Landforms and Life

Class 06 Social Science

Land has many forms and features. Its appearance changes a lot from one region to another. A landform is a physical feature on the surface of the planet Earth. Landforms take shape over millions of years and have a significant connection with the environment and life.

Land forms can be divided into three categories:

1. Mountains
2. Plateaus
3. Plains

These landforms have different climates and are home to a variety of flora and fauna. Humans have adapted to all landforms, but the number of people living on different kinds of landforms varies throughout the world.

Mountains

Mountains are landforms that are much higher than the surrounding landscape. They can be recognised by a broad base, steep slopes and a narrow summit. Depending on their height, some mountains are covered with snow. At lower altitudes, the snow melts every summer and turns into water that feeds rivers. At high altitudes, the snow may never melt, leaving the mountain permanently snow-capped.

Other highlands with a lower height, less steep slopes and rounded tops are called hills.

Most of the world’s mountains are grouped in mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas in Asia, the Alps in Europe and the Andes in South America. Some of these ranges stretch for thousands of kilometres.

Mount Everest (between Tibet and Nepal) and Kanchenjunga (between Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim) are the two highest peaks of the Himalayan range. Mount Aconcagua (in South America) is the highest peak of the Andes. Mount Kilimanjaro in eastern Africa is an isolated mountain that is not part of any range. Mont Blanc in Western Europe is the highest mountain of the Alps. Anamudi (in Kerala, also known as ‘Anai Peak’) is the highest mountain in south India.

Mountain Environment

Mountain slopes are often covered with a type of forest called montane forest, where conifer trees such as pines, firs, spruce and deodar are common. These conifer trees grow tall and cone-shaped, with thin, pointed leaves. At higher altitudes, the trees give way to grasses, mosses and lichen.

Deep forests, flowing rivers, lakes, grasslands and caves in the mountains are home to diverse fauna. For example, the golden eagle, the peregrine falcon, the Canadian lynx, the snow leopard, the ibex, the Himalayan tahr, the mountain hare, the yak, the grey fox and the black bear.

Life in the mountains

The mountain terrain is usually rugged or rough, and has steep slopes. This means that regular farming can only be practised in some valleys. Cultivation is practised on the slopes by cutting steps into the slope. This is called terrace farming. In many mountainous regions of the world, herding is the preferred occupation over agriculture.

Tourism is often an important source of income for the people living in the mountains. The crisp mountain air and scenic beauty attract many tourists. Some tourists also go to the mountains for sports such as skiing, hiking, mountaineering and paragliding.

Plateaus

A plateau is a landform that rises up from the surrounding land and has a more or less flat surface. Some of its sides are often steep slopes.

Two examples of plateaus are the Tibetan Plateau, the largest and highest plateau in the world, and the Deccan Plateau. The height of plateaus can vary from a few hundred metres to several thousand metres.

Like mountains, plateaus are rich in mineral deposits. As a result, mining is a major activity on plateaus, where many of the world’s largest mines are found. For example, the East African Plateau is famous for gold and diamond mining. In India, huge reserves of iron, coal and manganese are found in the Chhota Nagpur Plateau.

The plateau environment is very diverse across the world. Many plateaus have a rocky soil, which makes them less fertile than plains and therefore less favourable to farming. An exception is that of lava plateaus (formed through volcanic activity), as they often have a rich black soil.

Plateaus are also home to many spectacular waterfalls. The Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, the Hundru Falls on the Subarnarekha River in the Chhota Nagpur Plateau and the Jog Falls on the Sharavati River in the Western Ghats are a few such waterfalls. The Nohkalikai Falls drop down 340 metres from the Cherrapunji Plateau (in Meghalaya).

Plains

Plains are landforms that have an extensive flat or gently undulating surface. They do not have any large hills or deep valleys. They are generally not more than 300 metres above sea level.

Floodplains are one type of plains formed by rivers originating in mountain ranges, where they collect particles of rock, sand and silt called sediments. These sediments are carried all the way to the plains, where the rivers deposit them, making the soil very fertile. As a result, these plains are ideal for growing crops of all kinds, and agriculture is a major economic occupation in this landform. Plains also support a variety of flora and fauna.

Life in the plains

Thousands of years ago, the first civilisations developed around rivers in fertile plains. In our times too, a large part of the world’s population lives in plains.

Gangetic Plain

The major occupations of people in this region include river fishing and agriculture. Food crops such as rice, wheat, maize, barley and millets are grown. Fibre crops such as cotton, jute and hemp are also grown in the Gangetic plain. Traditional agriculture has been mostly rainfed (that is, watered through rainfall). In recent decades, however, agriculture has turned to irrigation, with water brought to the fields through networks of canals or pumped from groundwater. While irrigation has increased agricultural production, it has also contributed to the depletion (or decrease) of groundwater. This presents a challenge for the future of agriculture in the region. Some of the other problems affecting the Ganga plains include high population and pollution.

Because plains have a gentle slope, river navigation is easy and supports a lot of economic activities.

Deserts

Deserts are considered to be large and dry expanses with very little precipitation. Their flora and fauna are also unique. Some deserts are hot, like the Sahara Desert in Africa or the Thar Desert in the northwest of the Indian Subcontinent. Others are cold, like the Gobi Desert in Asia.

Despite harsh living conditions, humans have adapted to most of the deserts. In India, communities living in the Thar Desert, or migrating through it, hold rich cultural traditions, such as folk songs and legends, related to the desert.