Class 6 Geography Chapter 6 Our Country – India Notes

Chapter 6 Notes
Our Country- India
Class 6 – Social Science

Class	Class 6
Subject	Social Science
Chapter Name	Our Country – India
Chapter No.	Chapter 6
Category	Class 6 Geography Notes

Question 1 What is the official name of the country?

Question 2 What is the total area of India?

Question 3 What is the longitudinal and latitudinal extent of India?

Question 4 Describe the location of India.

Question 5 What is Palk Strait?

Question 6 Name the countries with whom India has a common land boundaries.

Question 7  Name the southernmost point of India and the mainland of India.

Question 8 Describe the extent of India.

Question 9 What do you mean by Standard Meridian of India?

Question 10 Name the water bodies around India.

Question 11 Name the Union territories of India.

Question 12 Why do Northern Indian plains have a large population?

Question 13 Name a few hill stations in the Lesser Himalayas.

Question 14 What is the shape of peninsular plateau?

Question 15 Name the two main groups of Islands.

Question 16 What is the importance of Northern plains of India?

Question 17 Compare the Western ghats and Eastern coastal plains.

Question 18 Why is the Rajasthan plain an area of inland drainage?

Question 19 Explain the main features of the peninsular plateau.

Question 20 Describe the island group of India.

Question 21 Enumerate the physical divisions of India.

Question 22 Mention the important features of the three main Himalayan ranges.

Republic of India

1) In the north, it is bound by the lofty Himalayas.

2) The Arabian Sea in the west, the Bay of Bengal in the east and the Indian Ocean in the south wash the shores of the Indian peninsula.

3) India has an area of about 3.28 million sq. km. The north-south extent from Ladakh to Kanyakumari is about 3,200 km.

4) And the east-west extent from Arunachal Pradesh to Kuchchh is about 2,900 km.

5) The lofty mountains, the Great Indian Desert, the Northern Plains, the uneven plateau surface and the coasts and islands present a diversity of landforms.

6) There is a great variety in the climate, vegetation, wildlife as well as in the language and culture. In this diversity, we find unity that is reflected in traditions that bind us as one nation.

Location and Extent

India is located in the northern hemisphere.

The Tropic of Cancer (23°30’N) passes almost halfway through the country.

From south to north, the mainland of India extends between 8°4’N and 37°6’N latitudes.

From west to east, India extends between 68°7’E and 97°25’E longitudes.

Due to the great longitudinal extent of nearly 30°, there could be a wide difference in the local time of places located at two extreme points of India. As such, the difference between these two points would be about two hours.

The local time changes by four minutes for every one degree of longitude. The sun rises about two hours earlier in the east (Arunachal Pradesh) than in the west (Gujarat).

The local time of longitude of 82°30’E has been taken as the Indian Standard Time. This meridian or longitude is also termed the Standard Meridian of India.

The Northern part of India is broader than the Southern part.

India’s Neighbours

Seven countries share land boundaries with India. They are Pakistan and Afghanistan in the northwest, China, Nepal and Bhutan in the North and Myanmar and Bangladesh in the East.

Across the sea to the south, lie our island neighbours – Sri Lanka and Maldives.

India and Sri Lanka are separated by a narrow stretch of water called the Palk Strait.

Kanniyakumari is the Southernmost tip of the mainland of India. For the whole country, it is the Indira point located in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Lakshadweep islands are in the Arabian sea whereas Andaman and Nicobar islands is in the Bay of Bengal.

Political and Administrative Divisions

India is a vast country. For administrative purposes, the country is divided into 29 States and 9 Union Territories. Delhi is the national capital. The states have been formed mainly based on languages.

The states are further divided into districts and tehsils. Telangana was created out of the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Rajasthan is the largest and Goa is the smallest state.

Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of districts and is also highly populated.

India is marked by a diversity of physical features such as mountains, plateaus, plains, coasts, and islands.

Standing as sentinels in the north are the lofty snowcapped Himalayas. Him+alaya means ‘the abode of snow’.

The Himalayan mountains are divided into three main parallel ranges. From North to South, these are Himadri, Himachal and Shiwalik.

a) The northernmost is the Great Himalayas or Himadri. The world’s highest peaks are located in this range. Mt Everest in Nepal is the highest peak in the Indian Himalayan ranges.

b) Middle Himalaya or Himachal lies to the south of Himadri. Many popular hill stations are situated here. Many popular hill stations such as Shimla, Dalhousie, Kullu, Manali, Nainital, etc are situated in these mountain ranges.

c) The Shiwalik or the outer Himalayas is the southernmost range. These ranges are made up of loose deposits of soft rocks, mud and slits. The Purvanchal ranges are found along the eastern boundary of India.

The Northern Indian plains lie to the south of the Himalayas. It is also known as Ganga-Brahmaputra plain. They are generally level and flat. These are formed by the alluvial deposits laid down by the rivers– the Indus, the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and their tributaries. These river plains provide fertile land for cultivation. That is the reason for high concentration of population in these plains.

In the western part of India lies the Great Indian Desert or Rajasthan plains. It is a dry, hot and sandy stretch of land. It has very little vegetation. The area has a number of short seasonal streams which are not able to reach the sea. Therefore, this is an area of inland drainage.

To the south of northern plains lies the Peninsular plateau. It is triangular in shape. The relief is highly uneven. The plateau are surrounded by hill ranges on all three sides. This is a region with numerous hill ranges and valleys. Aravali hills, one of the oldest ranges of the world, border it on the north-west side. The Vindhyas and the Satpuras are the important ranges. The rivers Narmada and Tapi flow through these ranges. These are west-flowing rivers that drain into the Arabian Sea. The plateaus are made up of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Narmada river divides the entire plateau into two parts – Central highlands and the Deccan plateau.

The Western Ghats or Sahyadris border the plateau in the west and the Eastern Ghats provide the eastern boundary. While the Western Ghats are almost continuous, the Eastern Ghats are broken and uneven. The plateau is rich in minerals like coal and iron ore.

Western Ghats have the Sahyadri Hills, the Nilgiris, the Anaimalai, and the Cardamon Hills. Anai Mudi is the highest peak of the Deccan plateau.

To the West of the Western Ghats and the East of Eastern Ghats lie the Coastal plains. They run for about 6100 Km from the Rann of Kachchh in the west to West Bengal in the east.

The western coastal plains are very narrow. The northern part of the western coastal plain is called the Konkan coast and the southern part is called the Malabar coast.

The eastern Coastal plains are much broader. There are a number of east-flowing rivers. The rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri drain into the Bay of Bengal.

These rivers have formed fertile deltas at their mouth. The Sunderban delta is formed where the Ganga and Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal. Two groups of islands also form part of India.

a) Lakshadweep Islands are located in the Arabian Sea. These are coral islands located off the coast of Kerala. These islands are formed when the living polyps die and their skeletons are left. Other polyps grow on top of hard skeletons which grow higher and higher thus coral islands are formed.

b) The Andaman and the Nicobar Islands lie to the southeast of the Indian mainland in the Bay of Bengal.

A Tsunami is a huge sea wave generated due to an earthquake on the sea floor.