Tag: geography

Dhebar lake (also known as Jaisamand lake) is Asia's second-largest artificial lake. It is located in the Udaipur District of Rajasthan state in western India. It has an area of 87 km when full, and was created in the 17th century when Rana Jai Singh of Udaipur built a marble dam across the Gomati River.

The Gadsisar Lake is one of the most famous tourist places in Jaisalmer which was built by Raja Rawal Jaisal, the first ruler of Jaisalmer. In the later years Maharaja Garisisar Singh rebuilt and revamped the lake. This historic lake is located towards the south of Jaisalmer city. The bank of the Gadsisar lake is surrounded by artistically carved Chattris, Temples, Shrines, and Ghats. Its charm lies in the fact that it was the only source of water for the Jaisalmer city in the olden days.

With a growing population comes a growing demand for water from the three main sectors of agriculture, around 70 percent, industry, around 22 percent and domestic use, around 8 percent. This increase in demand will cause a shortfall of almost 2000 megaliters of water by 2030.

Dryland communities have also developed deep knowledge of water and its elements. From the name of a particular system,(eg. a nadi) people knew how the water is collected, catchment prepared, embankment constructed, etc. Diverse systems to suit local ecology, geology, climate: nadi, talab, johad, bandha, etc. So many kinds of wells: Dugwells: kua owned by individuals; kohars community wells. Step wells: Baolis for drinking; constructed for philanthropic purposes; jhalaras not used for drinking. Different in architecture, Sagar ka kua : never run dry, Seer ka kua: underground channel opening into a well..

A rift valley is formed mainly due to the subsidence of the floor of a river valley. A rift valley is formed on a divergent plate boundary, a crustal extension or spreading apart of the surface, which is subsequently further deepened by the forces of erosion.

Human activities have been the major causes for the depletion of flora and fauna. Various such activities are –

1. Agricultural expansion

2. Shifting cultivation (Jhum), a type of ‘slash and burn’ agriculture.

3. Large scale development projects.

4. Mining activities.

5. Habitat destruction, hunting, poaching, over-exploitation of forest products, environmental degradation, forest-fire are some other factors which have led to the decline of India’s biodiversity.

6. Environmental destruction due to unequal access, inequitable consumption of resources and differential sharing of responsibilities for environmental well-being are also responsible for the depletion of flora and fauna.