NCERT 7th Class (CBSE) Social Science: The Human Environment: Settlement, Transport and Communication

Question: Name the factors responsible for the growth of a settlement.

Answer: The growth and development of a settlement depends upon:

1. Suitable land
2. Availability of water
3. Favourable climate
4. Fertile soil

Question: How are urban settlements classified? Explain with examples.

Answer: Urban settlements are generally on the basis of the economic activities they perform. They can be classified as:

1. Administrative towns: They are the capital cities like New Delhi, Washington DC and Canberra.
2. Defence towns: They are centres of military activities like Mhow and Barrackpore.
3. Cultural towns: They include religious centres like Ayodhya, Mecca and Jerusalem or educational centres like Oxford, Allahabad and Shantiniketan.
4. Industrial town: They are the centres of production and manufacture of different goods. Jamshedpur, Durgapur, Ahmadabad, Rourkela and Pittsburgh are example of industrial towns.
5. Junction towns: They are located at the crossroads of major roads or railways. For example Mughal Sarai, Chicago and Moscow.

Question: What are the factors responsible for the development of railways?

Answer: The factors that influence the development of the railways are the relief features of the region, the density of population, the availability of natural resources and the level of economic development.

Question: Name and explain the various types of rural settlements.

Answer:  There are mainly four types of rural settlements:

1. Compact settlements: Compact settlements have houses built very close to each other. They have narrow, winding streets. Such settlements are mostly found in the fertile river valleys and plains.
2. Scattered settlements: Scattered settlements are mostly found in forested areas, hilly regions and deserts. The houses are scattered over a large area.
3. Linear settlements: Linear settlements develop along a road, a river or a canal. They have rows of houses facing each other.
4. Radial settlements: Radial settlements develop when streets radiate from a common point in all directions. The houses are built along the streets.

Question: Describe different types of waterways.

Answer: Waterways comprise inland waterways and sea routes:

Inland waterways: Navigable rivers, lakes and canals are used as inland waterways. Their development depends upon the depth and width of the waterways and the continuity of flow.

The Great lakes between USA and Canada along with the St. Lawrence river is the largest and the busiest inland waterway in the world. Large rivers like Nile, the Amazon, the Mississippi, the Yangtze, the Rhine and the Ganga are also important inland waterways.

Many countries have interlinked their navigable rivers by constructing canals. Some of the well-known canals in the world are the Suez, the Panama and the Kiel.

Sea routes: Seas and oceans are used to transport goods from one continent to another are called sea routes. The important sea routes are-

• The North Atlantic route – connects eastern North America and western Europe. It is the busiest route in the world.
• The Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean route – connects the countries of Europe with east Africa, South Asia and the Far East.
• The Cape route between western Europe and the Far East, Australia and New Zealand was important before the construction of the Suez Canal.
• Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore, Karachi, Cairo, New York, Chicago etc. are some important seaports in the world.