NCERT Solutions Class 6 Social Science Geography

Chapter 6: Major Lanforms of the Earth

1. Answer the following questions briefly.

a. What are the major landforms?

Answer: The major landforms are:

1. Mountains
2. Plateaus
3. Plains

These landforms are grouped depending on the elevation and slope.

b. What is the difference between a mountain and a plateau?

Answer: The differences between a mountain and plateau are:

c. What are the different types of mountains?

Answer: There are three types of mountains.

1. Fold Mountains
2. Block Mountains
3. Volcanic Mountains

d. How are mountains useful to man?

Answer: Mountains are useful due to the following reasons:

• It is a storehouse of water.
• Water from the mountains is also used for irrigation and generation of hydro-electricity.
• Mountains have a rich variety of flora and fauna.
• The forests provide us fuel, fodder, shelter and other products like gum, raisins, etc.
• The river valleys and terraces in the mountains are ideal for cultivation of crops.
• Several sports like paragliding, hang gliding, river rafting and skiing are popular in the mountains.

e. How are plains formed?

Answer: Plains are formed from the deposits of rivers and mountains. The rivers flow down the slopes of mountains and carry forward the eroded material. It consists of stones, sand and silt along their courses and in their valleys.

f. Why are the river plains thickly populated?

Answer: The plains are very fertile. It allows an easy construction of transport network. Thus, the river plains are thickly populated.

g. Why are mountains thinly populated?

Answer: The mountains are thinly populated due to the following reasons:

1. Harsh climate.
2. Steep slopes that reduces the area of land available for farming.

2. Tick the correct answers.

a. The mountains differ from the hills in terms of

1. elevation
2. slope
3. aspect

Answer: i. elevation

Explanation: The mountains differ from the hills in terms of elevation.

b. Glaciers are found in

1. the mountains
2. the plains
3. the plateaus

Answer: i. the mountains

Explanation: Glaciers are the permanently frozen rivers of ice found in mountains.

c. The Deccan Plateau is located in

1. Kenya
2. Australia
3. India

Answer: iii. India

Explanation: The Deccan plateau in India is one of the oldest plateaus.

d. The river Yangtze flows in

1. South America
2. Australia
3. China

Answer: iii. China

Explanation: The river Yangtze flows in China.

e. An important mountain range of Europe is

1. the Andes
2. the Alps
3. the Rockies

Answer: ii. the Alps

Explanation: The Alps is the mountain range of Europe.

3. Fill in the blanks.

1. A plain is an unborken flat or a low-level land.
2. The Himalayas and the Alps are examples of types of fold mountains.
3. Plateau areas are rich in minerals.
4. The range is a line of mountains.
5. The plain areas are most productive for farming.