Book Exercise: Geography: Class 9: Chapter 2 Physical

Features of India
1 Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.
(i)

A land mass bounded by sea on three sides is referred to as

(a) Coast
(b) Island

(ii)

Mountain ranges in the eastern part of India forming its

boundary with Myanmar are collectively called as
(a) Himachal
(b) Uttaranchal

(iii
)

(c) Purvanchal
(d) none of the above

The western coastal strip, south of Goa is referred to as

(a) Coromandal
(b) Konkan

(iv
)

(c) Peninsula
(d) none of the above

(c) Kannad
(d) Northern Circar

The highest peak in the Eastern Ghats is

(a) Anaimudi
(b) Kanchenjunga

(c) Mahendragiri
(d) Khasi

2 Answer the following questions briefly.

(i)

(ii)

(iii
)

What are tectonic plates?

Due to force originating within the earth, the land forms have
been changed and the crust (upper part) of the earth has been
formed out of 7 major and some minor plates. These are called
tectonic plates.
Which continents of today were part of the Gondwana land?
Australia, South America, Part of Africa (South Africa) and Part
of Asia (India) are continents of today which were part of the
Gondwana land as one single land mass in the past.
What is the Bhabar?
According to the variations in relief features, the Northern
Plains can be divided into 4 regions. Bhabar is a division of
Northern Plains. Bhabar is seen at the foot hills of Shiwaliks.
The rivers flowing from the mountains, deposit pebbles along
the foot hills of Shiwaliks with a width of about 8 to 16 kms. It is
known as Bhabar. All the streams disappear in this Bhabar belt.

DD

(iv
)

(v)
(vi
)

Name the three major divisions of the Himalayas from north to

south.
1. The Great Himalayas or Inner Himalayas or Himadri
2. Himachal Himalayas or Lesser Himalayas
3. Shiwaliks
Which plateau lies between the Aravalli and the Vindhyan
ranges?
Malwa Plateau
Name the island group of India having coral origin.

Lakshadweep
3 Distinguish between
(i) Converging and diverging tectonic plates
The crust of the earth has been formed out of 7 major and
some minor plates. These plates are above the mantle of the
earth. These plates move due to tectonic (force originating
within the earth). The movements of these plates lead to
folding, faulting and volcanic eruptions. If some tectonic plates
come towards each other and form convergent boundary, they
are called converging tectonic plates.
If some tectonic plates move away from each other and form
divergent boundary, they are called diverging tectonic plates.
(85 words) (Also you can draw Figure 2.1 Plate Boundaries page
7 in text book)
(ii) Bhangar and Khadar
The Northern Plains can be divided into 4 regions. They are: 1.
Bhabar 2. Terai 3. Bhangar 4. Khadar. Bhangar and Khadar are
two divisions of the Northern Plains. The differences between
Bhangar and Khadar are:
Bhangar
Khadar
1. Bhangar is the older
1. Khadar is the new, younger
alluvium of Northern Plains.
alluvium deposits of the flood
plains.
2. The larger part of Northern
plains comes under Bhangar
2. Smaller part of Northern
category. It lies above flood
Plains comes under Khadar
plains of the rivers and
category. It is subject to
present a terrace like feature.
floods.
3. It is not renewed every year
by the Himalayan rivers.
4. Hence it does not have very
fertile soil. The soil in Bhangar
region contains calcareous
deposits locally known as
DD

3. It is renewed almost every

year by the Himalayan rivers.
4. Hence it has very fertile soil
and suitable for intensive
agriculture.

(iii
)

Kankar.
Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats
The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats are part of the
Deccan Plateau; and they are located at the western and
eastern edges of the Deccan Plateau respectively. The
differences between Western and Eastern Ghats are:
Western Ghats
Eastern
Ghats
1. Western Ghats are located
1. Eastern Ghats are located in
in the western edge of the
the eastern edge of the
Deccan Plateau and lie parallel Deccan Plateau and lie parallel
to the western coast.
to the eastern coast.
2. The Western Ghats are
higher than the Eastern Ghats.
The average elevation of the
Western Ghats is 900 to 1600
metres.

2. The average elevation of

the Eastern Ghats is 600
metres.

3. The Western Ghats are

continuous and can be crossed
through passes only. Thal,
Bhor and the Pal Ghats are in
the Western Ghats.

3. The Eastern Ghats are

discontinuous and irregular
and dissected by rivers
draining into Bay of Bengal.

4. The Anaimudi (2,695

metres) and the Doda Betta
(2,637 metres) are the highest
peaks in the Western Ghats.
5. The Western Ghats cause
orographic rain by facing the
rain bearing moist winds to
rise along the western slopes
of the Ghats.
6. Not many famous hill
stations are located in the
Western Ghats.

4. Mahendragiri (1,501
metres) is the highest peak in
the Eastern Ghats.
5. The Eastern Ghats do not
cause orographic rain.

6. The famous hill stations like

Ooty and Kodaikanal are
located here. Shevroy and
Javadi Hills are located in the
Eastern Ghats.

4 Describe how the Himalayas were formed.

The crust of the earth has been formed out of 7 major and
some minor plates. The convectional currents split the crust
DD

into number of pieces. So, Indo-Australian Plate was drifted

from the Gondwana land. This northward drift resulted in the
collision of Indo-Australian Plate with larger Eurasian Plate. In
between these two plates there was Tethys sea. Due to this
collision, the sedimentary rocks in Tethys sea were folded and
led to the formation of the Himalayan mountain and Western
Asia mountain system.
5 Which are the major physiographic divisions of India? Contrast the
relief of the Himalayan region with that of the Peninsular plateau.
The major physiographic divisions of India are:
(i) The Himalayan Mountains
(ii) The Northern Plains
(iii) The Peninsular Plateau
(iv) The Indian Desert
(v) The Coastal Plains
(vi) The Islands
Contrasts between the Himalayan Region and the Peninsular
Plateau are:
Himalayan Region
Peninsular
Plateau
1. The Himalayas are
1. Peninsular Plateau,
geologically young and
geologically the oldest
structurally fold mountains.
landmass, was formed due to
breaking and drifting of the
Gondwana land.
2. The Himalayan mountains
form an unstable zone.

DD

2. The Peninsular Plateau is

supposed to be a stable land
block.

3. The Himalayas have recent

topography with high peaks,
deep valleys and fast flowing
rivers.

3. The Peninsular Plateau has

gently rising rounded hills and
shallow and wide valleys.

4. The Himalayas have

granite, compressed and
altered rocks and sedimentary
rocks.

4. The Peninsular Plateau is

composed of the old
crystalline, igneous and
metamorphic rocks.

5. The average altitude of the

Himalayas is 6000 metres
from MSL. The highest peak is
Mount Everest with a height of
8848 metres.

5. The mountains of the

Peninsular Plateau have an
average height of 900-1600
meter from above MSL. The
highest peak is Anai Mudi at
2695 metres.

6. They are snow covered and 6. The mountains of this

contain many glaciers.
plateau are not snow covered
Example: Siachin, Gangotri.
and do not contain glaciers.
7. They are the major sources
7. The Peninsular Plateau is
of water and forest wealth.
storehouse of minerals.
6 Give an account of the Northern Plains of India.
1.The Northern Plains have been formed by the interplay of the
three major river systems, namely- the Indus, the Ganga and
the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries.
2.The Northern Plains have alluvial soil. The major rivers and
tributaries deposit this soil.
3.Northern Plains spread over an area of 7 lakh sq.km. The
length of the plain is about 2400 km and its breadth is about
240 to 320 Km.
4.The Northern Plains can be divided into three broad sections:
1. Punjab Plain 2. The Ganga Plain and 3. The Brahmaputra
Plain.
5.The Northern Plain has an average altitude of about 300
Metres. However, it relief features has certain variations. Based
on the variations in the relief features, the vast Northern Plains
can be divided into 4 regions 1. Bhabar 2. Terai 3. Bhangar 4.
Khadar.
6.Northern Plain has rich fertile alluvial soil, adequate water
supply and favourable climate. Hence, it is agriculturally a very
productive part. The Northern Plains are the granaries of India.
7 Write short notes on the following.
(i) The Indian Desert
The Indian Desert lies towards the western margins of Aravali
Hills. It is an undulating sandy plain covered with sand dunes.
This region receives very low rainfall below 150 mm per year.
Streams appear during rainy season. Luni is the only large river
in this region. Barchans (crescent shaped dunes) cover larger
areas. Longitudinal dunes are found in Indo-Pakistan boundary.
(ii) The Central Highlands
The Central Highlands are part of the Peninsular Plateau. The
part of the plateau lying to the north of the Narmada river
covering a major area of the Malwa plateau is known as the
Central Highlands. The Vindhyan range is bounded by the
Central Highlands on the south and the Aravalis on the
northwest and sandy rock desert of Rajasthan on the west.
The Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa and Ken are rivers flowing in
this region from southwest to northeast.
The Central Highlands are wider in the west but narrower in the
east.
The eastward extensions of this plateau are locally known as
Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand. Further east of this Highlands,
DD

(iii
)

the Chotanagpur Plateau is there drained by the Damodar river.

The Island groups of India
India has vast main land. Besides this, India has two groups of
islands, namely, i) the Lakshadweep Islands group and ii) the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Lakshadweep is located in the Arabian Sea. It is lying close
to Malabar coast of Kerlaa. It covers small are of 32 sq.km. It is
composed of small coral islands. Kavaratti is the administrative
headquarters of Lakshadweep.
The Andaman and Nicobar islands is located in the Bay of
Bengal. These islands are numerous and scattered. The group
of islands is divided into two categories: 1. The Andaman in the
north 2. Nicobar in the south. These islands are elevated
portion of submarine mountains. These islands close to the
equator. Hence, they experience equatorial climate and have
thick forest cover. There is a great diversity of flora and fauna.
Andaman and Nicobar islands are of great strategic importance
to India. Port Blair is the administrative headquarters of the
Anadaman and Nicobar Union Territory.

DD

PROJECT/ACTIVITY
Locate the peaks, passes, ranges, plateaus, hills, and duns hidden in
the puzzle.
Try to find where these features are located. You may start your search
horizontally,
vertically or diagonally.

Horizontal:
Row
Row 3:
Row 6:
Row 8:
Row14:
Row15:
Row16:
Vertical:

DD

Col 1:
Col 3:
Col 4:
Col 5:
Col 6:
Col 9:
Col10:
Col13:
Col15:
Col16:

1:
Nathula
Cardemom
Garo
Kanchenjunga
Anaimudi
Everest
Patli
Chotanagpur
Aravali
Konkan
Jaintia
Nilgiris
Coromendal
Kaimur
Vindhya
Lakshadweep
Sahyadri
*****