Northern Plains of India - Class VII

• The Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers. The Bhagirathi is considered to be the source in Hindu culture and mythology, although the Alaknanda is longer. 
  
• The Bhāgīrathī is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian states of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism.
  
• In Hindu mythology and culture, the Bhagirathi is considered the source stream of the Ganges.
  

• The Yamuna Sanskrit and Hindi, sometimes called Jamuna is the longest and the second largest tributary river of the Ganges (Ganga) in northern India.
  
• Originating from the Yamunotri  Glacier at a height of 6,387 metres on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peaks in the uppermost region of the Loower Himalayas in Uttarakhand .
  
• it travels a total length of 1,376 kilometres (855 mi) and has a drainage system of 366,223 square kilometres (141,399 sq mi), 40.2% of the entire Ganges Basin.
  
•  It is the longest river in India which does not directly flow to the sea.
  

The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Indus-Ganga Plain and the North Indian River Plain, is a 630-million-acre (2.5-million km2) fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, the eastern parts of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangladesh and southern plains of Nepal. 

The Bhagirathi River, which is the headstream of the Ganga, originates from the Gangotri Glacier in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.

The Beas Dam, also known as the Pong Dam, is located on the Beas River in the state of Himachal Pradesh, near the border with Punjab.

Haridwar, Varanasi, and Patna are all major cities located on the banks of the Ganges. Lucknow is situated on the banks of the Gomti River.

• Chambal and Luni are the two main rivers of Rajasthan.
  
•  Chambal is the only perennial river of the state, which enters Rajasthan at 
  
• Rajasthan at Chaurasigarh, after originating from the northern slopes of the Vindhya Range.
  
•  This river flows along the eastern border between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
  
•  Fed by its tributaries, Chambal flows northwards across the state and meets the Yamuna River.
  

• Majuli has shrunk as the river surrounding it has grown. However, it is recognised by Guinness Book of World Records as World's Largest River Island. 
  
• The island is formed by the Brahmaputra river in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, another branch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north.
  
• The island is inhabited by Mising tribes, Deori and Sonowal Kachri tribes. 
  
• At the world's largest inhabited riverine island, ancient cultural traditions and nature blend into everyday life seamlessly.
  

• Majuli has shrunk as the river surrounding it has grown. However it is recognised by Guinness Book of World Records as World's Largest River Island. 
  
• The island is formed by the Brahmaputra river in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, an anabranch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north.

• The Indus receives its most-notable tributaries from the eastern Punjab Plain.
  
•  These five rivers—the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—give the name Punjab (“Five Rivers”) to the region divided between Pakistan and India. 
  
• The Ravi River is a river in Kashmir and Pakistan. 
  
•  It is also one of the major five rivers/tributaries of Indus.
  

• The River that flows through the Indian Desert is Luni. It's the only large river in this region. Streams appear during rainy Season.
  
•  Soon after they disappear into the sand, as they do not have enough water to reach the sea.
  
• The Luni is an endorheic river of western Rajasthan state, India.
  
• It originates in the Pushkar valley of the Aravalli Range, near Ajmer, passes through the southeastern portion of the Thar Desert, and ends in the marshy lands of Rann of Kutch Gujarat, after traveling a distance of 495 km.

• Majuli has shrunk as the river surrounding it has grown. However it is recognised by Guinness Book of World Records as World's Largest River Island. 
  
• The island is formed by the Brahmaputra river in the south and the Kherkutia Xuti, an anabranch of the Brahmaputra, joined by the Subansiri River in the north.
  
• The island is inhabited by Mising tribes, Deori and Sonowal Kachri tribes. 
  
• At the world' largest inhabited riverine island, ancient cultural traditions and nature blend into the everyday life seamlessly.

• Summer: This is the period from April to June. The summer starts by mid-March and temperature starts rising progressively through April, May and June.
  
•  The temperature ranges from 32 ºC to 45 ºC. In May and June, the dry western region of Rajasthan records a maximum temperature of 48 ºC.
  
• The hottest of all seasons, summer extends in Rajasthan from April to June. During summers, the temperature in Rajasthan is very high and it ranges somewhere between 32 degree Celsius and 48 degree Celsius.
  

• A barchan or barkhan dune is a crescent-shaped dune. 
  
• These are also called Crescent dunes.
  
•  A Barchan dune is an arc-shaped sand ridge, comprising of well-sorted sand grains.
  
• Barchans face the wind, appearing convex and are produced by wind action predominately from one direction.
  
•  They are a very common landform in sandy deserts all over the world and are arc-shaped, markedly asymmetrical in cross section, with a gentle slope facing toward the wind sand ridge, comprising well-sorted sand.

The Northern Plain was formed by the deposits brought in by the three major river system Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra and their tributaries. Alluvium was deposited at the foot–hills of the Himalayas for millions of years. These deposits are now the fertile Northern Plains. Alluvium is soil or sediments deposited by a river or other running water.

• The wind flowing in the northern plains in summers is known as 'loo'.
  
• Loo is a strong hot and dry winds that blows over the western Indo-Gangetic plain of North India and Pakistan.
  
• It is especially strong in the months of May and June.
  

Indian sub-continent is divided into plains, plateaus and mountains.

• Delta region is formed by deposition of sediments carried by rivers. In such regions alluvial soil is mostly formed.
  
• Alluvium is a loose soil or sediments which are formed by erosion by rainwater. It is typically made of small particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel.
  

• Rajasthan receives scanty rainfall and hence experience severe famine.
  
• Scarcity of rainfall is due to following reasons:
  
• South-east monsoon arriving from Bay of Bengal loses its moisture by the time it reaches north-western part of India where Rajasthan is located.
  
• And the south-west monsoon arriving from Bay of Bengal flows parallel to the Aravalli mountains and reach north-east part of India.
  

The Western part of Rajasthan is a desert because the temperature remains very high in summer and the Aravallis lie parallel to the path of the Arabian Sea Branch of the southwest monsoons , there by causing no orographic rainfall. When there is an excess moisture in cloud that cannot hold it further and sudden upliftment of cloud with same moisture. As cloud moves suddenly upwards it looses it moisture holding capacity. This happens in windward side of mountain. These Aravalli range are not blocking winds which carry moisture. They are parallel to the direction of cloud movement, so there is no upliftment of clouds carring moisture, so there are very little rains in Rajasthan. Thus the deserts are formed.

•  The Kali Andhi, or black storm is a violent, squally dust storm occuring  in late spring in north-western India.
  
•  They are usually brief, but can block out the sun, drastically reduce visibility and cause property damage and injuries.
  
•  The Andhi heralds the imminent arrival of the monsoon .
  
• Andhi is seen Punjab, Rajasthan in India, a summer time blowing, it is also called sand wind.

• Below the Tista, the Brahmaputra splits into two distributary branches. 
  
• The western branch, which contains the majority of the river's flow, continues due south as the Jamuna (Jomuna) to merge with the lower Ganga, called the Padma River (Pôdda).
  
• It is the main distributary channel of the Brahmaputra River as it flows from India to Bangladesh. The Jamuna flows south and joins the Padma River (Pôdda), near Goalundo Ghat, before meeting the Meghna River near Chandpur. It then flows into the Bay of Bengal as the Meghna River.

• The Punjab Plain is an alluvial plain in Pakistan and the north-west of India. 
  
• The plain includes the Pakistani province of Punjab and the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and is around 35,000 square miles (91,000 km²) in area.
  
•  The plain is extensively farmed for cereals and cotton.
  
•  It is bounded by the  Shiwalik Range  to the north, the  Yamuna River to the east, the arid zone of Rajasthan state to the south, and the  Ravi  and  Sutlej rivers to the northwest and southwest, respectively.
  

Khadar is the term for the new, fertile alluvial deposits found in the floodplains of the Gangetic plain. Bhangar refers to older alluvial deposits located above the flood level.

The Ravi River is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of six rivers of the Indus System in Punjab region. The waters of Ravi are allocated to India under Indus Water Treaty.

Hardoi is a city and municipal board in Hardoi district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Hardoi district.

The Northern Plain was formed by the interplay of the three major river systems, namely– the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries. It is composed of alluvial soil which has been deposited over millions of years. It is about 2400 km long and about 240 to 320 km broad. With a rich soil cover combined with adequate water supply and favorable climate.  It is agriculturally a very productive part of India.

The Northern Plain:

1.       Formed by the interplay of the three major river systems, namely– the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries

2.       Composed of alluvial soil which has been deposited over millions of years, about 2400 km long and about 240 to 320 km broad.

3.       With a rich soil cover combined with adequate water supply and favourable climate it is agriculturally a very productive part of India

4.       Divided into three sections, viz. the Punjab Plain, the Ganga Plain and the Brahmaputra Plain.

The Northern Plain was formed by the interplay of the three major river systems, namely– the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries. It is composed of alluvial soil which has been deposited over millions of years, it is about 2400 km long and about 240 to 320 km broad. 

The Northern Plain was formed by the interplay of the three major river systems, namely– the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries. It is composed of alluvial soil which has been deposited over millions of years, about 2400 km long and about 240 to 320 km broad. It is divided into three sections, viz. the Punjab Plain, the Ganga Plain and the Brahmaputra Plain.

The Punjab plain lies in the western part of the northern plain & formed by the Indus and its tributaries with major portion of this plains in Pakistan

The great plains of North are called Sutlej-Ganga plains. They are form the transitional belt between the peninsular India and Himalaya Region.

The Rajasthan plain, located in northwestern India, is known as the Great Indian Desert or the Thar Desert. The other options are deserts located in Africa or Asia.

The Punjab and Haryana plains are known as the granary of India due to their massive production of wheat. This region benefits from fertile soil and extensive irrigation networks.

Assam plain is also called as Bramhaputra plain. This is because most of Bramhaputra plain is located in Assam. Its western boundary is formed by the Indo-Bangladesh border as well as the boundary of the lower Ganga Plain. Its eastern boundary is formed by Purvanchal hills. Fertile alluvial soils, flat surface, slow moving perennial rivers and favorable climate facilitate intense agricultural activity.

Indo Gangetic plain is also known as Indus and Ganga plain. These plains are named after two rivers, Indus and Ganga. It encompasses most of northern and eastern India, the eastern parts of Pakistan, and all of Bangladesh. Himalayas are located on the north of these plains and its rivers are the source of rich alluvium brought down to the Indo-Gangetic plains.

Varnasi, Rishikesh, and Vaishnodevi are all located within the Northern Plains or the Himalayan foothills associated with the region. Madurai is a famous temple city located in Tamil Nadu, which is in Southern India.

Southern edge of Ganga plain is marked by Chota Nagpur plateau. Chota Nagpur plateau is called as mineral heartland of India because the region is abundantly blessed with wide variety of minerals. Chota Nagpur plateau is located on the western side of India. It covers states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.   

Among the following places of India given in the options, Ludhiana falls under Gangetic plain. It is a district located in the state of Punjab.  Ludhiana stands on the old banks of river Sutlej. As it is located in the Gangetic plain, the place is very fertile and blessed with great agriculture. 

The Brahmaputra basin spreads over countries of Tibet (China), Bhutan, India and Bangladesh having a total area of 5,80,000 Sq.km. In India, it spreads over states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim. The major rivers of bramhaputra basin are Tista River, Jaldhaka River, Manas River, Kopili River, Buridehing River, Dhansiri (S) River, Yamuna, Sankosh.

Great northern plains are formed by the sediments brought down by the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra and their tributaries and it is popularly known as the Indo-Ganga-Brahmaputra plain. Following are the characteristics of northern plains: It forms most fertile region, forms an important pilgrim centre, attracts tourists because of its scenic beauty.

Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Pilibanga are the great civilisations flourished on the banks of river Indus. For this reason it is also called as Indus valley Civilisations which is one of the greatest ancient civilisations. 

Great northern plains are formed by the sediments brought down by the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra and their tributaries and it is popularly known as the Indo-Ganga-Brahmaputra plain. These are very important because the rivers that flow in this region are navigable, it has flat land which is good for roads and railways and it provides best Irrigational facilities.

The term Delta was coined by Herodotus after the Greek letter delta (∆). The shape of a delta is like a triangle. Deltas are located at river mouths. A river Delta typically makes up a triangle-shaped piece of land.

Kurukshetra
is a place of great historical and religious importance. This city is situated
in Haryana and lies in Punjab-Haryana plain. It is the place where the battle
of Mahabharat was fought. Lord Krishna preached his philosophy of ‘Karma’ which
is enshrined in the Holy Bhagwad-Gita to Arjuna at Kurukshetra. Kurukshetra is
intimately related to the Aryan civilization and its growth all along the
sacred river Saraswati. According to Hindu mythology, the Kurukshetra is spread
over, a circuit of about 48 Kos  which
includes a large number of holy places, temples and Sacred tanks connected with
the religious events, Mahabharat war and Kurus, the ancestor of Kouravas and
Pandavs.

Thick stands of tall grass, known as canebrakes, grow in wetter areas. The Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests ecoregion lies closer to the Bay of Bengal. This ecoregion is flooded with slightly brackish water during the dry season, and freshwater during the monsoon season.

The Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta is the largest river delta in the world. It is also known as the Sunderbans Delta, Ganges Delta, the Brahmaputra Delta, or the Bengal Delta. The Ganges River Delta is located in the Indian subcontinent countries of India (West Bengal) and Bangladesh.

The Ganges Delta is among the most fertile regions in the world. Along the coast, the width of the delta is approximately 350 km. The distance from the confluence of the Brahmaputra and the Ganges to the coast is some 250 km. 

The world's largest mangrove ecoregion of the Sundarbans covers an area of 20,400 sq. km.  The dominant mangrove species Heritiera fomes is locally known as sundri or Sundari. 

The Ganga-Brahmaputra Plain widens From west to east. The Ganga Brahmaputra basin is situated at 10°N to 30°N in the sub-tropical region. The basin is formed as a result of the many tributaries from Ganga and Brahmaputra river.

Tarai, also spelled Terai, a region of northern India and southern Nepal running parallel to the lower ranges of the Himalayas. A strip of undulating former marshland, it stretches from the Yamuna River in the west to the Brahmaputra River in the east. At its northern edge are numerous springs forming several streams, including the important Ghaghara River, which intersect the Tarai (meaning “Moist Land”) and are responsible for its marshy character. Interspersed with the Tarai is the Bhabar, which is a region of coarse gravel and shingle deposits supporting sal (Shorea robusta) forests. Drainage and cultivation of the area, once extremely malarial, have diminished the marshlands.

Ganga Delta,

The Northern Plain was formed by the deposits brought in by the three major rivers and their tributaries.

1. The Indus 

2. The Ganga 

3. The Brahmaputra  

Alluvium was deposited at the foothills of the Himalayas for millions of years. These deposits are now the fertile Northern Plains.

• Northern Plains area is roughly 7 lakh sq. km. in size. 
  
• It is 2400 km long and 240 to 320 km broad.
  
• The Northern Plains spreading from Assam to Punjab has a length of around 2400 km and the width ranges between 150 km to 300 km, varying in different regions. It can be found in Bihar, Punjab, Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, parts of Delhi and Haryana. 

The Northern Plain was formed by the interplay of the three major river systems, the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries. It is composed of alluvial soil, it is about 2400 km long and about 240 to 320 km broad. With a rich soil cover combined with adequate water supply and favorable climate it is agriculturally a very productive part of India. It is divided into three sections, viz. the Punjab Plain, the Ganga Plain and the Brahmaputra Plain.

Brahmaputra River is called Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, China. Brahmaputra river originates from Kailash ranges of the Himalayas at an elevation of about 5150 m and flows for about 2900 km through Tibet.

Indo-Gangetic plains extend between the rivers Ghaggar and Tista River.

Brahmaputra River is called as Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet. Brahmaputra River originates from Kailash ranges of Himalayas at an elevation of about 5150 m and flows for about 2900 km through Tibet. It later flows through Bhutan, India and Bangladesh having a total area of 5, 80,000 Sq.km.