CHAPTER 7: ARCTIC CIRCLE

WATER BODIES
• Chukchi Sea: It is connected to the
Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean via
the Bering Strait at its southernmost
end.
• East Siberian Sea: It is the one of the
least studies water bodies in the area
which is experiences extremely harsh
climate.
• Laptev Sea: It is surrounded on three
sides by land.
• Kara Sea: It is located to the north of
Siberia between the Barents Sea and the
Laptev Sea.
• Barents Sea: It is off the northern
coasts of Russia and Norway and is
relatively shallower than the other parts
of the Arctic Ocean.
§ The sea serves as an important site for the exploration of hydrocarbon resources.
§ It is also a productive fishing area.
§ The Pechora Sea and the White Sea are both parts of the Barents Sea.
• Wandel Sea: It stretches from Greenland’s northeast to Svalbard.

NOTE: HIMADRI – India’s research laboratory in Svalbard, Norway; near the North Pole.

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 CHAPTER 8: ANTARCTICA
It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern
Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern
Ocean.
Features:
• On an average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest
average elevation of all the continents.
• Ice Content: It is 98% ice. (90% of world’s ice is found here)
• It is a cold desert.
• Longest River – River Onyx (Sub-glacial in nature)
• The largest lake – Lake Vostok (a sub-glacial lake).

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 Water bodies

NOTE-Ross Sea, Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea are important due to presence of
certain endangered species such as Blue Whale.
Physical Features

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 • Division of Antarctica: Transantarctic Mountain divides Antarctica into two halves,
East [Greater Antarctica] and West [Lesser Antarctica].
§ Western Part: The western part is under extensive research due to threat of global
warming which can melt ice sheet in this region and increase the sea level across the
globe.
NOTE-Mount Erebus is the (only)
southernmost active volcano on Earth.
India’s presence in the region
• India has 2 research stations – Maitri and
Bharati(Situated at Larsemann)
• Earlier, there was Dakshin Gangotri
station but it was abandoned.

Vida: Saline Lake.

Queen Maud Range: Divides the continent into almost two equal halves.

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 CHAPTER 9: NORTH AMERICA
• Latitude and Longitude: Latitudinal extent is from 7'N to 85'N, and the longitudinal
extent is from 20'W to 179'W.

• Size: 3rd largest continent in the world and lies totally in Northern Hemisphere.
• Tropic of Cancer: Passes through Mexico and Bahamas.
• Number of States: It has 23 sovereign states.
• Arctic Circle: Passes through USA (Alaska), Canada, Greenland (Denmark).
• Capital Cities
§ Canada – Ottawa
§ USA – Washington DC
§ Mexico – Mexico City
• Boundaries
§ 49th Parallel – Boundary between USA (mainland) and Canada
§ Mexico is surrounded by USA, Belize, Guatemala
• Major cities
• CANADA: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa

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 • USA: Several important cities such as Washington DC, Chicago, New York,
Boston, etc.
• MEXICO: Mexico City
• USA: Has 50 states out of which Alaska is the biggest state.
• Canada: has the largest coastline in the world.
Rivers of North America

River Location
Yukon River
• Source: It flows from Alaska.
• Significance: Placer gold found
there.

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 Mc. kenzie River
• Drains Into: Beaufort Sea
• Significant Feature: It is the
largest river flowing into the
Arctic from North America.

St Lawrence river
• Origin-Destination: It flows
from Lake Ontario in a roughly
north-easterly direction into the
Gulf of St. Lawrence.
• Significance:
§ It is part of international
boundary between Canada
and United States.
§ Important for iron
transportation.

Mississippi River
• Significance: It is the second-
longest river and chief river of
the second-largest drainage
system on the North American
continent, second only to the
Hudson Bay drainage system.
• Form of Delta: Bird Foot Delta

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 Colorado River
• Forms the Grand Canyon
• Source-Sink: Starting in the
central Rocky Mountains of
Colorado in Grand Lake,
Colorado, it flows generally
southwest across the Colorado
Plateau and through the Grand
Canyon before reaching Lake
Mead on the Arizona–Nevada
border.

Grande River
Significance:
• Natural boundary between USA
and Mexico.
• It keeps changing its course
resulting into boundary disputes
between both the nations.

Important lakes of North America

• Lake Superior: Largest
freshwater lake in the world
• Lake Michigan: Entirely in
USA.
• Others: Lake Superior, Lake
Huron, Lake Erie, Lake
Ontario are shared by both
USA and Canada.

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 Physical Features of North
America
• Highest Mountain range of
USA & North America:
Denali, Alaska Range
Mountain Ranges
1. Canada Shield:
Remnants of Pangea
§ Geology: It is formed
of ancient rocks and
its height is reduced
due to continuous
erosion and
weathering
§ Minerals Found:
Iron, Uranium, Gold,
Copper, Platinum,
Diamond.
2. Appalachian Mountains:
These are residual
mountains.
• Highest peak: Mt. Mitchell
3. Western cordilleras: They are volcanic fold mountains
• Highest peak: Mount McKinley

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 Important plateaus: Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, Mexican plateau, etc
Great Plains: are also called as Prairies. These are temperate grasslands.
Deserts: check map
MISCELLANEOUS
• Tehuantepec: An isthmus in Mexico
that represents the shortest distance
between the Gulf of Mexico and the
Pacific Ocean.
• New found land island: One of the
best fishing Ground

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 CHAPTER 10: SOUTH AMERICA
GENERAL INFORMATION:
• Latitude and Longitude: South America stretches from 12°N to 55°S latitude and
from 35°W to 81°W longitude.

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 • The Continent Generally Includes:
§ Twelve sovereign states: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
§ Two dependent territories: the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands.
§ One internal territory: French Guiana.
• Equator Passes Through: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil [ECB - east to west]
• Tropic of Capricorn: Passes through Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil [CAP-B]
• All countries except 2 are on sea-coast: Bolivia, Paraguay
§ Bolivia is surrounded by Chile, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina.
§ Paraguay is surrounded by Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina.
• French Guinea: Part of France. It has launching pad of EU for space missions.
§ Easy to launch Geosynchronous satellite, Coriolis is absent as it is close to equator
and it has sea to East so if a mission fails it will cause less damage to life and
property.
• Surinam: Has large Indian Diaspora
BRAZIL
The largest country in the continent
• Neighbours of Brazil: All the countries except Chile, Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago.
• Coffee Triangle: Rio De Janerio, Santos, Sao Paolo (Also famous for meat packaging).
• Manos: Gold deposits
• Natal: Sugarcane
• Belem: Manganese deposits
ARGENTINA
• Wheat Triangle: Buenos Aires,
Mendoza, Rosario
• Maize Triangle: Buenos Aires,
Mendoza, Bahia Blanca
• Strait of Magellan: Old trading
route but no more used due to
Panama Canal.
• Rio De La Plata Estuary

CHILE
• Valparaiso: Famous for wines.
• Arica: Driest part of Earth(Part of Atacama
Desert).
• Iquique: Rich in copper.

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 PHYSICAL – SOUTH AMERICA
Grasslands:
• Tropical grasslands – Llanos, Selvas,
Catingas, Mato Grasso, Campos,
• Temperate grasslands – Pampas, Gran
Chaco, Entre Rios
Plateau – Highlands
• Guiana Highlands: Located in Venezuela.
§ World’s Highest Fall: Angel’s fall on
Caroni River is located here.
• Mato Grasso: Located in Venezuela
• Plateau of Borborema: Located in Brazil
• Bolivian Plateau: Shared among Bolivia,
Chile, and Peru.
§ Lake Titicaca world’s highest navigable
water body lies here
Mountains – Andes.
• Highest Peak: Mt. Aconcagua is the highest
peak of Andes (7021m)
• Only pass in Andes: Uspallata Pass
• Two important ranges in Andes: Ojos Del Salado, Aconcagua.
NOTE: Peru Chile Trench: Longest trench in the world.(# Not deepest)

Rivers of South America

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 Rivers Information Mapping
Amazon • Size: It is the largest
River river by discharge
volume of water in
the world
Features:
• Basin Size: The
largest drainage
basin in the world.
• It flows through:
Peru, Colombia,
and Brazil.

Orinoco • Size: Fourth largest

river river in the world by
discharge volume of
water.
Significance Features:
• Angel Waterfall:
The world’s highest
waterfall Angel
(979 m) is situated
on river Churun
which is a tributary
of river Caroni
which is further a
tributary of river
Orinoco.
• It Flows Through:
Colombia and
Venezuela.
Parana • Running Through:
River Brazil, Paraguay,
and Argentina.
• Size: It is second in
length only to the

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 Amazon River
among South
American rivers.
• Course/Empty
Into: It merges with
the Paraguay River
and then farther
downstream with
the Uruguay River
to form the Río de la
Plata and empties
into the Atlantic
Ocean.
Uruguay • Course: It flows
River from north to south
• Boundary: It forms
parts of boundaries
of Brazil,
Argentina, and
Uruguay,
separating some of
the Argentine
provinces from the
other two countries.

Important lakes and Islands of South America

Lakes Information Location
Lake • Size: It is the largest
Titicaca lake in South America
by surface area and
volume.
Specific Features:
• It is the world’s
"highest navigable
lake” at an altitude of
12,507 ft.
• Location: It is located
within the boundaries
of two countries; the
western part lies in
Peru while the eastern
part is located in
Bolivia.

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Lake • Location: It is a large
Maracaibo brackish tidal bay in
Zulia, Venezuela and
an inlet of the
Caribbean Sea.
• Connected To: Gulf
of Venezuela by
Tablazo Strait.
• Basin Contains:
Large reserves of
crude oil.
Note: A weather
phenomenon known as
Catatumbo lightning at
Lake Maracaibo regularly
produces more lightning
than any other place on the
planet.

ISLANDS
Falkland • Location: An
Island archipelago in the
South Atlantic Ocean
NOTE:
• Sovereign Control:
As a British overseas
territory, it has
internal self-
governance, and
United Kingdom
takes responsibility
for their defence and
foreign affairs.
• Dispute: It is a
disputed territory
between UK and
Argentina
Galapagos • Location: An
Island archipelago of
volcanic islands
distributed on either
side of equator in the
Pacific Ocean.
• Sovereign Control:
Part of Republic of
Ecuador.

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 Deserts of South America
Desert Information Mapping
Patagonian • Size: Largest desert by area
Desert located in Argentina.
• Location and
Boundaries: Located
primarily in Argentina and
is bounded by the Andes, to
its west, and the Atlantic
Ocean to its east.

Atacama • Location: Located in

Desert Chile.
• Features:
§ Driest nonpolar desert
in the world.
§ Only true desert to
receive less
precipitation than the
polar deserts.
§ The largest fog desert
in the world.

Sechura • Location: Coastal desert

Desert located south of the Piura
Region of Peru along the
Pacific Ocean coast and
inland to the foothills of the
Andes Mountains

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 Monte • Location: Lying entirely
Desert within Argentina

La Guajira • Location: It is a desert

Desert located in northern
Colombia and Venezuela

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
• Lithium Triangle: The Lithium Triangle is a region of the Andes rich in lithium reserves
around the borders of Argentina, Bolivia
and Chile.
• Trans-Andean Railway Line: Between
Chile and Argentina.
• Southern Most Tip: Cape Horn.
• Guayaquil: A city of Ecuador is known
as Pearl of the Pacific.
• Madeira: Largest Tributary.
• Fazendas: Centre for Coffee trade and
coffee estate.

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 CHAPTER 11: CENTRAL AMERICA
Neighbouring Countries
1. Guatemala: Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador
2. Honduras: Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua
3. Nicaragua: Honduras, Costa Rica
4. Costa Rica: Nicaragua, Panama
5. Panama: Costa Rica, Colombia

Capital cities from North to South:

Belmopan, Guatemala, Tegucigalpa, El Salvador, Managua, San Jose, Panama City

CUBA
• Sugar basket of world
• Straits of Yucatán is a strait between Mexico and Cuba.
§ It connects the Yucatán Basin of the Caribbean Sea with the Gulf of Mexico.

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 CHAPTER 12: AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

GENERAL INFORMATION
• Size: Australia is the world’s largest island and smallest continent.
• Special Feature:
§ It is the only nation that completely covers a continent.
§ Australia is the only continent which is also a country.
• Latitudinal/Longitudinal Extent: The bulk of the Australian land mass lies between
latitudes 10 degrees 41 minutes (10°41´) south (Cape York, Queensland) and 43°38´
south (South East Cape, Tasmania), and between longitudes 113°09´ east (Steep Point,
Western Australia) and 153°38´ east (Cape Byron, New South Wales); (lies entirely in the
Southern Hemisphere)
• The Tropic of Capricorn: Cuts the continent almost into half ; Asia is the continent
nearest to Australia.
• Highest Point: Mount Kosciusko [2,230 meters above sea level]
• Capital City – Canberra
• Important Cities In Clockwise Direction – B.SC MA PH.D [excluding Hobart]-
Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Hedland, Darwin.
• Trans-Australian Railway: Runs between Sydney and Perth.
• Major Roads: Commonwealth Highways.

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 RIVERS OF AUSTRALIA

River Information Mapping

Murray • Location: It is a river in
river south-eastern Australia.
• Size: It is Australia's
longest river at 2,508
km extent.

Darling • Size: It is the third-

River longest river in
Australia; source in
northern New South
Wales to its confluence
with the Murray River
at Wentworth, New
South Wales.

BAY/GULF
Shark • Significance: Shark
Bay Bay is a World Heritage
Site in the Gascoyne
region of Western
Australia.
• Location: It is located
north of Perth, on the
westernmost point of
the Australian
continent.

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 Spencer • Location: It is the
Gulf westernmost and larger of
two large inlets (the other
being Gulf St Vincent) on
the southern coast of
Australia, in the state of
South Australia, facing
the Great Australian
Bight.

Joseph • Location: It is a large

Bonaparte body of water off the coast
Gulf of the Northern Territory
and Western Australia and
part of the Timor Sea.

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 PHYSICAL DIVISIONS
• Eastern Highlands/Great Dividing Range/ East Australian Cordillera:
§ The Dividing Range does not consist
of a single continuous mountain chain,
but is rather a combined complex
(cordillera) of mountain ranges,
plateaus, hilly upland areas and
escarpments
§ The Highest Peak: Mt. Kosciusko
NOTE-Australia does not have any
young fold mountains.
• Western Plateau
§ The Western Plateau is Australia's
largest drainage division
• Deserts
§ Western Desert: A desert located in western Australia, comprising the Gibson,
Great Sandy, and Little Sandy deserts.
• Great Barrier Reef:
§ This is the largest coral reef in the world.
§ It lies along the east coast of Queensland, Australia, in the Pacific Ocean.

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 NEW ZEALAND:
• Cook Strait: Separates the
two island of New Zealand.
• Southern Alps: Mountain
Ranges are situated on
southern island and is
known as Southern Alps.
• Highest Peak: Mount Cook
• Lake: Taupo and Vaikato.
• Canterburies: Plains of
New Zealand.
• Auckland: Largest City.

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 CHAPTER-13- OCEANIA
• Geographic Regions: Includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.
• Size: When compared with the continents, the region of Oceania is the smallest in land
area and the second smallest in population after Antarctica.
• The largest and most populous country in Oceania: Australia,
• The Largest City: Sydney.
• Countries in Oceania (14): Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru,
New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu,
Vanuatu
• Associated Countries: Cook Islands, Niue
• Melanesia/Black Islands: It extends from the island of New Guinea in the west to Tonga
in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
• Micronesia: Also known as Little Islands.
• Polynesia: Also known as Many Lands.

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 CHAPTER 14: CENTRAL ASIA
•Countries of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan
• Extent: Extends from Caspian Sea to China [east to west] and from Afghanistan to Russia
[South to North].
NOTE:
• All countries were formed after disintegration of USSR in 1991
• All countries are land-locked.

UZBEKISTAN
• A doubly-land locked country, i.e., all the countries surrounding it are also land-locked
• Uzbekistan is surrounded by - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan.
NOTE-Only Central Asian country which has borders with all other Central Asian
countries.

CAPITALS:
• Capitals in East to West order – Ashgabat, Tashkent, Astana, Dushanbe, Bishkek

Important Water Bodies

• Aral Sea: Shared between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
• Lake Balkhash: It is one of the largest lakes in Asia and 15th largest in the world. It is in
the east of Central Asia in south-eastern Kazakhstan and sits in an endorheic (closed) basin.

RIVERS
• Amu Darya: Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Kush, the Amu Darya
is formed by the confluence of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers.
• Syr Darya: It originates in the Tian Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan and eastern
Uzbekistan.

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 Physical features
Pamir Knot: Origin point for several mountains – Himalayas, Hindu Kush, Suleiman
rangers, Kun Lun Shan.

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