GEOGRAPHY TERMS

Acid precipitation (Acid Rainfall): is now regarded as a serious problem in some European and
Asian countries, the main cause and source of which is emissions of sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides
from thermal power plants and burning of fossil fuels. These oxides dissolve in atmospheric water
vapour and fall back on earth as acid rainfall. Acid rainfall can cause destruction of crops and trees;
destruction of fish; and damage to buildings.
Agronomy: Soil management and production of field crops is known as Agronomy.
Aleurone layer: is that part of the grain in cereals where much of the protein lies.
Alluvial soil: is the richest and most fertile soil of India spread over large areas in northern plains of
India.
Arakan Yoma: is the extension of the Himalayas located in Myanmar.
Asthamudi Lake: is located in Kerala State.
Bailadila: in Bastar district of Madhya Pradesh, is known for its wealth of Manganese.
Barhara (Tribes): The Barhara tribes mentioned in the Mahabharata who had settled in the north-
western regions of India, are associated with—(1) Ambashthas (a mixed Mongolian Aryan race); (2)
Gandharas (Afghans); (3) Pavas.
Bhabhar region: in south of the Shivaliks, is an example of Piedmont situation i.e., belonging to or
related to the foot of a mountain.
Bushmen (Tribes): They live in the Kalahari desert. They are probably the descendants of the earliest
inhabitants of Africa. They rank among the most uncivilized and backward peoples in the world. Their
food consists almost entirely of meat, often raw or decomposed, and in times of scarcity they will eat
insects, snakes etc.
Cardamom: Karnataka is the largest producer of cardamom. India is the largest exporter of cardamom
in the world.
Chinook: Warm, dry wind experienced along the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains in Canada and
the U.S.A.
Climograph: is a graphical representation of the differentiation between various types of climate. It
reveals the type of climate at a glance—a climograph showing wet bulb temperatures and relative
humidities which are high, for instance, depicts a constantly hot damp climate.
Coastline of India, Length of: The length of India’s coastline is 7,516 km and its territory includes
1,256 islands. Tamil Nadu has the longest coastline in India.
Cosmic year: One cosmic year is equal to the time taken by the sun to complete one orbit around the
galactic centre.
Cotopaxi: is the highest volcano in the world. It is situated in Ecuador.
Date Line, International: International Date Line is an internationally agreed line drawn parallel to
the 180° meridian. It divides the Pacific Ocean into two equal parts. A crossing of the International
Date Line entails repeating one day when travelling westwards.
Detroit of India: Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh, where a large number of automobile industries have
been set up, is called the “Detroit of India”.
Doldrums Belt: is a zone of the tropics where the calm lasting for some weeks prevails, broken at
times by erratic squalls and baffling winds. It is an area of low pressure. The wind system in the
Equatorial areas is known as doldrums.
Dust Devil: is a dusty whirlwind normally a few feet in diameter and about 100 feet tall, sometimes
also wider and higher.
Earth mass: The mass of the earth is about 81 times that of the moon.
Earth’s core: is mainly composed of iron and nickel. Lithosphere is the innermost layer of the earth.
El Nino: is the weather phenomenon brewing in the tropical Pacific Ocean. It is the largest climate
event of the 20th century setting off more global disasters than ever before. El Nino is warming of the
waters off Equatorial South America which causes climate abnormalities around the world. The impact
can be flooding drought in California, Brazil, Africa and Australia, severe storms in the Central Pacific
and a decline in hurricanes hitting the south-eastern United States.
Exfoliation: This type of weathering is common both in the cold as well as in the hot climate regions.
Fertilizer plant, First: The first fertilizer plant in India was set up at Sindri (Bihar).
Garo (Tribes): Garos are the tribe of Garo Hills in Meghalaya.
Glacial lake—example in India: Dal Lake in Srinagar.
Great Circle: A circle on the earth’s surface whose plane passes through its centre, and bisects it into
two hemispheres. Two opposing meridians together form a Great Circle. The shortest distance between
any two points on the earth’s surface is the arc of the Great Circle which passes through them. 0°
latitude forms a Great Circle. (The latitude or longitude 75°W should be combined with 75°E to obtain
the Great Circle).
Horse Latitudes: Sub-tropical belts of high atmospheric pressure over the oceans situated in both
hemispheres. These are called Belts of Calm between regions of the Trade Winds and Westerlies of
higher latitudes.
Hydroponics: means cultivation of the plants without use of soil.
Hyetology: is the study of rainfall.
Indira Point: in Andaman and Nicobar Islands is the southern-most tip of India.
Irrigated area, Indian State having largest: The Indian State with the largest irrigated area is Uttar
Pradesh.
Jhum: It is a slash and burn method of shifting cultivation (called jhum) practised on rainfall-bed
slopes of forest hills and dales in Arunachal Pradesh.
Kandla: is a sea port situated at the head of the Gulf of Kuch in Gujarat State. It was the first port to
be developed after independence. It has a free trade zone.
Khonds (Tribes): were primitive tribes living in Orissa.
Kikuyu (Tribes) : are a race of Bantu negroes who live to the north of Mount Kenya. These people
combine agriculture with pastoralism.
Kirghiz (Tribes): of Central Asia are an example of people adapted to a grassland environment. The
Kirghiz are pastoral nomads who move from pasture to pasture with the flocks and herds of horses,
camels, oxen, sheep and goats. Meat forms only a small portion of their food. The Kirghiz are fearless
horsemen, and even their children are expert riders
Lambadies (Tribes): are concentrated in Karnataka.
Lapse Rate: is the rate of change in temperature with increase of altitude.
Laterite soils: Laterite soils are formed by the weathering of laterite rocks. These can be distinguished
from other soils by their acidity. Laterite soils are generally poor on the higher levels and cannot retain
moisture. In the plains, however, they consist of heavy loams and clay and can retain moisture. Laterite
soils occur in Madhya Pradesh, Assam and along the eastern and western Ghats. Tea plantation require
acidity which is there in the laterite soil. It is, therefore, common in these areas.
Loams (loamy soil): Amixture of sand, clay and silt is known as loamy soil. Loams are formed where
the soils have equal proportion of sand, silt and clay.
Local winds and their areas: Khamsin—Egypt; Zonda—Argentina; Santa Ana—California; Simoon
—Iran.
Lushais (Tribes): are tribes of Mizoram.
Mansarover Lake: is in Tibet. Near it, the rivers having their source are the Brahamputra, the Sutlej
and the Indus.
Maoris (Tribes): are the original inhabitants of New Zealand.
Masai (Tribes): of the East African plateau are the example of pastoral peoples. They are a tall, strong,
warlike race, partly negroid in type. They treat their cattle with great respect and affection and do not
kill them for food or for sale as meat.
Monsoon in India: is related to differential heating and cooling of the huge landmass of Asia and the
Indian Ocean and the origin of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal. The term Monsoon was introduced by
the Arabs.
Munda (Tribes): are mostly located in Madhya Pradesh.
Negritos (Tribes): are the ancient tribes of Andamans.
Nutrification: is the process of conversion by action of bacteria, of nitrates in the soil.
Onges: are tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Oraon (Tribes): are aboriginal people of the Chhota Nagpur region in the State of Bihar. They call
themselves Kurukh and speak a Dravidian language.
Pangong Tso: is one of the world’s highest and brackish lakes in Jammu & Kashmir.
Pressure zones on earth: are created due to differential heating of the earth’s surface by the sun.
Proxima Centauri: is a star nearest to the earth.
Rare earths (Or Lignite and Monazite) : are found on the beaches of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Monazite is an ore of thorium.
Roaring Forties: are westerly winds.
Saddle peak: is the highest peak of Andaman and Nicobar islands, located in Great Nicobar.
Savannas: are found between latitudes 5° and 20° North and South of Equator. These are tropical
grasslands bordering the equatorial forests in each hemisphere. The Llanos and Pampas of South
America are chief examples of Savannas but extensive Savannas are in Africa. Savanna grasslands are
also found in Australia. The three-tier growth of vegetation is found in these regions. The natural
vegetation of Savannas consists of tall grass.
Selvas: The rain forest of Amazon basin is called Selvas. These are rainy tropical forests..
Semangs (Tribes): are tribal people living in Malaysia.
Spring Tides: are caused when the sun and the moon are in a straight line. The tide on its maximum
height is known as Spring Tide.
Taiga Belt: lies between the Tibet-type climate and the Tundras.
Telegu Ganga Project: in Tamil Nadu envisages optimal use of surplus water of the Krishna river. It is
a joint venture of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Time Zone: A zone on the terrestrial globe that is 15° longitude wide and extends from pole to pole
and within which a uniform clock time is used. Time zones are the functional basis of standard time.
The world is divided into 24 time zones.
Tsunamis: are huge sea waves caused by earthquakes.
Willy Willy: is a tropical cyclone of the north-west Australia.

Physical Geography

Cosmology: Science dealing with the nature and origin of the universe.
Big Bang Theory: Canon Lemaitre
Steady State Theory: Hermann Bond and Thomas Gold.
Pulsating universe theory: Allan Sandage.
One Parsec = 3.26 light years.
Hydra is the largest constellation.
When brightness of a star increases 20 magnitudes or more, it is called a supernova.
Sun accounts for 99.85% of the mass of the solar system.
Suns Revolutionary period= 250 m years
Rotation time = 25 days
Planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
Venus and Uranus rotate anti- clockwise at their axis, whereas all other planets rotate clockwise.
Largest Terrestrial Planet:- Earth
Smallest Jovian Planet:- Neptune
Mercury and Venus have no satellites.
Jupiter has the largest rotational velocity.
Genemede of Jupiter :- Largest Satellite
Titan is the only satellite in the solar system with an atmosphere of its own.
Saturn has the least density among all the planets.
Uranus is also known as Green planet.
Greatest satellite of Neptune : Triton

Movement of the Earth.

1) Rotation: West to east in 24 hours (produces day and night) – Line separating light and dark
halves is known as the circle of illumination.
2) Revolution: Movement around the sun 365 ¼ days (produces seasons) – Jan 2 : Closest to the
sun- called Perihelion. July 4 : Farthest from the sun- called Apehelion.
3) Eccentricity: (Produces Ice-age and Global Warming) Shape of the earth’s orbit changes in a
cyclic period running between 90,000- 1,00,000 years.
4) Precession: This is the conical motion of the axis of the spinning earth, like a spinning top.
Takes about 26,000 years to complete one cycle.
Presently – pointing at Pole star.
AD 4000- pointing at Alpha cephai
A D 14,000 – pointing at Star vega
Summer Solistice: 21st June: Sun overhead at tropic of cancer.
Winter Solistice: 22nd Dec : Sun overhead at the tropic of Capricorn.
Vernal Equinox: 21st March.
Autumn Equiox: 23rd Sep
Our moon is 1/4th of the size of Earth.
Blue Moon is said to occur when the second full moon appears within the same month.
Highest Mountain on Moon: Liebnitz: 10,660m
Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin: Set foot on the ocean of Tranquility
In a calendar year, a maximum of seven eclipses can occur( combining solar and lunar eclipses)
Remember 1 degree latitude or longitude represents 111 Km ( along equtor)
Longitude and Time
Rem: E-G-A [ East- gain- add]
W-L-S[ West- lose- subtract]
Earth moves 1 degree in 4 minutes.

Standard meridians differ from Greenwich Meridian by the multiples of 15degree or 7.5degree.
USA and Canada have 5 time zones.
India has one time zone.
-82.5 degree east from the Standard time
- 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT
The International Date Line:
- 180 degree Meridian is the international date line.
- A traveler crossing this date line from east to west will lose a day.
- A traveler going from west to east will gain a day
Latitudes
1. Earth Moves 1 deg in 4 minutes.
2. Standard meridians differ from Greenwich Meridian by the multiples of 15 deg or 7.5 deg.
3. USA and Canada have 5 time zones
4. India has one time zone
a. 82.5 deg E from the standard time
b. 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT

The International Date Line

1. 180 deg meridian is the international date line
2. A traveller crossing this date line from east to west will lose a day.
3. A traveller going from west to east will gain a day.

Construction of Earth's Interior

1. Relative Density= 5.5
2. Seismic Waves
a. p-waves or primary waves: Also called longitudinal or compressional waves- like sound waves-
fastest
b. Secondary waves or S-waves: Also called transverse or distortional waves- like water ripples-
cannot pass through liquid material.
c. Surface Waves or L waves: Long wave length waves- cause most destruction.

Earth's Surface

1. The Crust: It has two layers: Sial and Sima. These two layers extend to a distance of 30-40 km
from the earth's surface. The join of Crust and Mantle is called Mohorovic Discontinuity.
2. The Mantle: It extends from 35-2900 km. The join of Mantle and Core is called the Gutenberg
Discontinuity.
3. The Core: It extends from 2900-5150. It is also called NiFe because of the presence of Nikel
and Iron.

Mechanical Division of Mantle

1. Lithosphere: It constitutes 80-100 km of upper most mantle. It is rigid and cool
2. Asthenosphere: It is also a part of the upper mantle. It is hot, soft and pliable.

Remember: All the meridians and only the equator form great circles.

Composition of Earth
1. Crust Composition: Oxygen: 46.8%, Silicon: 27.7%
2. Total Earth Composition: Iron: 35%, Oxygen: 30%, Silicon: 15%

Continental Drift Theory

1. According to Alfred Wegner about 250m years ago, all continents were united on a super
continent called as Pangaea, which was surrounded by a large ocean called Panthalsa.

2. Continents Drifted in Two Directions:

a. Towards Equator: Due to Gravitational attraction of equatorial bulge ( caused the formation
of Himalayas, Alps, and Atlas)
b. Towards West: Owing to tidal forces of moon and sun ( Caused the formation of Rockies and
Andes)

Rocks, Earthquakes and Volcanism

1. About 90% of rock forming minerals are silicates.

2. Felspar is the most abundant rock forming silicate material.
3. About 75% of the surface area of the globe is covered by the sedimentary rocks while rest 25%
area is occupied by the igneous and metamorphic rocks.
4. Shale is the most abundant sedimentary rock.
5. Marble is a metamorphic rock from limestone, Diamond from Carbon etc.
6. Richter Scale is used to assess the magnitude of an earthquake. It is logarithmic, it means each
whole no on the scale represents a ten fold increase in the measured wave amplitude. It is a
quantitative scale.
7. Intensity of earthquake is measured by Mercalli Scale. It is a qualitative scale.

Earth's Movements
1. Faults: Here the rock beds are dislocated and displaced resulting in the formation of faults.
2. Rift Valley: Is a linear depression on earth eg. Narmada and Tapti. Dead sea, the most saline
lake after lake Van are situated in a rift valley.
3. 66% of the earthquakes of the world are recorded in Circum-Pacific Zone.
4. With the increasing depth, the temperature rises gradually at 1 deg C per 32 m.
5. Molten rock material below Earth's surface is called Magma, above Earth's surface is called
Lava.