CH 6 MAJOR LAND FORM OF THE EARTH

The mountains are thinly populated because of harsh climate. The slopes are steep and soil is lack. Plains are more thickly populated than deserts.

They lack agricultural lands and transport facilities and have extremely cold winters. This makes these regions inhospitable. Many people choose not to stay in such regions. Thus, mountainous regions are scarcely populated.

Mountains have very harsh cold climate.The slopes of the mountains are very steep.Also mountains offer very little land for farming. For these reasons mountains are thinly populated

The mountains arc thinly populated because of harsh climate. The slopes are steep and soil is lack. These conditions are not favourable for agriculture. So, the mountains are thinly populated

Why are the river plains thickly populated? Ans: The river plains are very suitable for human habitation. People get flat land for building houses and cultivation.

Plains form in many different ways. Some plains form as ice and water erodes, or wears away, the dirt and rock on higher land. Water and ice carry the bits of dirt, rock, and other material, called sediment, down hillsides to be deposited elsewhere. As layer upon layer of this sediment is laid down, plains form.

 Mountains are a storehouse of water. Water from the mountains is also used for irrigation and generation of hydro-electricity. The river valleys and terraces are ideal for the cultivation of crops.

There are five main types of mountains: volcanic, fold, plateau, fault-block and dome. A more detailed classification useful on a local scale predates plate tectonics and adds to these categories.

Mountains are defined as the elevations that have appeared from the earth’s surface.On the other hand, plateaus are defined as a flat surface. Plateau is also called as a tableland.

Mountains, hills, plateaus and plains are the four major types of land-forms.