Question 1 Answer the following questions briefly.
(a) What are the major landforms?
(b) What is the difference between a mountain and a plateau?
(c) What are the different types of mountains?
(d) How are mountains useful to man?
(e) How are plains formed?
(f) Why are the river plains thickly populated?
(g) Why are mountains thinly populated?
Answer
(a) The major landforms are mountains, plains and plateau.
(b)
| Mountain | Plateau |
| It is a natural elevation of the Earth’s surface. | It is an elevated flat land. |
| It is considerable higher than the surrounding area. | It is flat topped table standing above the surrounding area. |
| They have peaks. | They are flattened highlands. |
(c) The different types of mountains are :
1) Fold mountains
2) Block mountains
3) Volcanic mountains
(d) Mountains are useful to man in a variety of ways:
1) Mountains are storehouse of water .Many rivers have their sources in the glaciers in the mountains.
2) Reservoirs are made and the water is harnessed for the use of people. Water is used for irrigation and generation of hydroelectricity.
3) Mountains have a rich variety of flora and fauna.
4) Mountains provide an idyllic site for tourists. They visit the mountains for their scenic beauty.
5) Several activities like paragliding, river rafting and skiing are popular in mountains.
(e) Plains are generally formed by rivers and their tributaries. The rivers flow down the slopes of mountains and erode them. They carry forward the eroded material. Then they deposit their load consisting of stones, sand and silt along their courses and in their valleys. It is from these deposits that plains are formed.
(f) The river plains are very suitable for human habitation. People get flat land for building houses and for cultivation. The soil of river plains is very fertile. Hence people live here and cultivate land for their living.
(g) Mountains are thinly populated because
1) The climate is very harsh.
2) It is quite difficult to grow crops, build houses or roads in a mountain.
Question 2 Tick the correct answers.
(a) The mountains differ from the hills in terms of
(i) elevation (ii) slope (iii) aspect
(b) Glaciers are found in
(i) the mountains (ii) the plains (iii) the plateaus
(c) The Deccan Plateau is located in
(i) Kenya (ii) Australia (iii) India
(d) The river Yangtze flows in
(i) South America (ii) Australia (iii) China
(e) An important mountain range of Europe is
(i) the Andes (ii) the Alps (iii) the Rockies
Answer
(a) (i) elevation
(b) (i) the mountains
(c) (iii) India
(d) (iii) China
(e) (ii) the Alps
Question 3 Fill in the blanks.
1. A _________ is an unbroken flat or a low-level land.
2. The Himalayas and the Alps are examples of _________ types of
mountains.
3. _________ areas are rich in mineral deposits.
4. The _________ is a line of mountains.
5. The _________ areas are most productive for farming.
Answer
1. A plain is an unbroken flat or a low-level land.
2. The Himalayas and the Alps are examples of fold types of mountains.
3. Plateau areas are rich in mineral deposits.
4. The range is a line of mountains.
5. The plain areas are most productive for farming.
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