GEOGRAPHY NOTES

CLASS VI

CHAPTER 5:
MAJOR DOMAINS OF THE EARTH

The surface of the earth is a complex zone in which three main

components of the environment meet, overlap and interact. The
solid portion of the earth on which we live is called the
Lithosphere. The gaseous layers that surround the earth, is the
Atmosphere, where oxygen, nitrogen, carbondioxide and other
gases are found. Water covers a very big area of the earth’s surface
and this area is called the Hydrosphere. The Hydrosphere
comprises water in all its forms, that is, ice, water, water vapour.
The Biosphere is the narrow zone where we find land, water, and
air together, which contains all forms of life.

Word Origin
In the Greek language, Lithos means Stone; Atmos means Vapour; Hudor means Water;
and Bios means Life.

LITHOSPHERE: The solid portion of the earth is called

Lithosphere. It comprises the rocks of the earth’s crust and the
thin layers of soil that contain nutrient elements which sustain
organisms.
There are two main divisions of the earth’s surface. The large
landmasses are known as continents and the huge water bodies are
called the ocean basins. All the oceans of the world are connected
with one another.
The level of seawater remains the same everywhere. Elevation of
land is measured from the level of the sea, which is taken as zero.
The highest mountain peak Mt. Everest is 8,848 metres above the
sea level. The greatest depth of 11,022 metres is recorded at
Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.
Do you know? Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa (India)
were the first men to climb the highest mountain peak Mt. Everest on the planet earth on
29th May, 1953. Junko Tabei (Japan) was the first woman to reach the summit on 16 th
May, 1975. The first Indian Woman to climb the highest peak on 23th May 1984 was
Bachendri Pal.

Continents: There are seven major continents. These are separated

by large water bodies. These continents are Asia, Europe, Africa,
North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica. The
large part of the land mass lies in the Northern Hemisphere.

Asia: It is the largest continent. It covers about one-third of the

total land area of the earth. It lies in the Eastern Hemisphere. The
Tropic of Cancer passes through this continent. Asia is separated
from Europe by the Ural Mountains on the west. The combined
landmass of Europe and Asia is called Eurasia.
Europe: It is much smaller than Asia. The continent lies to the
west of Asia. The Arctic Circle passes through it. It is bound by
water bodies on three sides.
Africa: It is the second largest continent after Asia. The Equator or
0̊ latitude runs almost through the middle of the continent. A large
part of Africa lies in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only
continent through which the Tropic of Cancer, the Equator and
the Tropic of Capricorn pass. The Sahara Desert, the world’s
largest hot desert located here and the world’s longest river the
Nile, also flows through Africa.

North America: It is the third largest continent of the world. It is

linked to South America by a very narrow strip of land called the
Isthmus of Panama. The continent lies completely in the Northern
and Western Hemisphere. Three oceans surround this continent.

South America: It lies mostly

in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Andes world’s longest
mountain range runs through
its length from north to south.
The world’s largest river
the Amazon, also flows
through South America.

Australia: It is the smallest continent that lies entirely in the

Southern Hemisphere. It is surrounded on all sides by the oceans
and seas. So it is also called an island continent.

Antarctica: It lies completely in the Southern Hemisphere, is a

huge continent. The South Pole lies almost at the centre of this
continent. As it is located in the South Polar Region, it is
permanently covered with thick ice sheets. There are no permanent
human settlements. Many countries have research stations in
Antarctica. India also has research stations there. These are named
as Maitri and Dakshin Gangotri.
HYDROSPHERE: The earth
is called the blue planet more
than 71 % of the earth is
covered with water and 29%
is with land. Hydrosphere
consists of water in all its
forms. As running water in
oceans and rivers and in lakes,
ice in glaciers, underground
water and the water vapour
in atmosphere, all comprise the hydrosphere. More than 97% of
the Earth’s water is found in the oceans and is too salty for human
use. A large proportion of the rest of the water is in the form of
icesheets and glaciers or under the ground and a very small
percentage is available as fresh water for human use.

Oceans: Oceans are the major part of hydrosphere. They are all
interconnected. The ocean waters are always moving. The three
chief movements of ocean waters are the waves, the tides and the
ocean currents. The four major oceans are the Pacific Ocean, the
Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Arctic Ocean, in order of
their size.

The Pacific Ocean is the largest

Ocean. It is spread over one-third
of the earth. Mariana Trench, the
deepest part of the earth, lies in it.
The Pacific Ocean is almost circular
in shape. Asia, Australia, North and
South Americas surround it.

The Atlantic Ocean is the second

Largest Ocean in the world. It is ‘S’
shaped. It is flanked by the North and
South Americas on the western side, and Europe and Africa on the
eastern side. The coastline of Atlantic Ocean is highly indented.
This irregular and indented coastline provides ideal location for
natural harbours and ports. From the point of view of commerce,
it is the busiest ocean.
The Indian Ocean is the only ocean named after a country, that is,
India. The shape of ocean is almost triangular. In the north it is
bound by Asia, in the west by Africa and in the east by Australia.
The Arctic Ocean is located within the Arctic Circle and
surrounds the North Pole. It is connected with the Pacific Ocean by
a narrow stretch of shallow water known as Bering Strait. It is
bound by northern coasts of North America and Eurasia.
ATMOSPHERE: The earth is surrounded by a layer of gas called
the atmosphere. This thin blanket of air is an integral and important
aspect of the planet. It provides us with the air we breathe and
protects us from the harmful effects of sun’s rays.
The atmosphere extends up to a height of about 1600 kms. The
atmosphere is divided into five layers based on composition,
temperature and other properties. These layers starting from
earth’s surface are called the troposphere, the stratosphere, the
mesosphere, the thermosphere and
the exosphere.

The Atmosphere is composed mainly

of nitrogen and oxygen, which make up
about 99% of clean dry air. Nitrogen 78%
oxygen 21% and other gases 1 per cent
by volume. Oxygen is the breath of life
while nitrogen helps in the growth of
living organisms. Carbon dioxide, though
present in minute amount, is important as
it absorbs heat radiated by the earth,
thereby keeping the planet warm. It is
also essential for the growth of plants.
The density of the atmosphere varies with height. It is maximum at
the sea level and decreases rapidly as we go up.

The climbers experience problems in breathing due to this

decrease in the density of air. They have to carry with them
oxygen cylinder to be able to breathe at high altitude.

The temperature also decreases as we go upwards. The atmosphere

exerts pressure on the earth. This varies from place to place. Some
areas experience high pressure and some areas low pressure. Air
moves from high pressure to low pressure. Moving air is known
as wind.

BIOSPHERE: (The Domain of Life) The biosphere is the narrow

zone of contact between the land, water, air and life exists here.
There are several species of organisms that vary in size from
microbes and bacteria to huge mammals. All the living organisms
including humans are linked to each other and to the biosphere for
survival.
The organisms in the biosphere may broadly be divided into the
plant kingdom and the animal kingdom. The three domains of the
earth interact with each other and affect each other in some way or
the other. For example, cutting of forests for fulfilling our needs of
Wood or clearing land for agriculture may lead to fast removal of
soil from slopes. Similarly earth’s surface may be changed due to
natural calamities like earthquakes. For example, there could be
submergence of land during tsunami. Discharge of waste material
into lakes and rivers makes the water unsuitable for human use. It
also damages other forms of life.

Emission from industries, thermal power plants and vehicles,

pollute the air. Carbon dioxide is an important constituent of air.
But increase in the amount of CO2 leads to increase in global
temperature. This is termed as global warming.

There is thus, a need to limit the use of resources of the earth to

maintain the balance of nature between all the domains of the
earth.

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