GEOGRAPHY

7th class

 5 June World Environment Day is celebrated.

 The radius of the earth is 6371 km.
 Interior of earth- Earth has 3 layers
Uppermost layer- Crust- thinnest of all the layers. It is about 35 km. on the continental
masses and only 5 km. on the ocean floors.
The main mineral constituents of the continental mass are silica and alumina (sial).
The oceanic crust mainly consists of silica and magnesium (sima).
Beneath the crust is the mantle which extends up to a depth of 2900 km. below the
crust.
Innermost layer - core with a radius of about 3500 km. mainly made up of nickel and iron
and is called nife. central core has very high temperature and pressure.

 Three major types of rocks: igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks.
Igneous Rocks (Primary rocks)- 2 types- intrusive and extrusive rocks.
Extrusive igneous rocks- When this molten lava comes on the earth’s surface, it rapidly
cools down and becomes solid. They have a very fine grained structure. For example,
basalt. The Deccan plateau is made up of basalt rocks.
Intrusive igneous rocks- Sometimes the molten magma cools down deep inside the
earth’s crust. Solid rocks so formed. Since they cool down slowly they form large grains.
Example- Granite. Grinding stones used to prepare paste/powder of spices and grains
are made of granite.

AIR

 Nitrogen(78%) and oxygen(21%) gases are present in bulk in atmosphere. Carbon

dioxide, helium, ozone, argon and hydrogen are found in lesser quantities. Apart from
these gases, tiny dust particles are also present in the air.
Nitrogen is the most plentiful gas in the air.

Structure Of Air

Our atmosphere is divided into five layers starting from the earth’s surface. These are
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere and Exosphere.

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Thermometer: Measures the temperature

Rain Gauge: Measures the amount of rainfall

Barometre: Measures atmospheric pressure

Wind Vane: Shows the direction of the wind

 The air always moves from high pressure areas to low pressure areas.

WATER

 March 22 is celebrated as World Water Day

 The major sources of fresh water are the rivers, ponds, springs and glaciers.
 The largest tsunami ever measured was 150m
 The Labrador Ocean current is cold current while the Gulf Stream is a warm current.

TROPICAL SUB TROPICAL REGION


 Bromeliads are special plants that store water in their leaves. Animals like frogs use
these pockets of water for laying their eggs.

 The Ganga-Bhramputra basin lies in the sub-tropical region that is situated between
10°N to 30°N latitudes.

 THE HOT DESERT – SAHARA in North Africa

  LADAKH IS A COLD DESERT lying in the Great Himalayas, on the eastern side of Jammu
and Kashmir.
Indus being the most important river flows through Ladakh.

RESOURCES

Resources are generally classified into natural, human made and human.

1. Resources that are drawn from Nature and used without much modification are called
NATURAL RESOURCES. The air, the water in our rivers and lakes, the soils, minerals are all
natural resources.

a. RENEWABLE RESOURCES are those which get renewed or replenished quickly. Some of these
are unlimited and are not affected by human activities, such as solar and wind energy

b. NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES are those which have a limited stock. Once the stocks are
exhausted it may take thousands of years to be renewed or replenished. Coal, petroleum and
natural gas are some examples.

2. natural substances become resources only when their original form has been changed. Iron
ore was not a resource until people learnt to extract iron from it. People use natural resources
to make buildings, bridges, roads, machinery and vehicles, which are known as HUMAN MADE
RESOURCES.

LAND, SOIL, WATER, NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES

 LAND- Ninety per cent of the world population occupies only thirty per cent of land
area. The remaining seventy per cent of the land is either sparsely populated or
uninhabited.
Land is used for different purposes such as agriculture, forestry, mining, building houses,
roads and setting up of industries.
The use of land is determined by physical factors such as topography, soil, climate,
minerals and availability of water. Human factors such as population and technology.

 SOIL- The thin layer of grainy substance covering the surface of the earth is called soil.
Soil is made up of organic matter, minerals and weathered rocks found on the earth. This
happens through the process of weathering. The right mix of minerals and organic
matter make the soil fertile.
It takes hundreds of years to make just one centimetre of soil.

 WATER- Water is a vital renewable natural resource. Three fourth’s of the earth’s surface
is covered with water. It is therefore appropriately called the ‘water planet’.
Fresh water accounts for only about 2.7 per cent.

 NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE- Natural vegetation and wildlife exist only in the
narrow zone of contact between the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere that we
call biosphere. In the biosphere living beings are inter-related and interdependent on
each other for survival. This life supporting system is known as the ecosystem.
The major vegetation types of the world are grouped as forests, grasslands, scrubs and
tundra.
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora)

AGRICULTURE
 Agriculture is a primary activity. It includes growing crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and
rearing of livestock.
The land on which the crops are grown is known as arable land.

Agriculture- The science and art of cultivation on the soil, raising crops and rearing
livestock. It is also called farming.
Sericulture- Pisciculture Commercial rearing of silk worms. It may supplement the
income of the farmer.
Breeding of fish in specially constructed tanks and ponds.
Viticulture- Cultivation of grapes.
Horticulture- Growing vegetables, flowers and fruits for commercial use.

Farming can be classified into two main types. These are subsistence farming and
commercial farming.
1. Subsistence Farming: It is practised to meet the needs of the farmer’s family. low levels
of technology and household labour are used to produce on small output.
Subsistence farming can be further classified as intensive subsistence and primitive
subsistence farming.
a. In intensive subsistence agriculture the farmer cultivates a small plot of land using
simple tools and more labour. Climate with large number of days with sunshine and
fertile soils permit growing of more than one crop annually on the same plot. Rice is the
main crop. Other crops include wheat, maize, pulses and oilseeds. Intensive subsistence
agriculture is prevalent in the thickly populated areas of the monsoon regions of south,
southeast and east Asia
b. Primitive subsistence agriculture includes shifting cultivation and nomadic herding.
 Shifting cultivation is practised in the thickly forested areas of Amazon basin, tropical
Africa, parts of southeast Asia and Northeast India(Jhumming). These are the areas of
heavy rainfall and quick regeneration of vegetation. A plot of land is cleared by felling
the trees and burning them. The ashes are then mixed with the soil and crops like maize,
yam, potatoes and cassava are grown. After the soil loses its fertility, the land is
abandoned and the cultivator moves to a new plot. Shifting cultivation is also known as
‘slash and burn’ agriculture.

2. Commercial Farming : Most of the work is done by machines. Commercial farming

includes commercial grain farming, mixed farming and plantation agriculture. Wheat and
maize are common commercially grown grains.
  Major food crops are wheat, rice, maize and millets. Jute and cotton are fibre crops.
Important beverage crops are tea and coffee.
 RICE- Rice needs high temperature, high humidity and rainfall. It grows best in alluvial
clayey soil, which can retain water. China leads in the production of rice followed by
India.
 WHEAT- Wheat requires moderate temperature and rainfall during growing season and
bright sunshine at the time of harvest. It thrives best in well drained loamy soil. In India
it is grown in winter.
 MILLETS- also known as coarse grains and can be grown on less fertile and sandy soils. It
is a hardy crop that needs low rainfall and high to moderate temperature and adequate
rainfall. Jowar, bajra and ragi are grown in India.
 Cotton: Cotton requires high temperature, light rainfall, two hundred and ten frost-free
days and bright sunshine for its growth. It grows best on black and alluvial soils. China,
USA, India, Pakistan, Brazil and Egypt are the leading producers of cotton. It is one of the
main raw materials for the cotton textile industry.
 Jute: Jute was also known as the ‘Golden Fibre’. It grows well on alluvial soil and requires
high temperature, heavy rainfall and humid climate. This crop is grown in the tropical
areas. India and Bangladesh are the leading producers of jute.
 Coffee: Coffee requires warm and wet climate and well drained loamy soil. Hill slopes are
more suitable for growth of this crop. Brazil is the leading producer followed by
Columbia and India.
 Tea: Tea is a beverage crop. This requires cool climate and well distributed high rainfall
throughout the year for the growth of its tender leaves. It needs well-drained loamy soils
and gentle slopes. Kenya, India, China, Sri Lanka produce the best quality tea in the
world.

INDUSTRIES
Industries can be classified on the basis of raw materials, size and ownership.

1. Raw Materials: Industries may be agro based, mineral based, marine based and forest
based depending on the type of raw materials they use.
a. Agro based industries use plant and animal-based products as their raw materials.
Food processing, vegetable oil, cotton textile, dairy products and leather industries
b. Mineral based industries are primary industries that use mineral ores as their raw
materials. Iron ore,
c. Marine based industries use products from the sea and oceans as raw materials.
Industries processing sea food or manufacturing fish oil
d. Forest based industries utilise forest produce as raw materials. The industries
associated with forests are pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, furniture and buildings.
2. Size: It is amount of capital invested, number of people employed and the volume of
production. Based on size, industries can be classified into small scale and large scale
industries.
3. Ownership: Industries can be classified into private sector, state owned or public sector,
joint sector and cooperative sector.

India has several industrial regions like Mumbai Pune cluster, Bangalore-Tamil Nadu region,
Hugli region, Ahmedabad-Baroda region, Chottanagpur industrial belt, Vishakhapatnam-Guntur
belt, Gurgaon-Delhi-Meerut region and the Kollam-Thiruvanathapuram industrial cluster.

Major Industries

Iron and Steel Industry- All the important steel producing centres such as Bhilai, Durgapur,
Burnpur, Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Bokaro are situated in a region that spreads over four states —
West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Bhadravati and Vijay Nagar in Karnataka,
Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Salem in Tamil Nadu are other important steel centres
utilising local resources.

Before 1947, there was only one iron and steel plant in the country – Tata Iron and Steel
Company Limited (TISCO). It was privately owned.

TISCO was started in 1907 at Sakchi(Jamshedpur), near the confluence of the rivers
Subarnarekha and Kharkai in Jharkhand.