Chapter 8
Land and the People.
In this chapter, we
will study the characteristics of some reigons of the world to understand the
lives of the people within different natural ecosystems. The reigons for the study are The Sahara and
the Ladakh Deserts the Prairie and the Veld Grasslands The Amazon Basin and the
Ganga - Brahmaputra Basin LIFE IN DESERT A desert is a region having extreme
temperature conditions with very low amount of rainfall and scanty
vegetation. In Chapter 6, we have
categorized deserts as Hot deserts and Cold deserts. Let us know more about life in these
deserts. Sahara - the hot desert hot and
dry landscape covered with layers of sand, having very scanty vegetation is
known as hot desert The Sahara is the world's largest and the hottest desert on
the earth. The word 'Sahara' in Arabic
means 'desert'. It covers almost the
entire northern part of Africa. It lies
between the Atlantic Ocean in the west, Red Sea in the east, Mediterranean Sea
in the north and huge mounds of sand dunes in the south. It is also bounded by a chain of mountains in
the north called the Altas mountain, Sahara Desert Sahara desert, Africa Do You
Know? 1 The highest recorded temperature
is about 58 ° C at Al - Aziziyah in Libya in the northen part of the
Sahara. The only source of water in the
Sahara desert is the Nile river. Sand
dunes are quite common in this region.
The Sahara is a region of hot and dry climate with clear sky. The average annual rainfall is less than 20
cm. It is very hot during the day
whereas the nights are cool. The day
temperature is about 43 ° C and the temperature at night goes down to about 10
° C. 57
Ladakh is located in the north - eastern part of Jammu and
Kashmir. It is a small region which is
known as one of the coldest deserts in the world. Ladakh is surrounded by lofty and high
mountain as a result of high temperature and low rainfall, vegetation cover is
scanty or almost nil, exce near the Nile river valley. The Sahara is sparsely covered with
vegetation like grasses, shrubs a bushes.
Plants have long roots that reach deep into the soil to absorb
moisture. The important tre are cactus
and date palm. Date is the most common
fruit here. Both animals and people eat
date The sap of date tree is used to make wine.
The seeds of date fruit are crushed and used as fodd for the camels and
goats. The leaves and trunks are also
used for making baskets, ropes and door Cactus Date Palm trees Some of the
animal species found in the Sahara desert are fox, jackal, sand fox and came
The camel has a hump at the back to store enough fat with which it can live without food for several
day Numerous types of reptiles are found in Sahara, eg frogs, snakes, crocodiles, etc. Insects, like scorpion and spiders, also
inhabit this desert. The north - western
part of Sahara is known as rocky desert.
Most of the land is barren and uninhabitec Density of population is
low. Population is mainly concentrated
near the water bodies like oasis. The
cultivation of crops is possible around the oases. Major crops are wheat, maize, barley,
millets, beans, etc. People prefer white and loose clothes to bear the
heat. An Oasis Ladakh - The cold desert
Bedouins scanty vegetation. A cele de
sent experiences low temperatures and low atmospheric humidity so that there is
ranges. Its elevation is about 3,520 m
above the sea level. 58)
Ladakh is located at a very high altitude and is covered
with snow for many months. The
temperature is very low for a major part of the year. The average annual rainfall is only 8 cm
because it lies in the rain shadow area of the Himalayan ranges. Ghin amu Cand Kashmir Ladakh Vegetation here
is very scanty and is found only in valleys and sheltered areas. Only those plants grow here which require
very little water. Willow trees, which
are mainly used for making cricket bats, are found in this area. The common animals here are sheep, mountain
goat and yak. The soft wool of the
mountain goat is used for making expensive pashmina shawls. The yak is one of the most important animals
as it gives milk and is also used for transportation. It has a thick fur to protect it from the
extreme cold. The main river of Ladakh
is the Indus. Population is mainly
concentrated near the Mountain goat river banks. 59
Prairies Grassland, North America A majority of the people
follow Buddhism. In earlier times, this
region was accessible only throue some passes like Karakoram pass and Zojila
pass. But with the opening of Srinagar -
Leh road, this are has been opened to the rest of the world. Agriculture is the main occupation of the
people of Ladakh. About 85 per cent of
the tot population is engaged in it. Low
rainfall and poor soil permit the growth of only a single crop int short summer
season. In the winter season, the land
is covered with snow. The important
crops a barley, millets and beans.
People also grow fruits like apple, walnut and apricot. LIFE IN TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS In temperate
zone where climatic conditions are moderate, the grasslands are mo common. The grasslands which are found between sub -
tropical and sub - polar regions a known as temperate grasslands. They are known by different names in
different continen for example, the prairies in North America, Pampas in South
America, the Steppes in A and Europe, the Downs in Australia and the Veld in
Africa. The temperate grasslands provi
good pastures and ideal conditions for animal rearing. In this section, we will study abc the two
temperate grasslands of the world the prairies of North America and the Velds
South Africa. The prairies The grasslands
in the North America are known as the prairies.
They cover a large area of USA and Canada. This area is drained by the River Mississippi
and its tributaries. The basin is very
fertile and important for agriculture.
The prairies have a continental type of climate. Summers are hot and winters are cold. The temperature in summers goes as high as 38
° C and in winters it is as low as -40 ° C.
The rainfall is not sufficient for the growth of trees. Instead, different types of grasses can be found
here. In some places, grass grows taller
than a man. The common animals here are
jackal, rabbit, deer, dog, etc. Large
herds of bison are also found in the prairies, mo 60
A bison ranch in America A large part of prairies is now
being converted into agricultural land.
The main crops are wheat, Do You Know?
corn, oat, etc. The farms are big
in size and the Mixed farming means the growing work is mostly done with the
help of machines, same farm. of crops
and rearing of animals at the This type of farming is known as extensive
farming. In this method of farming,
modern methods of cultivation and high - yielding variety of seeds are
used. Hence, prairies have become famous
as 'the granaries of the world'. The
population is mainly concentrated around wheat growing areas or rivers. The prairies are very well connected with all
modern means of transportation. Due to
the increase in population in the recent past, the grasslands have been cleared
for agriculture, construction of transport routes and settlements. This has resulted in serious problems of soil
erosion leading to drought conditions.
Wheat cultivation in prairies 61
Pretorno The Velds in South Africa, the grasslands are
Tropic of Cancer called Velds. Veld 'is
the Dutch word which means' fields. The
temperate grassland of South Africa covers the equator southern part of
Africa. It lies between the Darkensberg
plateau in the east Kalahari Desert and merges with the Kalahari desert Tropic
of Capricon Rived Limpopo in the west.
It is also known as the Johannesberg River Orange high veld because it
is located in the Drakensberg Mountain plateau surface. The main rivers are Location of Veld the
Limpopo and the Orange. A veld is
located near the coast. It has a
moderate type of climate. The summers
are short and warm. The winters are long
and cool. Rainfall is low. Droughts are common in this area. The climate gets cooler as the height
increases. Due to the dry climatic
conditions, plants do not grow here.
That is why grasses are the dominant vegetation of the veld. Agriculture is not possible in the veld as it
is a plateau area and the soil is infertile.
In addition, there is a lack of availability of water. Hence, there is the low agricultural
production here. The Veld, South Africa
The veld grasslands are rich in various minerals like gold, diamond and
coal. Coal mines are common in
Johannesburg. The diamond mines of
Kimberley are well - known on the Western border of the veld. The Agro - based and mineral - based
industries are also common here. The
veld area has reduced drastically due to the development of towns, cities,
industries, etc natural environment in the veld grasslands is also disturbed
because of this rapid development LIFE IN TROPICAL AND SUB - TROPICAL FOREST REGIONS
The Amazon Basin Amazon basin is the largest river basin in the world. It lies in South America. About two - third of the region lies in
Brazil and also occupies parts of Peru, Ecuador and Columbia. It is the world largest and thickest tropical
evergreen or rainforest. The Amazon is
the second longest river in the world, next to River Nile. In respect of the volume 62
402 Veel AM cuador Am M Kutos Leica Santarem Pert puca Porto
Velho ma TIL Quapore Doma Sao Paulo Paraguay ATLANTIC of water, it is the
world's biggest river. Grass OCEAN
Bogota Suriname TEGU The climate of the Amazon Colonia basin is hot and
humid. The area receives heavy rainfall
throughout the year due to AMAZON its location in the equatorial B A z L
region. The Amazon basin is known BASIN
for its rainforests. The trees here Mato
Grosso are very tall and thick. There La
Paz Brasta are several layers of vegetation The topmost layer of foliage is
Body Moto known as canopy. Below this
there are two more layers o PACIFIC foliage consisting of shrubs an OCEAN
bushes. The forests are so dens Amazon
Basin that the sunlight hardly reache the ground. This region has vast and varied species of
plants like rubber tree, the cinchona the brazil nut and the quebracho. The Amazon basin is rich in wildlife. Most of the animals are arboreal (adapted to
livin on trees). Some of the arboreal
animals are apes and lemurs, Reptiles and amphibians such as snakes, lizards
and frogs are found here. Colorful birds
and butterflies are als common. The most
important food crop is manioc or cassava.
The other crops which ar found here are coffee, maize, cocoa, brazil
nut, etc. With the discovery of the new
world, people from Europe migrated to South America or Amazon basin. In the past few decades due to the increase
in population, many rainforests have been cleared for various purposes. People are moving towards this area because
of economic potential of the Amazon basin.
Vast forest areas were cleared for setting up camp areas (lumbering
Amazon Basin camps) and constructing roads.
63
POSTER DEUM * Himalayas ku OUR ALARAO Oh Ganga - Brahmaputra
Basin The Ganga is the major river of CHINA the Indian sub - continent. The two big rivers of India, Ganga and
Brahmaputra, join together UTTARASH in Bangladesh and form the NEPAL BHUTAN
world's largest delta, known as Ganga - Brahmaputra Delta. UTTAR PRADESH BIHAR It is a part of the
northern plains of WARSA BANGLADESH the Indian sub - continent. It lies to the WEST BENGAL INDIA south of the
foothills of the Shiwalik. It is a vast
low - lying plain, covering a SAGAR ISLANDS SONT distance of about 2,500
km. This plain Bay of Bengal is drained
by three big rivers of India, Ganga river basin the Indus, the Ganga and the
Brahmaputra, that deposit all their fine alluvium here. The distributaries of rivers form a network
of water channels and finally drain into the Bay of Bengal. The northern plain includes the states of
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. These rivers carry huge amount of sediments
with them, which make the soil of this plain very fertile. The climate of Ganga - Brahmaputra basin is
hot and humid. Rainfall is heavy but
mainly concentrated during the three months of the monsoon, that is June, July
and August. The average rainfall is
about 200 cm. GALCUTTA Pakistan Nepal
Bhutan A Brahmaputy India Myanmar (Burha) Bangladesh Bangladesh Bay of Bengal
Sri Lanka Bong Ganga - Brahmaputra Delta 64
The Ganga -
Brahmaputra basin is covered with tropical deciduous forests. But now, this area has been completely
converted into farms and settlements.
The lowest part of the Ganga delta is covered with mangrove
forests. These forests are dominated by
a plant specie locally known as Sundari and that is why this area is named as
the Sunderban the Ganga - Brahmaputra delta is the home of Mangrove various
kinds of wild animals. The most common
ones are one - horned rhinoceros and Bengal tigers. The most important wildlife Sanctuary t
Sunderban Wildlife Sanctuary is located here.
The soil of the Ganga - Brahmaputra basin is ve fertile and suitable for
cultivation of various cro like rice, wheat, sugarcane, jute and tea. Agro - Based industries, like textiles and
sugar, etc. , a common in this
region. Towns and cities, of Haridwa Allahabad,
Varanasi, Patna and Guwahati are locate on or near the river banks, and are
developing at Bengal Tiger very fast rate.
Keywords alluvium: material deposited by a river along its course. drought: a period of dry weather, especially
one lasting for long time to affect life, mangrove: a type of swampy vegetation
that grows along many tropical coastlines.
sub - tropical region, it is a region of the Earth bordering on the
tropics, just north of the Tropic of Canc or just south of the Tropic of Capricorn,
Sub - tropical regions are the warmest parts of the two tempera zones. tropical region: it is a region of the Earth
surrounding the equator, limited in latitude by the Tropic Cancer in the
northern hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern
Hemisphere. 65
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