GEOGRAPHY NOTES

CLASS VI

CHAPTER 6:
MAJOR LANDFORMS OF THE EARTH

You must have seen some of the landform features as shown in the
Figure. You will notice that the surface of the earth is not the same
everywhere. The earth has an infinite variety of landforms. Some
parts of the lithosphere may be rugged and some flat.

These landforms are a result of two processes. You will be amazed

to know that the ground you are standing on is slowly moving.
Within the earth, a continuous movement is taking place. The first
or the internal process leads to the upliftment and sinking of the
earth’s surface at several places.

Do You Know?
A hill is a land surface that rises higher than the surrounding area. Generally, a steep hill
with an elevation of more than 600 metres is termed as a mountain.
The second or the external process is the continuous wearing
down and rebuilding of the land surface. The wearing away of the
earth’s surface is called erosion. The surface is being lowered by
the process of erosion and rebuilt by the process of deposition.
These two processes are carried out by running water, ice and
wind. Broadly, we can group different landforms depending on
elevation and slope as mountains, plateaus and plains.

MOUNTAINS: A mountain is any natural elevation of the earth

surface. The mountains may have a small summit and a broad base.
It is considerably higher than the surrounding area. Some
mountains are even higher than the clouds. As you go higher, the
climate becomes colder.

In some mountains, there are permanently frozen rivers of ice.

They are called glaciers. There are some mountains you cannot see
as they are under the sea. Because of harsh climate, less people
live in the mountain areas. Since the slopes are steep, less land
is available for farming.

FOLD MOUNTAINS

Mountains may be arranged in a line known as range. Many

mountain systems consist of a series of parallel ranges extending
over hundreds of kilometres. The Himalayas, the Alps and the
Andes are mountain ranges of Asia, Europe and South America,
respectively. Mountains vary in their heights and shape.
There are three types of mountains- Fold Mountains, Block
Mountains and the Volcanic Mountains. The Himalayan
Mountains and the Alps are young fold mountains with rugged
relief and high conical peaks. The Aravali range in India is one
of the oldest fold mountain systems in the world. The range has
considerably worn down due to the processes of erosion.

The Appalachians in North America and the Ural mountains in

Russia have rounded features and low elevation. They are very old
fold mountains.
Do you know?
Mauna Kea (Hawaii) in the Pacific Ocean is an undersea mountain. It is higher than Mt.
Everest being 10,205 metres high.

Block Mountains are created when large areas are broken and
displaced vertically. The uplifted blocks are termed as horsts and
the lowered blocks are called graben. The Rhine valley and the
Vosges Mountain in Europe are examples of such mountain
systems.. Volcanic mountains are formed due to volcanic activity.
Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mt. Fujiyama in Japan are
examples of such mountains.

A BLOCK MOUNTAIN

Mountains are very useful. The mountains are a storehouse of

water. Many rivers have their source in the glaciers in the
mountains. Reservoirs are made and the water is harnessed for the
use of people. Water from the mountains is also used for irrigation
and generation of hydro-electricity. The river valleys and terraces
are ideal for cultivation of crops. Mountains have a rich variety of
flora and fauna. The forests provide fuel, fodder, shelter and other
products like gum, raisins, etc. Mountains provide an idyllic site
for tourists. They visit the mountains for their scenic beauty.
Several sports like paragliding, hang gliding, river rafting and
skiing are popular in the mountains. Can you name some places in
the Himalayas associated with these sports?

A VOLCANIC MOUNTAIN

PLATEAU: A plateau is an elevated flat land. It is a flat-

topped table land standing above the surrounding area. A
plateau may have one or more sides with steep slopes. The
height of plateaus often varies from few hundred metres to several
thousand metres. Plateaus, like mountains may be young or old.
The Deccan plateau in India is one of the oldest plateaus. The
East African Plateau in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and the
Western plateau of Australia are other examples. The Tibet
plateau is the highest plateau in the world with a height of 4,000
to 6,000 metres above the mean sea level.

Plateaus are very useful because they are rich in mineral

deposits. As a result, many of the mining areas in the world are
located in the plateau areas. The African plateau is famous for gold
and diamond mining. In India huge reserves of iron, coal and
manganese are found in the Chhotanagpur plateau. In the plateau
areas, there may be several waterfalls as the river falls from a great
height. In India, the Hundru falls in the Chhotanagpur plateau
on the river Subarnarekha and the Jog falls in Karnataka are
examples of such waterfalls. The lava plateaus are rich in black
soil that is fertile and good for cultivation. Many plateaus have
scenic spots and are of great attraction to tourists.

PLAINS: Plains are large stretches of flat land. They are,

generally, not more than 200 metres above mean sea level. Some
plains are extremely level. Others may be slightly rolling and
undulating. Most of the plains are formed by rivers and their
tributaries. The rivers flow down the slopes of mountains and
erode them. They carry forward the eroded material. Then
they deposit their load consisting of stones, sand and silt along
their courses and in their valleys. It is from these deposits that
plains are formed.

Generally, plains are very fertile. Construction of transport

network is easy. Thus, these plains are very thickly-populated
regions of the world. Some of the largest plains made by the
rivers are found in Asia and North America. For example, in Asia,
these plains are formed by the Ganga and the Brahmaputra in India
and the Yangtze in China.

Plains are the most useful areas for human habitation. There is
great concentration of people as more flat land is available for
building houses, as well as for cultivation. Because of fertile
soils, the land is highly productive for cultivation. In India too,
the Indo-Gangetic plains are the most densely populated
regions of the country.
 LANDFORMS AND THE PEOPLE:

Humans have been living on different kinds of landforms in

different ways. Life is difficult in mountainous areas. Plains
provide much better conditions. It is easy to grow crops, build a
house or a road in a plain than a mountain. Can you point out some
differences in the ways people live on different kinds of
landforms? Sometimes, natural calamities such as earthquakes,
volcanic eruption, storms and floods cause widespread destruction.
Huge loss of life and property takes place. By creative awareness
about such incidences we may lower the risks. You may find out
from your own surroundings in how many ways we use the land
and water. Quite often we use the land in a wasteful manner, for
example constructing houses on a fertile land. Similarly, we throw
garbage on land or in water making them dirty. We should avoid
using such important gifts of nature in a careless manner. The
available land is not only for our use. It is our duty to leave the
earth a better place for future generations as well.
DO YOU KNOW? Swachh Bharat Mission: Healthy mind lives in healthy body and for a healthy body
clean environment particularly clean water air and hygienic surroundings are pre-requisites. Swachh
Bharat Mission a government of India Programme aims to achieve all these for people.