SOCIAL SCIENCE

The Earth : Our Habitat

TEXTBOOK IN GEOGRAPHY FOR CLASS VI

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 CONTENTS

Foreword iii
Rationalisation of Content in the Textbooks v

1. The Earth in the Solar System......................... 1

2. Globe : Latitudes and Longitudes.................... 10

3. Motions of the Earth........................................ 18

4. Maps................................................................ 23

5. Major Domains of the Earth............................. 30

6. Our Country – India......................................... 39

Appendix I............................................................ 48

Appendix II........................................................... 49

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 1
THE EARTH IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

How wonderful it is to watch the sky after sunset! One Let’s Do

would first notice one or two bright dots shining in
You’ll need : 1 torch,
the sky. Soon you would see the number increasing. 1 sheet of plain
You cannot count them any more. The whole sky is paper, pencil and a
filled with tiny shining objects – some are bright, others needle.
dim. It seems as if the sky is studded with diamonds. Step :
They all appear to be twinkling. But if you look at 1. Place the torch in the centre
of the paper with its glass
them carefully you will notice that some of them do front touching the paper.
not twinkle as others do. They simply glow without 2. Now draw a circle around
any flicker just as the moon shines. the torch.
Along with these bright objects, you may also see 3. Perforate the paper with the
needle within the circled
the moon on most of the days. It may, however, appear
area.
at different times, in different shapes and at different 4. Now place the perforated
positions. You can see the full moon only once in about circle part of the paper on
a month’s time. It is Full moon night or Poornima. A the glass front and wrap the
fortnight later, you cannot see it at all. It is a New paper around the torch
with a rubber band.
moon night or Amavasya. On this day, you can watch
5. Take care that the switch
the night sky best, provided it is a clear night. of the torch is not covered.
Do you wonder why can’t we see the moon and all 6. In a dark room, stand at
those bright tiny objects during day time? It is because some distance facing a
the very bright light of the sun does not allow us to see plain wall. Switch off all
other lights. Now flash the
all these bright objects of the night sky.
torch light on the wall. You
The sun, the moon and all those objects shining in will see numerous dots of
the night sky are called celestial bodies. light on the wall, like stars
Some celestial bodies are very big and hot. They shine in the night.
are made up of gases. They have their own heat and 7. Switch on all the lights in
the room. All dots of light
light, which they emit in large amounts. These celestial
will be almost invisible.
bodies are called stars. The sun is a star. 8. You may now compare the
Countless twinkling stars in the night sky are situation with what happens
similar to the sun. But we do not feel their heat or to the bright objects of the
light, and they look so tiny because they are very very far night sky after the sun rises
from us. in the morning.

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 You must have noticed that all
objects look smaller when seen from a
distance. How small an aeroplane looks
when it is flying at a great height!
While watching the night sky, you
may notice various patterns formed by
different groups of stars. These are
called constellations. Ursa Major or
Big Bear is one such constellation. One
of the most easily recognisable
constellation is the Saptarishi (Sapta-
seven, rishi-sages). It is a group of seven
stars (Figure 1.1) that forms a part of
Ursa Major Constellation. Ask someone
elder in your family or neighbourhood
to show you more stars, planets and
constellations in the sky.
In ancient times, people used to
determine directions during the night
with the help of stars. The North star
indicates the north direction. It is also
called the Pole Star. It always remains
in the same position in the sky. We can
locate the position of the Pole Star with
the help of the Saptarishi. Look at
Figure 1.1. You will notice that, if an imaginary line is
drawn joining the pointer stars and extended further,
it will point to the Pole Star.
Some celestial bodies do not have their own heat
and light. They are lit by the light of the stars. Such
Figure 1.1 : Saptarishi and the
bodies are called planets. The word ‘planet’ comes from
North Star
the Greek word “Planetai” which means ‘wanderers’.
The earth on which we live is a planet. It gets all its
heat and light from the sun, which is our nearest star.
If we look at the earth from a great distance, say the
moon, it will appear to be shining just as the moon.
Interesting Fact
The moon that we see in the sky is a satellite. It is a
Jupiter, Saturn and companion of our earth and moves round it. Like our
Uranus have rings earth, there are seven other planets that get heat and
around them. These light from the sun. Some of them have their moons too.
are belts of small debris.
These rings may be THE SOLAR SYSTEM
seen from the earth
with the help of powerful The sun, eight planets, satellites and some other
telescopes. celestial bodies known as asteroids and meteoroids

2 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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 THE EARTH IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

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1. MERCURY - One orbit around sun - 88 days, 5. JUPITER - One orbit around sun - 11 years, 11 8. NEPTUNE - One orbit around sun - 164 years.
One spin on axis - 59 days. months about 12 years. One spin on One spin on axis-16 hours 7
2. VENUS - One orbit around sun - 255 days. axis - 9 hours, 56 minutes, number of minutes, number of moons - 13.
One spin on axis - 243 days moons - about 53
3. EARTH - One orbit around sun - 365 days. 6. SATURN - One orbit around sun - 29 years, 5
One spin on axis - 1 day months. One spin on axis - 10 hours 40
Number of moons - 1 minutes, number of moons - about 53.
4. MARS - One orbit around sun - 687 days 7. URANUS - One orbit around sun - 84 years. One
One spin on axis - 1 day, spin around axis - 17 hours 14 minutes,
number of moons - 02 number of moons - about 27.

Inner planets - very close to the sun. They are made up Outer Planets - Very-very far from the sun and are huge planets made up of gases and liquids.
of rocks.

3
Figure 1.2 : The Solar System Saurce: https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/Planets
 Do you know? form the solar system. We often call it a solar family,
‘Sol’ in Roman with the sun as its Head.
mythology is
the ‘Sungod’. The Sun
‘Solar’ means
‘related to the sun’. The The sun is in the centre of the solar system. It is huge
family of the sun is, and made up of extremely hot gases. It provides the
therefore, called the solar pulling force that binds the solar system. The sun is
system. Write down as
many words using the word the ultimate source of heat and light for the solar
solar on your own as you system. But that tremendous heat is not felt so much
can. by us because despite being our nearest star, it is far
Word Origin away from us. The sun is about 150 million km away
from the earth.
Many words used
in a language may
Planets
have been taken
from some other language. There are eight planets in our solar system. In order of
Geography, for example, is their distance from the sun, they are: Mercury,
an English word. It has its Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
origin in Greek, which Neptune.
relates to the description
of the earth. It is made of An easy way to memorise the name of the planets in
two Greek words, ‘ge’ order of their distance from the sun is:
meaning’ ‘earth’ and
‘graphia’ meaning ‘writing’. MY VERY EFFICIENT MOTHER JUST SERVED US NUTS.
Find out more about the
earth. All the eight planets of the solar system move
around the sun in fixed paths. These paths are
elongated. They are called orbits. Mercury is nearest
to the sun. It takes only about 88 days to complete
one round along its orbit. Venus is considered as
‘Earth’s-twin’ because its size and shape are very much
Do you know? similar to that of the earth.
Humans have T ill recently (August 2006), Pluto was also
always been considered a planet. However, in a meeting of the
fascinated gazing at the night International Astronomical Union, a decision was
sky. Those who study the
taken that Pluto like other celestial objects (Ceres, 2003
celestial bodies and their
movements are called UB 313 ) discovered in recent past may be called
astronomers. Aryabhatta ‘dwarf planets.”
was a famous astronomer of
ancient India. He said that The Earth
the moon and the planets
shine due to reflected The earth is the third nearest planet to the sun. In
sunlight. Today, astronomers size, it is the fifth largest planet. It is slightly flattened
all over the world are busy at the poles. That is why, its shape is described as a
exploring the universe. Geoid. Geoid means an earth-like shape.

4 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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 Conditions favourable to support life are probably Do you know?
found only on the earth. The earth is neither too hot
Light travels at
nor too cold. It has water and air, which are very the speed of
essential for our survival. The air has life-supporting about 300,000
gases like oxygen. Because of these reasons, the earth km per second.
is a unique planet in the solar system. Yet, even with this speed,
From the outer space, the earth appears blue the light of the sun takes
because its two-thirds surface is covered by water. It about eight minutes to
is, therefore, called a blue planet. reach the earth.

The Moon
Our earth has only one
Interesting Fact
satellite, that is, the
moon. Its diametre is Neil Armstrong was
only one-quarter that of the first man to
the earth. It appears so step on the surface
big because it is nearer to of the moon on 20 July
our planet than other 1969. Find out whether
any Indian has landed on
celestial bodies. It is
the moon?
about 3,84,400 km away
from us. Now you can
compare the distance of Figure 1.3 : The moon as seen from
the space
the earth from the sun A Satellite is a celestial
and that from the moon. body that moves around
The moon moves around the earth in about 27 days. the planets in the same
It takes exactly the same time to complete one spin. As way as the planets move
a result, only one side of the moon is visible to us on around the sun.
the earth. A Human-made Satellite
The moon does not have conditions favourable for is an artificial body. It is
life. It has mountains, plains and depressions on its designed by scientists to
gather information about
the universe or for
communication. It is
carried by a rocket and
placed in the orbit around
the earth.
Some of the Indian
satellites in space are INSAT,
IRS, EDUSAT, etc.

? What do animals and

Rocket launch Rocket falls back to the Earth Satellite enters orbit plants require in order
Figure 1.4 : Human-made Satellite to grow and survive?

THE EARTH IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM 5

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 surface. These cast shadows on the moon’s surface.
Look at the full moon and observe these shadows.

Asteroids
Apart from the stars, planets and satellites, there are
numerous tiny bodies which also move around the
sun. These bodies are called asteroids. They are found
Figure 1.5 : Asteroid between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter (Figure 1.2).
Scientists are of the view that asteroids are parts of a
planet which exploded many years back.

Meteoroids
The small pieces of rocks which move around the sun
are called meteoroids. Sometimes these meteoroids
come near the earth and tend to drop upon it. During
this process due to friction with the air they get heated
up and burn. It causes a flash of light. Sometimes, a
meteor without being completely burnt, falls on the
earth and creates a hollow.
Do you see a whitish broad band, like a white
glowing path across the sky on a clear starry night? It
is a cluster of millions of stars. This band is the Milky
Way galaxy (Figure 1.6). Our solar system is a part of
this galaxy. In ancient India, it was imagined to be a
river of light flowing in the sky. Thus, it was named
Akash Ganga. A galaxy is a huge system of billions of
stars, and clouds of dust
and gases. There are
millions of such galaxies
that make the Universe.
It is difficult to imagine
how big the universe is.
Scientists are still trying
to find out more and more
about it. We are not
certain about its size but
we know that all of us –
you and I belong to this
universe.
Figure 1.6 : Milky Way

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 2
GLOBE : LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES

In the previous chapter, you have read that our planet

earth is not a sphere. It is slightly flattened at the
North and the South Poles and bulge in the middle.
Can you imagine how it looks? You may look at a
globe carefully in your classroom to get an idea.
Globe is a true model (miniature form) of the earth
(Figure 2.1).
Globes may be of varying size and type – big ones,
which cannot be carried easily, small pocket globes,
and globe-like balloons, which can be inflated and are
handy and carried with ease. The globe is not fixed. It
can be rotated the same way as a top spin or a potter’s
wheel is rotated. On the globe, countries, continents
Figure 2.1 : Globe and oceans are shown in their correct size.
It is difficult to describe the location of a point on a
sphere like the earth. Now the question arises as to
how to locate a place on it? We need certain points of
reference and lines to find out the location of places.
Let’s Do You will notice that a needle is fixed through the
Take a big round globe in a tilted manner, which is called its axis. Two
potato or a ball. points on the globe through which the needle passes
Pierce a knitting are two poles – North Pole and South Pole. The globe
needle through it. The
can be moved around this needle from west to east
needle resembles the axis
shown in a globe. You can just as the earth moves. But, remember there is a major
now move the potato or the difference. The real earth has no such needle. It moves
ball around this axis from around its axis, which is an imaginary line.
left to right. Another imaginary line running on the globe divides
it into two equal parts. This line is known as the
equator. The northern half of the earth is known as
the Northern Hemisphere and the southern half is
known as the Southern Hemisphere. They are both

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equal halves. Therefore, the equator is an
imaginary circular line and is a very
important reference point to locate places
on the earth. All parallel circles from the
equator up to the poles are called parallels
of latitudes. Latitudes are measured in
degrees.
The equator represents the zero degree
latitude. Since the distance from the
equator to either of the poles is one-fourth
of a circle round the earth, it will measure
¼th of 360 degrees, i.e. 90°. Thus, 90
degrees north latitude marks the North
Pole and 90 degrees south latitude marks
the South Pole.
As such, all parallels north of the Figure 2.2 : Latitude
equator are called ‘north latitudes.’
Similarly all parallels south of the equator are called
‘south latitudes.’ Do you know?
The value of each latitude is, therefore, followed by By measuring
either the word north or south. Generally, this is the angle of the
indicated by the letter ‘N’ or ‘S’. For example, both Pole Star from
Chandrapur in Maharashtra (India) and Belo your place, you can know
Horizonte in Brazil (South America) are located on the latitude of your place.
parallels of about 20° latitude. But the former is 20°
north of the equator and the latter is 20° south of it.
We, therefore, say that Chandrapur is
situated at 20° N latitude and Belo
Horizonte is situated at 20° S latitude.
We see in Figure 2.2 that as we move
away from the equator, the size of the
parallels of latitude decreases.

IMPORTANT PARALLELS OF LATITUDES

Besides the equator (0°), the North Pole
(90°N) and the South Pole (90° S), there
are four important parallels of latitudes–
(i) Tropic of Cancer (23½° N) in the
Northern Hemisphere. (ii) Tropic of
Capricorn (23½° S) in the Southern
Hemisphere. (iii) Arctic Circle at 66½°
north of the equator. (iv) Antarctic
Circle at 66½° south of the equator. Figure 2.3 : Important Latitudes and Heat Zones

GLOBE : LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES 11

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 HEAT ZONES OF THE EARTH
The mid-day sun is exactly overhead at
least once a year on all latitudes in
between the Tropic of Cancer and the
Tropic of Capricorn. This area, therefore,
receives the maximum heat and is called
the Torrid Zone.
The mid-day sun never shines
overhead on any latitude beyond the
Figure 2.4 : (a) T ropic of Cancer and the Tropic of
Torch-light falling on a straight
Capricorn. The angle of the sun’s rays
surface is bright and covers a
goes on decreasing towards the poles. As
smaller area. such, the areas bounded by the Tropic
of Cancer and the Arctic Circle in the
Northern Hemisphere, and the Tropic of
Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle in the
Southern Hemisphere, have moderate
temperatures. These are, therefore, called
Temperate Zones.
Areas lying between the Arctic Circle
Figure 2.4 : (b) and the North Pole in the Northern
Hemisphere and the Antarctic Circle and
Torch-light falling on a slanted the South Pole in the Southern
surface is less bright but covers a Hemisphere, are very cold. It is because
bigger area. here the sun does not rise much above
the horizon. Therefore, its rays are
always slanting and provide less heat.
These are, therefore, called Frigid
Zones (very cold).
WHAT ARE LONGITUDES?
To fix the position of a place, it is
necessary to know something more
than the latitude of that place. You
can see, for example, that Tonga
Islands (in the Pacific Ocean) and
Mauritius Islands (in the Indian
Ocean) are situated on the same
latitude (i.e., 20° S). Now, in order to
locate them precisely, we must find
out how far east or west these places
are from a given line of reference
running from the North Pole to the
South Pole. These lines of references
Figure 2.5 : Longitudes are called the meridians of longitude,

12 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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and the distances between them are measured in Let’s Do
‘degrees of longitude.’ Each degree is further divided
Draw a circle.
into minutes, and minutes into seconds. They are semi-
Let the Prime
circles and the distance between them decreases meridian divide
steadily polewards until it becomes zero at the poles, it into two equal halves.
where all the meridians meet. Colour and label the
Unlike parallels of latitude, all meridians are of equal eastern hemisphere and
length. Thus, it was difficult to number the meridians. the western hemisphere.
Hence, all countries decided that the count should Similarly draw another
begin from the meridian which passed through circle and let the equator
Greenwich, where the British Royal Observatory is divide it into two halves.
located. This meridian is called the Prime Meridian. Now colour the Northern
Its value is 0° longitude and from it we count 180° hemisphere and Southern
hemisphere.
eastward as well as 180° westward. The Prime Meridian
and 180° meridian divide the earth into
two equal halves, the Eastern Hemisphere
and the Western Hemisphere. Therefore,
the longitude of a place is followed by the
letter E for the east and W for the west. It
is, however, interesting to note that 180°
East and 180° West meridians are on the
same line.
Now look at the grid of the parallels of
latitude and meridians of longitude on the
globe (Figure 2.6). You can locate any point
on the globe very easily if you know its
latitude and longitude. For example,
Dhubri in Assam is situated at 26° N
latitude and 90° E longitude. Find out the
Figure 2.6 : Grid
point where these two lines cut each other.
That point will be the location of Dhubri.
To understand this clearly draw equidistant vertical
and horizontal lines on a paper (Figure 2.7). Label the
vertical rows with numbers and horizontal rows with
letters, draw some small circles randomly on points
where these horizontal and vertical lines intersect each
other. Name these small circles as a, b, c, d and e.
Let vertical lines represent East Longitudes and
horizontal lines as North Latitudes.
Now you will see that circle ‘a’ is located on B° N
latitude and 1° E longitude.
Find out the location of other circles. Figure 2.7

GLOBE : LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES 13

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 Figure 2.8 : Time zones of the World

14 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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LONGITUDE AND TIME
The best means of measuring time is by the movement
of the earth, the moon and the planets. The sun
regularly rises and sets every day, and naturally, it is
the best time-keeper throughout the world. Local time
can be reckoned by the shadow cast by the sun, which
is the shortest at noon and longest at sunrise and
sunset.
When the Prime Meridian of Greenwich has the sun
at the highest point in the sky, all the places along
this meridian will have mid-day or noon.
As the earth rotates from west to east, those places
east of Greenwich will be ahead of Greenwich time and
those to the west will be behind it (Figure 2.8). The
rate of difference can be calculated as follows. The earth
rotates 360° in about 24 hours, which means 15° an
hour or 1° in four minutes. Thus, when it is 12 noon
at Greenwich, the time at 15° east of Greenwich will be
15 × 4 = 60 minutes, i.e., 1 hour ahead of Greenwich
time, which means 1 p.m. But at 15° west of Greenwich,
the time will be behind Greenwich time by one hour,
i.e., it will be 11.00 a.m. Similarly, at 180°, it will be
midnight when it is 12 noon at Greenwich.
At any place a watch can be adjusted to read 12
o’clock when the sun is at the highest point in the
sky, i.e., when it is mid-day. The time shown by such
a watch will give the local time for that place. You can
see that all the places on a given meridian of longitude
have the same local time.

WHY DO WE HAVE STANDARD TIME?

The local time of places which are on different
meridians are bound to differ. For example, it will be
difficult to prepare a time-table for trains which cross
several longitudes. In India, for instance, there will be
a difference of about 1 hour and 45 minutes in the
local times of Dwarka in Gujarat and Dibrugarh in
Assam. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt the local
time of some central meridian of a country as the
standard time for the country. In India, the longitude
of 82½° E (82° 30 ' E) is treated as the standard
meridian. The local time at this meridian is taken as
the standard time for the whole country. It is known
as the Indian Standard Time (IST). Figure 2.9 : Indian Standard Meridian

GLOBE : LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES 15

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 Kabeer lives in a small town near Bhopal. He tells his friend Alok that they will
not be able to sleep tonight. A day and night cricket match between India and
England had started at 2 p.m. in London. This means that the match would begin
at 7.30 p.m. in India and finish well into the night. Do you know what is the time
difference between India and England?
India located east of Greenwich at 82°30'E is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of
GMT. So it will be 7:30 p.m. in India when it is 2:00 p.m. noon in London.
Some countries have a great longitudinal extent and so they have adopted
more than one standard time. For example, in Russia, there are as many as eleven
standard times. The earth has been divided into twenty-four time zones of one
hour each. Each zone thus covers 15° of longitude.

16 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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 3
MOTIONS OF THE EARTH

Let’s Do As you know that the earth has two types of motions,
namely rotation and revolution. Rotation is the
Take a ball to
movement of the earth on its axis. The movement of
represent the
earth and a
the earth around the sun in a fixed path or orbit is
lighted candle to represent called Revolution.
the sun. Mark a point on The axis of the earth which is an imaginary line,
the ball to represent a makes an angle of 66½° with its orbital plane. The
town X. Place the ball in plane formed by the orbit is known as the orbital plane.
such a way that the town The earth receives light from the sun. Due to the
X is in darkness. Now spherical shape of the earth, only half of it gets light
rotate the ball from left to from the sun at a time (Figure 3.2). The portion facing
right. As you move the ball the sun experiences day while the other half away from
slightly, the town will the sun experiences night. The circle that divides the
have its sunrise. As the day from night on the globe is called the circle of
ball continues to move, illumination. This circle does not coincide with the
the point X gradually gets
axis as you see in the Figure 3.2. The earth takes about
away from the sun. This
is sunset. 24 hours to complete one rotation around its axis.
The period of rotation is known as the earthday. This is
the daily motion of the earth.

Figure 3.1 : Inclination of the Earth’s

axis and the orbital plane Figure 3.2 : Day and Night on the Earth due to rotation

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 What would happen if the earth did not rotate? The
portion of the earth facing the sun would always
experience day, thus bringing continuous warmth to Do you know?
the region. The other half would remain in darkness
and be freezing cold all the time. Life would not have The ancient Indian
been possible in such extreme conditions. astronomer Aryabhata
had stated that ‘the
The second motion of the earth around the sun in earth is round and
its orbit is called revolution. It takes 365¼ days (one rotates on its own axis’
year) to revolve around the sun. We consider a year as
consisting of 365 days only and ignore six hours for
the sake of convenience.

Figure 3.3 : Revolution of the Earth and Seasons

Six hours saved every year are added to make one

day (24 hours) over a span of four years. This surplus
day is added to the month of February. Thus every
fourth year, February is of 29 days instead of 28 days.
Such a year with 366 days is called a leap year. Find
out when will the next leap year be?
From the Figure 3.3, it is clear that the earth is
going around the sun in an elliptical orbit.
Notice that throughout its orbit, the earth is inclined
in the same direction.
A year is usually divided into summer, winter, spring
and autumn seasons. Seasons change due to the change
in the position of the earth around the sun.

MOTIONS OF THE EARTH 19

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 Let’s Do
Do you know how to draw an ellipse? Take a pencil, two pins and a loop of
thread. Now fix these pins on a paper as shown in the figure. Put the loop
on the paper enclosing these two pins inside the loop. Now hold the pencil
and draw the line keeping the thread tight and moving the pencil along it. The
figure represents an ellipse.

Look at the Figure 3.3. You will see that on 21st

June, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the
sun. The rays of the sun fall directly on the Tropic of
Cancer. As a result, these areas receive more heat. The
areas near the poles receive less heat as the rays of the
sun are slanting. The North Pole is inclined towards
the sun and the places beyond the Arctic Circle
experience continuous daylight for about six months.
Since a large portion of the Northern Hemisphere is
getting light from the sun, it is summer in the regions
north of the equator. The longest day and the shortest
night at these places occur on 21st June. At this time
Let’s Do in the Southern Hemisphere all these conditions are
To understand reversed. It is winter season there. The nights are longer
the earth’s than the days. This position of the earth is called the
inclination in Summer Solstice.
the same direction, draw
On 22nd December, the Tropic of Capricorn receives
a big ellipse on the ground
and take a flag w i t h a direct rays of the sun as the South Pole tilts towards
stick. Stand anywhere on it. As the sun’s rays fall vertically at the Tropic of
the line of the ellipse. Capricorn (23½° S), a larger portion of the Southern
Point your flag to a fixed Hemisphere gets light. Therefore, it is summer in the
point far away like on a Southern Hemisphere with longer days and shorter
tree-top. Now move along nights. The reverse happens in the Northern
the ellipse keeping your
Hemisphere. This position of the earth is called the
flag always pointing
towards that fixed point. Winter Solstice. Do you know that Christmas is
In this way, the axis of the celebrated in Australia in the summer season?
earth remains inclined On 21st March and September 23rd, direct rays of
permanently in the same the sun fall on the equator. At this position, neither of
position. The revolution of the poles is tilted towards the sun; so, the whole earth
the earth and the experiences equal days and equal nights. This is called
inclination of the earth’s
an equinox.
axis in a fixed direction
cause seasons.
On 23rd September, it is autumn season in the
Northern Hemisphere and spring season in the Southern
Hemisphere. The opposite is the case on 21st March,

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when it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere and
autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
Thus, you find that there are days and nights and
changes in the seasons because of the rotation and
revolution of the earth respectively.

MOTIONS OF THE EARTH 21

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 N

4
S
MAPS

You have learnt in the previous chapter about the

advantages of a globe. However, globe has limitations
as well. A globe can be useful when we want to study
the earth as a whole. But, when we want to study only
a part of the earth, as about our country, states, Let’s Do
districts, towns and villages, it is of little help. In such
Take an old
a situation we use maps. A map is a representation or rubber ball and
a drawing of the earth’s surface or a part of it drawn draw whatever
on a flat surface according to a scale. But it is you like all over it. You
impossible to flatten a round shape completely. may also mark north
We find that maps are useful to us for various pole and south pole on
purposes. One map shows a small area and a few facts. it. Now cut this ball
Another map may contain as many facts as a big book. with a knife and try to
When many maps are put together we get an Atlas. flatten it. Notice how the
Atlases are of various sizes, measurements drawn on drawings are distorted.
different scales. Maps provide more information than
a globe. They are of different types. Some of them are
described below.

PHYSICAL MAPS
Maps showing natural features of the earth such as
mountains, plateaus, plains, rivers, oceans etc. are
called physical or relief maps.

POLITICAL MAPS
Maps showing cities, towns and villages, and different
countries and states of the world with their boundaries
are called political maps.

THEMATIC MAPS
Some maps focus on specific information; such as road

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 maps, rainfall maps, maps showing distribution of
forests, industries etc. are known as thematic maps.
Suitable titles are given on the basis of information
provided in these maps.
There are three Components of Maps – distance,
direction and symbol.

DISTANCE
Maps are drawings, which reduce the entire world or a
part of it to fit on a sheet of paper. Or we can say maps
are drawn to reduced scales. But this reduction is done
very carefully so that the distance between the places
is real. It can only be possible when a small distance
on paper represents a large distance on the ground.
Therefore, a scale is chosen for this purpose. Scale is
the ratio between the actual distance on the ground
and the distance shown on the map. For example, the
Let’s Do
distance between your school and your home is 10
Look at the km. If you show this 10 km. distance by 2 cm on a
Figure 4.1. map, it means, 1 cm on the map will show 5 km. on
There is a scale.
the ground. The scale of your drawing will be 1cm = 5
It may be used for
measuring distance km. Thus, scale is very important in any map. If you
between places. For know the scale, you will be able to calculate the
example the distance distance between any two places on a map.
between the well and the When large areas like continents or countries are
tree is 5 cm. It means to be shown on a paper, then we use a small scale. For
that the actual distance example 5 cm. on the map shows 500 km. of the
is 50 metres. Now the
ground. It is called a small scale map.
distance between the PO
When a small area like your village or town is to be
(A) to Karim’s house (E)
is 12 cm. It means 120 shown on paper, then we use a large scale that is 5
metres on the ground but cm. on the map shows 500 metres only on the ground.
you can not fly like a bird It is called a large scale map.
directly from E to A. You Large scale maps give more information than small
will have to walk on the scale maps.
road. Let us measure the
total walking distance DIRECTION
from E to C, then C to M,
M to B and B to A. Add Most maps contain an arrow marked with the letter
all these distances. This ‘N’ at the upper right hand corner. This arrow shows
will be the total walking the north direction. It is called the north line. When
distance from Karim’s you know the north, you can find out other directions,
house to the post office.
for example east, west and south. There are four major

24 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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Figure 4.1 : Map of a village

directions, North, South, East and West {Figure 4.2

(a)}. They are called cardinal points. Other four
intermediate directions are north-east (NE), south-
east(SE), south-west (SW) and north-west (NW). We
can locate any place more accurately with the help of
these intermediate directions. Figure 4.2 (a) : Cardinal Directions
Find out the following directions from the
Figure 4.1: (a) The direction of the Community Centre, N

the playground from Vikas’s house (b) the direction

of school from shops.
We can find out the direction of a place with the
help of a compass. It is an instrument used to find
S
out main directions. Its magnetic needle always points
towards north-south direction {Figure 4.2 (b)}. Figure 4.2 (b) : A compass

MAPS 25

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 SYMBOLS
It is the third important component of a map. It is not
possible to draw on a map the actual shape and size of
different features such as buildings, roads, bridges,
trees, railway lines or a well. So, they are shown by
using certain letters, shades, colours, pictures and lines
These symbols give a lot of information in a limited
space. With the use of these symbols, maps can be
drawn easily and are simple to read. Even if you don’t
know the language of an area and therefore cannot
ask someone for directions, you can collect information
from maps with the help of these symbols. Maps have
a universal language that can be understood by all.
There is an international agreement regarding the use
of these symbols. These are called conventional
symbols. Some of the conventional symbols are shown
in the Figure 4.3.

Figure 4.3 : Conventional Symbols

Various colours are used for the same purpose. For

example, generally blue is used for showing water
bodies, brown for mountain, yellow for plateau and
green is used for plains.

26 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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Figure 4.4 : Sunderpur village and its surrounding areas

SKETCH Look at the Figure 4.4 and

A sketch is a drawing mainly based on memory and find out :
spot observation and not to scale. Sometimes a rough (i) In which direction is
the river flowing?
drawing is required of an area to tell where a (ii) What kind of road
particular place is located with respect to other passes by the side of
places. Suppose, you want to go to your friend’s village Dumri?
house, but you don’t know the way. Your friend may (iii) On what type of
make a rough drawing to show the way to his house. railway line is
Such a rough drawing is drawn without scale, and Sunderpur situated ?
is called a sketch map. (iv) On which side of the
railway bridge is the
PLAN police station
situated?
A plan is a drawing of a small area on a large scale. A (v) On which side of the
large-scale map gives lot of information, but there are railway line do the
certain things which we may sometimes want to know following lie :
for example the length and breadth of a room, which (a) Chhatri
can’t be shown in a map. At that time, we can refer (b) Church (c) Pond
(d) Mosque (e) River
drawings drawn to scale called a plan. (f) Post and
Telegraph Office
Let’s Do Visit web portal School Bhuvan-NCERT and (g) Graveyard
draw online neighbourhood map on satellite imageries.

MAPS 27

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 5
MAJOR DOMAINS OF THE EARTH

As you have read in the first chapter, the earth is the

only planet which has life. Human beings can live here
because the life sustaining elements of land, water and
air are present on the earth.
The surface of the earth is a complex zone in which
three main components of the environment meet,
overlap and interact. The solid portion of the earth on
which we live is called the Lithosphere. The gaseous
layers that surround the earth, is the Atmosphere,
Word Origin where oxygen, nitrogen, carbondioxide and other gases
In the Greek are found. Water covers a very big area of the earth’s
language, Lithos surface and this area is called the Hydrosphere. The
means Stone; Atmos Hydrosphere comprises water in all its forms, that is,
means Vapour; ice, water and water vapour.
Hudor means Water; The Biosphere is the narrow zone where we find
and Bios means Life. land, water and air together, which contains all forms
Can you make words using of life.
the above?
LITHOSPHERE
The solid portion of the earth is called the Lithosphere.
It comprises the rocks of the earth’s crust and the thin
layers of soil that contain nutrient elements which
sustain organisms.
There are two main divisions of the earth’s surface.
The large landmasses are known as the continents
and the huge water bodies are called the ocean basins.
All the oceans of the world are connected with one
another. Look at the map of the world (Figure 5.1). Are
all the land masses connected with one another?
The level of seawater remains the same everywhere.
Elevation of land is measured from the level of the sea,
which is taken as zero.

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 MAJOR DOMAINS OF THE EARTH

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SOUTHERN OCEAN

Figure 5.1 : The World : Continents and Oceans

31
 The highest mountain peak Mt. Everest is 8,848
Do you know? metres above the sea level. The greatest depth of 11,022
Edmund Hillary metres is recorded at Mariana Trench in the Pacific
(New Zealand) Ocean. Could you imagine that depth of sea is much
and Tenzing Norgay more than the highest point?
Sherpa (India) were the
first men to climb the Continents
highest mountain peak Mt. There are seven major continents. These are separated
Everest on the planet by large water bodies. These continents are – Asia,
earth on 29th May, 1953. Europe, Africa, North America, South America,
Junko Tabei (Japan) Australia and Antarctica. Look at the map of the world
was the first woman to (Figure 5.1) and notice that the greater part of the land
reach the summit on 16th
mass lies in the Northern Hemisphere.
May, 1975. The first
Asia is the largest continent. It covers about one-
Indian woman to climb the
highest peak on 23rd May,
third of the total land area of the earth. The continent
1984 was Bachendri Pal. lies in the Eastern Hemisphere. The Tropic of Cancer
passes through this continent. Asia is separated from
Europe by the Ural mountains on the west (Figure
5.1). The combined landmass of Europe and Asia is
called the Eurasia (Europe + Asia).
Europe is much smaller than Asia. The continent
lies to the west of Asia. The Arctic Circle passes through
it. It is bound by water bodies on three sides. Look at
the map of the world and locate it.
Africa is the second largest continent after Asia.
The Equator or 00 latitude runs almost through the
middle of the continent. A large part of Africa lies in
the Northern Hemisphere. Look at the Figure 5.1; you
will find that it is the only continent through which
the Tropic of Cancer, the Equator and the Tropic of
Capricorn pass.
The Sahara Desert, the world’s largest hot desert,
is located in Africa. The continent is bound on all sides
by oceans and seas. Look at the world map (Figure 5.1).
You will notice that the world’s longest river the Nile,
flows through Africa. Notice where the Equator, the
Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn pass in
the map of Africa.
North America is the third largest continent of the
world. It is linked to South America by a very narrow
strip of land called the Isthmus of Panama. The
continent lies completely in the Northern and Western
Hemisphere. Three oceans surround this continent.
Can you name these oceans?

32 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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 South America lies
mostly in the Southern
Hemisphere. Which two
oceans surround it on
the east and the west?
The Andes, world’s
longest mountain
range, runs through its
length from north to
south (Figure 5.1).
South America has the
world’s largest river, the
Amazon.
Australia is the
smallest continent that
lies entirely in the Name the Strait
Southern Hemisphere. between India
It is surrounded on all and Sri Lanka.
sides by the oceans and
seas. It is called an Figure 5.2 : Isthmus and Strait
island continent.
Antarctica, completely in the Southern Hemisphere,
is a huge continent. The South Pole lies almost at the
centre of this continent. As it is located in the South
Polar Region, it is permanently covered with thick ice
sheets. There are no permanent human settlements.
Many countries have research stations in Antarctica.
India also has research stations there. These are named
as Maitri and Bharati.

H YDROSPHERE
The earth is called the blue planet. More than 71 per
cent of the earth is covered with water and 29 per
cent is with land. Hydrosphere consists of water in
all its forms. As running water in oceans and rivers
and in lakes, ice in glaciers, underground water and
Fresh
the water vapour in atmosphere, all comprise the Water
hydrosphere. 2.5%

More than 97% of the Earth’s water is found in the

oceans and is too salty for human use. A large Oceans
proportion of the rest of the water is in the form of 97.5%
icesheets and glaciers or under the ground and a very
small percentage is available as fresh water for human

MAJOR DOMAINS OF THE EARTH 33

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Figure 5.3 : Comparative size of the continents
Count the squares given in Figure 5.3 and answer the following :
(a) Name the largest continent; (b) Which is larger – Europe or Australia?

use. Hence, despite being a ‘blue planet’ we face a

shortage of water!!

Oceans
Oceans are the major part of hydrosphere. They are
all interconnected.
The ocean waters are always moving. The three chief
movements of ocean waters are the waves, the tides
and the ocean currents. The five major oceans are the
Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean,
the Southern Ocean and the Arctic Ocean, in order of
their size (Figure 5.1).
The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean. It is spread
over one-third of the earth. Mariana Trench, the deepest
part of the earth, lies in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific
Ocean is almost circular in shape. Asia, Australia,

34 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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North and South Americas surround it. Look at the map
and find out the location of the continents around the
Pacific Ocean.
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest Ocean in
the world. It is ‘S’ shaped. It is flanked by the North
and South Americas on the western side, and Europe
and Africa on the eastern side. The coastline of Atlantic
Ocean is highly indented. This irregular and indented
coastline provides ideal location for natural harbours
and ports. From the point of view of commerce, it is
the busiest Ocean.
The Indian Ocean is the only ocean named after a
country, that is, India. The shape of ocean is almost
triangular. In the north, it is bound by Asia, in the
west by Africa and in the east by Australia.
The Southern Ocean encircles the continent of
Antarctica and extends northward to 60 degrees south
latitude.
The Arctic Ocean is located within the Arctic Circle
and surrounds the North Pole. It is connected with the
Pacific Ocean by a narrow stretch of shallow water
known as Berring strait. It is bound by northern coasts
of North America and Eurasia.
Exosphere

ATMOSPHERE
The earth is surrounded by a layer of gas called the
atmosphere. This thin blanket of air is an integral Thermosphere

and important aspect of the planet. It provides us with

the air we breathe and protects us from the harmful
effects of sun’s rays.
Mesosphere
The atmosphere extends up to a height of about
1,600 kilometres. The atmosphere is divided into five
layers based on composition, temperature and other
properties. These layers starting from earth’s surface
are called the troposphere, the stratosphere, the
mesosphere, the thermosphere and the exosphere. Stratosphere
The atmosphere is composed mainly of nitrogen and
oxygen, which make up about 99 per cent of clean,
dry air. Nitrogen 78 per cent, oxygen 21 per cent and
other gases like carbondioxide, argon and others Troposphere
comprise 1 per cent by volume. Oxygen is the breath
of life while nitrogen helps in the growth of living
organisms. Carbon dioxide, though present in minute
amount, is important as it absorbs heat radiated by
the earth, thereby keeping the planet warm. It is also
essential for the growth of plants.
The density of the atmosphere varies with height. It Figure 5.4 : Layers of the Atmosphere
MAJOR DOMAINS OF THE EARTH 35

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 is maximum at the sea level and
decreases rapidly as we go up. You
know, the climbers experience
problems in breathing due to this
decrease in the density of air. They
have to carry with them oxygen
cylinders to be able to breathe at
high altitudes. The temperature also
decreases as we go upwards. The
atmosphere exerts pressure on the
earth. This varies from place to place.
Some areas experience high pressure
Figure 5.5 : A mountaineer
and some areas low pressure. Air
moves from high pressure to low pressure. Moving air
is known as wind.

BIOSPHERE – THE DOMAIN OF LIFE

The biosphere is the narrow zone of contact between
the land, water and air. It is in this zone that life, that
is unique to this planet, exists. There are several

Figure 5.6 : The Biosphere

36 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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species of organisms that vary in size from microbes
and bacteria to huge mammals. All the living
organisms including humans are linked to each other
and to the biosphere for survival.
The organisms in the biosphere may broadly be
divided into the plant kingdom and the animal
kingdom. The three domains of the earth interact with
each other and affect each other in some way or the
other. For example, cutting of forests for fulfilling our
needs of wood, or clearing land for agriculture may
lead to fast removal of soil from slopes. Similarly earth’s
surface may be changed due to natural calamities like
earthquakes. For example, there could be submergence
of land, as happened in the case of Tsunami recently.
Parts of Andaman & Nicobar islands were submerged
under water. Discharge of waste material into lakes
and rivers makes the water unsuitable for human use.
It also damages other forms of life.
Emission from industries, thermal power plants
and vehicles, pollute the air. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is
an important constituent of air. But increase in the
amount of CO2 leads to increase in global temperatures.
This is termed as global warming. There is thus, a
need to limit the use of resources of the earth to
maintain the balance of nature between the domains
of the lithosphere, the atmosphere and the
hydrosphere.

MAJOR DOMAINS OF THE EARTH 37

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 6
OUR COUNTRY – INDIA

India is a country of vast geographical expanse. In the

north, it is bound by the lofty Himalayas. The Arabian
Sea in the west, the Bay of Bengal in the east and the
Indian Ocean in the south, wash the shores of the The peninsula is a piece
Indian peninsula. of land that is
India has an area of about 3.28 million sq. km. The surrounded by water on
north-south extent from Ladakh to Kanyakumari is three sides.
about 3,200 km. And the east-west extent from
Arunachal Pradesh to Kuchchh is about 2,900 km.
The lofty mountains, the Great Indian Desert, the
Northern Plains, the uneven plateau surface and the
coasts and islands present a diversity of landforms.
There is a great variety in the climate, vegetation,
wildlife as well as in the language and culture. In this
diversity, we find unity that is reflected in traditions
that bind us as one nation. India has a population of
more than one hundred twenty crores since the
year 2011. It is the second most populous country of
the world after China. Do you know?
LOCATIONAL SETTING Large countries
which stretch
India is located in the northern hemisphere. The Tropic extensively from
o
of Cancer (23 30'N) passes almost halfway through east to west do not have
the country (Figure 6.2). From south to north, main a single Standard Time
o o
land of India extends between 8 4 ' N and 37 6 ' N for the whole country.
latitudes. From west to east, India extends between The USA and Canada
o o
68 7'E and 97 25'E longitudes. If we divide the world have seven and six time
into eastern and western hemispheres, which zones respectively. Do you
hemisphere would India belong to? Due to great remember how many
o
longitudinal extent of about 29 , there could be a wide time zones are there in
Russia?
differences in local time of places located at two extreme
points of India. As such, the difference between these two

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points would be of about two hours. As you have learnt earlier, the local time
changes by four minutes for every one degree of longitude. The sun rises about
two hours earlier in the east (Arunachal Pradesh) than in the west (Gujarat). You
o
have already read earlier, why the local time of longitude of 82 30'E has been
taken as the Indian Standard Time. This meridian or longitude is also termed as
the Standard Meridian of India.
INDIA’S NEIGHBOURS
There are seven countries that share land boundaries with India. Find out names

Figure 6.1 : India and its neighbouring countries

40 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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Figure 6.2 : Political map of India

OUR COUNTRY – INDIA 41

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of these countries from the Figure 6.1. How many of these countries do not have
access to any ocean or sea? Across the sea to the south, lie our island neighbours—
Sri Lanka and Maldives. Sri Lanka is separated from India by the Palk Strait.
POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS
India is a vast country. For administrative purposes, the country is divided into 28

Figure 6.3 : India : Physical Divisions

42 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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States and 8 Union Territories (Appendix-I). Delhi is Alluvial deposits : These
the national capital. The states have been formed are very fine soils,
mainly on the basis of languages. brought by rivers and
PHYSICAL DIVISIONS deposited in the river
basins.
India is marked by a diversity of physical features such
as mountains, plateaus, plains, coasts and islands. Tributary : A river or
Standing as sentinels in the north are the lofty snow- stream which contributes
its water to a main river
capped Himalayas. Him+alaya mean ‘the abode of by discharging it into
snow’. The Himalayan mountains are divided into three main river from either
main parallel ranges. The northernmost is the Great side.
Himalaya or Himadri. The world’s highest peaks are
located in this range. Middle Himalaya or Himachal
lies to the south of Himadri. Many popular hill stations
are situated here. Find out the names of five hill Do you know?
stations. The Shiwalik is the southernmost range. The Ganga and
The Northern Indian plains lie to the south of the the Brahma-
Himalayas. They are generally level and flat. These putra form the
are formed by the alluvial deposits laid down by the world’s largest delta, the
rivers– the Indus, the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and Sundarbans delta. The
their tributaries. These river plains provide fertile land delta is triangular in
for cultivation. That is the reason for high shape. It is an area of
land formed at the mouth
concentration of population in these plains.
of the river (Where rivers
In the western part of India lies the Great Indian enter the sea, that point
desert. It is a dry, hot and sandy stretch of land. It is called the mouth of the
has very little vegetation. river.
To the south of northern plains lies the Peninsular
plateau. It is triangular in shape. The relief is highly
uneven. This is a region with numerous hill ranges
and valleys. Aravali hills, one of the oldest ranges of Let’s Do
the world, border it on the north-west side. The Many girls
Vindhyas and the Satpuras are the important ranges. are named
after rivers
The rivers Narmada and Tapi flow through these
eg. Yamuna, Mandakini,
ranges. These are west-flowing rivers that drain into and Kaveri. Do you know
the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats or Sahyadris anyone in your locality
border the plateau in the west and the Eastern Ghats who is named after a
provide the eastern boundary. While the Western Ghats river? Ask your parents
are almost continuous, the Eastern Ghats are broken and others and make a
and uneven (Figure 6.3). The plateau is rich in minerals list of such names.
like coal and iron-ore. Could you also find
other names related to
To the West of the Western Ghats and the East of
water e.g. Shabnam?
Eastern Ghats lie the Coastal plains. The western

OUR COUNTRY – INDIA 43

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 Do you know?
Corals are
skeletons of
tiny marine
animals called Polyps.
When the living polyps
die, their skeletons are
left. Other poplyps grow
on top of the hard
skeleton which grows
higher and higher, thus
forming the coral islands.
Figure 6.4 shows Coral
islands.
Figure 6.4 : Coral Islands
coastal plains are very narrow. The eastern Coastal plains are much broader. There
are a number of east flowing rivers. The rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and
Kaveri drain into the Bay of Bengal. These rivers have formed fertile deltas at their
mouth. The Sunderban delta is formed where the Ganga and Brahmaputra flow
into the Bay of Bengal.

Danger Waters

44 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

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OUR COUNTRY – INDIA 45

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 Two groups of islands also form part of India.
Lakshadweep Islands are located in the Arabian Sea.
These are coral islands located off the coast of Kerala.
The Andaman and the Nicobar Islands lie to the
southeast of the Indian mainland in the Bay of Bengal.
Do you know which group of islands were affected by
the Tsunami in 2004? Find out through newspaper
reports and by speaking to people how in different
ways people faced this challenge when Tsunami struck
the Indian coast. Tsunami is a huge sea wave generated
due to an earthquake on the sea floor.

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