Geography of India — Question Answer
Welcome to HSLC Guru. This post provides complete ASSEB Class 9 Social Science Geography Chapter 3 solutions for Geography of India.
সাৰাংশ: ভাৰতবৰ্ষ এছিয়া মহাদেশৰ দক্ষিণ ভাগত অৱস্থিত এখন বিশাল দেশ, যাৰ মুঠ মাটিকালি পৃথিৱীৰ মুঠ ভূ-ভাগৰ প্ৰায় 2.4 শতাংশ। এই অধ্যায়ত ভাৰতৰ ভৌগোলিক অৱস্থান, সীমা, উপকূল আৰু ভূ-প্ৰাকৃতিক বিভাগ—হিমালয় পৰ্বতমালা, উত্তৰ ভাৰতৰ সমভূমি, দাক্ষিণাত্য মালভূমি আৰু উপকূলীয় অঞ্চলৰ বিষয়ে আলোচনা কৰা হৈছে। লগতে ভাৰতৰ মৌচুমী জলবায়ু, নদী, স্বাভাৱিক উদ্ভিদ, জনসংখ্যা আৰু প্ৰব্ৰজন, অৰ্থনীতি আৰু ৰাজনৈতিক বিভাগ (ৰাজ্য আৰু কেন্দ্ৰীয়শাসিত অঞ্চল)ৰ পৰিচয় দিয়া হৈছে। সামগ্ৰিকভাৱে অধ্যায়টোৱে ভাৰতৰ ভৌগোলিক বৈচিত্ৰ্য আৰু ইয়াৰ প্ৰাকৃতিক সম্পদৰ এক সম্পূৰ্ণ ধাৰণা দিয়ে।
Summary: India is a vast country in the southern part of Asia, covering about 2.4% of the world’s total land area. This chapter studies India’s geographical location, boundaries, coastline and physiographic divisions — the Himalayan mountains, the Northern Plains, the Deccan Plateau and the coastal regions. It also introduces India’s monsoon climate, rivers, natural vegetation, population and migration, economy, and political divisions into states and union territories. Together these give an overall picture of India’s geographical diversity and its natural resources.
Textbook Questions and Answers
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
1. The Andaman and Nicobar islands group consists of how many islands? (a) 115 (b) 204 (c) 195 (d) 215
Answer: (d) 215 islands.
2. The Wular lake is situated in which state? (a) Rajasthan (b) Tamil Nadu (c) Manipur (d) Jammu and Kashmir
Answer: (d) Jammu and Kashmir.
3. According to the 2011 census, the average density of population of India is how many persons per sq. km? (a) 224 (b) 282 (c) 382 (d) 324
Answer: (c) 382 persons per sq. km.
4. The area in India that has the highest density of population is which one? (a) Delhi (b) Uttar Pradesh (c) Kerala (d) Andhra Pradesh
Answer: (a) Delhi.
5. The most populated state in India is which one? (a) Madhya Pradesh (b) Uttar Pradesh (c) Rajasthan (d) West Bengal
Answer: (b) Uttar Pradesh.
6. The Brahmaputra river meets which river before falling into the Bay of Bengal? (a) Ganga (b) Tapti (c) Godavari (d) Mahanadi
Answer: (a) Ganga.
7. In summer, which monsoon winds blow over India? (a) south-west (b) south-east (c) north-east (d) north-west
Answer: (a) south-west monsoon.
8. Which one extends from the mouth of the Godavari river to the mouth of the Ganges? (a) Konkan coast (b) Malabar coast (c) Northern Circars (d) Coromandel coast
Answer: (c) Northern Circars.
9. The most thinly populated state of India is which one? (a) Arunachal Pradesh (b) Meghalaya (c) Haryana (d) Jammu and Kashmir
Answer: (a) Arunachal Pradesh.
10. Which plain is also known as the Thar desert? (a) Brahmaputra (b) Rajasthan (c) Ganga (d) Punjab-Haryana
Answer: (b) Rajasthan plain.
Short Answer
11. What is the total length of the land boundaries of India?
Answer: The total length of the land boundaries of India is about 15,200 km.
12. Write about the geographical location of India.
Answer: India lies in the southern part of the continent of Asia. It extends between 8°4′ N and 37°6′ N latitude and between 68°7′ E and 97°25′ E longitude. India’s total area is about 2.4% of the total land area of the world. It is bounded by the Himalayas and China in the north, the Indian Ocean and Sri Lanka in the south, the Bay of Bengal and Myanmar in the east, and the Arabian Sea and Pakistan in the west.
13. What is the total length of Indian coastline?
Answer: The total length of the mainland coastline of India is about 6,100 km.
14. Write a short note on the Indian landmass.
Answer: The Indian landmass extends from Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) in the south, and from Arunachal Pradesh in the east to Saurashtra in the west. Its north-south extension is about 3,214 km and its east-west extension is about 2,933 km. The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of the country and divides it into two almost equal parts.
15. Write down four points of difference between the north and the south Indian rivers.
Answer: (i) The northern rivers are fed by snow and rain, so they are perennial; the southern rivers are mainly rain-fed and seasonal. (ii) The northern rivers are young and flow through soft alluvium, so they often change their course; the southern rivers are old and flow through hard rock in stable courses. (iii) The northern rivers are navigable over long distances; the southern rivers are comparatively less navigable. (iv) The northern rivers form wide fertile plains and deltas; the southern rivers are swift and flow rapidly to the sea.
16. What are the physiographic divisions of India?
Answer: The physiographic divisions of India are — (i) the Northern Himalayan mountain region, (ii) the Northern Plains of India, (iii) the Deccan (Peninsular) Plateau region, and (iv) the Coastal region.
17. Outline the pattern of rainfall distribution in India.
Answer: Rainfall in India is very unevenly distributed. Heavy rainfall (more than 300 cm on annual average) occurs along the foothills of the Himalayas, the Western Ghats and the north-east (Cherrapunji-Mawsynram in Meghalaya). Moderate rainfall (about 100–200 cm) occurs in the Ganga plains and eastern India. Less than 50 cm of average annual rainfall takes place in the Thar desert (Rajasthan), Ladakh, and the interior rain-shadow areas of the Deccan.
18. What are the different types of migration?
Answer: Migration is the movement of people from one place to another with a change of permanent residence. It is mainly of two types — (a) internal migration (within a country), which is further divided into inter-state and intra-state migration; and (b) international or external migration (from one country to another). By direction, migration may also be rural-to-urban, urban-to-rural, rural-to-rural and urban-to-urban.
19. What are the impacts of migration in India?
Answer: Migration increases cultural diversity, changes the labour supply and economic sectors, alters the demographic structure and contributes to the growth of the urban population. It also creates unemployment problems, causes the growth of slums in cities and puts pressure on urban infrastructure. Sometimes it can lead to social and religious problems as well.
20. Write down the main features of the Indian economy.
Answer: The main features of the Indian economy are — low per capita income, slow growth of per capita income, excessive pressure of population, widespread poverty, heavy dependence on agriculture, growing unemployment and planning-based development. Because of these features India is regarded as a developing country.
21. What are the union territories of India?
Answer: At present India has 8 union territories — (1) Andaman and Nicobar Islands, (2) Chandigarh, (3) Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, (4) Delhi (National Capital Territory), (5) Jammu and Kashmir, (6) Ladakh, (7) Lakshadweep and (8) Puducherry.
22. How many states are there in India at present, and name them.
Answer: At present India has 28 states. These are — Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
23. Name the latest state formed in India. Write its area and population.
Answer: The latest state formed in India is Telangana (formed on 2 June 2014). Its area is about 1,14,840 sq km and its population is about 3.5 crore (approximately 3,52,86,757 as per the 2011 census).
Long Answer
24. What are the characteristics of the Northern Himalayan mountain region of India?
Answer: The Himalayas are the highest and youngest fold mountains in the world. They were formed during the Tertiary period from easily erodible sedimentary rocks. This mountain system extends for about 2,500 km from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh through India, Nepal, Bhutan and China. It has three parallel ranges — the Himadri (Greater Himalaya, the highest and snow-covered, with peaks like Everest and K2), the Himachal (Lesser Himalaya, with many hill stations) and the Shiwalik (Outer Himalaya). The Himalayas are the source of many perennial rivers such as the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and the Indus. The region is rich in forests, minerals and hydro-power. It also acts as a climatic barrier, blocking the cold winds of Central Asia and forcing the monsoon winds to give rainfall.
25. Describe the characteristics of the North Indian plain.
Answer: The North Indian plain is a flat, low-lying land lying between the Himalayas in the north and the Deccan Plateau in the south. It has been formed by the deposition of alluvium brought by the Indus, the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and their tributaries. This plain extends about 2,400 km from Punjab and Rajasthan in the west to Assam in the east. It is highly fertile, densely populated and very productive for agriculture. It contains the world’s largest delta, the Ganga-Brahmaputra Sundarbans delta. On the basis of the nature of alluvium, the plain is divided into the Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar (old alluvium) and Khadar (new alluvium).
26. Describe the characteristics of the Deccan Plateau.
Answer: The Deccan Plateau is a triangular landmass that lies to the south of the river Narmada. It is one of the oldest and most stable landmasses in the world, made up of hard igneous and metamorphic rocks. The plateau is higher in the west (the Western Ghats) and slopes gently towards the east. It is bordered by the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats and the Satpura-Vindhya ranges. It is rich in minerals such as coal, iron and manganese and in black cotton soil (the Deccan trap). Rivers like the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri flow eastward across it. The Meghalaya plateau (the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills) is a north-eastern extension of it.
27. Mention the characteristics of the Coastal region of India.
Answer: The coastal region of India consists of narrow strips of land running along the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east. The west coast is narrow (the Konkan, Kannad and Malabar coasts), while the east coast is broad (the Northern Circars and Coromandel coasts). Large east-flowing rivers form extensive deltas on the eastern coast. Lake Chilika, the largest salt-water (brackish) lake of India, is located on the eastern coast. This region is very important for ports, fishing and trade.
28. Write down the characteristics of the climate of India.
Answer: The climate of India is mainly of the tropical monsoon type. The winds reverse their direction according to the season — the south-west monsoon blows in summer and the north-east (land) winds blow in winter. India has mainly four seasons — winter, summer, the rainy season (south-west monsoon) and the retreating monsoon. Most of the rainfall is monsoonal, seasonal and unevenly distributed. Moist winds striking the mountains cause orographic rainfall. There is wide regional variation in temperature and rainfall, and the climate is controlled by the Himalayas and the surrounding seas.
29. Write a note on the impact of monsoons in India.
Answer: The south-west monsoon (June–September) carries an enormous amount of moisture from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and gives most of India’s annual rainfall, which is very important for agriculture and the economy. Its onset, “burst” and withdrawal decide the farming calendar. The north-east (winter) monsoon brings dry, cold winds from Central Asia, though it gives rain to the Coromandel coast of Tamil Nadu. The monsoon binds the country into a unity, but it is uncertain — an early, late or deficient monsoon can cause floods or drought, affecting crops, water and the whole economy.
30. Write about the types of vegetation of India.
Answer: Natural vegetation is the plant community that grows naturally without the help of human beings and has been left undisturbed for a long time. Depending on climate, physiography and soil, the natural vegetation of India is classified into six categories — (i) tropical evergreen forests (heavy-rain areas, Western Ghats, north-east, Andaman), (ii) monsoon or deciduous forests (the most widespread), (iii) dry thorny forests (arid areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat), (iv) grasslands, (v) tidal or mangrove forests (deltas, Sundarbans) and (vi) mountain or alpine vegetation (the Himalayas).
Extra Questions and Answers
1. How does the Tropic of Cancer divide India?
Answer: The Tropic of Cancer (about 23½° N) passes through the middle of India across 8 states and divides the country into two almost equal parts — the northern sub-tropical part and the southern tropical part.
2. What is the southernmost point of the Indian mainland?
Answer: The southernmost point of the Indian mainland is Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin). The southernmost point of the whole Indian Union is Indira Point in Great Nicobar.
3. What is the Standard Meridian of India and what is its importance?
Answer: The Standard Meridian of India is 82°30′ E longitude, which passes through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. The local time of this meridian is taken as the standard time for the whole country (Indian Standard Time, IST), which is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
4. What is the largest delta in the world and where is it located?
Answer: The largest delta in the world is the Sundarbans, formed by the Ganga and the Brahmaputra rivers at the head of the Bay of Bengal. It is spread across India and Bangladesh.
5. Which is the most densely populated state of India according to the 2011 census?
Answer: According to the 2011 census, the most densely populated state of India is Bihar, where about 1,106 persons live per square kilometre.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Monsoon | Seasonal winds that reverse their direction and bring most of India’s rainfall. |
| Delta | A triangular tract of land formed by the deposition of sediment at the mouth of a river. |
| Plateau | An elevated, more or less flat-topped landform standing above the surrounding land. |
| Migration | The movement of people from one place to another with a change of permanent residence. |
| Perennial river | A river that carries water throughout the year and never dries up. |
| Population density | The number of people living per square kilometre. |