Class 9 Contemporary India – Chapter 2 Social Science

Physical Features of India

Question 1: Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.

(i) A landmass bounded by sea on three sides is referred to as

(a) Coast
(b) Island
(c) Peninsula
(d) none of the above

Answer: (c) Peninsula

(ii) Mountain ranges in the eastern part of India forming its boundary with Myanmar are
collectively called as

(a) Himachal
(b) Uttarakhand
(c) Purvachal
(d) none of the above

Answer: (c) Purvanchal

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

(a) Coromandel
(b) Konkan
(c) Kannad
(d) Northern Circar

Answer: (b) Kannad

(iv) The highest peak in the Eastern Ghats is

(a) Anai Mudi

(b) Kanchenjunga
(c) Mahendragiri
(d) Khasi

Answer: (c) Mahendragiri

Question 2: Answer the following questions briefly.

(i) What are tectonic plates?

Answer (i): Large fragments of the Earth’s crust torn due to the rising currents are called
tectonic plates
(ii) Which continents of today were part of the Gondwana land?

Answer (ii): South America, part of Africa (South Africa including Madagascar), part of Asia
(India, Arabia, Malaya), Australia and Antarctica continents were parts of the Gondwana
land.

(iii) What is the bhabar?

Answer (iii): The Bhabar is that narrow belt of the plain which is covered with pebbles and
lies along the foothills of the Shiwaliks from the Indus to the Teesta.

(iv) Name the three major divisions of the Himalayas from north to south.

Answer (iv): The Great or the Inner Himalayas or the Himadri, the Middle Himalayas or the
Himachal, and the Outer Himalayas or the Shivaliks.

(v) Which plateau lies between the Aravali and the Vindhyan ranges?

Answer (v): The Malwa plateau lies between the Aravali and the Vindhya Ranges.

(vi) Name the island group of India having coral origin.

Answer (vi): Lakshadweep Islands is the island group of India having coral origin

Question 3: Distinguish between

(i) Converging and diverging tectonic plates

Answer (i):

Converging Tectonic Plates Diverging Tectonic Plates

When tectonic plates move towards each other, When tectonic plates move away from
they are called converging plates. each other, they are called diverging
plates.
They collide or crumble or one of them slides They do not collide or crumble while
under the other while moving towards each moving away from each other.
other.
Converging plates cause folds. Diverging plates cause fractures
in the crust.

(ii) Bhangar and Khadar

Answer (ii):

Bhangar Khadar
These are the older alluvium or old soil and The newer and younger deposits of the
form the largest part of the Northern Plains. flood plains. Renewed every Year.
Lies above flood plains of rivers. Is newer, younger deposit of flood
Presents a terrace like feature. Contains calcerous deposits locally
known as Kankar.
Less fertile More fertile

(iii) Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats

Answer (iii):

Western Ghats Eastern Ghats

Mark the western edge of the Deccan Mark the eastern edge of the Deccan Plateau
Plateau
Continuous, can be crossed through Discontinuous, irregular and dissected by rivers
the passes only. draining into the Bay of Bengal.
Higher; average elevation is 900−1600 Lower; average elevation is 600 meters
meters
This range is a source of many large No big river originates from this range.
rivers.
It experiences orographic rain mostly It receives rain both in summer and winter,
in summer due to the summer especially in winter through winter monsoons.
monsoons. The climate is hot and However, here the rain is lesser than the western
moist. strip.
Soil is highly fertile. Rice, spices, Soil is not as fertile as western ghats. Rice, ground
rubber and fruits like coconuts, nuts, cotton, tobacco, coconuts etc. are grown
cashew nuts etc. are grown

Question 4: Describe how the Himalayas were formed.

Answer: According to the Theory of Plate Tectonics, the Earth’s crust was initially a single,
giant super-continent called Pangea.Its northern part was the Angara land and the southern
part was the Gondwana land. The convectional currents split the crust into a number of
pieces, thus leading to the drifting of the Indo-Australian plate after being separated from
the Gondwana land, towards north. The northward drift resulted in the collision of the plate
with the much larger Eurasian Plate. Due to this collision, the sedimentary rocks which were
accumulated in the geosyncline known as theTethys were folded to form the mountain
system of western Asia and Himalaya.

Question 5: Which are the major physiographic divisions of India? Contrast the relief of the

Himalayan region with that of the Peninsular plateau.

Answer: The major physiography 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

The Himalayan Region The Peninsular Plateau

Young fold mountains made from the uplift Created from igneous and metamorphic
of the strata formed by the sedimentary rocks after splitting of Gondwanaland.
rocks.
Consists of the loftiest mountains and deep Consists of broad and shallow valleys, and
valleys rounded hills
The ranges have I-shaped and U-shaped It has horsts, rift valleys and troughs.
valleys.
It is the origin of perennial rivers. It has rainfed, seasonal rivers.
From the point of view of geology, this This region forms a stable zone
region forms an unstable zone

Question 6: Give an account of the Northern Plains of India.

Answer: The Northern Plains have been formed from the alluvium that the mountain rivers
deposited here. This turned the soil on the surfaced land fertile for growing a rich harvest of
variety of crops. This led to the development of the Indus River Valley Civilisation. The rich
soil was further aided by favourable climate and constant water supply from the rivers.
Between the mouths of the Indus and the Ganga-Brahmaputra, the North Indian Plain
covers a distance of 3200 km. It is 300 to 150 km wide at some places. The North Indian
Plains have the Indus river system in the west and the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system in
the east. The first includes Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj. The Indus flows into the
Arabian Sea. The second includes Ganga, its tributaries and the Brahmaputra which combine
as Meghna as they drain into the Bay of Bengal. They form the world’s largest and fastest
growing delta. The difference in relief has led the North Indian Plains to be divided into four
zones:
(i) Bhabhar,
(ii) Tarai,
(iii) Bangar and,
(iv) Khadar.

Question 7: Write short notes on the following.

(i) The Indian Desert

Answer (i): The Indian desert lies towards the western margins of the Aravali Hills.It is an
undulating sandy plain covered with sand dunes called barchans. This region receives very
low rainfall below 150 mm per year (15 cm). It has arid climate with low vegetation cover.
Streams appear during the rainy season. Soon after they disappear into the sand as they do
not have enough water to reach the sea. Luni is the only large river in this region.
(ii) The Central Highlands

Answer (ii): The part of the peninsular 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 Aravali range on
the northwest. The flow of the rivers draining this region, namely the Chambal, the Sind, the
Betwa and Ken is from southwest to northeast, thus indicating the slope. The Central
Highlands are wider in the west but narrower in the east. The eastward extensions of this
plateau are locally known as the Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand. The Chotanagpur plateau
marks the further eastward extension, drained by the
Damodar River.

(iii) The Island groups of India

Answer (iii): India has 2 main island groups, namely Lakshadweep and Andaman and
Nicobar island.
The Lakshadweep consists of many small islands located opposite the Kerala coast in the
Arabian Sea. The islands of this group are formed of coral deposits called ‘atolls’ in
Malayalam which refer to their ring or ‘horse-shoe’ shape. The Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, on the other hand, are larger in size. They are more in number and more widely
scattered.
There are about 200 islands in the Andaman group and 19 islands in the Nicobar group.

MAP SKILLS

On an outline map of India show the following.

(i) Mountain and hill ranges – the Karakoram, the Zaskar, the Patkai Bum, the Jaintia,
the Vindhya range, the Aravali, and the Cardamom hills.
(ii) Peaks – K2, Kanchenjunga, Nanga Parbat and the Anai Mudi.
(iii) Plateaus, Chotanagpur and Malwa
(iv) The Indian Desert, Western Ghats, Lakshadweep Islands
Answer: