Chapter 6 Major Landforms of the Earth

Landforms are formed by two major processes: Internal process and External process.
The wearing away of soil from the surface of Earth is known as soil erosion.
The surface is lowered by the process of erosion and rebuilt by the process of deposition.
Mountains, Plateaus and Plains are the group of different landforms which are dependent on the Elevation and slopes.
Rivers are formed by melting of glaciers.
Mountains are of three types: Block mountains, fold mountains and volcanic mountains.
Block Mountains are Horsts and the lowered blocks of Block Mountains are called graben.
Mountains are called storehouse of the water.
An elevated flat land or flat topped table land is called Plateau.
The height of a Plateau is measured above the 600m.
Plains are large stretches of flat land which is generally till 600m.

Download pdf of NCERT Solutions for Class Social Science - The Earth Our Habitat Chapter 6 Major Landforms of the Earth

Exercise 1 ( Page No. : 46 )

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?

Ans:

(a) Major landforms are:

Mountains
Plateaus
Plains

(b) Differences between Mountains and Plateaus are as follows:

Mountains	Plateaus
A naturally elevated surface with summit and broad base.	An elevated flat toped table land standing above the surrounding area.
It is much higher than the surrounding area.	It is less higher than the mountain.
Its height is more than 600m.	Its height varies from a few hundred meters to several thousand meters.
Example: Himalayas	Example: Deccan Plateau and Tibet Plateau

Fold Mountains: Mountains formed by the folding of the strata are called Fold Mountains. For example: Himalayas and Alps are some fold mountains, The Aravalli range in India.
Block Mountains: Block Mountains are formed when large areas are broken and displaced vertically. The uplifted blocks are known as Horsts and the lowered blocks are called as graben. For example: The Rhine Valley and the Vogues mountain in Europe.
Volcanic Mountains: Volcanic Mountains are formed due to the volcanic activity. For example: Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mt. Fujiyama in Japan.

(d) Mountains are useful to man in the following ways:

They are store house of water.
They provide water to rivers through glaciers.
River valleys and riven terraces are ideal agriculture.
Mountains have rich variety of flora and fauna.
Mountains provide good site for the tourists.
They are important sites for several games and sports like: Paragliding, hang gliding, skiing, river rafting etc.

(e) Rivers and their tributaries flows down the mountain slopes with sand and silt and deposited it in low lying areas and thus, form plains.

(f) River plains are thickly populated because:

Plains are fertile, so agriculture is the main occupation of the people. It can sustain a large population easily.
Roads and railways are easy to be constructed.
Ideal for human habitation due to flat land.

(g) Mountains are thinly populated because of following reasons:

Undulating topography
Harsh climate
Less land available for farming
Very few employment opportunities.
Less developed means of transport.

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

Ans:

(a) (i) Elevation

The major difference between mountains and hills are in the terms of their elevation (height).

(b) (i) The mountains

Glaciers are found in mountains because the regions have high altitude and snow fall in winters and thus, forms glaciers.

Deccan Plateaus is located in India in the Deccan region or the western and southern India which is more than 1000 meters in south and 100 meters in north.

(d) (iii) China

The Yangtze river probably flows in China and is the largest river of the China.

(e) (ii) The Alps

The Alps are the highest mountain range that are found in Europe. It is stretched approximately about 1200 km and across eight alpine countries.

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.

Ans:

1. Plains

Plains are the flat land or the low level lands.

2. Fold Mountains

Himalayas and Alps are young fold Mountains. They have a rugged relief and high conical peaks.

3. Plateau

Plateaus are rich in mineral deposits such as Chota Nagpur Plateau: it is a store house of minerals like lime stone, copper, mica, coal, bauxite and iron ore.

4. Range

The range is a line of mountains which lies on different places.

5. Plains

Plains are fertile so they are most productive for farming.

Chapter 6 Major Landforms of the Earth

Exercise 1 ( Page No. : 46 )

Popular Questions of Class 6 Social Science - The Earth Our Habitat

Recently Viewed Questions of Class 6 Social Science - The Earth Our Habitat

NCERT Solutions

Quick Links

Resources

Support