CHAPTER-3

Landforms and Life  

Free from the burden of human beings, may the Earth with many heights, slopes and great plains, bearing plants endowed with varied powers, spread out for us and show us her riches! … The Earth is my mother and I am her child .

child. — Atharva Veda, Bhūmi Sūkta (‘Hymn to the Earth’) 

The Big Questions  ?

1. What are the major types of landforms and their significance to life and culture? 

2. What are the challenges and opportunities of life associated with each landform?  

Introduction  

A landform is a physical feature on the surface of our planet Earth. Landforms take shape over millions of years and have a significant connection with the environment and life. They can broadly be divided into three categories — mountains, plateaus and plains (Fig. 3.1). These landforms have different climates and are home to a variety of flora and fauna. Humans have adapted to all landforms, but the number of people living on different kinds of landforms varies throughout the world. 

Altitude: The height of an object above sea level. Examples: the altitude of a mountain, the altitude of a bird or plane in flight, the altitude of a satellite.  

Mountains 

Mountains are landforms that are much higher than the surrounding landscape. They can be recognised by a broad base, steep slopes and a narrow summit. Depending on their height, some mountains are covered with snow. At lower altitudes, the snow melts every summer and turns  

precipitation: Water from the atmosphere reaching the ground in any form — rain, snow and hail are the most common forms of precipitation .

Most of the world’s mountains are grouped in mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas in Asia, the Alps in Europe and the Andes in South America. Some of these ranges stretch for thousands of kilometres . 

Fig. 3.2 shows pictures of six mountains of the world. Fig. 3.3 brings them together to give a visual impression of their relative heights from top to bottom. Mount Everest (between Tibet (China) and Nepal) and Kanchenjunga (between Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim) are the two highest peaks of the Himalayan range. Mount Aconcagua (in South America) is the highest peak of the Andes. Mount Kilimanjaro in eastern Africa is an isolated mountain that is not part of any range. Mont Blanc in Western Europe is the highest mountain of the Alps. Anamudi (in Kerala, also known as ‘Anai Peak’) is the highest mountain in south India. Mountains with tall and sharp peaks, like the Himalayas, are relatively ‘young’, which means that they were formed recently in the Earth’s history — but that is still millions of years ago! Shorter and more rounded mountains and hills, like the Aravalli Range, are much older and have been rounded by erosion. Sometimes, as with the Himalayas, upliftment as well as erosion continue to this day. (You will learn more in Science about such processes and their causes; let us just say here that some mountains of the world, like the Himalayas, are still growing in height.)

Mountain environment 

Mountain slopes are often covered with a type of forest called montane forest, where conifer trees such as pines, firs, spruce and deodar are common. These conifer trees grow tall and cone-shaped, with thin, pointed leaves. At higher altitudes, the trees give way to grasses, mosses and lichen .Deep forests, flowing rivers, lakes, grasslands and caves in the mountains are home to diverse fauna, for instance, the golden eagle, the peregrine falcon, the Canadian lynx, the snow leopard, the ibex, the Himalayan tahr, the mountain hare, the yak, the grey fox and the black bear (Fig. 3.4).

Montane forest: A type of forests that grows in mountainous regions. 

Moss: A small green plant without flowers or true roots, often spreading in a cushion-like cover.

Lichen: A plant-like organism that generally clings to rocks, walls or tree.  

Life in the mountains 

The mountain terrain is usually rugged or rough, and has steep slopes. This means that regular farming can only be practised in some valleys. Cultivation is practised on the  slopes by cutting steps into the slope (Fig. 3.5). This is called terrace farming. In many mountainous regions of the world, herding is the preferred occupation over agriculture. Tourism is often an important source of income for the people living in the mountains. The crisp mountain air and scenic beauty attract many tourists. Some tourists also go to the mountains for sports such as skiing, hiking, mountaineering and paragliding. For many centuries, people have also travelled to these uplands for pilgrimages to holy sites. But an excessive inflow of visitors can also put the fragile mountain environment under pressure; it is often difficult to find the right balance.

Terrain: A piece or stretch of land, from the point of view of its physical features . 

Valley: A lower area between hills or mountains, often with a river or stream flowing through it .

Plateaus

 A plateau is a landform that rises up from the surrounding land and has a more or less flat surface; some of its sides are often steep slopes. Like mountains, plateaus can be young or old in terms of the Earth’s history. Two examples of plateaus are the Tibetan Plateau, the largest and highest plateau in the world, and the Deccan Plateau. The height of plateaus can vary from a few hundred metres to several thousand metres.  

African Plateau is famous for gold and diamond mining. In India, huge reserves of iron, coal and manganese are found in the Chhota Nagpur Plateau. 

The plateau environment is very diverse across the world. Many plateaus have a rocky soil, which makes them less fertile than plains (see next section) and therefore less favourable to farming. An exception is that of lava plateaus (that is, formed through volcanic activity), as they often have a rich black soil

Plateaus are also home to many spectacular waterfalls. The Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, the Hundru Falls on the Subarnarekha River in the Chhota Nagpur Plateau and the Jog Falls on the Sharavati River in the Western Ghats are a few such waterfalls. The Nohkalikai Falls (Fig. 3.7) drop down 340 metres from the Cherrapunji Plateau (in Meghalaya).

Plains

 Plains are landforms that have an extensive flat or gently undulating surface. They do not have any large hills or deep valleys. They are generally not more than 300 metres above sea level. 

Floodplains are one type of plains formed by rivers originating in mountain ranges, where they collect particles of rock, sand and silt called ‘sediments’. These sediments are carried all the way to the plains, where the rivers deposit them, making the soil very fertile. As a result, these plains are ideal for growing crops of all kinds, and agriculture is a major economic occupation in this landform. Plains also support a variety of flora and fauna.  

Sea level: The average level of the surface of the oceans, also called ‘mean sea level’. 

Life in the plains  

Thousands of years ago, the first civilisations developed around rivers in fertile plains. In our times too, a large part of the world’s population lives in plains. About 40 crore people, more than one-fourth of the total Indian population, live in India’s Ganga plain (often called the ‘Gangetic plain’). As with many other plains of the  world, the major occupations of people in this region include river fishing and agriculture. Food crops such as rice, wheat, maize, barley and millets are grown. Fibre crops such as cotton, jute and hemp are also grown in the Gangetic plain. Traditional agriculture has been mostly rainfed (that is, watered through rainfall). In recent decades, however, agriculture has turned to irrigation, with water brought to the fields through networks of canals or pumped from groundwater. While irrigation has increased agricultural production, it has also contributed to the depletion (or decrease) of groundwater. This presents a challenge for the future of agriculture in the region. Some of the other problems affecting the Ganga plains include high population and pollution.

Whether in mountain ranges or plains, rivers around the world have carried immense cultural value. In particular, many communities have considered a river’s source and its confluence with one or two other rivers to be sacred. In India, numerous festivals, ceremonies and rituals are conducted at such locations 

Because plains have a gentle slope, river navigation is easy and supports a lot of economic activities. In earlier days, people also used rivers extensively to travel from one place to another. Even today (Fig. 3.10 on page 56), there are stretches along the Ganga where people prefer to use boats to move around! 

Confluence: The meeting point of two or more rivers  

In this chapter, we explored the three main landforms. But its surface is very complex and experts often define a few more landforms. One such landform is the desert. Deserts are considered to be large and dry expanses with very little precipitation. Their flora and fauna are also unique. Some deserts are hot, like the Sahara Desert in Africa or the Thar Desert in the northwest of the Indian Subcontinent. Others are cold, like the Gobi Desert in Asia. (Some experts also describe the Antarctica continent as a desert.) 

Despite harsh living conditions, humans have adapted to most of the deserts. In India, communities living in the Thar Desert, or migrating through it, hold rich cultural traditions, such as folk songs and legends, related to the desert. The diverse ways in which humans have made all landforms their home is a testimony to our adaptability and resilience.

Resilience: The capacity to meet challenges and difficulties, adapt to them or overcome them.