Overview
Travel across India and the land keeps changing: rugged plateaus, flat green plains, steep snowy mountains. This chapter explores these three main landforms and how people live on each. You learn what a landform is and how altitude, the height above sea level, helps us compare them. You meet the world's great mountains, from Everest to Anamudi, and see why the young Himalayas are sharp while the old Aravallis are rounded. You climb through montane forests to grasses, mosses and snow, meet mountain animals, and see how melting snow feeds the Ganga and its tributaries. You discover how mountain people farm on terraces, earn from tourism and face landslides, avalanches and cloudbursts, and you read about climbers like Bachendri Pal and Arunima Sinha. Next come plateaus, tablelands rich in minerals and waterfalls, such as the Tibetan and Deccan plateaus. Then plains, made fertile by river sediments, where about 40 crore Indians live on the Ganga plain. Finally, you look at hot and cold deserts and the five tinais of Sangam poetry, which show how closely human life and culture are tied to the land.
हिंदी में पढ़ें
पर्वत, पठार, मैदान और मरुस्थल: वे कैसे दिखते हैं और लोग हर भू-आकृति पर कैसे रहते, काम करते और उससे जुड़ते हैं।
Learning Objectives
- Define a landform and name the three main types
- Explain altitude, sea level and precipitation
- Describe mountains, hills and ranges and tell young mountains from old
- Describe the mountain environment and how mountains feed rivers
- Explain how people live and work in the mountains and the challenges they face
- Describe plateaus and explain why they are rich in minerals and waterfalls
- Explain how rivers make plains fertile and describe life on the Ganga plain
- Describe hot and cold deserts and the five tinais of Sangam poetry
Topics in this chapter
7 topics · tap a topic title to jump straight to it.
What is a landform? Three main types
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
Imagine a road trip. You start in the Chhota Nagpur region of Jharkhand, drive to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh and then climb up to Almora in Uttarakhand. Out of the window you first see a raised, rocky, gently rolling land; then a wide, flat land with fields as far as the eye can see; and finally steep slopes and high peaks. In one journey you have crossed three different landforms.
What a landform is. A landform is a natural physical feature on the surface of the Earth, such as a mountain, a plateau or a plain. Landforms take shape very slowly, over millions of years. Each landform has its own climate, plants and animals, and people live on it in their own way.
Three main types.
| Landform | What it looks like | Example in India |
| Mountain | Much higher than the land around it; broad base, steep slopes, narrow top | The Himalayas |
| Plateau | Raised land with a fairly flat top; often steep on one or more sides | The Deccan Plateau, the Chhota Nagpur Plateau |
| Plain | Wide, flat or gently rolling low land, usually below 300 m | The Ganga plain |
Altitude. To compare landforms we use altitude, the height of something above sea level. Sea level is the average level of the surface of the oceans, also called mean sea level. A mountain peak, a bird in flight, an aeroplane and a satellite all have an altitude. If a town is at an altitude of 900 m, it is 900 m higher than the average sea surface.
Precipitation and snow. Water that falls from the atmosphere to the ground, as rain, snow or hail, is called precipitation. In most of India it falls as rain, sometimes hail. But high up in cold mountains such as those of Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, it falls as snow. Snow and hailstones are simply water in a solid, frozen form.
People on every landform. Humans have learnt to live on all landforms, but not in equal numbers. Many more people live on fertile plains than on high mountains, because farming, building and travel are easier there.
Look around you. What landform is your town or village on? Is the land flat, raised and flat, or steep? Would it look different 50 km away?
- Three main landforms = mountains + plateaus + plains
- Altitude = height above mean sea level
3Worked example
- Chhota Nagpur (plateau), Prayagraj (plain) and Almora (mountains) are on three different landforms.
- A town at 900 m altitude is 900 m above mean sea level.
- Rain, snow and hail are all forms of precipitation.
4Your turn
Which landform is raised above the land around it but has a fairly flat top?
5Remember this
Mountains and hills of the world
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
Which is the highest place on Earth that a person can stand on? It is the top of Mount Everest, at 8,848 m, more than eight and a half kilometres above sea level.
Mountains and hills. A mountain rises much higher than the land around it. It has a broad base, steep slopes and a narrow top, called the summit or peak. Lower highlands with gentler slopes and rounded tops are called hills.
Snow-capped peaks. On high mountains it is so cold that snow falls. At lower heights the snow melts every summer and the water feeds rivers. Near the very top, the snow may never melt, so the peak stays snow-capped all year.
Ranges. Most mountains are found in long chains called mountain ranges. The Himalayas in Asia, the Alps in Europe and the Andes in South America are ranges that stretch for thousands of kilometres.
Six famous mountains.
| Mountain | Where | Height (about) |
| Mount Everest | Himalayas, between Nepal and Tibet (China) | 8,848 m, the highest in the world |
| Kanchenjunga | Himalayas, between Nepal and Sikkim (India) | 8,586 m |
| Aconcagua | Andes, South America | 6,961 m, highest in the Andes |
| Kilimanjaro | Eastern Africa | 5,895 m, a single mountain not in a range |
| Mont Blanc | Alps, Western Europe | about 4,800 m, highest in the Alps |
| Anamudi (Anai Peak) | Western Ghats, Kerala | 2,695 m, highest in south India |
Young and old mountains. Mountains with tall, sharp peaks, like the Himalayas, are young: they formed fairly recently in the Earth's long history, though that still means millions of years ago. Lower, rounded mountains and hills, like the Aravalli Range, are much older. Wind, rain and rivers have slowly worn them down; this wearing away is called erosion. In the Himalayas both things go on today: the land is still being pushed up, and erosion keeps wearing it down. The Himalayas are still growing taller!
- Mountain: broad base + steep slopes + narrow summit
- Young mountains = high, sharp peaks; old mountains = low, rounded tops (eroded)
3Worked example
- Everest (8,848 m) is the highest mountain in the world.
- Kilimanjaro stands alone; it is not part of a range.
- The Aravallis are old, low and rounded; the Himalayas are young, high and sharp.
4Your turn
Which of these is an old, rounded mountain range?
5Remember this
The mountain environment: forests, animals and rivers
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
If you climb a Himalayan slope, the plants around you change as you go higher, almost as if you were walking from one country into another.
Montane forests. Mountain slopes are often covered with a kind of forest called montane forest. Here conifer trees are common: pine, fir, spruce and deodar. Conifers are tall and cone-shaped, with thin, needle-like leaves. Their shape helps snow slide off the branches.
Higher still. As you climb, the trees thin out and give way to grasses, then to mosses (small green plants without flowers or true roots, spreading like a soft cushion) and lichens (plant-like living things that cling to rocks, walls and tree bark). Above that there may be only rock, snow and ice.
| Height on a mountain | What grows there |
| Lower slopes | Mixed forests |
| Middle slopes | Conifers: pine, fir, spruce, deodar |
| High slopes | Grasses, mosses and lichens |
| Highest parts | Bare rock, snow and ice |
Mountain animals. Forests, rivers, lakes, grasslands and caves in the mountains are home to many animals: the golden eagle and the peregrine falcon in the sky; the snow leopard, the ibex, the Himalayan tahr, the yak, the mountain hare, the grey fox and the black bear on the slopes. Many have thick fur or wool to survive the cold.
Mountains as water towers. Snow and glaciers on mountains melt in summer and feed rivers. The Ganga, nearly 2,500 km long, is the largest river that begins in the Himalayas. Many other rivers join it; a river that joins a bigger river is called a tributary. Some of the Ganga's tributaries, like the Yamuna and the Ghaghara, also start in the Himalayas. Others, like the Son, come from the Vindhya Range to the south.
Mountains in poetry. The great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, who lived at least 1,500 years ago, began his long poem Kumarasambhava by praising the Himalayas as the 'Lord of mountains', stretching from the western to the eastern ocean. He describes the cool wind coming down from the mountain, carrying spray from the Ganga and shaking the deodar trees. It shows how deeply Indians have loved their mountains.
- Higher up the mountain: forest -> conifers -> grasses, mosses, lichens -> rock and snow
- Tributary = a river that joins a bigger river
3Worked example
- Deodar and pine are conifers that grow in montane forests.
- The snow leopard and the yak are adapted to cold mountains.
- The Yamuna is a tributary of the Ganga.
4Your turn
Which trees are typical of montane forests?
5Remember this
Life in the mountains: work, challenges and courage
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
Think of a farmer in the hills of Uttarakhand. Her fields are not flat; they climb up the hillside like a giant staircase. Life in the mountains is beautiful, but it needs special skills.
Making a living. Mountain land, or terrain, is usually rough with steep slopes. Ordinary farming is possible only in some valleys, the lower land between hills or mountains, often with a river. On the slopes, people cut flat steps into the hillside and grow crops on them. This is called terrace farming. In many mountain regions, herding animals such as sheep, goats and yaks is more important than farming.
Tourism and pilgrimage. Clean, crisp air and beautiful scenery attract many tourists. Some come for skiing, hiking, mountaineering, rafting or paragliding. For centuries people have also climbed to holy places in the mountains on pilgrimage. Tourism brings income, but too many visitors can harm the fragile mountain environment with traffic, waste and new buildings, so a balance is needed.
Challenges. Mountain people face dangers:
| Danger | What it is |
| Landslide | Sudden fall of a mass of earth or rock down a mountainside |
| Avalanche | Sudden fall of snow, ice or rocks, often when snow starts melting |
| Cloudburst | A sudden, very heavy, violent rainstorm |
| Flash flood | A sudden local flood, often caused by a cloudburst |
| Cold and heavy snow | Roads close, travel and supplies become difficult |
Even so, many people choose to stay, because of their homes, culture, pure air and the beauty of the mountains.
Sacred mountains. Many communities treat mountains as holy. Tibetans call Everest Chomolungma, 'Mother Goddess of the World'; Nepalis call it Sagarmatha, 'Goddess of the Sky'. Mount Kailash in Tibet is sacred to followers of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bon.
Brave climbers. Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest, in 1984, and received the Padma Shri that year (and the Padma Bhushan in 2019). Arunima Sinha lost a leg in an accident at 22. Trained and encouraged by Bachendri Pal, she climbed Everest in 2013 and later the highest peak of every continent, including Mount Vinson in Antarctica. She received the Padma Shri in 2015.
- Mountain livelihoods = terrace farming + herding + tourism
- Cloudburst -> flash flood
3Worked example
- Terrace farming turns a steep hillside into steps of flat fields.
- A cloudburst can cause a flash flood in a mountain valley.
- Bachendri Pal climbed Everest in 1984; Arunima Sinha in 2013.
4Your turn
What is terrace farming?
5Remember this
Plateaus: tablelands rich in minerals
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
Put a thick book on a table. Its top is flat, but its sides drop steeply. A plateau is a little like that: a large area of raised land with a more or less flat top, and often steep slopes on one or more sides. That is why plateaus are also called tablelands.
Height and age. Plateaus can be a few hundred metres high or several thousand metres high. Like mountains, some are young and some are very old.
Two famous plateaus.
| Plateau | Facts |
| Tibetan Plateau | Largest and highest plateau in the world; average height about 4,500 m, so it is called the 'Roof of the World'; about 2,500 km from east to west, roughly the distance from Chandigarh to Kanyakumari |
| Deccan Plateau | In central and south India; one of the oldest plateaus in the world; formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago |
Storehouses of minerals. Plateaus, like mountains, are rich in minerals, so they are called storehouses of minerals. Mining is a major activity, and many of the world's largest mines are on plateaus. The East African Plateau is famous for gold and diamonds. In India, the Chhota Nagpur Plateau has huge reserves of iron, coal and manganese.
Soil and farming. Many plateaus have rocky soil, which makes them less fertile than plains and less good for farming. But lava plateaus, formed when lava from volcanoes spread and cooled, often have rich black soil. Parts of the Deccan have such black soil, which is good for crops like cotton.
Waterfalls. Where rivers flow off the edge of a plateau, they make spectacular waterfalls:
- Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River in southern Africa;
- Hundru Falls on the Subarnarekha River, Chhota Nagpur Plateau;
- Jog Falls on the Sharavati River, Western Ghats;
- Nohkalikai Falls in Meghalaya, dropping about 340 m from the Cherrapunji Plateau.
Waterfalls attract tourists, and some are used to produce electricity.
- Plateau = raised land + fairly flat top + steep sides
- Plateaus = storehouses of minerals
- Lava plateau -> black soil
3Worked example
- The Tibetan Plateau, average height about 4,500 m, is the 'Roof of the World'.
- The Chhota Nagpur Plateau has iron, coal and manganese.
- Nohkalikai Falls drop about 340 m from the Cherrapunji Plateau.
4Your turn
Why are plateaus called storehouses of minerals?
5Remember this
Plains and life in the plains
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
Stand in a field in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh and look around: the land is flat in every direction, with green fields, villages and a river nearby. You are standing on a plain, the landform where most of the world's people live.
What a plain is. A plain is a wide stretch of flat or gently rolling land, without large hills or deep valleys. Most plains are no more than about 300 m above sea level.
How rivers build plains. Rivers that start in mountains pick up bits of rock, sand and fine mud called sediments. They carry them all the way down to the plains and spread them over the land, especially during floods. Such plains are called floodplains. The sediments make the soil very fertile, ideal for growing crops.
Cradles of civilisation. Thousands of years ago the first civilisations grew up beside rivers on fertile plains. Even today a large part of the world's population lives on plains.
The Ganga plain. About 40 crore people, more than one-fourth of India's population, live on the Ganga plain, also called the Gangetic plain. Their main occupations include farming and river fishing.
| Crops of the Ganga plain | Examples |
| Food crops | Rice, wheat, maize, barley, millets |
| Fibre crops | Cotton, jute, hemp |
Water for farming. Farming here used to be mostly rainfed, watered by rain. In recent decades, farmers have turned to irrigation: water is brought through canals or pumped up from groundwater. Irrigation has increased harvests, but it has also caused groundwater depletion, a fall in the water stored underground. Large populations and pollution are other problems of the Ganga plain.
Rivers, travel and culture. Because plains slope gently, rivers flow slowly and boats can travel on them easily. In earlier times rivers were main highways; even today some people along the Ganga prefer boats. Many communities consider a river's source and its confluence, the meeting point of two or more rivers, to be sacred, and hold festivals there. Prayagraj, where the Ganga and the Yamuna meet, is a famous example.
- Mountains -> rivers carry sediments -> deposited on plains -> fertile soil
- Plain: flat land, usually below 300 m
3Worked example
- The Ganga plain is home to about 40 crore people.
- Rivers carry sediments down from the mountains and make plains fertile.
- Prayagraj is at the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna.
4Your turn
What makes floodplains so fertile?
5Remember this
Deserts, the five tinais and human resilience
1Think first
2The idea, in plain words
Mountains, plateaus and plains are the three main landforms, but the Earth's surface is more varied than that. Experts often describe a few more, and one important one is the desert.
Deserts. A desert is a large, dry area that receives very little precipitation. Its plants and animals are specially adapted to live with little water. Not all deserts are hot:
| Kind of desert | Examples |
| Hot desert | The Sahara in Africa; the Thar in the northwest of the Indian Subcontinent |
| Cold desert | The Gobi in Asia; some experts also call Antarctica a desert |
Living in deserts. Life in a desert is hard, yet people have adapted to most deserts. Communities who live in the Thar, or travel across it with their animals, have rich traditions of folk songs and legends about the desert. The ways people have made homes on every landform show our adaptability and resilience, the ability to face difficulties, adapt to them or overcome them.
Landscapes in Tamil poetry. About 2,000 years ago, poets of the Tamil Sangam period described five kinds of landscape called tinais. Each was linked with a way of life and with certain feelings in poems.
| Tinai | Landscape | Main occupation |
| Kurinji | Mountains | Hunting and gathering |
| Mullai | Grasslands and forests | Rearing cattle |
| Marudam | Fertile farming plains | Farming |
| Neydal | Coasts | Fishing and seafaring |
| Palai | Dry, desert-like land | Journeying and fighting |
The tinais are a different way of dividing landforms from the one we use today, but they show how carefully people noticed their surroundings and how closely their work and feelings were tied to the land.
Landforms and culture. Across India, landforms are part of culture: mountains are worshipped, rivers and confluences are sacred, deserts have their songs. The Atharva Veda's 'Hymn to the Earth' even calls the Earth, with her heights, slopes and plains, a mother. Each landform brings both challenges and opportunities, and people everywhere have found ways to make it their home.
- Desert = large, dry area with very little precipitation
- Five tinais = Kurinji, Mullai, Marudam, Neydal, Palai
3Worked example
- The Thar is a hot desert; the Gobi is a cold desert.
- In the Sangam tinais, Neydal (coast) goes with fishing and seafaring.
- Folk songs of Thar communities celebrate desert life.
4Your turn
Which of these is a cold desert?
5Remember this
Key Concepts
- Landform
- A natural physical feature of the Earth's surface, such as a mountain, plateau or plain.
- Altitude
- The height of something above mean sea level.
- Sea level
- The average level of the surface of the oceans, also called mean sea level.
- Precipitation
- Water falling from the atmosphere to the ground as rain, snow or hail.
- Mountain
- A landform much higher than its surroundings, with a broad base, steep slopes and a narrow summit.
- Hill
- A highland lower than a mountain, with gentler slopes and a rounded top.
- Mountain range
- A long chain of mountains, such as the Himalayas, Alps or Andes.
- Erosion
- The slow wearing away of land by wind, water and ice.
- Montane forest
- A forest that grows on mountain slopes, often of conifers such as pine and deodar.
- Tributary
- A river that flows into a bigger river.
- Terrace farming
- Growing crops on flat steps cut into a hillside.
- Landslide
- The sudden fall of a mass of earth or rock down a mountainside.
- Plateau
- A raised area of land with a fairly flat top and often steep sides; a tableland.
- Plain
- A wide, flat or gently rolling, low-lying area of land.
- Sediments
- Bits of rock, sand and silt carried and deposited by rivers.
- Confluence
- The meeting point of two or more rivers.
- Desert
- A large, dry area with very little precipitation; it may be hot or cold.
- Tinai
- One of the five landscapes of Tamil Sangam poetry, each linked with a way of life.
End-of-Chapter Trial Paper & Test Questions
Topic-wise questions to test your understanding of every concept in this chapter.
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Name the three main landforms and give one Indian example of each. / तीन मुख्य भू-आकृतियों के नाम लिखिए और प्रत्येक का एक भारतीय उदाहरण दीजिए।
Show answer
The three main landforms are mountains, such as the Himalayas, plateaus, such as the Deccan Plateau, and plains, such as the Ganga plain. / तीन मुख्य भू-आकृतियाँ हैं पर्वत, जैसे हिमालय, पठार, जैसे दक्कन का पठार, और मैदान, जैसे गंगा का मैदान।
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What is the difference between a mountain and a hill? / पर्वत और पहाड़ी में क्या अंतर है?
Show answer
A mountain rises much higher than its surroundings and has steep slopes and a narrow summit, while a hill is lower, with gentler slopes and a rounded top. / पर्वत आसपास से बहुत ऊँचा होता है और उसकी ढलानें खड़ी व शिखर संकरा होता है, जबकि पहाड़ी नीची होती है, उसकी ढलानें कोमल और चोटी गोल होती है।
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Why are the Himalayas called young mountains and the Aravallis old? / हिमालय को नवीन और अरावली को प्राचीन पर्वत क्यों कहा जाता है?
Show answer
The Himalayas formed more recently and still have high, sharp peaks and are still rising, while the Aravallis are much older and have been worn low and rounded by erosion. / हिमालय हाल में बने हैं, उनकी चोटियाँ ऊँची और नुकीली हैं और वे अब भी ऊपर उठ रहे हैं, जबकि अरावली बहुत पुराने हैं और अपरदन से नीचे व गोल हो गए हैं।
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How do people farm on steep mountain slopes? / लोग पहाड़ों की खड़ी ढलानों पर खेती कैसे करते हैं?
Show answer
They cut flat steps into the hillside and grow crops on them, which is called terrace farming, and in many places they also depend on herding animals. / वे पहाड़ी ढलान को काटकर समतल सीढ़ियाँ बनाते हैं और उन पर फसल उगाते हैं, जिसे सीढ़ीदार खेती कहते हैं, और कई जगह वे पशुपालन पर भी निर्भर रहते हैं।
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Name three challenges of living in the mountains. / पहाड़ों में रहने की तीन चुनौतियाँ बताइए।
Show answer
People in the mountains face landslides, avalanches and cloudbursts that cause flash floods, as well as cold weather and too many tourists. / पहाड़ों में लोगों को भूस्खलन, हिमस्खलन और बादल फटने से आने वाली अचानक बाढ़ के साथ-साथ ठंड और अत्यधिक पर्यटन की चुनौतियाँ झेलनी पड़ती हैं।
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Why are plateaus called storehouses of minerals? Give an Indian example. / पठारों को खनिजों का भंडार क्यों कहा जाता है? एक भारतीय उदाहरण दीजिए।
Show answer
Plateaus have rich mineral deposits and many large mines; for example, the Chhota Nagpur Plateau has huge reserves of iron, coal and manganese. / पठारों में खनिजों के समृद्ध भंडार और कई बड़ी खदानें होती हैं; उदाहरण के लिए छोटा नागपुर पठार में लोहा, कोयला और मैंगनीज़ के विशाल भंडार हैं।
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Why is the Tibetan Plateau called the Roof of the World? / तिब्बत के पठार को विश्व की छत क्यों कहा जाता है?
Show answer
It is the largest and highest plateau in the world, with an average height of about 4,500 metres. / यह विश्व का सबसे बड़ा और सबसे ऊँचा पठार है, जिसकी औसत ऊँचाई लगभग 4,500 मीटर है।
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How do rivers make plains fertile? / नदियाँ मैदानों को उपजाऊ कैसे बनाती हैं?
Show answer
Rivers carry sediments of rock, sand and silt from the mountains and deposit them on the plains, which makes the soil very fertile for crops. / नदियाँ पहाड़ों से चट्टान, रेत और गाद के अवसाद लाकर मैदानों में जमा करती हैं, जिससे मिट्टी फसलों के लिए बहुत उपजाऊ हो जाती है।
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What problem has irrigation caused in the Ganga plain? / गंगा के मैदान में सिंचाई से कौन सी समस्या पैदा हुई है?
Show answer
Irrigation has increased crop production, but pumping so much groundwater has caused groundwater depletion, which threatens future farming. / सिंचाई से फसल उत्पादन बढ़ा है, पर बहुत अधिक भूजल निकालने से भूजल का स्तर घट गया है, जो भविष्य की खेती के लिए खतरा है।
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Are all deserts hot? Explain with examples. / क्या सभी मरुस्थल गर्म होते हैं? उदाहरण सहित समझाइए।
Show answer
No, deserts are dry places with little precipitation; some are hot like the Sahara and the Thar, and some are cold like the Gobi. / नहीं, मरुस्थल कम वर्षा वाले शुष्क स्थान हैं; कुछ गर्म होते हैं जैसे सहारा और थार, और कुछ ठंडे होते हैं जैसे गोबी।
Related Laws & Principles
Explore allFoundational laws & principles behind this chapter. Each one opens a full page — what it says, why it matters, five practice questions and the mistakes to avoid.