Major Landforms of the Earth: 6th Social Science

Question: How mountains useful to us?

Answer: Mountain are useful because:

1. They help in the condensation of moisture by forcing the winds to rise.
2. They act as an effective barrier against cold and hot winds.
3. Rivers originating from the mountains provide water throughout the year.
4. The steep slopes provide sites for the building of dams for generating hydroelectricity.
5. With cool climate in summers, they serve as tourist and health resorts.
6. Some mountains have rich reserves of minerals.
7. The mountain rocks are widely used as building materials.

Question: Write a short note on mountains ans plateaus.

Answer: Mountain:

1. Mountain is a huge landmass which rises more than 900 m above the mean sea level.
2. The mountains are the highest landforms and occupy about one-fourth of the total area of the earth.

Plateaus:

1. Plateau id is a highland with steep slopes and a large summit area which rises abruptly from the surrounding region.
2. The surface of a plateau can be flat, rolling or even hilly.
3. They are the oldest landforms on the earth.
4. For eg: Deccan plateau of India.

Question: What is the significance of plains for human beings?

Answer: The plains are important because:

1. The plains are flat lands and favor human  human settlement therefore plains are thickly populated.
2. They have fertile soil due to deposition of sediments by river.
3. They also have longer growing season. Most plains are suitable for agriculture.
4. For eg: Prairies in USA, Po valley in Italy.

Question: Why are the mountainous regions sparsely populated?

Answer: Mountainous regions are sparsely populated because:

1. The mountain is very high and cold.
2. There are oxygen issues.
3. They are too rocky.
4. It is really hard to construct building.

Question: Why are river valleys thickly populated?

Answer: River valleys are thickly populated because:

1. The river acts as means of transport.
2. It provides water for all the water needs.
3. The land near it is fertile, crops could be grown easily.