4/5  Marks

1. Give a brief account of the physiography of the Western Himalayas of India.

Ans. Physiography of the Western Himalaya: The Great Himalaya is divided into four parts from west to east, which are separated from each other by different river sections. These divisions are –

1. Punjab Himalaya – 562 km in length between Indus and Sutlej.
2. Kumaon Himalaya – 320 km in length between Sutlej and Kali rivers.
3. Nepal Himalaya – 800 km in length between Kali and Teesta rivers.
4. Assam Himalaya – 520 km in length between Teesta and Brahmaputra rivers.

The Punjab Himalaya is the westernmost range of the Himalayas. It extends between the Indus and Sutlej rivers. The Punjab Himalayas has two divisions, which are known as the Kashmir Himalayas and the Himachal Himalayas. Ladakh, Jaskar and Pir Panjal are the main ranges of the Himalayas. On going west from the Sutlej, the height of this part gradually decreases. This range is similar to a saw in appearance, but its upper part is much wider. The main peaks of this part are Tanakuti and Brahmaskal and the main passes are Pir Panjal, Chhota Gali, Chor Gali, Banihal, Joji-La, Gulamghar and Burjil. The northern slope of this range is uneven and dry, where plateaus and lakes are located and the southern slope is covered with cracked and dense forests.

2. What is the name of the Indian desert? In which state is it situated? Why has it been formed here?

Ans. The name of the desert of India is the Thar Desert. This desert is located in the north-western part of India, west of the Aravalli Mountains in the state of Rajasthan.

Reason for the formation of Thar Desert: The following are the main reasons for the formation of the Thar Desert. 

1. Low rain: Although both the branches of the southwest monsoon reach here, there is no rainfall here. Because the Bay of Bengal branch gives rain in the eastern part of the country but reaches the western part, it becomes dry, due to which it does not rain in the state of Rajasthan. A branch of monsoon winds rising from the Arabian Sea passes through Rajasthan to the Western Himalayas. It is filled with steam but there is no mountain stopping it. There is definitely a mountain Aravalli, but it is parallel to these steamy winds, so it is not able to stop these winds and the steamy winds go ahead without raining. Therefore, due to the lack of rain, this region has become a desert.

2. High Daily Temperature:- Due to the clear sky, Rajasthan gets more heat during the day and colder at night. Rocks expand during the day due to excessive heat and shrink during the night due to cold. Due to repeated expansion and shrinkage, the rocks have broken down into sand particles.

3. High temperature: The relative humidity in monsoon winds is high (90 percent) as it moves further from the Arabian Sea. But on reaching Rajasthan, this humidity decreases to 50 percent. Thus, as the air becomes dry, it no longer has the ability to rain.

3. Name the major physiographic divisions of India and give a short account of the Eastern Himalayas.

Ans. Physical Division of India: Naturally, India can be divided into the following four major parts-

1. Mountain part of North, 
2. Sutlej Ganga-Brahmaputra plain, 
3. Plateau part of South, 
4. Coastal plain.

Eastern Himalaya: The Eastern Himalayas lie in the eastern part of the Himalayas from Singlila in the west to Namchabarwa in the east. This part of the Himalayas is divided into three sub-divisions – 

(i) Sikkim Darjeeling Himalaya 

(ii) Bhutan Himalaya 

(iii) Assam or Arunachal Himalaya.

4. State the importance of the Himadri Himalaya from a physiographic point of view.

Ans. The Himadri is the northernmost range of the Himalayas with a length of 2400 km from east to west, 25 km in width from north to south, and an average height of 6000 m. It has an important place from the physical point of view; Eg-

(1) It is a glaciated range in which there are 40 such known peaks whose height is more than 7000 meters and there are 243 such unknown peaks whose height is more than 6000 meters. Thus this range is the source of many ever-flowing rivers Fertile and flat plains have been formed by these rivers, which are called ‘Gift of the Himalaya’.

(2) The dry and cold winds coming from Siberia and Russia blocks.Thus, in our country, neither completely desert nor extreme conditions of very cold climate are found. 

(3) This range brings rain to the entire country by blocking the monsoon winds coming from the Indian Ocean. In its absence, these monsoon winds would have left directly, making the whole of northern India a dry state. transformed into a state. 

(4) Many beautiful valleys and picturesque waterfalls have been formed by the rivers originating from this range, which have an important place from the geographical and natural point of view. 

(5) Where the snow line starts, there are many small pastures of soft grasses, which are called marg in Kashmir and Bugyal or Payar in Kumaun. These grasslands offer useful pastures.

5. Account for the origin of the desert in the western part of Aravali.

Or, Account for the origin of the desert in Rajasthan.

Ans. The origin of the desert in the west of the Aravallis is due to the following reasons: 

(i) In this part there is the absence of any high land to block the path of monsoon winds coming from the Arabian Sea, due to which these winds pass here without raining. In the absence of rain, the sand is not carried by the water to the sea, due to which its quantity is continuously increasing. 

(ii) Due to the dry climate, the temperature difference here is also high, due to which due to the continuous process of wear and tear in the rocks due to physical weathering, sand particles are formed. These sand particles are scattered everywhere by the wind, due to which the desert has been formed here.

6. What are the advantages of the Himalayas in India? 

Or, Describe the influence of the Himalayas on human life in India.

Ans. Benefits from Himalaya Mountains: – India has the following benefits from Himalaya Mountains –

1. Security of India :- The Himalayas situated on the northern border of the country is the vigilant watchdog of India. It has been protecting the country from external attacks from the north for centuries.

2. Helpful in rain:- The Himalayas cause rain in the country by stopping the monsoon winds rising from the Bay of Bengal. In this way, the credit for making India ‘Shyamala Shyamala’ goes to this mountain. If there were no Himalaya Mountains in the north of India, then northern India would have been a dry desert like Arabia and the Sahara.

3. Protection from cold winds:- The Himalayas protect the country in winter by blocking the cold winds coming from Siberia in the north. If the Himalayas were not there, then in winter the whole of India would have become a snow-covered and desolate part like Tibet.

4. Origin of Eternal Rivers:- Glacier originates from the glacial peaks of Himalayas, from which the Eternal Rivers originate. Rivers lay fertile soil in the plains. Irrigation is done by taking out canals from them.

5. Receipt of valuable woods and herbs – The slopes of the Himalayas are covered with lush green forests. Valuable woods and herbs are obtained from these forests.

6. Cultivation of rice, tea and fruits:- Rice is cultivated in the Himalayan valleys, tea in the hill slopes and fruits like orange, apple etc. 80 percent of India’s tea is obtained from this part.

7. Health promotion and tourism center: – There are many valleys with natural beauty in the Himalaya Mountains. The lush green and colorful trees here, the rivers flowing from time to time attract tourists.

8. Land of pilgrimage sites:- The Himalayas with a serene and idyllic environment have been the penance land of sages and sages since ancient times. There are pilgrimage places like Amarnath, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Pashupatinath, etc., where lakhs of pilgrims visit every year.