Pedagogy of Social
they are carried outwards
on the size of
carried deeper. The
rock extent to
material which
and the
depend,
strength of sea waves and Current
Teaching and Learning of Geography and Economics
This, however, goes on decreasing as one moves from the equator
to the poles, where it is zero. This is because all the meridians of longitude
2. Pelagic
PelagicDeposits:
DEPOSITS are the most conspicuous of all deposits merge in a single point at the poles -both North and South. On the other
covering about 75% of the total sea floor. This is because, except for hand, the north-south distance between any two successive parallels of
fine volcanic ash, little terrigenous material is carried intothe deeps. The latitude along any meridian of longituderemains almost uniforn, i.e., 111
materiâl. km. The following table may further clarify this point:
deposits
pelagic1.2 consist ofboth organic and inorganic Degrees of Latitude 0 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
INDIAN GEOGRAPHY-POLITICAL.
Distance between twd
LANDFORMS
DIVISIONS, RIVERS AND successive longitudes l| 1096|104.6| 64| 854| 7.7|558 382 194 0
1.2.1 LOCATION, EXTENT AND in kms.
BOUNDARIES OF INDIA
Aglance at the globe should help to convince this point.
of South Asia is flanked by new fold
hugeonlandmass
mountains towering
the northwest, north and northeast. The Arabian sea lies to
(The northen most point of the Indian mainland lies in the state of
Jammu and Kashmir and the southen most point is Kanyakumari in
Indian Ocean
its southwest, the Bay of Bengal to its southeast and the Tamilnadu. However, the southem most point of the country as a whole
its south. This well defined South ) lies further south in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is now called Indira
(Asian landmass is called Indian sub-continent. This sub-continent Point. It is situated at 6°30°N latitude.
consists ofthe countries of India, Pakistan. Bangladesh. Nepal and Bhutan The westernmost point of India lies in Gujarat and the eastern most
including Sri Lanka, an island narrowly separated by the Palk Strait in Arunachal Pradesh.
India alone covers about three fourths of the area of this sub-continent Let us see the impact of such large latitudinal extent upon the lives
and has common frontier with each one of them. She along with her five of the people of India. The northern parts of thecountry are quite far off
neighbours, forms aclearly identifiable geographicalunit, with certain from the equator. Therefore, the rays of the sun strike those parts more
common cutural parameters. Since old times, the country has been known obliquely. Consequently, this part of the country receives lesser amount
by various names such as Aryavarta. Bharat, Hindustan and lately of insolation and has cold climate unlike the southern parts. Secondly, the
India. The lndian Occan or Hind Mahasagar has also been named difference between the length of day and right in southern most part of
after India -the only country to be so. According to the Constitution of India is much less onlyabout 45 minutes as they are situated near the
Indi., thè country is known as Bharat or lndia. equator, This difference between day and night in the northern parts of
(India lies wholly in the Northern Hemisphere. The Indian mainland India steadily goes on incrcasing till it becomes as much as Shours.
extends between 8°4'N to 37°6 Nlatitudes and from 68°7 Eto 97°25' E The Tropic of Cancer passes almost halfw ay through the country.
longitudes. Thus the latitudinal and longitudinal extent of India is of about Thus halfof the country to the south of the Tropic of Cancer is situated
29 degrees. It measures about 3,214 km from north to south, and 2,933 in the Tropicalor Torrid zone and the other half lyiny north of theTropic
Am from east to west. Though the latitudinal and longitudinal extent is ofÇancer falls in the Sub-tropical zone.
almost the same. the actual distances do differ considerably/Why is it The earth takes 24 hours to complete one rotation on its axis. The
Sun rises first in the cast and then in the west because the earth rotates
so? This is because the east-west distance between two successive
neidians of longitude alongthe cquator is at its maximum - 11|km. from west oeast. The eatlh's longitudinal expanse of 360° is thus covercd
in 24 hours. at thepace of I5 per hour. As the longitud1nal estent of
26
Social Sciences
Pedagogyof between its
time differenceinIndia eastem Teaching and Learning ofGeography and Economics
the real While at the
India is nearly 29°,
extremitiesis roughly oftwo hours
the westem eastem posted in the marshy, riverins, rainy and thickly forested tracts of the
and western theday may havejust brokenot,
extremityofIndia another two full hours to do so.
extremity northeast fur country has to spend crores of rupees daily for the defence
of such along and inhospitable boundary that passes through various
Mould take nearly India,like allother countries kinds of terrain.
bigchunk oftime difference, centralI meridian
Toironnoutthis relatively as the 1.2.3 PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS OF INDIA
the local time ofits convenienceofall,
ofthe world, follows
country.Forthe 7°30.Accordingly,the,each country India is a peninsula that extends into the Indian Ocean. It is bordered
standardtime forthe wholee standard
meridianin a multiple of in the west by the Arabian Sea and Pakistan and in the east by Myanmar,
choosesits standard been chosen to be 82°30' E. Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. In the north it has a common border
meridian ofIndia has the:
north-centralI part of India is broad while southerm parttapers with Bhutan, Nepal and China.
The Thus, the northern part of
Ocean inthe south. India got its present form millions of years ago when it started to
downtowards the Indian divided into two, by the sheer presence s drift away from the southern continent of Gondwana. After travelling
been
the Indian Ocean has part of northern Indian
Ocean is call northwards it collidedwith the Asia.Duringthis period the world's tallest
Peninsula. The western
Indian Bengal. The
eastern part is called the Bay of mountains, the Himalayas, were formed. This process is still continuing
the Arabian Sea while the groups is about
length of the coastline of Indiaincluding the island Lanka
as the Himalayas are getting higher and higher.
total separates Indian mainland from Sri This gigantic mountain system stretches across Asia for almost 2,200
km. The Palk Strait
7,516.6 thepeninsular block of India kilometers. Several parallel ranges of mountains are divided by river
Structurally, Sri Lanka is an extension of valleys. 14 peaks have a height of over 8,000 meters.
2.2SIZE
South of the Himalaya Mountains lie vast plains which were created
of the world's total land area
India accounts for 2.42 per cent will know by the Indus River in the west and the Ganges River in the east. They
population) You
whereas it sustains 16 per cent ofthe world of India.Theland frontiers extend across northem India for about 2000 km and are up to 300 km
population
more about it in lesson No.26 on Afghanistan, China, Nepal,
wide. The region is not only the heart of India's fertil farming land but
of India measure 15,200 km. Pakistan, boundaries with India. The also the most densely populated region ef the country. The (ianges is
Myanmar and Bangladesh share common Himalaya. It is a small
India's nost in1portant river. The sacred river of Hinduism starts out in
kingdom of Bhutan is situated in the Eastern the Himalaya Mountains and winds its way to Calcutta, where i lows
Most of our
with India.
country and the responsibility of its defence rests man-made. There is into the Bay of Benga.
boundary with Pakistan and Bangladesh is almost The soutlhern part of India is formed mostly by the Deccan platcau.
international
no mountain range or river tolorma natural boundary. The This geologically oldest part of India lies, on average. athousand meters
boundary of India passes through a variety of landforns - barren desert abve sca level. The plateauis bordered by two montainranges: the
lands, lush green agricultural fields, gushing rivers, snow clad mountains Western Ghats rise along the Arabian Sea and the Favtenn Ghats arc
as well as densely forested mountain ranges. The defence of such an parallel to the Bay of Bengal.
international boundary passing through various kinds of terrains is certainly Inlia is aland ofphysicaldiversities. Alnost all types of picturesque
adifficult job.An Indian soldier is, therefore, exposed to variou: types of ibueath taking landforms are found herc. According o one estimale,
extremely ho[tile conditions on the course of his duty. Sometime, he is 93 per cet ofaréa of ndia is occupied oy mountains and hills. 27.7 per
posted on the icy cold glaciers. At times he has to bear the wrath of the cnt by plateausand 43percent by plains.
burning sun and he has to face in tihe hnt sands of the desert.Often he is
28
(27
List of Mountain peaks in India- Statewise
Peak Range/Region State Height
Arma Konda Eastern Ghats Andhra Pradesh 1680 m
Kangto Eastern Himalaya Arunachal 7090 m
Pradesh
Someshwar Fort West Champaran Bihar 880 m
District
Bailadila Range Dantewada District Chhattisgarh 1276 m
Sosogad Western Ghats Goa 1022 m
Girnar Junagadh District Gujarat 1145 m
Karoh Peak Morni Hills Haryana 1499 m
Reo Purgyil Western Himalaya Himachal 6816 m
Pradesh
K2 Karakoram Jammu and 8611 m
Kashmir
Parasnath Parasnath Hills Jharkhand 1366 m
Mullayanagiri Western Ghats Karnataka 1925 m
Anamudi Western Ghats Kerala 2695 m
Dhupgarh Satpura Madhya Pradesh 1350 m
Kalsubai Western Ghats Maharashtra 1646 m
Mount Iso Senapati District Manipur 2994 m
Shillong Peak Khasi Hills Meghalaya 1965 m
Phawngpui Saiha District Mizoram 2165 m
Mount Saramati Naga Hills Nagaland 3841 m
Deomali Eastern Ghats Odisha 1672 m
Unnamed point on the Rupnagar District Punjab 1000 m
Naina Devi
Guru Shikhar Aravali Rajasthan 1722 m
Kanchenjunga Eastern Himalaya Sikkim 8598 m
Doddabetta Nilgiri Hils Tamil Nadu 2636 m
Laxmidevipalli Deccan Plateau Telangana 670 m
Betalongchhip Jampui Hills Tripura 1097 mn
Amsot Peak Shivalik Hills Uttar Pradesh 957 m
Nanda Devi Garhwal Himalaya Uttarakhand 7816 m
Sandakphu Eastern Himalaya West Bengal 3636 m
River
The river is the biggest source of water. Rivers provide us water to drink, irrigation,
electricity, cook, clean things and easy &cheap transportation. It is alsO a source of fresh
water that flows naturally towards an ocean, lake, sea or another river. Rivers flow in
channels. The bottom of the channel is called the bed and sides of the channel are called
the banks. Sometimes a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course
without reaching another body of water.
Rivers begin at their source in the higher ground such as mountains or hills, where rainwater
or melting snow collects and foms tiny streams. When one stream meets another and they
merge together, the smaller steam is known as a tributary. It takes many tributary streams to
form a river.
As a river flows, it carries along material or debris, called its load. A river's load includes
rocks, stones, and other large particles, which are washed along the river bed. Finer
particles float in the water. A river grows larger as it collects water from more tributaries
along its Course. The river ends at a mouth. In larger rivers, there is often alsO a wider
floodplain shaped by flood waters over-topping the channel. Floodplains may be very wide in
relation to the size of the river channel.
Important Rivers in World:
There are so many rivers all over the world. The rivers are detemined by its length. The
River Nile is the longest river in the world. It measures 6,695 kilometres from its source
Burundi, along with the White Nile, to its delta on the Mediterranean Sea.
Officially, the shortest river is the D River, Oregon, USA, which is just 37 meters long.
The largest river in the world is the Amazon, measured by the amount of water that flows
down in it. On average 120,000 cubic meters of water flows out of its mouth every second.
The longest river in Europe is the River Volga. It flows primarily in a southerly direction
through Russia into the Caspian Sea.
Important Rivers in India:
The important rivers of India are Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Indus, Mahanadi, Godavari,
Krishna, Kaveri, Narmada and Tapti.
Ganga: Ganga is the holiest river according to Hindu. It has started from the Gangotri in the
Himalayas and poured into the Bay of Bengal by traveling of around 2525 km. It is ranked 34
largest river in the world. There are several cities had been developed across the banks of
Ganga like Pataliputra, Kashi, Allahabad, Varanasi, Kolkata etc. It had also created the
World's largest delta in West Bengal named as Sundarban delta.
Yamuna: Yamuna River had originated from Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas, then
travels across several states and merged into the Ganga at Triveni, Allahabad. Its total
length is 1376 km. Yamuna River's water contributed nearly 70% of Delhi's water supply.
The Taj Mahal is situated on the banks of Yamuna River.
Brahmaputra: Brahmaputra River is originated from Angsi Glacier, the northern Himalayas
in Tibet, then entered into the Arunachal Pradesh to Assam and then merges with the
Padma river in Bangladesh. Its length is around 2900 km and plays an important role in
irrigation and transportation. It emptied into the Bay Bengal.
Indus River: The Indus River is historically famous in Asia. It originated from the Tibetan
Plateau and then flows through the Ladakh then entered Pakistan and finally merge into the
Arabian Sea after traveling a distance of 3180 km.
Mahanadi River: Mahanadi is a major river in the state of Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
Mahanadi's water is used in the irrigation and drinking purpose, it is also called the ruin of
Orissa due to its devastating floods over the years but till Hirakud Dam was constructed. Its
total length is 858 km.
Godavari: It is the longest river in southern India and 2 largest in India after Ganga. It is
originated from Maharashtra and flows through Andhra Pradesh, then merges into the Bay of
Bengal after traveling 1465 km.
Krishna: The 3- longest river in India after Ganga and Godavari, Krishna River which is
originated from Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and flows through the state of Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh and finally merges into the Bay of Bengal by traveling 1400 km.
Kaveri: The Kaveri River is one of the large rivers in India which is originated from
Talakaveri in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and flows through the states of Karnataka &
Tamil Nadu, finally merges into the Bay of Bengal by traveling 765 km.
Narmada: Namada River is the 5 Longest in the Indian sub-continent. It is also called the
Lifeline of Madhya Pradesh due to its huge contributions. Narmada River is originated from
Narmada Kund, Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh and merges into the Arabian Sea near
Gujarat after traveling 1312 km.
Tapti: Tapti River is one of the major rivers in Central India. Its total length is around 724 km
which flows through the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra and finally
merges into the Gulf of Cambay of Arabian Sea near Gujarat.
Below is a table that shows Rivers and its tributaries:
Rivers Tributaries
Indus Ravi, Beas & Sutlej, Jhelum, Chenab
Ganga Son, Damodar, Yamuna, Ghagra, Ramganga, Kosi, Gandak, Mahakali
Yamuna Ken, Betwa, Tons, Hindon, Chambal, Sindh
Chambal Banas, Sindh, Ken, Betwa
Ghagra Rapti, Saradi, Saryu
Son Gopad, Rihand, Johilla
Brahmaputra Dibru, Dihing, Kalang, Burhi, Dikhu,Subansiri, Kameng, Belsire, Dhansiri,
Manas, Sankosh, Teesta
Mahanadi Hasdo,Sheonath, Sondur, Pairi, Ong, Tel
Godavari Weinganga, Indravati, Sabari, Manjira, Penganga, Wardha
Krishna Ghatprabha, Malprabha, Bhima, Musi, Munneru, Koyna, Tungabhadra,
PedagogyofSocial called
from hereitis Luni and
otherat
Joineach Kuchchh.
Govindgarhand drinm Teaching and Learning of Geography and Economics
luitsare also grown in its vicinity. The climate is extremclycold during
intoRann of Chattisgarhthrough iters. In fact, it snows duringthe summers, it is a plcasant place to
D) Mahanadi:
originates
It
in Raipur,
fromSihawaChhattisgarhandOrissa.
MP,
Oris a inty isit. Tourists visit many hill stations located there during summer to
joy the cool wcather. In winter, they go there to have fun participating
ofBengal. Itcovers inwinter sports activities. Mount Everest is located in the Himalyan
Bay Dakshin Ganga:
E)Godavari
system. It
Peninsular river Godavari originates ringe. The Aravalli range - This is situated in the western part of
Godavariis the largest runsns throug India and runs about 800 km from the northeast to the south west,
intoBayofBengal.
Maharashtra,
Nasik,
MP,
Maharashtra. Itdrains
Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh. In lower reaches traversing Rajasthan. The northern endof the range form as isolated
forms gorge.
hills in Haryana, nearing Delhi. The southen end touches Gujarat
ofPolavaram, heavyfloods near Ahmedabad. It is mostly bare and has less population.
tosouth
) Krishna: * Volcanoes- These are found in the Andaman Islands such as Barren
second largesteast flowingpeninsularriver. Krishna originats Islands, Baratang, Narcondam and Deccan Traps. The volcanoes
a i Koyna,
from
It is
Mahabaleshwar in Sahayadri. Itstributaries are Andhra
Maharashtra, Karnataka,
,Tungabhad
Pradesh.
are dormant and active.
Glaciers -These are found in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal
and Bhima. It drains into
G) Kaveri: Pradesh, Uttarkhand and Sikkim. The Siachen glacier happens to be
hills of Kogadu district in
It origins from Brahmagiri southwest monsoon and Karmat aka the largest glacier outside of the polar region. It is the largest in the
through northe Himalayas -Karakoram. It is in Jammu and Kashmir.
water
monsoonreceives
Kaveri also. So less fluctuations in water levels thannother peninsular 3 Valleys - The Damodar Valley Jharkahand and West Bengal. It
Bhavan
rivers. Drains Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Kabini, contains a lot of mineralDEPOSITS, which includes coal and mica.
Amaravati are its tributaries It is developed industy. The Araku valley in Vishakapatnam in
Andhra Pradesh attracts a lot of tourists. It is endowed with luscious
1.2.5 MAJOR LANDFORMS IN INDIA green trees and plants and bounties of nature. The Kashmir valley is
India is geographiçally and strategically an important country. Itis sery beautiful. It has eye-catching scenic beauty.
mostly an agro-based economy and most of the industries depend uDon Deserts - The Thar Desert is the Great Indian Desert and lies in
the industries. Agriculture feeds its millions of population, and poutry, Rajasthan. It also extends into Haryana, Punjab and Gujarat. It is
fishing, animal rearing also play an important role in the economy. Obviousiy full of sand dunes. Several species of lizards and snakes are found.
the land in India is vital for such activities. Not many inhabitants live there. The climate is
extremely hot.
Land formations vary from region to region. These formations not ony 3 Islands - The Andaman Islands are very
famous. They are in the Bay
protect the country's frontiersbutalso supply abundant food to feed the populain of Bengal. The climate is that of tropical islands. It is
The land is used to grow crops, to cultivate fruits and develop fisheries. Muc quite warm,
minerals are also available. Which are the major landfoms of lndia?
accompanied by sea-breeze. The Nicobar Islands are in the eastern Indian
Ocean. They are situated in the southeast of the Indian
Major Landforms of India: sub-continent.
Waterfalls - Famous waterfalls are Chitrakot which is 100 feet
Mountains-The Himalayan mountain range is a and is in Chattisgarh. Then you have the Kuntala Falls in Andhra
India. It borders on the Northern part of Indiaand major landfom D Pradesh. The Dudhsagar Falls is I,017 feet. Situated in Goa. The
from foreign invasions. TIMBER industry thrivesprotects the countly Jog Falls in Karnatka are very famous.
there as well many
{43 3
44
