Ch 1 India - Size and Location Class 9th Geography

Topics in the chapter:

• India's Location
• Its Size
• India and the World
• Its neighbours

Introduction: India is one of the oldest civilisations and have a remarkable

history. After Independence from British rule, it achieved multi-faceted
socioeconomic progress. Also made a remarkable progress in the field of
agriculture, industry, technology and overall economic development.

India's Location
• Lies entirely in Northern hemisphere between latitudes 8°4' N and 37°6' N
and longitudes 68°7' E and 97°25' E.

• Divided by Tropic of cancer (23°30' N) in almost two equal parts.

• In Southeast, Andaman and Nicobar islands lie in Bay of Bengal.

• In Southwest, Lakshadweep islands lie in Arabian Sea.

Its Size
• Total Area of India is 3.28 million square km which is 2.4 percent of the total
area of the world.

• It is seventh largest country in the world in terms of landmass.

• It has land boundary of about 15,200 km and the total length of the coast
line of the mainland including Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep
islands is 7,516.6 km.

• In the northwest, north and north east of India, young folds mountains
bounds it.
• South of about 22° north latitude, India narrows and finally extends towards
the Indian Ocean. It also divides it into two seas, the Arabian Sea on the
west and the Bay of Bengal on its east.
• The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the mainland is about 30°.

• India’s east-west extent appears to be smaller than the north-south extent.

• The time along the Standard Meridian (82°30' E) passing through Mirzapur
in UP is taken as the Indian Standard Time for whole country.

• The time gap between Arunachal Pradesh present in the east and Gujarat
present in the west is about 2 hours. The latitudinal extent influences the
duration of day and night, as one moves from south to north.

India and the World

• India is located in the centre of the World between East and the West Asia.
• The routes across the Indian ocean which connect the countries of Europe in
the West and the countries of East Asia provide a strategic central location
to India.

• The Deccan Peninsula* helps India to establish close contact with West
Asia, Africa and Europe from the western coast and with Southeast and
East Asia from the eastern coast.
• The Ocean which is south of India given name Indian Ocean as no other
country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has.

• The land routes of India are much older than sea route. Various passes
across mountains in the north have provided passages to the ancient
travellers as ocean limited such interaction for a long time.
• The land routes helped India in the exchange of ideas and commodities
since ancient times.

• India have propagated the ideas of the Upanishads and the Ramayana, the
stories of Panchtantra, the Indian numerals and the decimal system as well
as given spices, muslin and other merchandise to different countries.

• Also, the influence of Greek sculpture, and the architectural styles of dome
and minarets from West Asia can be seen in different parts of India.

Its neighbours
• India is comprised of 29 states and 7 union territories and shares its land
boundary with: → Northwest: Pakistan and Afghanistan

→ North: China, Nepal, Bhutan

→ East: Myanmar and Bangladesh

→ South: Sri Lanka and Maldives

• Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the
Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar

• Maldives Islands are situated to the south of the Lakshadweep Islands.

* A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but

connected to mainland on one side.

Ch 2 Physical Features of India Class 9th Geography

Topics in the Chapter

• Introduction
• Major Physiographic divisions
→ The Himalayan Mountains

→ The Northern Plains

→ The Peninsular Plateau

→ The Indian Desert

→ The Coastal Plains

→ The Islands

• How these diverse physical features useful for India:

Introduction
• India is a vast country with varied landforms which has all major physical
features of the earth i.e. mountains, plains, deserts, plateaus and islands.

How these physical features formed?

• There are some theories behind the formation of physical features. One
such theory is the “Theory of Plate Tectonics”.

What is “Theory of Plate Tectonics”?

• This theory explained that upper part of earth called crust divided into
seven major and some minor plates called tectonics plates.
• The movement of these plates builds up stresses within the plates and also
the continental rocks above which results in folding, faulting and volcanic
activity.

• The movements can be classified into three types broadly:

→ Convergent Boundary: When some plates come towards each other, form
convergent boundary. It may lead to either collide and crumble, or one may
slide under the other.

→ Divergent Boundary: When some plates move away from each other, it
form divergent boundary.

→ Transform Boundary: When some plates move horizontally past each other
and form transform boundary.

• The movements of the plates alongwith the processes such as weathering,

erosion and deposition have changed the position and size of the
continents over millions of years and also responsible for the evolution of
the present landform features of India.

• The oldest landmass i.e., Peninsula part of India was a part of the
Gondwana land.

What is Gondwana land?

There was a time when India, Australia, South Africa, South America and
Antarctica were one single land mass known as Gondwana land. It was the
southern part of super continent Pangea. Northern part was known as
Angara land.

The below-detailed picture of Gondwana land will make you more clear:

Formation of Himalayas
• The earth crust was divided into a number of pieces by convectional
currents.

→ The Indo-Australian Plate separated from the Gondwana land and drifted
towards north which 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 the Tethys were folded which resulted in the formation
of mountain system of western Asia and Himalaya.

Formation of Northern Plain

• The uplift of Himalaya from Tethys sea and settling of the northern
flank of the peninsular plateau created a large basin.

→ In due time, gradually the basin got filled with deposition of sediments by
the rivers flowing from the mountains in the north and the peninsular
plateau in the south which created a flat land of extensive alluvial deposits
known as northern plains of India.

• Geologically, the Peninsular Plateau are most stable land blocks as it

was one of the ancient landmasses on the earth’s surface.

→ The Himalayas and the Northern Plains are the most recent landforms.

→ The Himalayan mountain form an unstable zone as it has very youthful

topography with high peaks, deep valleys and fast flowing rivers.

Major Physiographic divisions of India

The Himalayan Mountains

• It is geologically young and structurally folded mountains which run along

the northern borders of India.

→ The ranges run from west (from Indus) to east direction (to the
Brahmaputra) covering a distance of about 2,400 Km representing loftiest
peaks in the world.
• Width varies from 400 Km in Kashmir to 150 Km in Arunachal
Pradesh. Altitude (Height) variations is greater in the eastern half than those
in the western half.

• Longitudinal divisions of Himalayas:

→ The Great or inner Himalayas or the 'Himadri'

→ The lesser Himalaya or 'Himachal'

→ The Shiwaliks

• The Great or inner Himalayas or the 'Himadri':

→ It is the northernmost range and most continuous range consisting of the
loftiest peaks with an average height of 6,000 metres.

→ It contains all the famous peaks. The folds are asymmetrical in nature.

→ The basic part of this Himalayas is composed of granite.

→ It is perennially snow bound, and a number of glaciers descend from this

range.

• The lesser Himalaya or 'Himachal':

→ It lies south of the Himadri forms the most rugged mountain system.

→ It is mainly composed of highly compressed and altered rocks.

→ The height varies between 3,700 and 4,500 metres and the average width
is of 50 Km.

→ Longest and most important ranges are PirPanjal range and Dhaula Dhar
and the Mahabharat ranges.

→ Famous valley of this range are the Kashmir, the Kangra and Kullu Valley in
Himachal Pradesh. → Also, this range is famous for hill stations.
• The Shiwaliks:
→ This is the outermost range of the Himalayas.

→ They extend over a width of 10-50 Km and have a height varying between
900 and 1100 metres.

→ It is composed of unconsolidated sediments brought down by rivers from

the main Himalayan ranges.

→ These valleys are covered with thick gravel and alluvium.

The longitudinal valley lying between lesser Himalaya and the Shiwaliks are
known as Duns.

→ Dehra Dun, Kotli Dun and Patli Dun are some of the well-known Duns.

• Himalayas divisions on the basis of regions from east to west (divisions

have been made by the river valleys):

→ Punjab Himalayas: The part of Himalayas lying between Indus and Satluj.
From west to east respectively, regionally known as Kashmir and Himachal
Himalaya.

→ Kumaon Himalayas: The part of the Himalayas lying between Satluj and
Kali rivers.

→ Nepal Himalayas: The part lying between Kali and Tista rivers.

→ Assam Himalayas: The part lying between Tista and Dihang rivers.

• The Purvachal or Eastern hills and mountains:

→ The mountain ranges of Eastern India. It is marked by the Brahmaputra.
→ The Himalayas bend sharply to the south and spread along the eastern
boundary of India after the Dihang gorge.

→ These hills running through the north-eastern states i.e., Arunachal

Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and eastern Assam states and
are mostly composed of strong sandstones which are sedimentary rocks.

→ Hills are covered with dense forests. It comprises the Patkai hills, the Naga
hills, Manipur hills and the Mizo hills.

The Northern Plains

• The northern plain has been formed by the interplay of three major river
systems namely- the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with its
tributaries.

• It is formed of Alluvial soil. The vast basin lying at the foothills of the
Himalaya is deposited with alluvium (fine particles of silt and clay and
larger particles of sand and gravel) over a million of years and formed this
plain.

• Area of Northern plain: 7 lakh sq. km. Length of Northern plain: 2400 km.
Breadth of Northern plain: 240 to 320 km.

• It is densely populated region. It is agriculturally very productive region of

India due to rich soil cover combined with adequate water supply and
favourable climate.

• The rivers coming from northern mountains brought a huge amount of

eroded soil which help in the depositional work.
→ In the lower course, due to gentle slope, the velocity of the river decreases
which results in the formation of riverine islands (An Island formed by the
river).

• Also, in lower course rivers split into numerous channels due to the
deposition of silt known as distributaries.

• The Northern Plain is broadly divided into three parts:

→ The Punjab Plains - The Western part of the Northern Plain, formed by the

Indus and its tributaries, the larger part of this plain lies in Pakistan

→ The Ganga Plains: It extends between Ghaggar and Tista rivers. spread
over the states of north India, Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar, party Jharkhand
and West Bengal.

→ The Brahmaputra Plains: Lies in the east of Ganga plain, particularly in

Assam.

• Northern Plain is not flat land. The vast plains also have diverse relief
features.

• Northern plains can be divided into four regions (according to the variations
in relief features)

→ Bhabar: laying at the foot of Shivalik, a narrow 8 to 16 km wide belt of

pebbles.

→ Terai: lying next to Bhabar, a wet and marshy area with wildlife and
forests.
→ Bhangar: Older alluvium plain which rises above the level of the flood
plains.

→ Khadar: Younger alluvium of the flood plains.

Peninsular Plateau

• The Peninsular plateau is a tableland composed of the old crystalline,

igneous and metamorphic rocks.

• It was formed due to the breaking and drifting of the Gondwana land.

• The plateau consists of two broad divisions:

→ The Central Highlands

→ The Deccan Plateau

• The Central Highlands: It lies to the north of the Narmada river covering a
major area of the Malwa plateau.
→ The Vindhyan range is bounded by the Central Highlands on the south and
the Aravalis on the northwest.

→ The further westward extension gradually merges with the sandy and
rocky desert of Rajasthan.

→ Rivers in this area: the Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa and Ken.

→ 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.
• The Deccan Plateau: It is a triangular landmass that lies to the south of the
river Narmada.

→ The Satpura range bound its broad base in the north while the Mahadev,
the Kaimur hills and the

Maikal range form its eastern extensions.

→ It is higher in the west and slopes gently eastwards.

• An extension of Deccan Plateau is also visible in the northeast– locally

known as the Meghalaya, Karbi-Anglong Plateau and North Cachar Hills.

→ It is separated by a fault from the Chotanagpur Plateau.

→ Three Prominent hill ranges from the west to east are the Garo, the Khasi
and the Jaintia
Hills.

• A distinct feature of the peninsular plateau is the black soil area known as
Deccan Trap.

• The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats mark the western and the
eastern edges of the Deccan Plateau respectively.

Western Ghats Eastern Ghats

 Mark the eastern edge of the
Mark the western edge of the Deccan Plateau
Deccan Plateau

They are discontinuous, irregular

and dissected by rivers draining
into the Bay of Bengal.
They are continuous and can be
crossed through the passes only.

Higher; average height is Lower than western ghats; average

900−1600 meters height is 600 meters

This range is a source of many

large rivers such as Godavri,
Krishna and Kaveri. No big river originates from this
range.

It experiences orographic rain Receivers rainfall motly in winter

mostly in summer due to the season through the North-eastern
summer monsoons. monsoon.

The height of the Western Ghats

progressively increases from north
to south. Highest peaks include the Mahendragiri (1501 mt.) is the
Anai Mudi (2695 mt.) and the Doda highest peak in the Eastern Ghats .
Betta (2637 mt.) Shevaroy Hills and the Javadi Hills
are located to the southeast of the
Eastern Ghats.

The Indian Desert

• The Indian desert lies towards the western margins of the Aravali Hills.
• It is a land of undulating topography covered with sand dunes.

→ This region receives very low rainfall below 150 mm per year.

→ It has arid climate with low vegetation cover.

• Luni is the only large river in this region.

• Barchans (crescent shaped dunes) cover larger areas but longitudinal

dunes become more prominent near the Indo-Pakistan boundary.

The Coastal Plains

• The narrow coastal strips flank the Peninsular Plateau, running along the
Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east.

• It consists of three sections:

→ Northern part of the coast is called the Konkan
(Mumbai – Goa) → Central stretch is called the Kannad
Plain →
Southern stretch is called the Malabar coast.

• The plains along the Bay of Bengal (east part) are wide and level.
→ The northern part is known as the Northern Circar, while the southern part
is known as the Coromandel Coast.
→ Large rivers such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the
Kaveri have formed extensive delta on eastern coast.

→ Lake Chilika is an important feature along the eastern coast.

The Islands
• The Lakshadweep Islands group in the Arabian Sea is close to Kerala.
→ This group of islands is composed of small coral islands.
→ The Lakshadweep Islands were earlier known as Laccadive, Minicoy and
Amindive.

→ It covers small area of 32 sq km.

→ Kavaratti island is the administrative headquarters of Lakshadweep.

→ The Pitti island, which is uninhabited, has a bird sanctuary.

• The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are an elongated chain of islands

located in the Bay of Bengal.
→ They are bigger in size and are more numerous and scattered. →
The entire group of islands is divided into two broad categories – The
Andaman in the north and the Nicobar in the south.
→ These islands are an elevated portion of submarine mountains.

How these diverse physical features useful for India:

→ The mountains are the major sources of water and forest wealth.

→ The northern plains are the granaries of the country.

→ The plateau is a storehouse of minerals, which has played a crucial role in

the industrialisation of the country.

→ The coastal region and island groups provide sites for fishing and port
activities.

Ch 3 Drainage Class 9th Geography

Topics in the Chapter

• Drainage

• Drainage systems in India

• Drainage Patterns
• The Himalayan Rivers
→ The Indus River System

→ The Ganga River System

→ The Brahmaputra River System

• The Peninsular Rivers → The Narmada Basin

→ The Tapi Basin

→ The Godavari Basin

→ The Mahanadi Basin

→ The Krishna Basin

→ The Kaveri Basin

• Lakes
• Role of Rivers in the Economy
• River Pollution

Drainage
• Drainage describes the river system of an area.

• The area drained by a single river system is called a drainage basin.

• Any upland or a mountain separating two adjoining drainage basins is

known as water divide.

Drainage Systems in India

• The Indian rivers are divided into two major
groups: → the Himalayan rivers

→ the Peninsular rivers

• Features of Himalayan rivers
→ These are perennial (flow all years).

→ These rivers receive water from rain as well as from melted snow from the
lofty mountains.

→ The Himalayan rivers have long courses from their source to the sea.
→ The Himalayan rivers form meanders, oxbow lakes, and many other
depositional features in their floodplains.

• Features of Peninsular rivers: → They are

seasonal. → Their flow is dependent on
rainfall.

→ The Peninsular rivers have shorter and shallower courses as compared to

their Himalayan rivers.

→ Most of the rivers of peninsular India originate in the Western Ghats and
flow towards the Bay of Bengal.

Drainage Patterns
• The streams within a drainage basin form certain patterns, depending on
the slope of land, underlying rock structure as well as the climatic
conditions of the area.

• Types of Drainage Patterns:

→ Dendritic drainage

→ Trellis drainage

→ Rectangular drainage

→ Radial drainage
The Himalayan Rivers
• The Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra are major Himalayan rivers.

• A river alongwith its tributaries may be called a river system.

The Indus River System

• Source: The river Indus rises in Tibet, near Lake Mansarowar.

• It enters India in the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir flowing west.

• Tributaries of Indus:
→ The Zaskar, the Nubra, the Shyok and the Hunza join it in the Kashmir
region. → The Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum join
together to enter the Indus near Mithankot in Pakistan.

• The Indus plain has a very gentle slope.

• Total length: 2900 km

• A third of the Indus basin is located in India in the states of Jammu and
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the Punjab and the rest is in Pakistan.

The Ganga River System

• Source: The headwaters of the Ganga, called the ‘Bhagirathi’ is fed by the
Gangotri Glacier.

• Tributaries of Ganga:
→ Alaknanda joined at Devaprayag in Uttarakhand.

→ The Yamuna rises from the Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas joins at
Allahabad..

→ the Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi rise in the Nepal Himalaya.
→ the Chambal, the Betwa and the Son rise from semi-arid areas.

• The river bifurcates Farakka in West Bengal.

→ The Bhagirathi-Hooghly(a distributary) flows southwards through the
deltaic plains to the Bay of Bengal.

→ The mainstream, flows southwards into Bangladesh and is joined by the

Brahmaputra.

• Total length: 2500 km

Sunderban Delta: The delta formed by the rivers the Ganga and the
Brahmaputra is known as the Sunderban delta.

The Brahmaputra River System

• Source: The Brahmaputra rises in Tibet east of Mansarowar lake very close
to the sources of the Indus and the Satluj.

• Tributaries of Brahmaputra: → Dibang, the Lohit

• Flows eastwards parallel to the Himalayas. it takes a ‘U’ turn on reaching

the Namcha Barwa and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh through a gorge.
→ Here, it is called the Dihang and it is joined by the Dibang, the Lohit and
many other tributaries.

• In Tibet, the river carries a smaller volume of water and less silt as it is a
cold and a dry area.
→ In India, it passes through a region of high rainfall. and the river carries a
large volume of water and considerable amount of silt
• It forms many riverine islands.

• Every year during the rainy season, the river overflows its banks, causing
widespread devastation due to floods in Assam and Bangladesh.

Majuli is the world’s largest riverine island formed by the Brahmaputra.

The Peninsular Rivers

• The main water divide in Peninsular India is formed by the Western Ghats.

• Major rivers of the Peninsula such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the
Krishna and the Kaveri flow eastwards and drain into the Bay of Bengal.

• The Narmada and the Tapi are the only long rivers, which flow west and
make esturies.

The Narmada Basin

• Source: It rises in the Amarkantak hills in Madhya Pradesh.

• It flows towards the west in a rift valley formed due to faulting.

• All the tributaries of the Narmada are very short and most of these join the
main stream at right angles.

• The Narmada basin covers parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

The Tapi Basin
• Source: It rises in the Satpura ranges, in the Betul district of Madhya
Pradesh.

• It also flows in a rift valley parallel to the Narmada but it is much shorter in
length.

• Its basin covers parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Other West flowing rivers: Sabarmati, Mahi, Bharathpuzha and Periyar.

The Godavari Basin

• Source: It rises from the slopes of the Western Ghats in the Nasik district of
Maharashtra.

• It is the largest Peninsular river.

• Tributaries of Godavari:
→ the Purna, the Wardha, the Pranhita, the Manjra, the Wainganga and the
Pengang.

• The basin covers parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and

Andhra Pradesh.

• It drains into the Bay of Bengal.

• Total length: 1500 km

• Because of its length and the area it covers, it is also known as the
‘Dakshin Ganga’.

The Mahanadi Basin

• Source: The Mahanadi rises in the highlands of Chhattisgarh.

• It flows through Odisha to reach the Bay of Bengal.

• Its drainage basin is shared by Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and

Odisha.

• Total length: 860 km

The Krishna Basin

• It rises from spring near Mahabaleshwar.

• Tributaries of Krishna:
→ The Tungabhadra, the Koyana, the Ghatprabha, the Musi and the Bhima.

• Total length: 1400 km

• Its drainage basin is shared by Maharasthra, Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh.

The Kaveri Basin

• Source: It rises in the Brahmagri range of the Western Ghats.
• Tributaries of Kaveri:
→ Amravati, Bhavani, Hemavati and Kabini

• Total length: 760 km

• It reaches the Bay of Bengal in south of Cuddalore, in Tamil Nadu.

Other east flowing rivers: The Damoder, the Brahmani, the Baitarni and the
Subarnrekha.

Lakes
• India has many lakes which differ from each other in the size and other
characteristics.

• Most lakes are permanent while some contain water only during the rainy
season.

• Some of the lakes are the result of the action of glaciers and ice sheets,
while the others have been formed by wind, river action, and human
activities.

• A meandering river across a flood plain forms cut-offs that later develop
into ox-bow lakes.

• Most of the fresh water lakes are in the Himalayan region.

→ They formed when glaciers dug out a basin, which was later filled with
snowmelt.

• The Wular lake in Jammu and Kashmir is the result of the tectonic activity
which is the largest freshwater lake in India.
• Artificial lakes: The damming of the rivers for the generation of hydro
power has also led to the formation of Lakes such as Guru Gobind Sagar.

• Importance of Lakes:
→ helps to regulate the flow of a river. During heavy rainfall, it prevents
flooding and during the dry season, it helps to maintain an even flow of
water.

→ Also used for developing hydro power.

→ They moderate the climate of the surroundings

→ maintaining the aquatic ecosystem

→ Enhance natural beauty

→ Helps in developing tourism and providing recreation.

Role of Rivers in the Economy

• From ancient times. rivers banks attracted settlers as water from the rivers
is a basic natural resource essential for various human activities.

• Rivers are used for irrigation, navigation and hydro-power generation.

River Pollution
• The demand for water from river is increasing to meet growing domestic,
municipal, industrial and agricultural need which naturally affects the
quality of water.
• More and more water is being drained out of the rivers reducing their
volume.
• Also, a heavy load of untreated sewage and industrial effluents are emptied
into the rivers which affects not only the quality of water but also the self-
cleansing capacity of the river.

• Concern over rising pollution in our rivers led to the launching of various
action plans to clean the rivers.

Ch 4 Climate Class 9th Geography

• Climate refers to the sum total of weather conditions and variations over a
large area for a long period of time (more than thirty years).

• Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere over an area at any point of
time.

• Elements of Weather and Climate: → Temperature

→ Atmospheric pressure

→ Wind

→ Humidity

→ Precipitation

Climatic Controls
• There are six major controls of the climate of any place. They are:

→ Latitude

→ Altitude

→ Pressure and wind system

→ Distance from the sea (continentality)

→ Ocean currents
→ Relief features

Factors affecting India's Climate

→ Latitude

→ Altitude

→ Pressure and Winds

Latitude
• The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of the country. Half of the
country lying south of the Tropic of Cancer, belongs to the tropical area.

Altitude
• The Himalayas prevent the cold winds from Central Asia from entering the
subcontinent. making winter milder as compared to central Asia.

Pressure and Winds

• Atmospheric conditions that govern climate and associated weather
conditions in India are:

→ Pressure and surface winds

→ Upper air circulation

→ Western cyclonic disturbances and tropical cyclones.

Upper Air Circulation
• The higher level of the atmosphere is dominated by a westerly flow. An
important component of this flow is the jet stream.

• Jet Streams are a narrow belt of high altitude westerly winds in the
troposphere (transition between troposphere and stratosphere.

Western cyclonic disturbances and tropical

cyclones

• The western disturbances, which enter the Indian subcontinent from the
west and the northwest during the winter months, originate over the
Mediterranean Sea and are brought into India by the westerly jet stream.

• Tropical cyclones originate over the Bay of Bengal and the Indian ocean.

• Tropical cyclones occur during the monsoon as well as in October-

November, and are part of the easterly flow.

The Indian Monsoon

• Monsoon are seasonal winds which reverse their direction of flow with the
change of season.

• The climate of India is strongly influenced by monsoon winds.

Factors that affect the mechanism of Indian
Monsoon
• Differential heating and cooling of land and water create low pressure on
land while the sea experiences high pressure.

• Shifting of Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) over the Ganga plain
during summers.

• The intensity and position of high-pressure area towards the east of

Madagascar approximately at 20°S over the Indian Ocean affects the Indian
Monsoon. affects the Indian Monsoon.

• The heating up of the Tibetan plateau in summers creates low pressure

above the plateau.

• The movement of the westerly jet stream to the north of the Himalayas and
the presence of the tropical easterly jet stream over the Indian peninsula
during summer.

• Southern Oscillation.

The Onset of the Monsoon and Withdrawal

• The duration of the monsoon is between 100-120 days from early June to
midSeptember.

• When the monsoon arrives the normal rainfall increases suddenly and
continues constantly for several days. This is known as the ‘burst’ of the
monsoon.
• It proceeds into two – the Arabian Sea branch and the Bay of Bengal
branch.

• The Arabian Sea branch reaches Mumbai about ten days later on
approximately the 10th of June.

• The Bay of Bengal branch also advances rapidly and arrives in Assam in the
first week of June.

• The withdrawal of the monsoon begins in northwestern states of India by

early September.

• By mid-October, it withdraws completely from the northern half of the

peninsula.

• By December, the monsoons retreat completely from the rest of India.

The Seasons

• Four main seasons can be identified in India

→ the cold weather season

→ the hot weather season

→ the advancing monsoon

→ the retreating monsoon

The Cold Weather Season (Winter)

• The season begins from mid-November and stays till February in northern
India.

• Coldest months are December and January in the northern part of India.

The Hot Weather Season (Summer)

• The hot weather season in India ranges from March to May.

• Temperatures upto 48 degree Celsius are experienced in North India.

• In peninsular India, temperatures remain lower due to the moderating

influence of the oceans.

Advancing Monsoon (The Rainy Season)

• By early June, the trade winds of the southern hemisphere get attracted
to the northen hemisphere due to the creation of low-pressure condition
there. • Rainfall in the Ganga valley decreases from the east to the west.

• Rajasthan and parts of Gujarat get scanty rainfall.

Retreating/Post Monsoons (The Transition

Season)
• During October-November, the movement of the sun towards South
causes the monsoon trough in the Northern Plains to become weaker.
• By early November, the low-pressure conditions, over north-western
India, get transferred to the Bay of Bengal which cause cycloninc
depressions.

Monsoon as a Unifying Bond

• There is great diversity in the climatic conditions due to location,

extent and relief features.

• These monsoon winds bind the whole country by providing water to set
the agricultural activities in motion.

Ch 5 Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Class 9th Geography

Topics in the Chapter

• Introduction
• Three factors for biodiversity → Relief
→ Climate

→ Ecosystem

• Importance of Forests
• Types of vegetation
→ Tropical Evergreen Forests

→ Tropical Deciduous Forests

→ Tropical Thorn Forests and Scrubs

→ Montane Forests

→ Mangrove Forests

• Wildlife
• Conservation of flora and fauna → Governmental steps
Introduction

• India is one of the twelve mega bio-diversity countries of the world. India
occupies 10th place in the world with about 47,000 plant species and 4th in
Asia in plant diversity.

• 15,000 flowering plants in India constitutes 6 percent in the world’s total

number of flowering plants. India also has approximately 90,000 species of
animals as well as a rich variety of fish in its fresh and marine waters.

• A plant community which has grown naturally without human aid is called
Natural vegetation.

• Natural vegetation that has been left undisturbed by humans for a long
time is called virgin vegetation.

• Flora is used to denote plants of a particular region or period and fauna is

species of animals of a particular region or period. Flora and fauna kingdom
constitute biodiversity of a particular region or period.

• Relief, Climate and Ecosystem are three factors for biodiversity.

• Relief

→ Land: The nature of land influences the type of vegetation. Fertile lands
supports agriculture while undulating and rough terrains have grassland and
woodlands which give shelter to a variety of wild life.

→ Soil: Different types of soils provide basis for different types of vegetation.
The sandy soils of the desert support cactus and thorny bushes while wet,
marshy, deltaic soils support mangroves and deltaic vegetation. The hill
slopes with some depth of soil have conical trees.
• Climate

→ Temperature: The character and extent of vegetation are mainly

determined by temperature along with humidity in the air, precipitation and
soil.

Sunlight: Due to differences in latitude, altitude, season and duration of the

day there is variation in duration of sunlight.

→ Precipitation (Rains): Areas of heavy rainfall have more dense vegetation

as compared to other areas of less rainfall. In India, almost the entire rainfall
is brought in by the advancing southwest monsoon (June to September) and
retreating northeast monsoons.

Ecosystem

• All the plants and animals in an area are interdependent and interrelated to
each other in their physical environment, thus, forming an ecosystem.

• A very large ecosystem on land having distinct types of vegetation and

animal life is called a biome.

• Importance of Forests:
→ These are renewable resources and play a major role in enhancing the
quality of environment.

→ They modify local climate, control soil erosion, regulate stream flow,
support a variety of industries, provide livelihood for many communities and
offer panoramic or scenic view for recreation.
→ It controls wind force and temperature and causes rainfall. It provides
humus to the soil and shelter to the wildlife.
• Natural vegetation in India has undergone many changes due to several
factors such as the growing demand for cultivated land, development of
industries and mining, urbanisation and over-grazing of pastures.

Types of Vegetation

• Types of vegetation may be identified in our country are:

(i) Tropical Evergreen Forests

(ii) Tropical Deciduous Forests
(iii) Tropical Thorn Forests and Scrubs
(iv) Montane Forests
(v) Mangrove Forests

• Tropical Evergreen Forests:

→ These forests are restricted to heavy rainfall areas of the Western Ghats
and the island groups of Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, upper parts of
Assam and Tamil Nadu coast.

→ They grow in an area of 200 cm of rainfall with a short dry season.

→ The trees reach great heights up to 60 metres or even above.

→ These forests have rich vegetation of all kinds – trees, shrubs, and
creepers which give it a multilayered structure since the region is warm and
wet throughout the year.

→ The forests appear green all the year round because there is no definite
time for trees to shed their leaves.

→ Commercially important trees of this forest are ebony, mahogany,

rosewood, rubber and cinchona.

→ Common animals found in these forests are elephants, monkey, lemur and
deer. Plenty of birds, bats, sloth, scorpions and snails are also found.
• Tropical Deciduous Forests
→ Most widespread forest in India.
→ These are also called the monsoon forests and spread over the region
receiving rainfall between 200 cm and 70 cm.

→ Trees of this forest-type shed their leaves for about six to eight weeks in
dry summer.

→ These forests are further divided into two types: Moist and Dry deciduous.

→ Moist deciduous: Found in areas receiving rainfall between 200 and 100
cm. Present mostly in the

eastern part of the country – northeastern states, along the foothills of the
Himalayas,
Jharkhand, West Orissa and Chhattisgarh, and on the eastern slopes of the
Western Ghats.

Teak is the most dominant species of this forest. Commercially important

species are Bamboos, sal, shisham, sandalwood, khair, kusum, arjun,
mulberry.

→ Dry deciduous: Found in areas having rainfall between 100 cm and 70 cm.
Present in the rainier parts of the peninsular plateau and the plains of Bihar
and Uttar Pradesh. There are open stretches in which Teak, Sal, Peepal,
Neem grow. A large part of this region has been cleared for cultivation and
some parts are used for grazing. Common animals found are lion, tiger, pig,
deer and elephant also huge variety of birds, lizards, snakes, and tortoises
are found here.

• Tropical thorn forests and Scrubs

→ These are found in the region of with less than 70 cm of rainfall.

→ The natural vegetation consists of thorny trees and bushes. Acacias, palms,
euphorbias and cacti are the main plant species.
→ Trees are scattered and have long roots penetrating deep into the soil to
get moisture. The stems are succulent to conserve water. Leaves are mostly
thick and small to minimize evaporation.

→ Common animals are rats, mice, rabbits, fox, wolf, tiger, lion, wild ass,
horses and camels.

• Montane Forests
→ Montane forests have a succession of natural vegetation belts in the same
order as we see from the tropical to the Tundra region.

→ Between a height of 1000 and 2000 metres, wet temperate type of

forests containing evergreen broad-leaf trees such as oaks and chestnuts
are predominate.
→ Between

1500 and 3000 metres, temperate forests containing coniferous trees like
pine, deodar, silver fir, spruce and cedar, are found.

→ At higher elevations, temperate grasslands are common.

→ At high altitudes, generally more than 3,600 metres above sea-level, alpine
vegetation found which have silver fir, junipers, pines and birches trees
common. → Near snow line, shrubs and scrubs, they merge into the Alpine
grasslands which are used extensively for grazing by nomadic tribes like the
Gujjars and the Bakarwals.

→ At higher altitudes, mosses and lichens form part of tundra vegetation.

→ The common animals found in these forests are Kashmir stag, spotted
dear, wild sheep, jack rabbit, Tibetan antelope, yak, snow leopard, squirrels,
Shaggy horn wild ibex, bear and rare red panda, sheep and goats with thick
hair.
• Mangrove Forests
→ These forests are found in the areas of coasts influenced by tides where
mud and silt get accumulated.

→ Dense mangroves are the common varieties with roots of the plants
submerged under water. These are deltas of the Ganga, the Mahanadi, the
Krishna, the Godavari and the Kaveri

→ In the Ganga- Brahamaputra delta, sundari trees are found, which provide
durable hard timber.

→ Palm, coconut, keora, agar, also grow in some parts of the delta.

→ Royal Bengal Tiger is the famous animal also turtles, crocodiles, gharials
and snakes are found in these forests.

Wildlife
•
India has about 2,000 species of birds which constitute 13% of the world’s
total. There are 2,546 species of fish, which account for nearly 12% of the
world’s stock. It also shares between 5 and 8 percent of the world’s
amphibians, reptiles and mammals.

• Elephants are found in the hot wet forests of Assam, Karnataka and Kerala.

• One-horned rhinoceroses live in swampy and marshy lands of Assam and

West Bengal.

• Rann of Kachchh is habitat of wild ass and camels are found in Thar desert.

• Indian bison, nilgai (blue bull), chousingha (four horned antelope), gazel
and different species of deer are some other animals found in India.

• India is the only country in the world that has both tigers and lions. Gir
forest in Gujrat is the natural habitat of lion whereas Tigers are found in the
forests of Madhya Pradesh, the Sundarbans of West Bengal and the
Himalayan region.

• The Himalayas harbour a hardy range of animals, which survive in extreme

cold.

• Ladakh’s freezing high altitudes are a home to yak, the shaggy horned wild
ox weighing around one tonne, the Tibetan antelope, the bharal (blue
sheep), wild sheep, and the kiang (Tibetan wild ass). The ibex, bear, snow-
leopard and very rare red panda are found in certain parts.

• In the rivers, lakes and coastal areas, turtles, crocodiles and gharials are
found.
•
• Birds like Peacocks, pheasants, ducks, parakeets, cranes and pigeons are
some of the birds inhabiting the forests and wetlands of the country.

Conservation of Flora and Fauna

The excessive exploitation of the plants and animal resources by human

beings, disturbed the ecosystem. About 1,300 plant species are
endangered and 20 species are extinct also few animals are endangered
and some have become extinct.

• Causes of this threats are:

→ Hunting by greedy hunters for commercial purposes.

→ Pollution due to chemical and industrial waste and acid deposits

→ Introduction of alien species

→ Reckless cutting of the forests to bring land under cultivation and

inhabitation.

• Governmental steps to protect flora and fauna of country are:

→ Fourteen biosphere reserves have been set up in the country to protect

flora and fauna.

→ Financial and technical assistance is provided to many Botanical Gardens

by the government since 1992.

→ Project Tiger, Project Rhino, Project Great Indian Bustard and many other
eco- developmental projects have been introduced.

→ 89 National Parks, 490 Wildlife sanctuaries and Zoological gardens are set
up to take care of Natural heritage.

• The Sunderbans in the West Bengal, Nanda Devi in Uttarakhand, the Gulf
of Mannar in Tamil Nadu and the Nilgiris (Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu) have been included in the world network of Biosphese reserves.
•

List of fourteen bio-reserves in India are:

• Sunderbans (West Bengal)
• Simlipal (Odhisha)
• Gulf of Mannar (Tamil Nadu)
• Dihang-Dibang (Arunachal Pradesh)
• The Nilgiris in South India (in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and
Kerala)
• Dibru Saikhowa (Arunachal Pradesh)
• Nanda Devi (Uttarakhand)
Agasthyamalai (Kerala and Tamil Nadu)
• Nokrek (Meghalaya)
• Kanchenjunga (Sikkim)
• Great Nicobar (Bay of Bengal)
• Pachmari (Madhya Pradesh)
• Manas (Assam)
• Achanakmar-Amarkantak (Chhattisgarh)

Do you Know from the chapter

• The virgin vegetation, which are purely Indian are known as endemic or
indigenous species but those which have come from outside India are
termed as exotic plants.

• According to India State of Forest Report 2011, the forest cover in India is
21.05 per cent.

• Wildlife Protection Act was implemented in 1972 in India.

•
• The Gir Forest is the last remaining habitat of the Asiatic lion. Ch 6
Population Class 9th Geography

Topics in the Chapter

• Introduction
• Size and Distribution
→ India’s Population Distribution by Density

• Population Growth
→ Processes of Population Growth

• Age Composition
• Sex Ratio
• Literacy rates
• Occupational Structure
Health
• Adolescent Population
• NPP 2000
• Relation between NPP 2000 and Adolescent Population

Introduction

• People make and use resources. They are also considered as resources
having different quality.

• Population (total number of persons inhabiting a particular place like

city, state, country etc.) is the central element in social studies. It is the
point of reference from which all other elements are observed.

• Human beings are producers as well as consumers of the resources so

information about population of a country such as their size, distribution are
important.
•

• A census is an official enumeration of population done periodically. In

India the first census was held in the year 1872.

• The census of India provides us with information regarding the

population of our country. The data provided by the census cover below
three major questions about the population:
→ Population size and distribution

→ Population growth and processes of population change

→ Characteristics or qualities of the population

Size and distribution

• As per March 2011, India’s population stood at 1210.6 million, which

account for
17.5 percent of the world’s population.
• According to the data, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state of India
with a population size of 199 million, which account for 16 percent of
total India's population.

• Sikkim's population - 0.6 million (6 lakhs) while Lakshadweep has

64,429 thousand people.

• The five states Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and
Andhra Pradesh holds almost half of Indian population (49%).

India’s Population Distribution by Density

• Population density is calculated as the number of persons per unit area.

• The population density of India in the year 2011 was 382 persons per sq
km making it one of the most densely populated countries of the world.

• Densities vary from 1102 persons per sq km in Bihar to only 17 persons per
sq km in Arunachal Pradesh.

• The reason for scarce (thinly distributed) population in some states such as
Meghalaya, Orissa etc. are rugged terrain and unfavourable climatic
conditions.

• Hilly, dissected and rocky nature of the terrain, moderate to low rainfall,
shallow and less fertile soils have influenced population in Assam and most
of the Peninsular states.
• The Northern Plains and Kerala in the south have high to very high
population densities because of the flat plains with fertile soils and
abundant rainfall.

Population Growth

• Population Growth refers to the change in the number of inhabitants of a

country or territory during a specific period of time, say during the last ten
years.

• The change can be expressed in two ways → in terms of absolute numbers

→ in terms of percentage change per year

• The absolute number is calculated by simply subtracting the earlier

population (e.g. that of 1991) from the later population (e.g. that of 2011).
It is referred to as the absolute increase.

• The rate of population is studied in percent per annum, e.g. a rate of

increase of 2 percent per annum means that in a given year, there was an
increase of two persons for every 100 persons in the base population. This
is referred to as the annual growth rate.

• India’s population has been steadily increasing from 361 million in 1951 to
1210.6 million in 2011.

• Since 1981, however, the rate of growth started declining gradually as birth
rates declined rapidly. But India has a very large population so when a low
annual rate is applied to a very large population, it yields a large absolute
increase.
• At this growth rate, India may overtake China in 2045 to become the most
populous country in the world.

Processes of Population Change/Growth

• There are three main processes of change of population: birth rates, death
rates and migration.

• Birth rate is the number of live births per thousand persons in a year. In
India, birth rates have always been higher than death rates.

• Death rate is the number of deaths per thousand persons in a year. In

India, there is rapid decline in death rates which is the main cause of
growth of the Indian population.

• Till 1980, high birth rates and declining death rates resulted in higher rate
of population growth but since 1981, birth rates have also started declining
gradually, resulting in a gradual decline in the rate of population growth.

• Migration is the movement of people across regions and territories. This

can be internal (within the country) or international (between the
countries).

Internal migration does not change the size of the population, but changes
the distribution of population within the nation.

• In India, most migrations have been from rural to urban areas because of
adverse conditions of poverty and unemployment in the rural areas and
increased employment opportunities and better living conditions in city.

• Effects of Migrations:
→ It changes the population size.
→ It also changes the population composition of urban and rural populations
in terms of age and sex composition.

• In India, the rural-urban migration has resulted in a steady increase in the

percentage of population in cities and towns.

Age Composition

• The age composition of a population refers to the number of people in

different age groups in a country.

• The number and percentage of a population found within the children,

working age and aged groups are notable determinants of the population’s
social and economic structure.

• Population of country can be grouped into three categories:

→ Children (below 15 years): economically unproductive, need to be

provided with food, clothing, education and medical care. Comprises 34.4%
of total India's population.

→ Working Age (15-59 years): economically productive and biologically

reproductive. Considered as working population. Comprises 6.9% of total
India's population.

→ Aged (Above 59 years): can be economically productive though they may

have retired. May be working but they are not available for employment
through recruitment. Comprises 58.7% of total India's population.

Sex Ratio

• Sex ratio is defined as the number of females per 1000 males in the
population.
•

Importance: measuring the extent of equality between males and females in

a society at a given time. In India, sex ratio has always remained
unfavourable to females.

• Census year with Sex ratio:

Sex Ratio
Census Year

1951 956

1961 951

1971 930

1981 934

1991 929

2001 933
 2011 943

Literacy rates

• According to the Census of 2011, a person aged 7 years. and above

who can read and write with understanding in any language, is treated as
literate. Low levels of literacy are a serious obstacle for economic
improvement.

• The literacy rate in the country as per the Census of 2011 is 73 per
cent; 80.9 per cent for males and 64.6 percent for females.

Occupational Structure

• The distribution of the population according to different types of occupation

is referred to as the occupational structure.

• Occupations are generally classified into three categories:

→ Primary activities (related to land): It includes agriculture, animal

husbandry, forestry, fishing, mining and quarrying etc.

→ Secondary activities (related to industry): It includes manufacturing

industry, building and construction work etc.

→ Tertiary activities (related to services): include transport, communications,

commerce, administration and other services.
• Developed nations have a high proportion of people in secondary, and
tertiary activities while developing nations have a higher proportion of their
workforce engaged in primary activities.

• In India, about 64 percent of the population is engaged only in agriculture.

13 percent are dependent on secondary and 20 percent are on tertiary
sectors.

• In recent times, people are moving towards secondary and tertiary sectors
because of growing industrialisation and urbanisation in recent times.

Health

• Health is an important component of population composition, which affects

the process of development.

• There has been a significant improvement in health conditions in India.

Death rates have declined from 25 per 1000 population in 1951 to 7.2 per
1000 in 2011 and life expectancy at birth has increased from 36.7 years in
1951 to 67.9 years in 2012.

• The improvement is due to:

→ Improvement in public health

→ Prevention of infectious diseases

→ Application of modern medical practices in diagnosis and treatment of

ailments.

• Health is still a major concern for India because:

→ The per capita calorie consumption is much below the recommended

levels and malnutrition afflicts a large percentage of our population.
→ Safe drinking water and basic sanitation amenities are available to only
one- third of the rural population.

Adolescent Population

• The age-group of 10 to 19 years are considered as Adolescent

Population. It constitutes one-fifth of the total population of India.

• They are most important future resources for any country. Nutrition
requirements of adolescents are higher than those of a normal child or adult.

• In India, the diet available to adolescents is inadequate in all nutrients.

A large number of adolescent girls suffer from anaemia (deficiency of red
blood cells or haemoglobin).

• The awareness can be improved through the spread of literacy and

education among adolescent girls.

National Population Policy

• The Government of India initiated the comprehensive Family Planning

Programme in 1952 for improving individual health and welfare.

• It sought to promote responsible and planned parenthood on a voluntary

basis.

• National Population Policy (NPP) 2000 is the peak of years of planned

efforts.

What NPP aims at?

→ It provides a policy framework for imparting free and compulsory school
education up to 14 years of age,

→ Reducing infant mortality rate to below 30 per 1000 live births

→ Achieving universal immunisation of children against all vaccine-

preventable diseases,

→ Promoting delayed marriage for girls

→ Making family welfare a people-centered programme.

Relation between NPP 2000 and Adolescents

• NPP 2000 identified adolescents as one of the major sections of the

population that need greater attention.

• Besides nutritional requirements, the policy put greater emphasis on

other important needs of adolescents including protection from unwanted
pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STD).

• The programmes started by NPP 2000 for adolescents aims at: →

Encouraging delayed marriage and child-bearing.
→ Education of adolescents about the risks of unprotected sex.

→ Making contraceptive services accessible and affordable.

→ Providing food supplements, nutritional services.
→ Strengthening legal measures to prevent child marriage.