular country or region.

Fauna denotes the animal king-dom found in a particular geo-graphical region.

The world climate types havebeen classified on the world'sclimatic / temperate zones.

The major climatic types of theworld have been classified as(i) Equatorial(ii) Tropical Monsoon(iii) Tropical Desert

(iv) Mediterranean type(v) Cool Temperate (Continental or Ocean)

Teak is the most valuable tim-ber, which is used for furnituremaking and is found in tropi-cal monsoon climate.

Savannah is a region which lieson both sides of the equatorroughly between 5 degrees andthe tropics. Here summers arehot and moist and winters arewarm and dry.

Deciduous forests are forestswith trees which shed theirleaves seasonally.

Tundras is the belt of treeless,cold desert which remains un-der heavy snow during mostof the year. Eskimos live there.Igloos are dome shaped hutsof Eskimos which are dug halfunderground and coveredwith blocks of ice. Eskimos arealso called Inuits.

Natural resources are classifiedinto biotic and abiotic re-sources.

Biotic resources are renew-able resources consisting ofliving things such as forestsand their products, agriculturalcrops, fodders, wild and do-mestic animals etc.

Abiotic resources consists ofnon-living things like mineralsand fuels which are mostly non-renewable.

Reserved forests are forestsreserved for commercial exploi-tation.

Wettest place - MawsynramIndia - 1187 cm.

Valley of moon is the Atacamadesert.

Tropical monsoon forest is thetypical vegetation of monsoonland, like that of India.

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PHYSIOGRAPHY India is the largest country in

the Indian subcontinent lyingentirely in the Northern Hemi-sphere.

The mainland extends from lati-tude 8°4’ north to 37°6’ northand from longitude 68° 7’ eastto 97°25’ east.

The southernmost point in In-dian territory, the Indira Pointis situated at 6°30’ north in theNicobar Islands.

India stretches 3,214 km fromnorth to south and 2,933 kmfrom east to west.

The total length of the main-land coastline is nearly 6,100km and that of the land frontieris about 15,200km. The totallength of the coastline includ-ing that of the islands, is about7,500 km.

With an area of about 32,87,263sq.km., India is the seventhlargest country in the world,accounting for about 2.4% oftotal world area.

The northern most point of thecountry lies in the state ofJammu and Kashmir and it isknown as Indira Col.

Administrative Divisions At the time of Indian indepen-

The Indian mainland can be divided intofive physiographic units namely

i. The Great Mountains of the Northii. The North Indian Plainsiii. The Peninsular Plateauiv. The Coastal Plainsv. The Islands

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY

“Fastest Continent”

India is entirely contained on the Indian Plate, a major tectonic

plate that was formed when it split off from the ancient continent

Gondwanaland. About 50 to 55 million years ago, in the Eocene

epoch of the Cenozoic Era, the plate collided with Asia after

covering a distance of 2,000 to 3,000 km (1,243 to 1,864 miles),

having moved faster than any other known plate. India is thus

referred to as the “fastest continent.” This is causing the

Eurasian Plate to deform, and the India Plate to compress at a

rate of 4 mm/yr (0.15 in/yr).

dence, the country was dividedinto hundreds of small statesand principalities.

The princely states were reor-ganized on the linguistic basisin 1956 to form 14 states and 6union territories.

Now, the Indian Union con-sists of 28 states, 6 union terri-tories and one national capitalterritory (Delhi).

In 23 states, the legislature isunicameral. Bihar, Jammu andKashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have

bicameral legislatures. Legis-lative power is distributed be-tween Parliament and state leg-islatures.

Northern Mountains The mountains of the north are

young fold mountains. The Himalayas are the most

prominent among thesemountain ranges. Besidesthis, the trans-Himalayanranges and the hill ranges ofPurvachal are the importantunits.

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The Himalayas It is one of the youngest

mountain systems in the worldand comprise mainlysedimentary rocks.

The Indus valley in Kashmirand the Brahmaputra valley inArunachal Pradesh areaccepted as the western andthe eastern limits of theHimalayas in India.

The Himalayan region isconsidered the largest snowfield in the world outside thepolar ice caps.

The Himalayan chain measuresabout 2,500 km from west to eastand width of this fold systemvaries between 150 and 400km.

According to the platetectonics theory, the Indianplate moved northwards and itsforward edge penetrated belowthe southern edge of theTibetan plate. This resulted inthe folding and uplift of theHimalayas.

The Himalayas consist of threeparallel ranges.(i) The southernmost range,

called the Siwalik is thelowest.

(ii) The ranges lying north ofthe Siwalik are known asthe middle Himalayas orthe Himachal.

(iii) The northernmost rangesof the Himalayas, known asthe Himadri, are the high-est with an average heightof more than 6,000 metresabove the sea level.

The Himadri contain some ofthe world's highest peaks.

Mt. Everest (8848 m) in Nepalis the world's highest peak.

Neighbours of India India shares her borders with China (Chinese Tibetan Autonomous

Region), Nepal and Bhutan in north, Pakistan and Afghanistan innorth-west and Myanmar in east.

Bangladesh forms almost an enclave within India on the eastern side. In the south, on the eastern side, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk

Strait separate India from Sri Lanka. The boundary between India (Arunachal Pradesh) and China is known

as McMohan Line. The boundary line between the imperial India and Afghanistan is

known as Durand Line. The boundary between India and Pakistan is known as Radcliff Line. India is surrounded by the Indian ocean on its three sides, thus it is

a subcontinent. The Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea are its twonorthward extensions. India and its neighbours Pakistan, Nepal andBhutan are known as the Indian sub-continent.

The northern most tip, where the boundaries of China, India, Paki-stan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan meet is known as ‘Wakh Corridor’.

Kanchenjunga in Sikkim is thehighest peak of the Himalayasin India. (8598 m).

Highest Mountain Peak in In-dia is K2 (8611 m).

It is in Pak occupied Kashmir. The northernmost Himalayan

ranges are called the Great orInner or Central Himalayas(Himadri). Beyond this rangelies another range called theTethys or the TibetanHimalayas beyond which liesthe structural zone called theIndo-Tsangpo Suture zone.

To the south of the CentralHimalayas lies the secondmajor range, the Lesser orLower or Middle Himalayas orHimachal. It is separated fromthe Great Himalayas by thestructural zone called the MainCentral Thrust Zone.

The Himalayan rivers have cutdeep gorges in the Himachal.

In the Lesser Himalayas, slate,limestones and quartzites arethe dominant rocks.

The southernmost range ofthe Himalayan system is calledouter or sub-Himalayas or Si-waliks. In between the outerHimalayas and the lower Hima-

Mount Everest orSagarmatha, the highest

mountain peak (8,850 m) in theworld belongs to Himadri. Otherimportant peaks of this range areKanchenjunga (8,598m),

Makalu (8,481m) andDhaulagiri (8,172m).

The Himalayas is the high-est mountain range in theworld and also the young-est mountain range.Longest Mountain Range isAndes in South America.

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layas lies the main boundarythrust. This valley zone isknown by the name of doonsand duars.

The abode of snow Mountains between the Indus

and the Brahmaputra are called'the Himalayas' meaning 'theabode of snow.'

Ladakh Range lies to thesouth of the Karakoram Rangebetween the Indus and itstributary the Shyok River andextends upto Mustang inTibet, over a distance of about1,000km. The Trans-Himalayan Kailas Range is anoffshoot of this range andMount Kailas (6,500m) is thehighest peak in it.

Zaskar Range lies south of theLadakh Range and the GreaterHimalayas lie to its south. It isoften considered the westernpart of the Greater HimalayanRange. The Nanga Parbat(8,126m) marks it culminationin the north-west. Kamet(7,756m) is the highest peak.

The Himalayas are known forsome of the beautiful valleys ofthe world. The Kashmir valley

N A M E LO C AT IO N D IS TA N C E

P unjab H imalaya B e tw een Ind us and S a tluj 5 6 0 k m

K umao n H imalaya B e tw een S a tluj and K a li 3 2 0 k m

N ep a l H imalaya B e tw een K a li and Tista 8 0 0 k m

A ssam H imalaya B e tw een Tista and D ihang 7 2 0 k m

The Himalayas are regionally divided into PunjabHimalayas, Kumaon Himalayas, Nepal Himalayas,

Assam Himalayas.

is a classical example. It is right-ly described as 'paradise on theearth'.

The other important valleys areKulu and Kangra in HimachalPradesh.

The doons in the Kumayun Hi-malaya of Uttar Pradesh arealso well known.

The Brahmaputra marks theeastern-most geographical lim-it of the Himalaya.

Mountains along the eastern

boundary of India are calledPurvanchal.

Nanga Parbat in Kashmir andNandadevi in U.P. are the othertwo important peaks of the Hi-malaya.

KARAKORAM RANGES The mountains extending between the Pamir plateau and

the Indus river in Kashmir are known as the Karakoram. The Karakoram mountains contain the Siachen, which is

the world's largest mountain glacier. Extend from the Pamir, east of the Gilgit River, 600 km long

and the average width - 120-140 km. Ancient name was Krishnagiri. Trans Himalaya, originally a part of Eurasian plate. Abode of largest glaciers in India. Siachin, Baltoro, Biafo, and Hisper glaciers. World’s second highest peak (in India): K2 or Godwin

Austen (8611m). Other Important Peaks:Gasherbrum I or Hidden Peak, Broad

Peak and Gasherbrum II. The Siachin Galcier occupying the Nubra valley is about

75 km long and it is considered the largest glacier outsidethe polar areas.

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Peninsular Plateau(The Deccan Plateau)

It extends over eight Indianstates and encompasses a widerange of habitats, coveringmost of central and southernIndia.

It is separated from theGangetic plain to the north bythe Satpura and VindhyaRanges, which form itsnorthern boundary.

The Eastern Ghats and theWestern Ghats constitute itseastern and westernboundaries, respectively.

The river Narmada, whichflows through a rift valley,divides the region into twoparts: the Malwa Plateau in thenorth and the Deccan Plateauin the South.

The northern part of theplateau is occupied by the

Aravalli Ranges in the west,Malwa region in the centre andthe Chotta Nagpur Plateau inthe east.

The Deccan Trap representsthe core of the plateau regionand it is in this part that theoldest rock systems of Indiaare found. This region is madeup of crystalline rocks.

The plateau region includes anumber of other minormountains besides the Aravalliand the Eastern and WesternGhats. They include theVindhyas and Satpuras inCentral India.

The Satpuras, which liebetween the rivers Narmadaand Tapi, have several hillsincluding the Rajpipla Hills inMaharashtra, and the MaikalRange and Pachmarhi Hills inMadhya Pradesh.

The Western Ghats separatethe Deccan Trap region fromthe Western Coastal Plainwhile the Eastern Ghats liebetween the Eastern CoastalPlain and the Deccan Trap.

The Western Ghats form acontinuous range from southto north and the highest rangeof this region is often called theSahyadri.

Kashmir : Burzil and Zoji-la Himachal Pradesh : Bara Lacha-la, Shipki-la. Uttaranchal : Thanga-la, Niti-la, Lipu-Lekhla Sikkim - Nathula, Jelepla Khybar pass is the most famous pass which leads

from Peshwar to Kabul. South of Khybar pass is the Gomal Pass (it is in

Pakistan). The Bolan Pass leads from Kandahar to Quetta. The Purvachal Hills in the north-east consist of

the Patkai-Bum, the Garo-Khasi-Jaintia andLushai Hills.

Vindhya mountains cut off the northern plain fromthe south.

The Peninsular mountains include The WesternGhats (The Sahyadris), The Eastern Ghats, TheSatpura Range and The Aravallis.

The Western Ghats runs along the west coastfrom the south of Tapti r iver valley toKanyakumari.

The Eastern Ghats are irregular hill ranges thatstretch from northern Orissa to the Nilgiris inTamil Nadu across the coastal Andhra.

The Satpura range extends from the Narmadavalley in the north to the Tapti valley in the south.

The 800 km range Aravallis stretching from thenorth-east to the south - west of India sepa-rates the semi-desert regions of Rajasthan fromthe fertile Udaipur and Jaipur regions.

Aravallis is the oldest mountain range in India. Sahyadri hills is a part of the Western Ghats.

Nilgiris is also a part of Western Ghats. Nilgiri isknown as the Blue Mountains.

The southern most tip of Eastern Ghats is calledCardamom Hills.

The Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats meet atNilgiri Hills.

Important passes of Himalayas

The PeninsularPlateau (also called the

The Deccan Plateau) is alarge plateau in India. DeccanPlateau is divided into threemajor units – the Western Ghats,the Eastern Ghats and the

Deccan Trap. The DeccanPlateau lies south of the

Indo-G ange ti cplain.

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The Western Ghats areconnected to the EasternGhats by the Nilgiri Hills (BlueMountains). South of theseare the Annamalai Hills(Annaimudi is the highest peakin the peninsular region) whichare separated from the formerby the Palghat Pass.

Two branches of theAnnamalai Hills are known asthe Palani Hills and the Yelagiri(Cardamom) Hills.

The Sivasamudram Fall, theGokak Fall and the MahatmaGandhi Fall are importantwaterfalls in this area.

The most important waterfallformed by the Narmada is theDhuandhar Falls near Jabalpur.The river flows through marblerocks in this region and hencethe Dhuandhar Fall is alsocalled the Marble Falls.

The Aravallis due to erosionover a long period of time theirheight has been reduced andthey can be considered relictmountains.

River Chambal is the mostimportant river originatingfrom the eastern slopes of theAravallis.

The Luni and the Sabarmati arethe most important rivers risingfrom the Aravallis and flowingin a westerly direction.

The dry north-western part ofRajasthan is part of theextensive Thar Desert thatextends into Pakistan.

East of Aravalli range, the areais less dry and there are lowerhills like Bundi Hills. Chambaland its tributaries flow through

this part draining southeasternpart of Rajasthan.

The Thar Desert merges intothe Rann of Kutch. Much ofthe Rann is a sandy area andparts of it are marshy.

The rocks of the Deccan Trapare rich in deposits of a varietyof minerals. Granite, basalt,gneiss and quartzite are themajor rocks besides somelimestone and sandstone.

Some of the richest depositsof manganese are found inMadhya Pradesh. Iron andgold are seen in Jharkhand andKarnataka respectively.

The Western Ghats mark thewestern boundary of theDeccan Plateau and theyseparate the plateau from thecoastal plain. The famousPalghat, Borghat and Thalghatare important gaps thatfacilitate passage over thisbarrier.

The Aravallis are one ofthe oldest fold mountainsin the world. The highestpeak of Aravalli range isGuru Shikhar near Mt.

Abu (1,158m) inRajasthan.

The Anai Mudi, the highestpeak, is 2,695 metres above thesea level. Udagamandalam is awell known hill station of thesouth located in Tamil Nadu.

Plains of India The vast plains of north India

are alluvial in nature and thewestern most portion isoccupied by the Thar Desert.

The plains of south India i.e.,coastal plains are also alluvialto a large extent.

The northern plain is known asthe Ganga-Brahmaputra plainand is divided into smallerunits like the western plain,eastern plain, Bihar plain,Bengal plain and Brahmaputraplain.

Northern Plain This plain lies to the south of

the northern mountain wall andstretches in the shape of an arcfrom the western most part ofthe country to theBrahmaputra valley in the east.

Indo-Gangetic plain is one ofthe most extensive stretches ofthe alluvium in the world.

The Indo-Gangetic Plains alsoknown as the Northern Plainsand The North Indian RiverPlain encompassing most ofnorthern and eastern India, themost populous parts ofPakistan, parts of southernNepal and virtually all ofBangladesh.

The areas that are parts of theplains are as follows-Bangladesh, Assam, Bihar,Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab,Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar

The Western Ghats are known by

different local names. In

Maharshtra and Karnataka they

are called Sahyadri. Further

south, they are called the Nilgiris

in Tamil Nadu. Still further south,

along the Kerala and Tamil Nadu

border, they are known as

Anaimala and Cardamom Hills.

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Pradesh, West Bengal, Nepal,Madhesh, Punjab, Sindh,Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya,Jharkhand, Orissa, Balochistan, North-West FrontierProvince, Kashmir region.

The total length of thenorthern plain is about 2,400kmand the width varies from 145to 480 km.

Western Plain The western part of the

northern plain is also called theIndus plain or Punjab plain.

It slopes gently towards westand extends into Pakistanthrough Punjab.

The plain is drained by theIndus and its tributaries. Thatpart of the plain that extendsin India is drained into theArabian Sea by the rivers -Sutlej, Beas and Ravi,tributaries of the Indus thatjoin the main stream afterentering Pakistan. The Indianpart of the plain is also calledthe Punjab and HaryanaPlain.

Streams carrying water onlyduring the rainy season andwith their beds choked withboulders are called chos inPunjab.

The water becoming sub-surface in this zone emerges onthe surface in lower areasdown stream and producesmarshy conditions. Suchmarsh areas in Punjab arecalled mand.

The only river that remainsperennial in its upper coursein Haryana is Ghaggar. Thisstream is lost in the dry area inRajasthan.

Eastern plain It comprises the flood plain

and the delta plains of theGanga and the Brahmaputra.

It is customary to divide thispart into the Ganga plain andthe Brahmaputra plain.

An important division of theplain is made in terms of thekhadar and the bangar zones.The term khadar refers to thenew alluvium and the bangarto the old alluvium.

The lower part of the plainadjacent to the rivers that isprone to frequent floods iscalled khadar.

Bangar soils frequently havebeds of kanker or hard pans.

The western part of the plain,from Haridwar to Aligarh iscalled Upper Doab and fromAligarh to Allahabad is calledthe Middle Doab.

The northern part of Ganga-Yamuna Doab and UttarPradesh is covered byRuhelkhand Plain. This partis drained by Ghaghra, Raptiand Gomti rivers.

The plain is characterized bystreams that flow as sub-surface channels in dryseason. This area is called thebhabhar or the ‘bhabar zone’.

The marshy region at the footof the Himalayas is called theterai zone. Much of this zonehas been drained out andreclaimed for agriculture.

The foot hill zones of theeastern plain in the northernparts of West Bengal and stilleastward are occupied by theBengal Duars and AssamDuars.

Coastal Plains The coastal plains separate the

peninsular plateau from the sea. The inner margins of the plains

are marked by the Eastern andthe Western Ghats thatseparate the Deccan plateauregion from the coastal lowlands.

The Eastern and the WesternGhats that separate the Deccanplateau region from the coastallowlands.

The plain along the Bay ofBengal coast is called theEastern Coastal Plain and theone extending along theArabian Sea coast of India iscalled the Western Coastalplain.

The Eastern coastal plain ofIndia stretches along the Bayof Bengal from riverSubernarekha to KanyaKumari.

The northern part of this plainis often called the Utkal plain,the middle one is the AndhraCoastal Plain and thesouthern most part is called theTamil Nadu Coastal Plain(also called the Coromandelcoastal plain).

The rivers flowing into the Bayof Bengal from the plateauregion have contributed to theformation of this coastal plain.

Part of the plain that lies in theupper course of the rivers iscalled the upper plain and thepart in which lie the deltas ofthe rivers, is called the lowerplain.

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The major rivers flowingthrough the Eastern CoastalPlain are the Mahanadi, theGodavari, the Krishna and theKaveri. The delta regions ofthese rivers are very fertile andsupport high densities ofagricultural population.

The western coastal plainforms a narrow strip of landalong the western coast ofIndia. It stretches from Gujaratto Kerala. The Western Ghats

forming the inner marginof this plain are a muchhigher mountain rangethan the Eastern Ghatsthat are more of a seriesof discontinuous hills.

The rivers flowing downthe escarpment like slopeof the Western Ghats arerapid streams and they donot form any deltas.

The northernmost part of

this plain is called theGujarat coastal plainand the southernmost,the Kerala coastal plain.In between these twosections lie KonkanCoastal Plain in thenorth and the MalabarCoastal Plain to theSouth.

The Islands Besides the mainland, India has

two groups of Islands namelythe Andaman and Nicobar Is-lands in the Bay of Bengal andthe Lakshadweep Islands in theArabian Sea.

Andamans consists of a north-ern cluster of 204 small islandsand Nicobar islands consistsof a southern cluster of 19 Is-lands.

Ten degree channel separatesAndaman from Nicobar.

Port Blair is the capital of

Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The southernmost tip of India,

Indira point is in Great Nicobarislands which is the biggestisland in Nicobar group.

The Lakshadweep in the Ara-bian sea comprises of a groupof 36 islands, about 300km tothe west of Kerala coast.Only 10 of the islands are in-habited.

Kavarathi is the capital ofLakshadweep.

New Moore Island lies in Bayof Bengal near West Bengalalso belongs to India.

Coco Islands North ofAndaman belong to Myanmar.

The Andaman and Nicobar Is-lands are close to the Indo-Australian Plate Boundary.

Barren Island became active in1991 after being (inactive) forover two centuries.

Minicoy islands is separatedfrom Maldives by 8o channel.

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RIVER SYSTEM OF INDIAThe river system of the country can be classified on the basis of their origin in to two categories:

i. The Himalayan Rivers and ii. The Peninsular riversThe Himalayan riversThe Himalayan rivers has threeprincipal systems1. the Indus system2. the Ganga system and3. the Brahmaputra system1. Indus system

It is one of the largest riversystems in the world. RiverIndus rises from KailasRange in the Tibetan Plateauregion and is joined by anumber of tributaries inJammu and Kashmir.

The most important tributariesof Indus include the Sutlej, theChenab, the Ravi and the Beasthat join it after entering intoPakistan.

Sutlej is the largest amongstthe tributaries of Indus.

After flowing through Pakistan,Indus falls into Arabian Sea.

River Indus is an antecedentriver as it is considered as olderthan the Himalayas.

River Sutlej rises beyond theHimalayas and has cut a gorgethrough the Central HimalayanRange.

The Ravi is the smallest riverof Punjab and is well-known asthe 'River of Lahore.' It risesnear the Rohtang pass in the

Kulu hills of HimachalPradesh.

The Chenab is the largest ofIndus tributaries. It has a totallength of 1,800 km in India.

The Jhelum, an importanttributary of the Indus flowingthrough the state of Jammu andKashmir (Srinagar Valley is thevalley of the Jhelum) rises in aspring at Verinag.

The Beas rises at Beas Kundnear the Rohtang Pass inHimachal Pradesh.

2. Ganga System

It is the largest drainagesystem of India carrying therun off of about 25 percent ofthe total land area of thecountry.

The River Ganga is the long-est river (2640 km) in India. Itssource is at Gangotri glacier inthe Himalayas.

Ganga, the main stream, isconstituted by two major headstreams, the Alakananda andBhagirathi. These twoheadstreams of the Ganga joinat Devprayag.

The source of the Alakanandais near the Tibetan border andthat of the Bhagirathi nearGangotri.

The Ganga is joined by theYamuna near Allahabad.

Yamuna, Gomti, Ghagra,Gandak, Ramganga, Son,Chambal, Betwa and Ken arethe main tributaries of Ganga.

Ganga flows through UttarPradesh, Bihar, West Bengal

and Bangladesh and finally en-ters into the Bay of Bengal.

Ganga is known by the name‘Padma’ in Bangladesh.

The river has been declared asIndia's National River.

It has been considered the ho-liest of all rivers by Hindus.

Some of the most importantHindu festivals and religiouscongregation (worship) suchas the Kumbh Mela everytwelve years atMedia:Allahabad and theChhath Puja.

The Ganges Basin drains1,000,000-square-kilometre(390,000 sq mi) and supportsone of the world's highest den-sity of humans.

Only two rivers, the Amazonand the Congo, have greaterdischarge than the combinedflow of the Ganges, theBrahmaputra and the Surma-Meghna river system.

Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and

Jhelum are the five tributaries of

Indus. Mount Kailash in Tibet is

the source of Indus river. It falls

into the Arabian sea.

In Hindu tradi-tion Triveni Sangam

is the "confluence" ofthree rivers, two physicalrivers Ganga, Yamuna, andthe invisible or mythicSaraswati River. The site isnear Allahabad, India. A placeof religious importance

and the site for historicKumbh Mela held ev-

ery 12 years.

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3. Brahmaputra systemBrahmaputra is the thirdmajor antecedent river ofIndia flowing from theHimalayan region towardsthe northern plains.

The 2,688 km Brahmaputra islonger than the Ganges, butonly one third of the riverpasses through India.

Brahmaputra originates fromthe Manasarovar lake inWestern Tibet. It flows for along distance parallel to theHimalayan ranges in aneasterly direction. Here, it isknown as the Tsangpo.

It takes a southward turn andenters India in easternArunachal Pradesh under thename Dihang.

When it enters Bangladesh, itis named as 'Meghna.'

The Ganga and theBrahmaputra join inBangladesh and form theextensive delta of Sunderbans.It derives the name from theSundri tree that grows widelyin this region.

Mahanadi systemIt drains a large part of Orissa. The Mahanadi is one of the

major rivers of peninsular pla-teau region flowing into Bayof Bengal.

The Seonath, the Hasdeo andthe Mand join it from the northand the Jonk joins from south.

The river forms its delta in theCuttack district of Orissa be-fore flowing into the Bay ofBengal.

Godavari System Godavari is the largest among

the rivers of the Peninsular In-

dia. The source of the river liesin the Nasik district of Maha-rashtra and it traverses over acourse of more than 1,400km.It is commonly known as ‘Vrid-dha Ganga’.

Krishna System It is the second largest east

flowing system of the penin-sular region.

The river rises in WesternGhats near Mahabaleshwarand flows in a north-easterlydirection to Divi in AndhraPradesh. It is commonlyknown as ‘Dakshina Ganga’.

Kaveri system The river Kaveri is the most

southerly among the major riv-ers of the peninsular regionflowing into the Bay of Ben-gal.

It rises in the Brahmagiri Hillsin Coorg district and flows to-wards the coast.

It descends from South Karna-taka Plateau to the Tamil NaduPlains through the famousSivasamudram waterfalls.

Peninsular riversIt is a river that flowsthrough the peninsularpart of a country.( a penin-sula is a patch of land cov-ered by water on three sidesand connected to a land onthe fourth side)

Peninsular rivers (The Deccanrivers) are generally rainfedand comprises the rivers ofpeninsular India. They areshorter and seasonal in nature.

River Godavari is the largestriver system (1465 km long) of

peninsular India. It rises fromTrambak in Nasik district in theWestern Ghats.

Rajahmundry, is the largestcity on the banks of Godavari.

The Peninsular rivers are gen-erally rain-fed and, therefore,fluctuate greatly in volume. Avery large number of them arenon-perennial.

Peninsular rivers contribute 30percent of the total outflow inIndia.

The major Deccan rivers arethe Godavari, Krishna, Cau-very, Pennar, Mahanadi, Damo-dar, Sharavati, Netravati, Bhar-athapuzha, Periyar, Pamba,Narmada and Tapti.

There are three major rivers –Narmada, Tapti and Sabarmatiflowing into the Arabain seafrom the Peninsular region.Narmada and Tapti are themajor west flowing rivers ofIndia. They drain into the Gulfof Cambay in the Arabian Sea.

The river Narmada rises in theAmarkantak plateau, flowsthrough a rift valley and makesa number of waterfalls. TheMarble Falls near Jabalpur isa famous fall on this river.

The Tapti (Tapi) rises nearBetul district. The Parna,flowing from the GawilgarhHills, is the most importanttributary joining the Tapti nearBhusawal.

Satpura Mountain range liesbetween Narmada and Tapti.

The Sabarmati rises in theAravallis in Rajasthan andflows into the Gulf of Cambayin Gujarat.

River Krishna rises from thenorth of Mahabaleswar in the

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Name Length Originates Ends in Passes through(km) from

Ganga (Bhagirati) 2,507 Gaumukh Bay of Bengal Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and W.Bengal

Yamuna (Jamuna) 1370 Garhwal in Yamunotri Bay of Bengal Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh

Brahmaputra 2,850 Chemayung-Dung glacier, Bay of Bengal North Eastern states of Indiabetween lake Manasarovarand Mount Kailash

Kaveri(Dakshina Ganga" or 765 Hills of Coorg, Karnataka Bay of Bengal Karnataka and Tamil NaduGanges of the south)Godavari 1,465 Trimbakeshwar near Nasik Bay of Bengal South-easterly direction, through

Hills in Maharashtra Maharastra and Andhra PradeshKrishna 900 Near Mahabaleshwar in Bay of Bengal Maharastra, Karnataka and Andhra

MaharashtraNarmada 1,300 Amarkantak hill in Arabian Sea Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh and

Madhya Pradesh GujaratTapti 724 Pachmari, Madhya Pradesh Arabian Sea Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat

Gomti 805 Himalaya Range of Nepal Bay of Bengal Uttar Pradesh

Ghaghara Shivalik mountain range of Disappears into Haryana, Punjab and RajasthanHimachal Pradesh the Thar Desert

Mahanadi 860 Satpura Range Bay of Bengal Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa andMaharashtra

The Main Rivers in India

Western Ghats. It enters intothe Bay of Bengal. Krishnabasin forms the third largestriver basin in India.

River Cauvery rises from theBrahmagiri hills in the Coorgdistrict of Tamilnadu. It isknown as Dakshina Ganga.About 55 percent of theCauvery basin lies inTamilnadu, 41 percent inKarnataka and three percent inKerala.

The Cauvery water DisputeTribunal gave its final verdictin 2006. It ordered Karnatakato release 192 TMCFT water toTamil Nadu every year.

River Pennar rises in the Kolardistrict of Karnataka.

River Damodar is called as"Sorrow of Bengal andJharkhand", because of fre-

Sunderban

The world’s largest delta, Sunderbans is formed by the Ganges

and Brahmaputra in West Bengal and Bangladesh, in the Bay of

Bengal. The Sundarbans is the largest single block of tidal halo-

phytic mangrove forest in the world. The forest lies in the vast

delta on the Bay of Bengal formed by the confluence of the

Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers across southern

Bangladesh and West Bengal. It became inscribed as a UNESCO

world heritage site in 1997.

quent flood. Sabarmati rises from the Jai

Samand lake of Udaipur,Rajasthan.

The Luni originates fromAnnasagar in the Aravallis andends on the Sahni marshes,North of Rann of Kutch.

The Third river system is alsocalled the ‘Rivers of InlandDrainage Basins’ which con-sists of small rivers in the

sandy areas of Rajasthan. Some of Peninsular rivers such

as Narmada and Tapti form es-tuaries. Other rivers such asMahanadi, Godavari, Krishna,Cauvery form deltas.

Drainage of the TharDesert Region The greater part of Rajasthan

and Gujarat is dry land, whichforms a part of the Thar desert.

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Difference between the Himalayanand the Peninsular Rivers

Rivers such as Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra etc., are antecedentrivers i.e., they are older than the landforms over which theHimalayan rivers flow.

Due to their sources in the snowfields, the Himalayan riversare perennial and carry large amounts of water. Their erosionalcapacity is immense and they carry large amounts of silt.

Most of the rivers of the peninsular plateau are consequentstreams and they follow the general slope of the plateau region.Their valleys are well developed and they do not change theircourse frequently.

Further, the peninsular rivers are seasonal in character as theyare rainfed.

Due to a lesser amount of flow, the hydroelectricity generationpotential of the peninsular rivers is much lower than theHimalayan rivers.

The Thar Desert (also knownas the Great Indian Desert), isa large, arid region in thenorthwestern part of the Indiansubcontinent.

The Cholistan Desert adjoinsthe Thar desert spreading intoPakistani Punjab province.

It is an area of internal drainageand the only river rising orflowing through this territory

is the river Luni. The river Luni rises in the

Aravalli Ranges and enters theArabian Sea through the Rannof Kutch.

For most of the year, Luni isdry.

Important lakes in IndiaChilka (Orissa)Sambar (Rajasthan)Pulicat (Andhra Pradesh)Vembanad (Kerala)Wular (J & K)Dal (J & K)Uday Sagar (Rajasthan)Pushkar (Rajasthan)Loktak (Manipur Hills)Bhimtal Lake (Nainital)Roopkund Lake(Uttaranchal)Osman sagar lake(Andhra)

Lakes The largest fresh water lake

in India: Lake Kolleru

(Andhra Pradesh). Wular is thesecond largest fresh water lake.

The largest saltwater lake :Lake Chilka (Orissa)

The second largest salt waterlake is Sambhar in Rajasthan.It is the largest inland salt lakein India.

Dal Lake is famous for houseboats.

The lakes of India generallyclassified as fresh water andbrakish lakes.

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MULTI-PURPOSE RIVER VALLEY PROJECTS India stands fifth in the world

after Congo, Russia, Canadaand the United States in po-tential of water power re-sources.

Damodar River Valley projectwas the first multi-purpose rivervalley project in Free India.

The project-irrigates half a mil-lion hectares of land in WestBengal and parts of south-eastBihar.

The Bhakra Nangal Project isan example of water manage-ment on scientific lines on thelargest scale.

The project serves the statesof Himachal Pradesh, Punjab,Haryana, Rajasthan and theNational Capital Territory ofDelhi.

Indira Gandhi or RajasthanCanal is the longest irrigationcanal in the world

Indira Gandhi Canal Project inRajasthan utilized water ofSatluj, Beas and Ravi to irrigatenorth-western parts of thecountry

The Kosi project in Bihar hasbeen taken up in cooperationwith Nepal.

Its main aim has been to con-trol floods brought by the riverKosi, known as the 'River ofSorrow' for north Bihar.

The main canal is taken offfrom Hanumannagar barrageon the Kosi.

Another important joint ven-ture of India and Nepal is theGandak Project.

The Hirakud dam in Orissa isthe longest dam in the world.

The Tungabhadra Projectserves Karnataka and Andhra

Pradesh. The Nagarjunasagar project

is built on the river Krishna inAndhra Pradesh irrigates8,67,000 hectares of land.

The dam has been named afterthe Buddhist scholarNagarjuna.

The Chambal project helps ir-r igate parts of MadhyaPradesh and Rajasthan.

The project consists of GandhiSagar Dam in MadhyaPradesh, and Kota Barrage andJawahar Sagar Dam inRajasthan.

Hydel power projects In the year 1902 the first water

power house was set up on theriver Kaveri at Sivasamudramin Karnataka.

Tata Hydro electric scheme wasintroduced in the western ghatsof Maharashtra to furnishpower to the city of Mumbai.

In Tamil Nadu, Pykara was thefirst water power station.

In the north, Mandi powerhouse was the first to be de-veloped in the Himalayan re-gion. The next one to be takenup was the Upper Ganga Ca-nal Hydroelectric Grid System.

The Rihand project is the larg-est manmade lake in India onthe borders of MadhyaPradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The Koyna project inMaharashtra is on the eastflowing tributary of theKrishna. Its capacity is 880MW. It feeds power toMumbai-Pune industrial re-gion.

The Sharavathy project inKarnataka is located at the Jog

Falls, the highest in India. Its total capacity is 891 MW. It

feeds Bangalore industrial re-gion and is also taken to thestates of Goa and Tamil Nadu.

The Sabarigiri project in Keralahas an installed capacity of 300MW while the Idukki projecthas a capacity of 390 MW.

The Balimela project in Orissahas an installed capacity of 360MW and in Gujarat UkaiProject has a capacity of 300MW.

In Jammu and Kashmir SalalHydel Power project provideover a thousand MW of power.

Tehri Hydel Power project is ajoint project of the Govt of In-dia and Uttaranchal. Tehri Hy-dro Development Corporationwas set up in 1988.

Narmada Valley DevelopmentAuthority (NVDA), is an or-ganization of Govt. of M.P.constituted for planning wa-ter resources development inNarmada basin

Narmada is the fifth largestriver in India and largest westflowing river of Indian penin-sula originating from Maikalaranges at Amarkantak inMadhya Pradesh

DAM and RIVERBhakranangal Dam ............. SutlejHirakud ...................... MahanadiTehri Dam ................ BhageerathiUri Power Project ............. JhelumNagarjunasagar Dam ....... KrishnaKosi Project .........................KosiKoyna Project ................. Krishna

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PROJECT RIVER STATE PURPOSE

Bhakra Nangal MultipurposeProjectBhakra dam: One of the highestgravity dam in the world.Govind Sagar Lake (H.P.) is areservoir.

Sutlej(A tributary of Indus)

Joint venture of Punjab,Haryana and Rajasthan.

Irrigation, hydro electricity

Thein Dam project Ravi (A tributary of Indus). Punjab Irrigation, hydroelectricity.

Dulhasti project Chenab (A tributary of Indus) Jammu and Kashmir Part of the programme ofcascade development forirrigation..

Salal project Chenab (A tributary of Indus). Jammu and Kashmir Irrigation

Beas project Beas (A tributary of Indus). Joint venture of Punab,Haryana and Rajasthan.

Hydro electricity

Sharda Sahayak Project Ghagra (left bank tributary ofGanga).

Uttar Pradesh Irrigation

Ramganga multipurpose project Chuisot stream near Kalabagh Uttar Pradesh Irrigation, hydroelectricity.

Banasagar project Son M.P., Bihar and U.P. Irrigation

Rihand S cheme Rese rvo ir :Govind Ballabh Sagar (U.P.).

Rihand Uttar Pradesh Hydroelectricity for thedevelopment o f southeastern industrial region ofU.P.

MULTI-PURPOSE PROJECTS

• Garland Canal Project linked Peninsular rivers of South India and Himalayan rivers through Canals.• The Farakka Barrage Project is designed to serve the need of preservation and maintenance of the

Kolkata Port by improving the regime and navigability of the Bhagirathi-Hoogly river system.• The Grand Anicut also known as the Kallanai, was built by the Chola king Karikala Cholan in AD

26. It is considered as one of the oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world,which is still in use.

• Uttar Pradesh occupies the First place with the total length of rivers and canals as 31.2 thousandkm, which is about 17 percent of the total length of rivers and canals in the country. Other statesfollowing Uttar Pradesh are Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh.

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Upper Krishna Project Krishna Karnataka Irrigation (Almatti dam isbeing constructed).

Tungabhadra multipurposeproject.

Tungbhadra (A tributary ofKrishna)

Joint venture of AndhraPradesh and Karnataka.

Irrigation, hydroelectricity.

Ghatprabha project Ghatprabha (A tributary ofKrishna).

Andhra Pradesh andKarnataka

Irrigation, hydroelectricity.

Malprabha project Malprabha (A tributary ofKrishna).

Karnataka Irrigation

Bhima project Bhima Maharashtra Irrigation

Mettur project Cauvery Tamil Nadu Hydroelectricity

Shivasamudram scheme Cauvery Karnataka Hydroelectricity

Kundah project Kundah Tamil Nadu Hydroelectricity

Sharavati Project Sharavati (near Jog falls) Karnataka Hydroelectricity

Chambal project(Gandhi Sagar Dam (M.P.,Rana Pratap Sagar and JawaharSagar Dam or Kota Dam.

Chambal (a tributary ofYamuna).

Raja sthan, MadhyaPradesh.

Irrigation, hydroelectricity.

Kakrapara Project Tapi Gujarat Irrigation

Ukai project Tapi Gujarat Irrigation

Sardar Sarovar Project Narmada Gujarat, M.P., RajasthanMaharashtra.

Irrigation, hydroelectricity

Tawa project Ta wa ( A t r ib ut a r y o fNarmada).

Madhya Pradesh Irrigation

Mahi project (Jamnalal BajajSagar)

Mahi Gujarat Irrigation

Matatila project Betwa Uttal Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh.

Irrigation, hydroelectricity.

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INDIAN CLIMATE The nation has four seasons:

winter (January and February),summer (March to May), amonsoon (rainy) season (Juneto September), and a post-monsoon period (October toDecember).

The climatic conditions in In-dia are affected the most by thetropical monsoon. Due to theoverwhelming influence of thetropical monsoon on Indianclimate, India is called a tropi-cal country.

Indian climate is greatly influ-enced by the presence ofHimalayas in the north andthe Indian Ocean in the south.

The climate of India is mon-soonal type, fed up by two rainbearing winds.

Latitude and the monsoonwinds are the major factors af-fecting the Indian climate.

The Tropic of Cancer dividesIndia into two almost equal cli-matic zones namely the north-ern zone and the southern zone.

Thunder storms cause upto 25cm of rainfall along the Keralaand Karnataka coasts andabout 10 cm. in the interior ofSouth India. Such rains arecalled 'Cherry Blossoms' inKarnataka where they proveimmensely beneficial to coffeeplantation. They are called as'Mango Showers' in SouthIndia, due to their salutary ef-fect on mango crop.

The normal date of the onsetof the rains is 20th May in

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Andaman & Nicobar Islandsand by the end of June, it isusually established over mostof the country.

Normal duration of the mon-soon varies from 2 to 4 months.

The Trans-Himalayan andGreater-Himalayan regions,Drass and Kargil of Ladakh re-gion are the coldest regions inthe country.

Mawsynram in Meghalaya(1141 cm) is therainiest place in the world.

Jaisalmer in westernRajasthan is the driest place inIndia which receives the low-est rainfall.

El-Nino is a complex weathersystem that appears once inevery 3 to 7 years bringingdrought, floods and otherweather extremes to differentparts of the world. El-Nino isused in India for forecastinglong range monsoon rainfall.

Monsoon India receives 90% of the total

rainfall from monsoons. Mon-soons are the seasonal windswhich blow during six monthsof summer from ocean to landand for the six months of win-ter from land to sea.

On the basis of monsoonalvariations there are four sea-sons in India namely the cold(winter) season (December toFebruary), the hot (summer)season (March to May), thesouth west monsoon (the rainyseason) (June to September)and the season of retreatingmonsoon (October to Novem-ber).

The South West Monsoonforms the main monsoon sea-son in India (June to August).

The North East Monsoon (Oc-tober - November) brings rainmainly to Tamil Nadu.

The North - East Monsoonsare comparitively minor mon-soons confined to a smallerarea of the country. They arethe winds blowing out from thelandmass of north-western In-dia towards the Indian Ocean.

Monsoon is a wind system ofthe tropical regions underwhich the direction of thewinds is reversed seasonablyand it results in summerrainfall and dry winters.

During the summer season, thewinds blow from sea to thecontinents so that the moistwinds cause rainfall in thisseason.

During winter, the direction ofthe winds is reversed so thatthey blow from continentstowards the sea.

The onset of monsoon in Indiaimplies the onset of thesoutheast monsoon (windsblowing from the Indian Oceanto the Indian subcontinent) inthe beginning of the summerseason so that the monthsfrom June to mid-September arerainy.

The south-west monsoonwinds are replaced fromOctober onwards by thenorth-east monsoon blowingfrom the continental areatowards the sea to the south.Hence the winter seasonremains by and large dry.

Seasons The climatic year of India can

be divided into four seasons:the hot dry season, the hot wetseason, the cool dry seasonand the cool wet season.

Hot Dry Season : It is markedby the r ising temperatureduring the latter half of themonth of March. The highesttemperatures in the south areexperienced in April and in thenorthern plains in May andJune.

This part of the year is markedby a dry spell and the north-western parts of the countryexperience hot, dry windscalled loo.

Hot Wet Season : The troughof low pressure over the Indo-Gangetic plain causes theequatorial winds of oceanicorigin to move over to India.

This is the onset of southwestmonsoon and also thebeginning of the hot wetseason.

The peninsular landmass ofIndia divides the southwestmonsoon winds into twobranches, one each blowingfrom the Arabian Sea and theBay of Bengal.

The Arabian Sea branch firststrikes the Western Ghats andcauses heavy rainfall in theWestern Coastal Plains.

On the eastern side of theGhats, the rainfall is much lowerdue to the rain-shadow effectsof the Ghats and interior TamilNadu remains dry during thisseason.

The direction of the windsduring this season over theBay of Bengal is modified bythe presence of the lowpressure over the Ganga Valleyand the physical barrier of theArakan mountains. Hence theirdirection over this regionbecomes south-easterly.

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Cool Dry Season : This seasonlasts from mid-September tomid-December. It is the periodof retreating south-westmonsoon in India.

The period is characterized bylow temperature, low northerlywinds, clear skies and lowhumidity.

Although the season isdominated by subsistenteasterly or northeasterly windsover the peninsula, windsgenerally blow from a westerlydirection in the northern partof the country.

Cool Wet Season : By October,the southwest monsoonwithdraws from most parts ofIndia and the northeastmonsoon establishes itselfover the entire area from whichthe southwest monsoon haswithdrawn.

The western remains dry up tothe end of November in mostparts.

The western disturbances arecyclonic systems that developin the belt of the westerlywinds and they bring unsettledweather in their wake. Thesedisturbances cause rain orsnowfall in Jammu and Kashmirand north Indian Plains andbreak the dry spell. This periodof the year is called the cold-wet season.

The winds blowing towardsTamil Nadu from the northeastpick up some moisture as theyblow over the Bay of Bengaland they cause rainfall in TamilNadu and parts of AndhraPradesh due to the obstructionposed by the Eastern Ghatsand the eastern face of theWestern Ghats.

Rajasthan and Gujarat regionsremain dry during this seasonalso.

Climatic Regions The wettest areas in the

western coastal plain and partsof Assam fall under thecategory of tropical rainforestclimate. This region receivesmore than 400 cm of rainfalland Mawsynram nearChirapunji, which receives thehighest average annualrainfall in the world, lies here.

The tropical savanna climatecovers most of the peninsularregion except for the semi- aridzone east of the Sahyadris. Inthis region, the temperatureremains above 18.20C and therange of temperature is alsohigh. It is seasonal in character.

Tropical and sub-tropicalsteppe climate extends overlarge areas in Punjab, Haryana,Kutch, parts of the Gangeticplains and some parts of thePeninsular region. Temperaturein this region falls below 180Cin the winter season but mayrise above 300C in summer.

Tropical semi-arid steppeclimate covers the rain-shadow area of the Sahyadris

and parts of Maharashtra.Temperature remains between200C and 23.80C.

Parts of Kutch and the westernparts of Rajasthan are includedin the category of tropicaldeserts. It receives a rainfall ofless than 25cm and thetemperature may rise up to500C.

A humid subtropical climatewith dry winters covers mostof the northern plains fromPunjab to Assam along theHimalayas.

The Himalayas and theKarakoram Range are includedin areas identified as having amountain climate. Here, thetemperature and rainfall varyaccording to altitude and theaspect of the slopes.

SOILS IN INDIAAlluvial Soil

Alluvial soil contributing thelargest share, is formed by thedeposition of sediments by riv-ers in the interior parts of Indiaand by the sea waves in thecoastal areas of the country.

Alluvial soil is the best agri-cultural soil because

The Indian Council of AgriculturalResearch has divided the Indian soils into 8

categories. Alluvial soil, Black soil, Red soil, Later-ite soil, Forest soil, Arid and Desert soil, Saline and

Alkaline soils, Peaty and organic soils. Black soils(29.69%), Alluvial soils (22.16%), Red and

yellow soils (28%).

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(i) They contain a variety ofsalts derived from Hima-layan rocks.

(ii) They are light and porous,therefore easily tillable.

(iii) They are good for canalirrigation because of highwater table and an easilypenetrable stratum.

Alluvial soils are suitable forcultivation of almost all kindsof cereals, pulses, oil seeds,cotton, sugarcane and veg-etables.

Alluvial soils are rich in pot-ash and poor in nitrogen andorganic matter.

Immature soils with weak pro-files – Azonal

Alluvial soils are devoted tothe cultivation of wheat rice,pulses, sugarcane, jute, oil-seeds, fodder etc.

Black Soil Black soil is found largely in

the Deccan plateau. Black soil is suitable for the

cultivation of cotton and there-fore it is called black cotton soil.

Also known as regur soils. Regur soils varies in colour

from black to chestnut brown. Black soils are rich in iron, lime

and aluminium content. Black soils have high moisture

retention capacity.

Red Soil Red soil is formed by the

weathering of ancient meta-morphic and crystalline rocks.

They are airy and need irriga-tion support for cultivation.Red soil is suitable for the cul-tivation of pulses and coarsegrains.

Red soils are poor in nitrogen,phosphorus, potassium andorganic matter.

They are more suitable for thecultivation of rice, ragi, to-bacco and vegetable.

The colour is red because ofthe presence of iron oxides.

Mainly found in the Peninsu-lar India and hilly states ofNorth East India.

Laterite Soil Laterite soils are formed by the

weathering of laterite rocks.Laterite soils are deficient innitrogen. They are chieflyfound in Karnataka, Kerala,Madhya Pradesh, Orissa andMalabar areas.

These soils are agriculturallyunimportant because of inten-sive leaching, low base ex-change capacity and theiracidic nature.

These are the typical soil of thetropical regions with heavyseasonal rainfall and alterna-tive dry season.

These soils provide valuablebuilding materials.

Forest Soil Forest soils are formed by the

deposition of organic matterderived from forests. They arerich in organic matter and hu-mus. They are found mainly inPunjab, Karnataka, Manipurand Jammu & Kashmir.

These soils are used for plan-tations of tea, coffee, spicesand fruits.

Arid and Desert Soils Arid and Desert soils are

formed under arid and semi arid

conditions in the north -west-ern parts of the country. Theyare rich in phosphate thoughpoor in nitrogen.

These soils often have a highsoluble salt content and verylow humus content.

These soils are made fertile byadding gypsum.

Saline and Alkaline Soils Saline and Alkaline soils are

salt impregnated and infertile.These soils are found espe-cially in the dry tracts of thenorth.

Peaty soils Peaty soils are developed un-

der humid conditions as a re-sult of the accumulation oflarge amounts of organic mat-ter. These soils are highly sa-line and rich in organic matter.

This soil is found in Kottayamand Alappuzha districts ofKerala, where they are calledkari.

When the rain cease they areput under paddy cultivation.

It also occurs in the northernBihar, Southern Uttaranchal(Almora district) and coastalareas of West Bengal, Orissaand Tamil Nadu.

Soil erosion andConservation

Soil erosion by water, wind andtillage affects both agricultureand the natural environment.

Soil erosion is just one form ofsoil degradation. Other kindsof soil degradation includesalinisation, nutrient loss, andcompaction.

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Soil erosion means removal ofthe top layers of the soil at arate higher than the rate of ac-crual of new fertile top part ofthe soil is removed.

Soil conservation is a set ofmanagement strategies for pre-vention of soil being erodedfrom the earth’s surface.

The most common methods ofsoil conservation include affor-estation, contour cultivation,keeping land covered by cropsand other plants, mulching,construction of embankmentsand flood channels and scien-tific methods of cultivationkeeping in view landform char-acteristics.

Cultivation on the steep slopesand excessive grazing shouldalso be avoided.

NATURAL VEGETA-TION (Forests)

Natural vegetation in India var-ies from region to region dueto variations in climatic condi-tions, soil types and relief fea-tures.

Some major types ofvegetation found in Indiaare Evergreen forests,Deciduous forests, Dryforests, Hill forests andTidal forests.

Nearly 19.39% of the totalland area in India is under for-est. The National Forest policyhas laid down a target of rais-ing the area under forest tonearly 33.3%.

Tropical Evergreen forests aredense forests of luxuriantgrowth found in areas whererainfall ranges between 200 to300 cm. eg; Western Ghats andsub-Himalayan regions.

Dry Tropical forests are mostlyprevalent in regions with anannual rainfall of 90 to 130 cm.

Swamps or Littoral forests arealso called tidal forests whichoccur in and around the tidalcreeks and along the deltas ofr iver Ganges, Mahanadi,Krishna and Godavari.

Alpine forests cover the alpineareas in the Himalayas, at aheight of 2880 m to 3700m.

Siwaliks are covered with tropi-cal moist deciduous flora suchas sal and bamboo.

Planting of trees is known asafforestation.

Deforestation is the destruc-tion of trees.

Forests also help to preventsoil erosion and land slides. Itmaintains the ecological bal-ance and provides forest prod-ucts such as timber and indus-trial raw materials. Forestshelps to protect wild life andrare species of trees and plants.

Madhya Pradesh has the larg-est area under forest amongthe Indian states.

Haryana has the least areaunder forest.

Arunachal Pradesh has thelargest percentage of area un-der forest.

India provides about 8% of theworld’s hardwood and ranksthird after Brazil and Indone-sia.

Mangrove forests are found inthe coastal plains.

The forests on the Gangesdelta in Bengal are called

Sunderbans after the sundaritrees in these forests.

Evergreen forests (Tropical)are found in the Western ghatsand Sub-Himalayan region.They provide hardwood liketeak, rosewood, ebony etc.

Social forestry aims at notonly providing fuelwood,fodder and other forest prod-ucts, but also to meet the re-quirement of ecological bal-ance through large scale affor-estation on community landsand waste lands.

Energy plantations are plan-tations of softwood and grassto meet the energy needs ofhouseholds.

World Environment Day :June 5.

Government of India adopteda forest policy in 1952 and fur-ther modified it in 1988. Ac-cording to new forest policy,the Government willemphasise sustainable forestmanagement.

Forest policy aimed at 1. bring-ing 33% of geographical areasunder forest cover, 2. maintain-ing environmental stability, 3.conserving natural heritage ofthe country, 4. checks soil ero-sion, 5 increasing forest coveretc.

Out of a total of 593 districts,187 have been identified astribal districts. The tribal dis-tricts account for about 59.8%of total forest cover of the coun-try.

The National Commission onAgriculture (1976) classifiedsocial forestry into 3 catego-ries - Urban forestry, Rural for-estry, Farm forestry.

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INDIA’S WILD LIFE India,a country of diverse wild-

life & it is the second largestcountry on the planet to havesuch diverse life forms.

India is home to several wellknown large mammals includ-ing the Asian Elephant, Ben-gal Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Leop-ard, Sloth Bear and Indian Rhi-noceros.

Other well known large Indianmammals include ungulatessuch as the rare Wild AsianWater buffalo, common Do-mestic Asian Water buffalo,Nilgai, Gaur.

India displays significantbiodiversity. One of eighteenmegadiverse countries, it ishome to 7.6% of all mammalian,12.6% of all avian, 6.2% of allreptilian, 4.4% of all amphibian,11.7% of all fish, and 6.0% ofall flowering plant species.

The wild life reserves of Indiaare of two types - the Wild lifesanctuaries and Nationalparks.

Presently, the country has 490Wildlife Sanctuaries, 96 Na-tional Parks and 27 Tiger Re-serves.

Wild life protection in Indiawas given statutory statuswith the adoption of the Wild-life (Protection) Act, 1972 byall the Indian states exceptJammu and Kashmir.

Keibul Lamjo is the only float-ing National Park in the coun-try, is located in Manipur inLoktak Lake.

Trade in endangered speciesis subject to strict rules underthe Convention on Interna-

tional Trade in EndangeredSpecies (CITES) of wild floraand fauna, to which India is asignatory.

Some of the endangered spe-cies are Asiatic Lion, OneHorned Rhinocerous, Hangul,Royal Bengal Tiger, Wild Assetc.

The Animal Welfare Board ofIndia was established in 1962.Research programmes in wild-life are carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradunand the Salim Ali Centre forOrnithology and Natural His-tory, Coimbatore.

Project Tiger is the centrallysponsored scheme launchedon April 1, 1973 to save the ti-

National Parks

India’s first national park (an IUCN category II protected area) was

established in 1935 as Hailey National Park, now known as Jim

Corbett National Park. By 1970, India only had five national parks.

In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger

to safeguard the habitats of conservation reliant species. Further

federal legislation strengthening protections for wildlife was

introduced in the 1980s. There are 96 national parks. All national

park lands encompass a combined 38,029.18 km², 1.16% of India’s

total surface area.Biosphere Reserves

Biosphere reserves are multipurpose protected area topreserve the genetic diversityin representative eco system.So far fourteen biospherereserves have been set up.They are:Nilgiri, Nanda Devi, Nokrek,Great Nicobar, Gulf ofMannar, Manas, Sunderbans,Similipal, Dibru Saikhowa,Dehong Debang,Panchmarhi, Kanchenjungaand Agasthyamala andAchanakmar Amarkantak.

World's rarest monkey, the goldenlangur typifies the precarious survival

of much of India's megafauna.

National animalRoyal Bengal TigerNational aquatic animalDolphinNational birdIndian PeacockNational treeBanyan tree

Wildlife Institute of India (WII) isestablished in 1982. It is an interna-tionally acclaimed Institution, whichoffers training program, academiccourses and advisory in wildlife re-search and management.

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gers from extinction on India.It has become the most suc-cessful conservation venturesin modern history.

At present Madhya Pradeshwith 912 tigers tops the statewith greater number of Tigers.Madhya Pradesh is known asthe tiger state of India. M.Pwas followed by Uttar Pradesh

There are about 2546 species of fishes (about 11% of the world

species) found in Indian waters. About 197 species of amphibians

(4.4% of the world total) and more than 408 reptile species (6% of

the world total) are found in India. There are about 1250 species of

birds from India (12% of the world species). There are about 410

species of mammals known from India which is about 8.86% of the

world species.in 1992.

Today, there are 39 Project Ti-ger wildlife reserves in India.

Project Elephant waslaunched to protect the wildlife and elephant population.

Most of India's rhinos todaysurvive in the Kaziranga Na-tional Park.

A wild life week is observed in

the first week of October ev-ery year.

Flora of India The Flora of India is one of the

richest of the world due to awide range of climate, topog-raphy and environments in thecountry. There are over 15000species of flowers in India.

Lotus, National Flower of India

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AGRICULTUREIN INDIA

Crops in India can be classi-fied into subsistence crops,commercial crops, plantationcrops and horticulture crops.

India's total geographical areais 328.7 million hectares ofwhich 140.8 million hectares isthe net sown area, while 192.80million hectares is the grosscropped area.

Agriculture contributes about17.8% to national Gross Do-mestic Product (GDP) andnearly 16% to export earnings.

Types of Cultivation1. Sedentary Cultivation2. Crop rotation3. Shifting cultivation4. Mixed cropping5. Relay cropping6. Terrace cultivation7. Mixed farming

Operation flood I waslaunched in 1970, which aimedat capturing a commandingshare of the liquid milk mar-ket.

A centrally sponsored Com-

India is the world’s largest producer of milk, cashew nuts, coco-

nuts, tea, ginger, turmeric and black pepper.

It also has the world's largest cattle population (281 million).

It is the second largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar, groundnut

and inland fish

It is the third largest producer of tobacco.

India accounts for 10% of the world fruit production with first

rank in the production of banana and sapota.

Crop season in India can be classified into threesuch as Kharif, Rabi and Zaid.

Kharif (rainy) crops are sown in June/July and harvested inSeptember / October. Rice, Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, Maize, Cottonand Jute are the important Kharif crops.

Rabi (winter) crops are sown in October/ December and har-vested in April/ May. Wheat , Barley , Peas, Rape-seed, Mustardand Grams are the important Rabi crops.

Zaid (Summer) crops : Zaid crops are grown in the short peri-ods after the harvest of the Kharif and Rabi crops. Sown inApril, May and June. Products are mostly fruits and vegetables.

Green Revolution To increase yield per hectare

government of India intro-duced a programme calledGreen Revolution.

The Green Revolution (first)was launched in 1967-68.

The second Green Revolutionwas launched in 1983-84.

Father of Green Revolution -Dr. Norman Borlaug

Father of Green Revolution inIndia - Dr. M.S. Swaminathan

Green Revolution focused thedevelopment of high-yieldingvarieties of cereal grains, ex-pansion of irrigation infrastruc-ture, and distribution of hybrid-ized seeds, synthetic fertilizers,and pesticides to farmers.

Punjab pioneered green revo-lution among the other statestransforming India into a food-surplus country.

Areas of CultivationTemperate Himalayan RegionEastern Himalayan Region &Western Himalayan Region.The Eastern Himalayan RegionAssam, Sikkim and Mishmi HillsThe Western Himalayan RegionKulu, Kangra and Kashmir Valleys,Garhwal, Kumaon and Simla HillsNorthern Dry RegionPunjab, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat,Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West-ern Madhya PradeshEastern West RegionWest Bengal, Orissa, Bihar,Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, TamilNadu, Chattisgarh, Assam,Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura andMizoram.Western Wet RegionKerala, KarnatakaSouthern RegionParts of Madhya Pradesh, AndhraPradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra,Gujarat, Karnataka and UttarPradesh

ICARIndian Council of Agri-

cultural Research (ICAR) isan autonomous body under

the Ministry of Agriculture.Headquarters: New Delhi. Thecouncil is the apex body for co-ordinating, guiding and man-aging research and educa-

tion in agriculture in-cluding horticul-

ture.

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Crop Areas of ProductionBarley Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya PradeshCotton Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya

Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana,Tamil Nadu, Karnataka.

Jute West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Orissa,Tripura

Groundnut Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra PradeshMustard &rape seed RajasthanSunflower Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,

KarnatakaPulses Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,

Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh.

Coffee Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, AndhraPradesh.

Rubber Kerala, Tamil Nadu, KarnatakaSilk Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra

Pradesh, Assam, Bihar (tassar)Tobacco Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,

Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bihar.Cardamom Karnataka, Sikkim, Kerala, Tamil NaduCashewnut Kerala, Andhra PradeshCastor seed Gujarat, Andhra PradeshChillies Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, OrissaCloves Kerala, Tamil Nadu, KarnatakaCocoa Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil NaduGinger Kerala, MeghalayaPepper Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil NaduPoppy Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, PunjabRagi Karnataka, Tamil NaduSaffron Jammu and KashmirBanana Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, KeralaPineapples Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal,

TripuraMango Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh,

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu.Apple Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,

UttaranchalArecanut Kerala, Karnataka, Assam, Meghalaya,

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.Coconut Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra

Pradesh, Goa.Grapes Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,

Karnataka, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh,Himachal Pradesh

Orange Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,Meghalaya, Sikkim.

Turmeric Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar,Orissa, Maharashtra.

White Revolution The White Revolution

in the country has beenachieved by means ofOperation Flood. It wascarried out in threephases.Operation Flood I .... 1970 - 1981Operation Flood II ... 1981 - 1985Operation Flood III ... 1985 - 1996.

White revolution launched to increase the qualityand quanity of milk and dairy products.

The Father of the White Revolution in India isDr. Varghese Kurien. He is also known asMilkman of India.

States first in productionSaffron .......................................... Jammu KashmirTea ............................................... Andhra PradeshSpices Garden ............................................. KeralaCoffee ................................................... KarnatakaSandalwood .......................................... KarnatakaCotton ...................................................... GujarathTobacco ....................................... Andhra PradeshPlantain ............................................. MaharashtraWheat .............................................. Uttar PradeshSugar cane ....................................... Uttar PradeshPaddy Crop (Rice) .............. West Bengal & AndhraCoriander ............................................... Rajasthan

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mand Area DevelopmentProgramme was launched in1974-75 with the main objectiveof improving utilization of irri-gation potential and optimizingagricultural productivity.

Irrigation in India can be clas-sified into Wells, Tanks andCanals.

Wells account for about 48%of the total irrigated area in thecountry.

Tanks account for about 10%of the total irrigated area, areused in Central and SouthernIndia.

NABARDNABARD (National Bank forAgriculture and Rural Devel-opment) is set up as an apexDevelopment Bank with amandate for facilitating creditflow for promotion and devel-opment of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage andvillage industries, handicraftsand other rural crafts. It is anapex development bankbased in Mumbai,Maharashtra. It was estab-lished on 1982.

National Food Security Mission

'National Food Security Mission', has been launched from 2007-08

to increase the production of rice by 10 million tons, wheat by 8

million tons and pulses by 2 million tons by the end of the Elev-

enth Plan (2011-12). The National Food Security Mission will have

3 components (i) Rice (ii) Wheat & (iii) Pulses. The Mission is

functioning under the control of Ministry of Agriculture.

Punjab is known as the Granary ofIndia or India’s bread-basket.

Punjab (Land of the five rivers) is one of the most fertileregions on earth. The region is ideal for wheat-growing.Rice, sugar cane, fruits and vegetables are also grown.It pro-duces 14% of India’s cotton, 20% of India’s wheat, and

9% of India’s rice. The Firozpur District is the largestproducer of wheat and rice in the state.

Green Revolution .................................. High Yielding Variety of SeedsWhite Revolution ............................................ Milk & Dairy productsSilver Revolution ....................................................... Egg and PoultrySilver Fibre Revolution ............................................................ CottonYellow Revolution ................................................................ Edible OilBlue Revolution .................................................................... FisheriesPink Revolution ...................................................................... PrawnsGolden Revolution ................................................................... HoneyGolden Fibre Revolution .............................................................. JuteBrown Revolution ..................................................................... Cocoa

Animal Resources. India has the largest number

of livestock in the world.. The rearing of various animals

and obtaining different prod-ucts from them is called ani-mal husbandry.

The Central Semen Productionand Training Institute atHessarghatta is one of thepremier organisation in thecountry engaged inmultiplying high pedigreeanimals.

Sericulture Natural silk is produced from the cocoons of the silk worms. Rearing

of silkworms and production of silk from them is called sericulture. Sericulture is the biggest village industry in India after handloom and

khadi. India is the second largest silk producer in the world. Karnataka is the leading producer of silk in India. Bihar and Jharkhand are the leading producers of tasar silk. India has the unique distinction of being the only country producing

all the five kinds of silk – Mulberry, Eri, Muga, Tropical Tasar andTemperate Tasar.

Mulberry silk is the most popular variety in India, contributing morethan 87% of the Country’s silk production.

Cultivation of mulberry plants is referred to as Moriculture.

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MINERALRESOURCES

India's major mineral resourcesinclude Coal (third-largest re-serves in the world), Iron ore,Manganese, Mica, Bauxite, Ti-tanium ore, Chromite, Naturalgas, Diamonds, Petroleum,Limestone and Thorium(world's largest along Kerala'sshores).

India's minerals range fromboth metallic and non-metallictypes. The metallic mineralscomprise ferrous and non-fer-rous minerals while the nonmetallic minerals comprise min-eral fuels, precious stones,among others.

India produces 89 minerals outof which 4 are fuel minerals, 11metallic, 52 non-metallic and 22minor minerals.

India also exports iron ore, ti-tanium, manganese, bauxite,granite, and imports cobalt,mercury, graphite etc.

India ranks 3rd in production

ONGCOil and Natural Gas Corpora-tion Limited (ONGC) (incorpo-rated on 23 June 1993) is astate-owned oil and gascompany in India. It was setup as a commission on 14August 1956. It contributes77% of India's crude oilproduction and 81% of India'snatural gas production. Indiangovernment holds 74.14%equity stake in this company.

of coal & lignite, 2nd in bar-ites, 4th in iron ore, 5th in baux-ite and crude steel, 7th in man-ganese ore and 8th in alu-minium.

Iron Ore is the backbone ofmodern civilisation. Varieties ofiron ore:Magnetite - the best qualityof iron ore and contains 72%pure iron.Haematite - contains 60 to 70%pure iron.Limonite - contains 40 to 60%pure iron.

Jharkhand has the largest re-serves accounting for about25% of the total reserves ofiron ore in India.

India’s richest haematite de-posits are located inBarabilkoira valley in Orissa.

The Bailadila mine is the larg-est mechanised mine in Asia

from where iron ore is exportedto Japan through Vishakhapatnam.

Japan is the biggest buyer ofIndian iron ore.

India has the second largestmanganese ore reserves in theworld after Zimbabwe.

India is the fifth largest pro-ducer in the world after

India has the world’s largest reserves of Iron. India is the largest producer of mica in the world. India possesses the largest reserves of monazite known in the world. India ranks fifth in the world in the production of manganese.

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Minerals Areas of ProductionAntimony Punjab, Karnataka, Rajasthan, BiharAsbestos Karnataka, RajasthanBeryllium Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Andhra PradeshBarytes Andhra Pradesh, MaharashtraDiamonds Madhya Pradesh (Panna mines)Graphite Orissa, Rajasthan, Andhra PradeshGranite Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra PradeshMagnesite Tamil Nadu, UttaranchalMarble Rajasthan (Makrana)Nickel Orissa, Jharkhand, Tamil NaduRock Salt Gujarat, Himachal PradeshSea Salt Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra PradeshSulphur Tamil NaduTin Bihar, Jharkhand, RajasthanCoal Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, OrissaLignite NeyveliGold Andhra Pradesh (Ramagiri), Karnataka (Kolar, Hutti)Gypsum Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, GujaratSilver Karnataka (Kolar), Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Tamil NaduChromite Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Tamil

NaduDolomite Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Gujarat, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar

Pradesh, Uttaranchal, MaharashtraThorium Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra PradeshUranium Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh.Ilmenite Tamil Nadu, KeralaRock phosphate Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh.

Brazil,Gabon, South Africa andAustralia.

The main reserves are foundin Karnataka, followed byOrissa, Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra and Goa.

Orissa is the leading producerof manganese in the state.

Raniganj (West Bengal), Jharia(Bihar), Singrauli (MadhyaPradesh) and Korba(Chhattisgarh) are the majorcoal fields in India.

Marble is found largely inRajasthan.

Leading salt producer in Indiais Gujarat. It produces 60% ofsalt of the country.

State with the largest mineraldeposit is Jharkhand.

Jharkhand is the state withhighest mineral output in India.

Chottanagpur plateau is therichest mineral belt of India.

India’s contribution to goldproduction across the world isless than one percent (0.75%).

Karnataka is the largest pro-ducer of gold followed byAndhra Pradesh.

Geological Survey of IndiaGSI, established in 1851 is a

government organization in In-dia for conducting geologicalsurveys and studies. It is one ofthe oldest of such organizationsin the world. There are two geo-logical parks maintained by GSI.Saketi Fossil Park, Saketi,Himachal Pradesh and NehruPark , Hyderabad, AndhraPradesh. The park displays lifesize figures of dinosaurs like T-Rex.

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Major Cement companiesAmbuja cement, Aditya Cement,JK Cement and L & T Cement.

Steel CompaniesSteel Authority of India (SAIL),Bbilai Steel Plant, Durgapur SteelPlant, Rourkela Steel Plant, BokaroSteel Plant.

There are mainly three goldfields in India:Kolar gold field in KarnatakaHutti gold field in KarnatakaRamgiri gold field in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh

Silver is mainly produced fromZawar mines of Udaipurdistrict in Rajasthan.

Orissa has the largestdeposits of Nickel.

Lignite also known as browncoal. It is a lower grade coaland contains about 40 to 55%carbon.

It is found in Rajasthan,Neyveli of Tamil Nadu, Assamand Jammu and Kashmir.

Jharia in Jharkhand has beenrecognised as the store houseof the best metallurgical coalin the country.

Coal India Ltd produces thelargest quantity of coal in In-dia followed by SingareniCollieries Comp Ltd.

Assam is the oldest oil produc-ing state in India.

Digboi in Assam is the oldestoil well of India.

Natural gas fields areAnkleshwar and Cambay inGujarat, Bombay high andAssam.

The first successful oil well wassunk at Digboi in 1889.

Bombay High is the offshoreoil field located in the coast ofMaharashtra.

Oil Refineries with the largestrefining capacity-Reliance Petroleum Ltd,JamnagarIndian Oil Corp Ltd, Koyali

Bauxite is exported to countriessuch as China, Korea, Ukraine,Saudi Arabia.

India has the world's largestdeposits of coal. Bituminouscoal is found in Jharkhand andBihar and Ranigunj in WestBengal. Lignite coals are foundin Neyveli in Tamilnadu.

Coal has been described as thebridge into the future.

India ranks third in the worldafter China and USA in coalproduction.

The Panna diamond belt is theonly diamond producing areain the country, which coversthe distr icts of Panna,Chatarpur and Satna in MadyaPradesh, as well as some partsof Banda in Uttar Pradesh.

Bauxite deposits are found inwestern Bihar, southwestKashmir, Central Tamilnadu,and parts of Kerala, U.P,Maharastra and Karnataka.

With the recent spurt in worlddemand for chromite, India hasstepped up its production toreach the third rank among thechromite producers of theworld.

Recent discoveries of Krishna-Godawari off-shore basin andRava field will have bigconstribution in the field ofgas production in India.

Non - Metallic Minerals Jharkhand is the leading pro-

ducer of mica. Bihar, Rajasthanand Andhra Pradesh also pro-

duce mica. Japan (19%) and USA (17%)

are the major buyers of ourmica.

Limestone with more than 10%magnesium is called dolomite,when the percentage rises to45, it becomes true dolomite.

Iron and Steel industry is thechief consumer of dolomite.

About 90% dolomite reservesare concentrated in MadhyaPradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa,Gujarat, Karnataka, WestBengal, Uttar Pradesh andMaharashtra.

Rajasthan is the largestproducer of Asbestosfollowed by Andhra Pradeshand Karnataka.

Gypsum is mainly used inmaking ammonia sulphatefertilizer and in cementindustry. Rajasthan is themain producer followed byJammu and Kashmir.

Major deposite of magnesiteare found in Uttranchal, TamilNadu and Rajasthan.

Jharkhand is the largestproducer of Kyanite in Indiafollowed by Maharashtra andKarnataka.

In Sillimanite production,Orissa contributes 55.87% ofthe total production, followedby Kerala and Maharashtra.

Diamond is found at Panna inMadhya Pradesh.

In salt production, rock salt istaken out in Mandi district ofHimachal Pradesh. Sambharlake in Rajasthan producesabout 10% of annual production. And Gujarat coastproduces nearly half of oursalt.

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Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is a quasi governmental institu-tion for drawing up standards for the products of Indian industry.It was established in 1947.

National Productivity Council (NPC) is an autonomous bodyformed to inculcate productivity in industries, established in 1958.

Uranium deposits occur inJadugoda of Singhbhum andHazaribagh districts ofJharkhand.

Thorium, a likely future substi-tute for Uranium as a fissionmaterial in atomic reactors, oc-curs in considerable quantitiesas ThO2, in the beach sands ofKerala coast.

Monazite deposits of commer-cial value are found in about 160kms between Cape Comorinand Kollam in Kerala.

Thorium is also derived frommonazite. Zirconium is alsofound in Kerala coast.

Uranium compounds occurs inSinghbhum - copper belt ofJharkhand, Aravalli's and cen-tral Himalaya.

MAJOR INDUS-TRIES IN INDIA

The first Industrial Policy wasbrought in 1948.

Major industries include tele-communications, textiles, juteand sugar industries, chemi-cals, food processing, steel,transportation equipment, ce-ment, mining, petroleum, ma-chinery, information technol-ogy enabled services and phar-maceuticals.

Some of the major items manu-factured in India are comput-ers, communication equipment,broadcasting and strategicelectronics, television sets,

microwave ovens, and wash-ing machines.

Industry accounts for 28% ofthe GDP and employ 14% ofthe total workforce.

The Industrial policy adoptedby the Government of Indiaenvisages a mixed economy,i.e., the co-existence of publicand private sectors.

Textile Industries includes cot-ton, jute, wool, silk and syn-thetic fibre textiles. It accountsfor 24.6% in total exports.

Cotton textiles is the oldestindustry in India. It has thelargest number of workersemployed in an industry.

Kanpur is famous for textilesand clothing, large moderntanneries, leather works andshoe manufacturing.

Sholapur is famous for impor-tant textiles based on cottongrown in local regur soils.

The first modern cotton textilemill was established in Bombayin 1851.

Dharwar Belgaum are knownfor cotton textiles, railway andgeneral engineering goods.

The first modern cotton millwas established in 1818 atGhoosury (West Bengal).

The first jute mill was startedin 1855 at Rishra near Kolkata.

The modern woollen textile in-dustry was started with theestablishment of Lal Imli atKanpur in 1876.

Ludhiana produces 90% of

woolens in India and is alsoKnown as the Manchester ofIndia.

Tirupur has gained universalrecognition as the leadingsource of hosiery, knitted gar-ments, casual wear and sports-wear.

India is the only country pro-ducing all the five known com-mercial varieties of silk, viz.Mulberry, Tasar (Tropical),Oak Tasar, Eri and Muga.

Karnataka is the largest pro-ducer of silk. Second positiongoes to West Bengal.

First modern silk factory - wasset up at Howrah in 1832.

India is fifteenth in servicesoutput. It provides employ-ment to 23% of work force, andit is growing fast.

In 2009, seven Indian IT firmswere listed among the top 15technology outsourcing com-panies in the world.

In 1870, the first steelindustry,‘Bengal Iron Com-pany’ was set up at Kulti, WestBengal.

Three integrated steel plantswere set up at Bhilai, Durgapurand Rourkela. Later two moresteel plants, at Bokaro andVishakhapatnam, were set up.Private sector plants, of whichthe Tata Iron and Steel Com-pany (TISCO), Jamshedpur isthe biggest.

Bhilai plant was set up in col-laboration with Russia on theKolkata - Nagpur Railwayline in the Durg distr ict(Chhatisgarh).

Rourkela steel plant in Orissawas set up under the secondfive year plan in associationwith Germany.

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Industry Area of ProductionWoollen textiles : Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Jammu and KashmirCopper smelting : (Khetri) Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, MaharashtraHeavy machinery : Ranchi,Visakhapatanam, DurgapurMachine tools : Bangalore, Pinjore, Kalamassery, Hyderabad, SrinagarHeavy electricals : Bhopal, Hyderabad, Tiruchirapalli, Haridwar.Railway equipment : Chittaranjan (electric engines), Varanasi (diesel engines), Jamshedpur and Bhopal

(electric engines), Integral Coach Factory Perambur (Tamil Nadu), Rail CoachFactory, Kapurthala (Punjab)

Shipbuilding : Visakhapatnam, MumbaiCars : Mumbai (Fiat), Calcutta (Ambassador), Gurgaon (Maruthi)Buses, trucks : Chennai, MumbaiJeeps, tempos, trucks : Mumbai, Pune, GurgaonTwo-wheelers : Pune, Mumbai, Faridabad, Chennai, Mysore, Ludhiana, TirupatiCycles : Mumbai, Asansol, Sonipat, Delhi, Chennai, Jalandhar, LudhianaTractors : Faridabad, Pinjore, Delhi, Mumbai, ChennaiFertilisers : Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Andhra PradeshPharmaceuticals : Hyderabad, Rishikesh, Gurgaon, Chennai, MuzaffarpurPesticides : Delhi, AlwayeCement : Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan,

Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand.Leather goods : Agra, Kanpur, Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi.Glass : Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West BengalPaper : West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashstra, Karnataka, Madhya

Pradesh, Bihar.

Bokaro, the biggest plant inAsia was set up under thefourth five year plan in asso-ciation with the Russian Gov-ernment. It is located inJharkhand.

The public sector steel plantsare managed by the Steel Au-thority of India (SAIL). SAILwas established in 1973.

India is now the eighth largestproducer of steel in the world.

The first on-shore steel plantin India was setup atVishakhapatnam.

Indian Aluminium CoporationLtd was formed in 1937.

BALCO came into being in1965, NALCO in 1981.

Aluminium companies with thehighest sales in descendingorder - HINDALCO, NALCO,INDAL, MALCO.

Indian Copper Corporationwas set up in 1924 which wastaken over by Hindustan Cop-per Ltd (established in 1967),in 1972.

Presently, there are four zincsmelters in the country -Alwaye (Kerala), Debari andChanderi (Rajasthan) andVishakha patnam (AndhraPradesh).

Among the Third-World coun-tries, India is a major exporterof heavy and light engineeringgoods. The engineering indus-try has shown its capacity tomanufacture large-size plantsand equipment for various sec-tors like power, fertilizer, andcement.

Heavy Engineering Corpora-tion Ltd was set up at Ranchi(Jharkhand) in 1958.

Kirloskar Brother Ltd is thepioneer company in themaufacturing of machine tools.

Hindustan Machine Tools(HMT) is the largest manufac-turer of machine tools in thecountry.

Locomotives: Chittaranjan Lo-comotive Works, Diesel Loco-motive Works (Varanasi), TataEngineering and LocomotiveWorks (Jamshedpur).

The Integral Coach Factory atPerampur near Chennai wasset up in 1955 with Swiss col-laboration.

Top four automobile compa-nies with the highest sales:Tata MotorsMaruti Udyog Ltd.Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.Ashok Leyland Ltd.

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In medium and heavy commer-cial vehicles, Tata Engineeringand Locomotive Company(TELCO) is the leading pro-ducer.

There are four main centres ofship building industry atVishakhapatnam, Kolkata,Kochi and Mumbai.

Hindustan Shipyard Ltd,Vishakha patnam set up in1941, is the first ship buildingyard in the country to receiveISO-9001 certification.

Cochin Shipyard Ltd, Kochiwas incorporated in 1972. Italso manufactures ships forIndian Navy.

Mazgaon Dock at Mumbaibuilds cargo ships, passengerships, dredgers etc. for Indiannavy.

The first aircraft industry wasset up at Bangalore in 1940under the name of HindustanAircraft Ltd. Later, HindustanAircraft Ltd was merged intoAeronautics India Ltd in 1964to form Hindustran Aeronau-tics Ltd, Bangalore.

Major companies in integratedrefining and marketing areHPCL, BPCL and IOC.

Godavari - Krishna delta isknown for local tobacco, sug-arcane, rice, oil, cement andsmall textiles.

The industry associated withsports materials mainly locatedat Agra, Meerut (UP),Ludhiana, Jalandhar (Punjab)and Delhi.

Pinjore in Haryana and Jalahalliin Bangalore are associatedwith watch industry.

Moradabad is famous for

brass utensils with engravingand polishing.

Indian Explosives factory islocated at Gomia in Hazaribagh(Jharkhand).

First fertilizer plant was set upat Ranipet of Tamil Nadu in1906.

First public sector fertilizerplant is at Sindri (Jharkhand).

The first super-phosphate fac-tory was set up at Ranipet inTamil Nadu in 1906.

India is now the third largestproducer of nitrogenous fertil-izers in the world.

Fertilizer companies with thehighest sales are - NationalFertilizer Ltd, Tata ChemicalsLtd, Rashtriya Chemicals &Fertilizers Ltd.

The first successful attemptwas made in 1912 - 13 when theIndian Cement Co Ltd set up aplant in porbander (Gujarat).

The Indian Cement industry isthe second largest in the worldafter that of China.

Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh, are the leadingproducer of total cement pro-duction in India.

Leather industry is divided intotwo parts - tanning and leathergoods.

For tanning, Kanpur, (1st tan-nery centre), Chennai, andKolkata are three largest Cen-tres.

The Central Leather ResearchInstitute at Chennai is the larg-est of its kind in the world.

Uttar Pradesh is the leadingproducer of glass in India fol-lowed by West Bengal andMaharashtra.

Firozabad in Agra district isthe largest producer of glass.

The first synthetic rubber fac-tory was started in Bareilly in1955.

The first successful effort wasmade in 1870 with the settingup of the Royal Bengal PaperMills at Ballyganj near Kolkata.

The important centres for pa-per products are Lucknow,Titagarh, Raniganj, Pune,Naihati etc.

Maharashtra is the largest pro-ducer of paper followed byAndhra Pradesh, Gujarat.

Uttar Pradesh has the largestnumber of paper mills.

Paper companies with the high-est sales are Ballarpur Indus-tries Ltd, Orient Paper & Indus-tries Ltd and Tamil Nadu News-print & Paper Ltd.

West Bengal is the leadingstate in paper manufacturing.

In India, Jharkahand is thelargest producer of Lac (50%),followed by Madhya Pradeshand Chhattisgarh. India is thelargest exporter in the world.

Lac is obtained from an insectnamed Cerria lacca wihich liveson trees.

Sugar Industry is the secondlargest agro-based industry inIndia after cotton textile indus-try.

India is the largest sugar pro-ducing country with over 15%share of the global output.

India is world’s largest pro-ducer of sugarcane and sugaras well.

Maharashtra is the largestsugar producer followed byUttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

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ASIA Occupying about one-third of

the land area of the world, it isthe largest continent.

Lake Baikal, the deepest lakeof the world is located in Sibe-ria.

Pamir Plateau is a meetingplace of several ranges whichform the Pamir knot.

Pamir plateau is also known asthe “Roof of the World” be-cause it is the highest plateauin the world.

Mt. Everest (Highest peak ofthe world) and K2 (secondhighest peak of the world) be-long to the Himalayas and theKarakoram ranges respec-tively.

Mawsynram in Meghalaya(India) is the wettest place inthe world.

Verkhoyansk in north-east Si-beria is the coldest place in theNorthern Hemisphere record-ing a mean January tempera-ture of -45°C.

China is the most populous andthird largest country of theworld lies in the east of Asia.

Shanghai, the premier port ofChina on the Yangtze Kiangriver handles bulk of foreigntrade.

Taiwan formerly known asFormosa, includes the Islandof Taiwan, two offshore Is-lands -Quemoy and Matsu.

Hong Kong is a special admin-istrative region of China.

The four main islands of Japanare Hokkaido, Honshu,Shikoku, and Kyushu.

Nagoya (Japan) is known as theDetroit of Japan.

Indonesia is the most popu-lous country of South EastAsia and the biggest Islamicnation of the World.

Indonesia is the largest archi-pelago in the world, compris-ing of the islands of Sumatra,Java, Borneo, Bali, the lesserSunda Islands group,Sulawesi, Timor and the west-ern half of the island of NewGuinea is many smaller groupof islands.

Singapore is the smallest coun-try of South East Asia.

Philippines is the only Chris-tian nation in the Asia.

Laos is the only land lockedcountry of South East Asia.

Vientiane the capital of Laos issituated on the bank ofMekong river.

Penang Island (Malaysia) isknown as Singapore of thefuture

Myanmar (Burma) is famousfor its beautiful Buddhisttemples called Pagodas.

Myanmar is known as the Landof Mountains and Rivers.

Thailand is the only South EastAsian Country, which wasnever colonized.

Thailand is known as the ricebowl of south East Asia andLand of White Elephants.

WORLD GEOGRAPHY

Asia is the world’s largest andmost populous continent, located primarily

in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers8.6% of the Earth’s total surface area (or 29.9% of its land

area) and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60%of the world’s current human population. It is bounded on theeast by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Oceanand on the north by the Arctic Ocean. In terms of nominal

GDP, Japan has the largest economy on the continent andthe second largest in the world. In purchasing power

parity terms, however, China has the largesteconomy in Asia and the second

largest in the world.

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Bangkok is situated on thebank of Chao Phraya river.

Phuket Island, the tourist re-sort of Thailand, is also knownfor tin mines.

Turkey is known as The Sickman of the Europe.

Lebanon is known as Switzer-land of Middle East.

Beirut the capital of Lebanonis known as the Paris of Leba-non, lies at the cross roads ofAsia, Europe and Africa.

Israel is the centre for diamondcutting and polishing, next toBelgium in the world.

Israel’s collective farming iscalled Kibbutizm.

Jerusalem known as the HolyCity, is a place of Pilgrimage forJews, Muslims and Christians.

Jordan is known as the Landof Seven Hills.

Jordan has the shortest coast-line in the world, only 20kms.

Tehran, the capital of Iran is the

Afghanistan ...................... KabulBahrain ......................... ManamaBangladesh ...................... DhakaBhutan ......................... ThimphuChina .............................. BeijingCyprus ........................... NicosiaIndonesia ........................ JakartaIran ................................. TehranIraq .............................. BaghdadIsrael ........................... JerusalemJapan ............................... TokyoJordan ............................ AmmanKazakhstan ..................... AstanaNorth Korea ............. PyongyangSouth Korea ...................... SeoulLaos ............................. VientianeLebanon ............................ Beirut

Malaysia .............. Kuala LumpurMaldives ............................ MaleMongolia .................UlaanbaatarNepal ....................... KathmanduOman ............................. MuscatPakistan ..................... IslamabadQatar ..................................DohaSaudi Arabia .................... RiyadhPhilippines ...................... ManilaSri Lanka ...................... ColomboSyria .......................... DamascusTaiwan .............................. TaipeiTajikistan .................... DushanbeThailand ....................... BangkokTurkey ............................ AnkaraUnited Arab Emirates . Abu DhabiUzbekistan ................... TashkentVietnam ............................. Hanoi

Asia - Capital

most populated city of WestAsia.

Largest country of West Asia :Saudi Arabia

Tibet Plateau is the largest pla-teau in the world.

Sri Lanka is separated from In-dia by the Gulf of Mannar andthe Palk Strait.

Japan is called Nippon in Japa-nese, which means land of therising sun.

Gobi desert situated to thesoutheast of Mongolians pla-teau and extends into China.

Bangladesh is known as Landof Rivers and Distributaries.

Pakistan is known as Countryof Canals.

Mangla Dam, located on theJhelum river is the largest in Pa-kistan.

Bhutan is known as the land ofThunder Dragon.

Sri Lanka is linked to India byAdam’s Bridge.

AFRICA Africa is the world’s

second-largest and secondmost-populous continent,after Asia.

At about 30.2 million km²(11.7 million sq mi)including adjacent islands,it covers 6% of the Earth’stotal surface area and20.4% of the total landarea.

With a billion people (as of2009, see table) in 61territories, it accounts forabout 14.72% of theWorld’s humanpopulation.

The continent issurrounded by theMediterranean Sea to thenorth, both the Suez Canaland the Red Sea along theSinai Peninsula to thenortheast, the IndianOcean to the southeast,and the Atlantic Ocean tothe west.

The continent has 54states, includingMadagascar, variousisland groups, and theSahrawi Arab DemocraticRepublic, a member stateof the African Unionwhose statehood isdisputed by Morocco.

Largest lake: Caspian SeaLowest Point :Dead Sea, Israel/JordanHighest point: Mt. Everest, NepalLongest river: Yangtse Kiang

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African continent is separatedfrom Europe by the Mediterra-nean sea and from Asia by theRed Sea.

Africa belongs to all the fourhemispheres and bulk of thecontinent lies in tropics.

The only continent which iscrossed by Tropic of Cancer,Equator and Tropic ofCapricon.

Marrakesh, the religious capi-tal of Morocco is known as thered city because of its red claybuilding.

Khartoum, the capital of Sudanis situated at the Confluenceof Blue Nile and White Nile.

Khartoum, the administrativecentre and the largest townknown as key of Sudan.

Rwanda is known as the na-tion of a thousand hills be-cause of its mountainous na-ture.

Tsawa National Park one of thelargest Biosphere reserves lo-cated in Kisumi, Kenya.

Island of Zanzibar is alsoknown as clove island.

Zambia is separated from Zim-babwe by the river Zambezi.

Limpopo river cuts the tropicof Capricon twice.

Nigeria, a country of low landsand plateau also known asLand of Palm Oil.

Lesotho is an enclave withinthe Republic of South Africa.

South Afica is the largest pro-

ducer of gold and diamond inthe world.

Kimberly in South Africa is fa-mous for best quality dia-monds.

The largest diamond mine inKimberly is considered to bethe biggest man - made hole inthe earth.

One of the special physical fea-tures of Africa is its Great RiftValley. It is running from theSouth of lake Malawi north-ward to the Red sea and thenthrough the Gulf of Suez andthe Gulf of Aquaba to the Deadsea.

Lake Victoria, the largest lakein Africa, is also the source ofriver Nile, which is the longestriver in the world.

River Zaire carries the greatestvolume of water among all therivers of Africa.

Sahara, the largest desert in theworld is located in northernpart of Africa.

The Kariba dam on the Zambeziis the largest producer of wa-ter power in Africa.

South Africa leads the coun-tries of the world in the pro-duction of Chromium, a metalwhich does not rust.

Aswan Dam, Sennar Dam andOwen Dam are located on theNile.

Petroleum is found in manyparts of Africa such as Nige-ria, Libya and Angola.

Africa - CapitalAlgeria ............................ AlgiersAngola ........................... LuandaBotswana .................... GaboroneBurkino Faso ........ QuagadougouBurundi ..................... BujumburaCameroon ..................... YaoundeCape- Verde ........................ PraiaCentral African Republic .. BanguiChad ......................... N’DjamenaCongo ........................ BrazzavilleDijibouti ........................ DijiboutiEgypt ................................. CairoEquatorial Guinea ........... MalaboEritrea ............................ AsmaraGabon .......................... LibrevilleGambia ............................. BanjulGhana ...............................AccraGuinea ........................... ConakryGuinea Bissau.................. BissauKenya ............................. NairobiLesotho.......................... MaseruLiberia ......................... MonroviaLibya ................................ TripoliMadagascar .......... AntananarivoMalawi ......................... LilongweMali ............................... BamakoMauritius ................... Port LouisMorocco ........................... RabatMozambique.................. MaputoNiger .............................. NiameyNigeria ............................. AbujaRwanda ............................. KigaliSenegal ............................. DakarSeychelles ...................... VictoriaSomalia .................... MogadishuSouth Africa ................... PretoriaSudan ......................... KhartoumTanzania ........................ Dodoma

Highest Point : Mt. Kilimanjaro, TanzaniaLowest Point : L. Assal, DijiboutiHighest recorded temperature : Al Aziziyah, LibyaLargest Lake : VictoriaMost Southerly point : Cape Agulhas, South Africa.

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Ostrich, a large, fast runningbird is found in the Kalaharidesert.

Swahili is a local language inAfrica.

Lake Volta, the largest man-made lake in the world, extendsthrough large portions of east-ern Ghana.

Hot and dust - laden winds of-ten blow from the north eastduring dry summer seasonknown as the Harmattan.

Nigeria is the only coal produc-ing country of Western Africa.

Hot, dry and sand laden windsblow from the South in Egyptduring early summer in Apriland May, also known as Kham-sin.

Suez Canal links the Mediter-ranean sea with the Red Sea.

The opening of Suez Canal in1869 shortened the voyagefrom Mumbai to London bymore than 7,000 kilometres.

The Merino sheep of SouthAfrica are famous for their finewool.

Johannasburg is the largestcity of South Africa.

The Southernmost tip ofSouth Africa is Cape of GoodHope.

The biggest port of South Af-rica is Capetown.

EUROPE Europe ranks sixth. Its bound-

aries are the Arctic Ocean inthe west and the Mediterra-nean Sea in the South. In theeast, it is separated from Asiaby the Ural Mountains, theCaucasus mountains and theCaspian Sea.

Iceland, Norway, Sweden andDenmark are collectivelyknown as Scandinavia.

Estonia, Lithuania and Latviaare together known as the Bal-tic states.

Belgium, the Netherlands andLuxemburg are called the Lowcountries.

Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia,Croatia, Bosnia - Herzegovina,

COAST OF AFRICAGold Coast - GhanaSlave Coast - Togo, Benin &

NigeriaGrain Coast - Sierra Leone &

LiberiaIvory Coast - Cote - de - Ivore

Important Rivers of AfricaNile ................... Longest river in the world

Aswan Dam, Sennar Dam & Owen Dam located on thisriver

Zaire or Congo .. Confluence of Lualoba & Luapula riverIt cuts equator twiceStanley fall & Living stone fall are on the Zaire riverInga dam is located.

Zambezi ............. Victoria falls & Kariba dam is located in it.Coborra Bassa Dam in Mozambique is also located onthis river.Natural political boundary between Zambia & Zimba-bwe

Orange .............. Natural boundary between South Africa & Namibia.Aughrabies falls is located on this river.

Limpopo ............ It cuts the Tropic of Capricon twiceIt seperates South Africa from Botswana & Zimbabwe

Niger ................. Port Harcourt of Nigeria is located on the Niger Delta

IMPORTANT STRAITSSeparates Connects

Strait of Gibralter Europe & Africa Mediterranean Sea withAtlantic Ocean

Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb Dijibouti (Africa) & Red Sea with Gulf of AdenYemen (Asia)

South Africa............. CapitalAdministrative Capital .. : PretoriaLegislative Capital ... : Cape TownLaw Capital ........... Johannasburg

African DesertsSahara desert - (Largest singlestretch of desert), Libyan desertArabian desert, Nubian desert -(Extension of Sahara which occu-pies a third of the Sudan's territoryin the north), Namib desert,Kalahari desert - Semi desert regionof Botswana lies to the east ofNamib desert

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Europe - CapitalIceland ..................... ReykjavikDenmark .............. CopenhagenNorway ........................... OsloFinland ....................... HelsinkiSweden ...................StockholmSpain ........................... MadridPortugal ....................... LisbonFrance ............................. ParisItaly ............................... RomeGermany ......................... BerlinSwitzerland ..................... BernePoland ........................ WarsawBelgium ..................... BrusselsNetherlands ........... AmsterdamUK ..............................LondonUkraine ........................... KievAlbania ......................... TiranaAustria ......................... ViennaBelarus .......................... MinskBulgaria ........................... SofiaCroatia ......................... ZagrebCzech Republic ............. PragueEstonia ......................... TallinnGreece ......................... AthensHungary ................... BudapestIreland .......................... DublinLatvia ............................... RigaLithuania ...................... VilniusMalta .......................... VallettaRomania .................. BucharestSlovenia ....................LjubljanaYugoslavia ................ BelgradeSlovekia .................. BratislavaKosovo ....................... Pristina

Northern Ireland and manysmall islands.

Russia touches fourteen othercountries and crosses eighttime zones.

Moscow is a part of five seasthe Baltic Sea, Lake Ladoga,the Arctic Ocean, the Black seaand the Caspian Sea.

St. Petersburg is the strategiclocation at the entrance of Bal-tic Sea and is the European ter-minus of Trans - Siberian Rail-way.

Vladivostok (City of East),Russia situated along the coastof sea of Japan is the last sta-tion of Trans- Siberian RailwayRoute.

Wide continental shelves ofNorth Sea, called as DoggerBank , is one of the most pro-

Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece,Romania and Albania areknown as the Balkan states.

British Isles include the twomain islands of Ireland (com-prising Northern Ireland andthe Irish Republic) and GreatBritain (Scotland, Wales andEngland) as well as a numberof small Islands.

In the South, there is a chainof high mountains the Alpinesystem

The worlds most northerlycapital : Reykjavik, Iceland

Reykjavik is also known asThe Smoking Bay.

Denmark is the smallest coun-try of Scandinavia.

Greenland the world’s largestisland and the Faroe islandsalso belong to Denmark.

Copenhagen the capital ofDenmark is known as the keyto the Baltic.

Finland is known as the Landof Forests and Lakes.

Finland is a low lying countrycovered with forests and lakesand its finnish name, Suomimeans ‘Lakeland’.

The capital and the largest cityof Finland, Helsinki is knownas the White city of the North.

Stockholm, the capital of Swe-den is known as Beauty on theSea.

Milan (Italy) is known as theManchester of Italy.

Rome is known as City of SevenHills

Vatican city is the smallestSovereign and an independentstate of the world, which iscompletely surrounded byItaly.

Switzerland is a land lockedmountainous country of Cen-tral Europe, with 60% of landarea covered by the AlpsMountain.

Antwerp has ancientcivilisation in diamond cuttingand also the world’s biggestdiamond trading centre.

The United Kingdom consistsof the Island of Great Britain,

Highest point - Mt. Elbrus, RussiaMost Southerly point - Gavdos,GreeceLargest Lake - L. Ladoga, RussiaLargest river - Volga

Commonwealth ofIndependent States

(CIS)Countries CapitalsRussia ......................... MoscowBelarus ............................ MinskUkraine ..............................KievMoldova ..................... KishinevArmenia ....................... YerevanAzerbaijan ......................... BakuTurkmenistan .......... AshkhabadUzbekistan .................. TashkantKazakhstan .............. Alme - AtaTajikistan ................... DushanbeKyrgystan ...................... Frunze

(Georgia left CIS in 2006)

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Moscow is the largest railwayjunction.

Murmansk is the only ice-freeport along the Arctic Oceanroute to Vladivostok.

Europe is the only inhabitedcontinent situated entirelyoutside the tropics.

The most northerly city in theworld is Hammerfast (Norway).

The famous Battle of Waterloowas fought on the soil of Bel-gium.

The best known industry ofAmsterdam is diamond cut-ting.

Mt. Stromboli is known asthe light house of theMediterranean.

NORTH AMERICA Third largest continent in the

world. Tropic of Cancer passes

through Mexico, Bahamas is-lands.

North America comprisesCanada, USA, Mexico, CentralAmerica and West Indies.

Central American countries areknown as the Banana Repub-lic.

Hamilton is known as the Pitts-burgh of Canada.

Halifax, the capital of NovaScotia is an important ice freeport in Canada.

Canada has the longest shore-line in the world.

Winnipeg (Canada) is the big-gest wheat centre of the world.

Vancouver, the largest city ofBritish Columbia, Canada situ-ated near the mouth of Fraserriver.

‘Birmingham of Canada “ -Hamilton.

North America -Capital

Country Capital

Antigua & Barbuda ... St. John’sBahamas ...................... NassauBarbados ............... BridgetownBelize ........................ BelmopanCanada .......................... OttawaCuba ............................ HavanaDominica ...................... RoseauDominican Rep. Santo DomingoGuatemala ......... Guatemala CityHaiti ................... Port-au-PrinceHonduras .............. TegucigalpaJamaica ......................KingstonGrenada .................St. George’sMexico ...................Mexico CityNicaragua .................. ManaguaPanama ................. Panama CityTrinidad &Tobago Port-of SpainUSA............... Washington D.C

ductive regions for fishing inthe world.

North sea is connected to theBaltic Sea through Kiel Canal.

Strait of Gibralter is known asthe Key to the Mediterranean.

Monte Carlo, one of the big-gest gambling centres in theworld is the capital of Monaco.

Mt. Blanc is the highest peakof Alps (in France)

Important mountain ranges ofEurope include Alps, Pyrenees,the Carpathian and theCaucasus.

The highest mountain peak ofEurope, Mt. Elbrus is theCaucasus.

In the South - East part of Eu-rope, there is an extensivegrassland called the Steppes.

Rhine is the busiest inland wa-terway of Europe.

British Isles is separated fromthe mainland of Europe by theEnglish Channel.

The Pyrenees mountains sepa-rate France from Spain.

The Ruhr (Germany) is the big-gest and the richest coal pro-ducing area of Europe.

The Ural mountains, the Uralriver and the Caspian Sea di-vide Russia into European andAsiatic parts.

IMPORTANT RIVERSRiver City LocatedPo ................................ VeniceTiber ............................. RomeSeine .............................. ParisRhone ............................ LyonTagus .......................... LisbonWista (Vistula) ........... WarsawDanube ....... Vienna, Budapest

Belgrade, Brussel

Worlds largest oil refinery lo-cated on Sarnia, Canada

Smallest state of USA : RhodeIsland

Largest state of USA : Alaska Largest port in Pacific, also

known as City of Golden Gate: San Francisco, USA

Los Angeles, USA is bestknown for its film industry(Hollywood).

World’s largest aircraft assem-bly centre - Seattle, USA.

Yellow Stone National Park inUSA is famous for the world’sbest known Geyser, Old faith-ful.

Iron and steel capital of theworld - Pittsburgh, USA.

The headquarters of theUnited Nations is located inNew York.

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Largest port in USA, situatedon the bank of Hudson river -New York City.

Most populated city of USAalso known as city of sky scrap-ers- New York City.

Pittsburgh of the South- Bir-mingham, USA

Mauna Kea, the highest peakin Hawai is active as a volcano.

Capital of Hawai, Honolulu isknown as the cross roads ofPacific.

Niagra falls is located betweenLake Erie and Lake Ontario.

St. Lawrence is the busiest in-land waterway in NorthAmerica.

The Grand Canyon of Colo-rado river is the largest of itskind in the world.

The Grasslands found in theinterior plains of North Americaare known as the Prairies.

Lake Superior : World’s sec-ond largest lake after CaspianSea.

Lake Michigan : Only Greatlake that is entirely within theUnited States.

Highest point - North America Mt. Mc Kinley, Alaska, USALowest PointDeath valley, CaliforniaLargest lakeL. Superior, Canada/ USA

Gold is found mainly inOntario, which has the largestgoldmine in the world.

Chicago is the world’s largestrailway junction.

Nova Scotia (Canada) is notedfor its large orchards of apples.

Canada is the largest producerof newsprint in the world.

SOUTH AMERICA Largest country (Both area &

population) : Brazil Latin America comprises all the

countries of South Americaalong with Mexico, CentralAmerica and Caribean coun-tries.

Countries (Area wise) : Brazil,Argentina, Peru, Columbia,Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile.

Land locked countries : Bolivia,Paraguay

Equator passes through Ecua-dor, Columbia and Brazil.

Tropic of Capricon passesthrough - Chile, Argentina,Paraguay and Brazil.

World’s highest capital : LaPaz, Bolivia

Rivers in USAMississippi - Missouri,St. Lawrence, ColoradoColumbia (longest in USA)Rio Grande (forms the Naturalboundary between USA & Mexico)CanadaMackenzie (longest in Canada)Yukon, Nelson, Peace

Important Rivers ofSouth America

Amazon• World's second longest river• Largest river of the World

(Volume)• Largest tributary of

Amazon:Madiera• Dense equatorial forest in the

river basin : SelvasOrinoco• Savanna like vegetation in the

river basin:Llanos• Angel falls located in this river.Parana• World's Largest waterfall (Vol-

ume) lguazo located.• Largest dam of South America,

Itaipu located.• An estuary into which Parana

& Uruguay river falls - La plata.

Fifth largest country in theworld in terms of Area andpopulation : Brazil

World’s leading coffee pro-ducer : Brazil

Largest city of South America: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Driest place in the world : Arica,Chile

World’s largest copper town :Chiquicamata, Chile

Pearl of the Pacific: Guayaquil,Ecuador

Important region known forphosphate (from bird drop-pings of Guano) : Peru

Well developed slaughterhouses in Argentina : Frig-orificos

World’s highest water fall : An-gel falls, Venezuela

Strait between South Americaand Antarctica : Drake Pas-sage

South AmericaCapital

Country ..................... Capital

Argentina .......... Buenos AiresBoliva ................ La Paz, SucreBrazil .......................... BrasiliaChile ........................ SantiagoColombia .................... BogotaEcuador ........................ QuitoGuyana ............... GeorgetownParaguay ................ AsuncionSuriname ............... ParamariboUruguay.............. MontevideoVenezuela ................... Caracas

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Important Gulfs : Guayaquil,Penas, San Jorge, San Matias.

Largest lake of South America: Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela.

Highest navigable lake in theworld : Lake Titicaca

Region known for unique spe-cies of reptiles (turtles) birds andfishes : Galapagos Islands, Ec-uador.

Highest active volcano in theworld : Mt. Ojas del Salado,Argentina

Second highest mountain sys-tems in the world next to theHimalayas : Andes

Amazon basin is the home ofthe rubber tree.

Largest bird of prey in theworld : Candor

Rhea is a flightless bird. Brazil has one of the largest

iron - ore deposits of the world.

AUSTRALIA Australia is the smallest conti-

nent. It lies entirely in the Southern

Hemisphere. Australia is the only country

in the world that covers theentire continent.

It is also known as the IslandContinent.

Tropic of Capricon passes al-most through the middle of thecontinent.

Australia was discovered bycaptain James Cook, an En-glish Seaman, in 1770. Helanded near the site of thepresent Sydney Harbour.

It is surrounded by Timor Seain the northwest, Arafura seaand Gulf of Carpentaria in thenorth, Great Barrier Reef in the

north east and Great Austra-lian Bight in the South.

Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie, thetwo cities in western Australiais one of the important centreof gold mining in the world.

The Murray and the Darling arethe major rivers of Australia.

North east coast of Australiaextends a very long ridge likefeature known as the GreatBarrier Reef in Queens landwhich is the longest reef in theworld.

Gulf of Carpentaria is the larg-est gulf of Australia.

Indigenous people of Austra-lia are known as Aborigines.

The grasslands of Australia areof two types tropical andtemperates.

Tropical grasslands are calledSavannas and the temperategrasslands found in theMurray Darling basin are calledDowns.

The Marsupials of Australia in-clude Kangaroo, Wallby andKoala

Australia is the largest pro-ducer of bauxite in the world.

Sydney is the largest city and

Highest pointMt. Kosciusko, AustraliaLowest point : Lake Eyre, AustraliaLargest Lake : Lake Eyre

Australia had eightFederal Units

Western Australia, NorthernTerritory, South Australia,

Queensland, New Southwales,Victoria, Australian Capital

Territory, Tasmania.

important sea port of Austra-lia.

Great dividing range is alsoknown as the ‘snowy moun-tains’.

Tasman sea separates Austra-lia from New Zealand.

ANTARCTICA Antarctica is Earth’s southern-

most continent, underlying theSouth Pole.

It is situated in the Antarcticaregion of the southern hemi-sphere, almost entirely southof the Antarctic Circle, and issurrounded by the SouthernOcean.

It is the fifth-largest continentin area after Asia, Africa, NorthAmerica, and South America.

About 98% of Antarctica iscovered by ice.

Only cold-adapted plants andanimals survive there, includ-ing penguins, seals, mosses,lichen, and many types of al-gae.

New Zealand is di-vided into two islands:

The Northern Island and theSouthern Island. Cook straitseperates the two islands.Wellington the Capital lies

in the Northern Island.

Highest pointVinson Massif, 4,897 mLowest pointBentley Subglacial Trench, -2,555 mLongest riverOnyx River, 25 km

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THE ANTARCTIC TREATY The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by twelve countries and

officially entered into force on June 23, 1961. The twelve countries had significant interests in Antarctica at the

time: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand,Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and theUnited States.

Forty-six countries have signed the treaty. The treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining, supports

scientific research, and protects the continent’s eco zone. Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists of

many nationalities and with different research interests..

LATIN AMERICANCOUNTRIES

Argentina BoliviaBrazil ChileColombia Costa RicaCuba EcuadorDominican RepublicEl Salvador GuatemalaHonduras MexicoNicaragua PanamaParaguay PeruUruguay Venezuela Alternatively, Puerto Rico,

Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica,Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana,Suriname, Netherlands Antilles,Belize, Saint Lucia, Antigua andBarbuda, Grenada, Dominica,Saint Kitts and Nevis, SaintVincent and the Grenadines areconsidered to be part of LatinAmerica, but it is not always thecase.

Mostly due to the fact thatthose are English-speakingcountries (Belize, Jamaica) orare colonies, territories and de-pendencies and not fully-inde-pendent countries (NetherlandsAntilles, Puerto Rico).

Latin America is a region of theAmericas where Spanish andPortuguese, and variablyFrench - are primarily spoken.

Latin America consist of 3.9%of the Earth's surface or 14.1%of its land surface area.

Its population was estimated atmore than 568 million.

Latin America can be subdi-vided into several subregionsbased on geography, politics,demographics and culture.Some geographical subregionsare North America, CentralAmerica, the Caribbean, andSouth America.

OLDEST COUNTRIESSan Marino (301 AD)France (486 AD)Bulgaria (632 AD)Denmark (950 AD)Portugal (1143 AD)Andorra (1278 AD)Switzerland (1291 AD)

Largest total area ................................. Russia, 17,098,242 km²Largest land area .................................. Russia, 17,075,200 km²Largest water area ................................... Canada, 891,163 km²Longest coastline ...................................... Canada, 243,792 kmHighest coastline to area ratio ..... Micronesia, 8,706.553 m/km²Most countries bordered: ............................. Russia and ChinaLargest forest area ................................. Russia, 8,087,900 km²Hottest,Coldest,Driest,WettestHottest Place Dalol, Denakil Depression, Ethiopia, annual averagetemperature (93.2°F, 34°C)Coldest Place Plateau Station, Antarctica, annual averagetemperature (-56.7°C)Wettest Place Mawsynram, Assam, India, annual average rainfall(11,873 mm, 467.4")Driest Place Atacama Desert, Chile, imperceptible rainfall on ayearly basis

YOUNGESTCOUNTRIES

Montenegro (July, 2006)Serbia (July, 2006)East Timor (2002)Palau (1994)Czech Republic (1993)Eritrea (1993)Slovakia (1993)Bosnia/Hertzegovina (1992)

SEVEN WONDERS OF ANCIENT WORLD Great Pyramid of Giza Hanging Gardens of Babylon Temple of Artemis at Ephesus Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus Colossus of Rhodes Lighthouse of Alexandria

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The Great Wall of ChinaThe Great Wall of China, amemorable landmark, is the mostpopular tourist attraction in China.There were three main Chinesedynasties that contributed to theconstruction of the Great Wall:first, the Qin from 221-207 B.C.,then the Han from 206 B.C – 220A.D and the Ming from 1368-1644

A.D. Their common purpose wasto stop the “barbaric” Huns in theNorth from invading the Chineseborders. The Great Wall lengthmeasures about 6,700 km long.Height wise, it is 4.5m to 9m. Theexisting Wall today wasconstructed by the Ming Dynastyover 600 years ago. During thattime, the original wall was in ruins.PetraPetra is a site in the Arabiandesert, Jordan that wasdiscovered by a Swiss explorercalled Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

in 1812 Petra represents theancient world’s heritage culture. Itis now said to be one of theseventh wonder of the world andit belongs to the UNESCO worldheritage site. Petra mainly is

admired because of its pictureperfect architecture, its complexstructure, quality and the nonmentionable mere size.Taj Mahal in Agra

The Taj Mahal is a tomb situatedin Agra, India. The Taj Mahal wasbuilt by the Mughal emperor, ShahJahan in the memory of hisbeloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. TheTaj Mahal is one of The SevenWonders of the World and is saidto be one of the finest art of theMughal architecture. The Tajbecame a part of the UNESCO,World heritage Site.Chichen Itza in Yucatan

PeninsulaChichen was founded by theMayan civilization in 400 AD andit is located in the north central,north of Yucatan Peninsula nowcalled Mexico.Chichen has ahistory that is 1500 years old.

Colosseum of RomeColosseum is one of the greatestarchitecture ever built in the

history of Rome. The Colosseumwas originally known as theFlavian Amphitheatre and is thelargest amphitheatre to have everbeen built in the Roman Empire.Its construction began sometimebetween 70 and 72 AD and wascompleted in 80 AD when Tituswas the ruling emperor.Christ The Redeemer Statue onCorcovado MountainChrist the Redeemer is a statue ofJesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro,

Brazil. The statue is 120 ft tall andhas a weight of 635 tones. It isnow a part of the new SevenWonders of the World. It islocated in the CorcovadoMountain which is at a peak of700 meters i.e. 2,300 feet in theTujuca forest National Parkoverlooking the city.Machu Picchu in Peru

Machu Picchu is the preColumbian, Inca empire site that islocated almost 8,000 feet abovethe sea level. The site is locatedon a mountain ridge above thevalley of Urubamba in Peru. Thecity is also called the “lost city ofIncas”. Machu Picchu was built in146 AD.

Seven New Wonders of WorldSwiss Corporation New7 Wonders Foundation named the wonders

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MOUNTAINSMountain day - December 21Mountain Year - 2002Land of the thousand mountains - RuwandaLand of the lakes and mountains - MazedoniaCity of the seven mountains - RomeMountain ‘Kailasam’ - ChinaOldest Mountain - AaravalliYoungest Mountain - HimalayamImportant mountain rangesAndes .......................................... South AmericaRockies ........................................ North AmericaAtlas ......................................................... AfricaKilimancharo ............................................. AfricaAppalechian ........................................... AmericaUral .......................................................... EuropeAlps ......................................................... EuropeKarpathyan .............................................. EuropeMount Eribus ....................................... AntarticaHimalayam .................................................. Asia

VOLCANOESImportant volcanoseVezuvias ....................................................... ItalyEtna ............................................................. ItalyStromboli ..................................................... ItalyBarren .......................... India (Andaman Nicobar)Kilimancharo ......................................... TanzaniaKrakathove ......................................... IndonesiaPina thubo ....................................... Philippense• Most of the volcanoes found near Pacific Ocean• Ring of fire - Pacific• Lighthouse of the Pacific - Ezalko• Lighthouse of the Mediteranian - Stromboli

DESERTSFozil desert ............................................. KalahariLittle Sahara ......................................... AustraliaDeath desert ............................ Thakkala MakkanPainted desert .............................. North AmericaColdest desert ............................................. GobiWarmest desert ........................................ SaharaDriest desert ....................................... AttakkamaGreat Indian desert ...................................... Thar

Important DesertsRoob Asavali .............................................. AsiaAttakkama .................................... South AmericaSahara ....................................................... AfricaKalahari ..................................................... AfricaNameeb ................................................ NameebiaGreat Sandy ......................................... AustraliaGreat Victoria ........................................ AustraliaThakkala Makkan .......................................ChinaSahel .......................................................... ChinaThar ............................................................ India

ISLANDSIsland of the volcanoes ........................... IcelandIsland of the tortoise ...................... GalappagoseIsland of the Sailors ................................ SamovaIsland of the inspiration ....................... TazmaniaPearl of the Antilles .................................... CubaFriendly island .......................................... TongaSpring island ........................................... JamaicaBirthplace of Napolean ............. Kozhsikka IslandBiggest island ..................................... GreenlandSmallest island nation ................................ Navru• Folkland islands, Canari islands, Kozhzikka,St. Helena, Bahamas Burmuda islands situated inAtlantic Ocean.

LAKESImportant LakesSuperior ....................................... North AmericaLadol ........................................................ EuropeCaspian ....................................................... AsiaVictoria ...................................................... AfricaAyar ..................................................... AustraliaMarakkoiba .................................. South AmericaVozthok ................................................ AntarticaAzad ........................................................... SyriaNazar ......................................................... Egypt• Land of ten thousand lakes............... Minazotta• Land of thousand lakes ........................ Finland• Oldest lake, Deepest lake ......... Baikkal (Russia)• Largest Island Lake ......................... Manitollin• Largest freshwater lake ........................Superior• Largest salt water lake ................... Caspian sea• Largest artificial lake .................... Volta (Ghana)

Important Points

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1. NegritosBelieved to be the oldest inhabitants and are nowalmost extinct. Found only in the Andaman andNicobar Islands.

2. Proto-AustraloidsThis group includes most of the tribal people ofcentral and southern India.

3. MongoloidsThey inhabit the mountainous zone in the north-eastern parts of the country.

4. MediterraneanThe Palaeo-Mediterraneans inhabit the southern

Racial Groups

parts of India including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, AndhraPradesh and Karnataka. The true Mediterraneaninhabits the northern and western parts such asPunjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. They arealso known a Dravidians.

5. Western BrachycephalsThese people inhabit West Bengal, Orissa, Gujarat,Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

6. Nordics or Indo-AryansThey inhabit regions such as Jammu and Kashmir,Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and the UpperGangetic Valley region.

1. Abhors: People of Mongoloidstock living in the north-easternparts of India.

2. Adivasis: Tribals of Bastar dis-trict, Chhattisgarh.

3. Angami: Tribals of Nagaland.4. Apatanis: Tribals of Arunachal

Pradesh.5. Badagas: Tribals of Nilgiri re-

gion in Tamil Nadu.6. Baiga: Tribals of Madhya

Pradesh.7. Bakkarwals: People of Jammu

and Kashmir who rear sheep andgoats.

8. Bhils: People of Dravidian stocknow living in central India (MP)and Rajasthan.

9. Bhotias: Tribals of Garhwal andKumaon region in Uttaranchal,Sikkim and West Bengal.

10. Birhors: A tribal group ofMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand and Orissa.

11. Chenchus: Tribals of AndhraPradesh.

12. Caddis: Tribals of HimachalPradesh who rear sheep.

13. Garos: Hill tribe of Meghalayaand Assam.

14. Gonds: Tribals inhabiting forestsin Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand,Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.

15. Gujjars: Animal rearers of Jammuand Kashmir and HimachalPradesh.

16. Jaintias: Hill tribe ofMeghalaya and Assam.

17. Jarawas: One of the oldest tribesof Andaman and Nicobar Islandsinhabiting Little Andamans.

18. Khasa: Tribals of JaunsarBhabar region in Uttaranchal.

19. Khasis: Hill tribe of Meghalayaand Tripura.

20. Khonds: Tribals inhabitingparts of Orissa.

21. Kol : Tribals of MadhyaPradesh and Maharashtra.

22. Kotas: Tribals of Nilgiri Hills inTamil Nadu.

23. Kuki: A tr ibe of Manipur,Assam, Nagaland and Tripura.

24. Lahaulas: Tribals inhabitingLahaul region in HimachalPradesh.

25. Lepchas: Original tribalinhabitants of Sikkim.

26. Lushai: Tribals of Mizoram andTripura.

27. Murias: Tribals of Bastar dis-trict of Madhya Pradesh.

28. Mikirs: A tribal group ofAssam.

29. Moplahs: Muslims of theMalabar district in Kerala.

30. Munda: A tribe of Jharkhand,West Bengal, Orissa, Tripura andChhattisgarh.

31. Nagas: Tribals of Nagaland.32. Oraon: Tribals inhabiting parts

of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh,Orissa and West Bengal.

33. Onges: One of the tribes ofAndaman and Nicobar Islands.

34. Santhals: Tribals living in WestBengal, Jharkhand and Orissa.

35. Scntinelcse: One of the smallstatured tribes of Andaman andNicobar Islands.

36. Shompens: Another tribal groupof Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

37. Todas: Tribals of the NilgiriHills.

38. Uralis: Tribals inhabiting partsof Kerala.

39. Varlis: Tribals of Maharashtra,Gujarat and Dadra & NagarHaveli.

Tribal Groups

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Geographical Landmarks (World)

Highest Mountain Peaks

Name Height in metres Range Date of avoid ascent

1. Mount Everest 8,848 Himalayas May 29, 19532. K-2 (Godwin Austen) 8,610 Karakoram July 31, 19543. Kanchenjunga 8,597 Himalayas May 25, 19554. Lhotse 8,511 Himalayas May 18, 19565. Makalu I 8,481 Himalayas May 15, 1955

Highest Volcanoes

Name Height (in metres) Range or location Location

1. Ojos del Salado 6,885 Andes Argentine-Chile

2. Gullatiri 6,060 Andes Chile

3. Cotopaxi 5,897 Andes Ecuador

4. Lascar 5,641 Andes Chile

5. Tupungatito 5,640 Andes Chile

Largest Deserts

Name Approximate area in sq. km Territories1. Sahara 8,400,000 Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger,

Sudan, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco.2. Australian 1,550,000 Australia3. Arabian Desert 1,300,000 Southern Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen4. Gobi 1,040,000 Mongolia and China (Inner Mongolia)5. Kalahari Desert 520,000 Botswana

Largest Islands

Name Location and status Area in sq. km.

1. Greenland (Kalaalit Nnuaat) North Atlantic (Danish) 2,175,5972. New Guinea Southwest Pacific

(Irian Java, Indonesian, west part;Papua New Guinea, east part) 820,033

3. Madagascar Indian Ocean (Malagasy Republic) 587,0424. Baffin North Atlantic (Canadian) 476,0685. Sumatra North-east Indian Ocean (Indonesian) 473,605

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Deepest Sea Trenches

Name Length in km Deepest point Depth inmetres

1. Mariana Trench (West Pacific) 2,250 Challenger Deep 11,7762. Tonga-Kermadec Trench (South Pacific) 2,575 Vityaz 11 (Tonga) 10,8503. Kuril-Kamchatka Trench (West Pacific) 2,250 10,5424. Philippine Trench (Wet Pacific) 1,325 Galathea Deep 10,5395. Idzu Bonin Trench(sometimes included

in the Japan Trench) 9,810Largest Rivers

Name Source Outflow Length in km1. Nile Lake Victoria, Africa Mediterranean Sea 6,6902. Amazon Glacier-fed lakes, Peru Atlantic Ocean 6,2963. Mississippi-Missouri Red Rock, Montana (USA) Gulf of Mexico 6,2404. Yangtze Kiang Tibetan Plateau, China China Sea 5,7975. Ob Altai, Mts, Russia Gulf of Ob 5,567

Largest Lakes (Natural)

Name and Location Area in sq km Length in km Maximum depth inmetres

1. Caspian Sea, CIS-Iran 394,299 1,199 9462. Superior, USA-Canada 82,414 616 4063. Victoria, Tanzania-Uganda 69,485 322 824. Aral, CIS 66,457 428 685. Huron, USA-Canada 59,596 397 229

Highest Waterfalls

Waterfall Location River Height in metres1. Angel Venezuela Tributary of Carnol 9722. Tugela Natal, South Africa Tugela 9143. Cuquenan Venezuela Cuquenan 6104. Sutherland South Island, New Zealand Arthur 5805. Takkakaw British Columbia Tributary of Yoho 503

Biggest Countries (In Area)

Name Area (sq km) Location1. Russia (Yosemite) 17,075,000 Europe-Asia2. Canada 9,976,139 North America3. China 9,561,000 Asia4. USA 9,372,614 North America5. Brazil 8,511,965 South America

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Smallest Countries (In Area)

Name Area (sq. Km) Location

1. Vatican City 0.44 Europe2. Monaco 1.95 Europe3. Nauru 21.10 South Pacific4. Tuvalu 26.00 South Pacific5. San Marino 61.00 Europe

Large Peninsulas

Name Area in sq km Name Area in sq kmArabia 3,250,000 Labrador 1,300,000Southern India 2,072,000 Scandinavi 800,300Alaska 1,500,000 Iberian Peninsula 584,000

Continents - Data

Name Percentage Area in Populationof earth’s area sq km (million)

Asia 29.5 43,998,000 3513.2Africa 20.0 29,800,000 748.1North America 16.3 21,510,000 295.7South America 11.8 17,598,000 325.1Europe 6.5 9,699,550 727.7Australia 5.2 7,699,000 18.3Antartica 9.6 13,600,000 18.3

Note: Australia with New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea and the Pacific Islands (Micronesian, Melanesianan Polynesian islands) is called Australasia by some geographers while some others call it Oceania.

Continents - Highest and Lowest Points

Continents Highest point in metres Lowest points in metres(from sea-level)

Asia Everest 8,848 Dead Sea -396.8Africa Kilimanjaro 5,894 Lake Assai -156.1North America Mckinley 6,194 Death Valley -85.9South America Aconcagua 6,960 Valdes Penin -39.9Europe Elbrus 5,663 Caspian Sea -28.0Australia Kosclusko 2,228 Lake Eyre -15.8

Antarctica Vinson Massif 5,140 - -

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