Class 6 Geography Chapter 6 Notes:- Major Landforms Of The Earth

In this post, our expert teacher provides Class 6 Geography Chapter 6 Notes or you can say Major Landforms Of The Earth Notes Class 6. In NCERT Notes for Class 6th geography chapter 6, you study different landforms of the earth, mountains, Plains, Plateaus, etc. We provide Class 6th Geography Notes in very comprehensive language.

You can also download class 6 geography chapter 6 notes pdf.

What are Landforms?

Landforms are the physical features on the surface of the earth. The earth has an infinite variety of landforms. The major landforms of the earth are Mountains, plateaus and Plains. Some Natural processes such as erosion of the soil, weathering, sinking, running water, elevation, and are constantly shaping or changing the Earth’s surface.

The process of formation of the earth’s surfaces took over millions of years to take the shape. Major landforms of the earth are created through different geological processes. These landforms are a result of two processes.

Formation of Major Landforms of the Earth

There are two processes that are responsible for the formation of landforms.

Internal Process– Within the earth, a continuous movement is taking place called the internal process, for example, volcanic eruption and plate tectonics. It leads to the upliftment and sinking of the earth’s surface in several places. As a result, creating uneven movement on the surface.
External Process– External process means effects caused by external factors running water, ice and wind. The external process is the continuous wearing down and rebuilding of the land surface. Erosion and deposition are two main external processes. These two processes are carried out by running water, ice and wind.
1. Erosion- The wearing away of the earth’s surface is called erosion.
2. Deposition- Lay down of eroded material in other places is called Deposition.
3. Weathering- it is the process by which rocks are broken down that can create sediments.

Types of Major Landforms of the Earth

The earth has an infinite variety of landforms. Broadly, Major Landforms Of The Earth can be grouped into different landforms depending on elevation and slope as mountains, plateaus and plains.

Mountain

A mountain is a natural elevation of the earth’s surface. It is considerably higher than the surrounding area. Some mountains are even higher than the clouds. In general, the mountains are higher than 2000 ft.

Important points to know

A mountain is any natural elevation of the earth’s surface.
In some mountains, there are permanently frozen rivers of ice. They are called glaciers.
As you go higher, the temperature drops the climate becomes colder.
There are some mountains under the sea also.
The slopes of the mountains are steep, so less land is available for farming.
Because of the harsh climate, fewer people live in the mountain areas.
Mountains have a rich variety of flora and fauna.

Mountains may be arranged in a line known as a range. The Himalayas, the Alps and the Andes are mountain ranges of Asia, Europe and South America, respectively.

There are three types of mountains- the Fold Mountains, Block Mountains and the Volcanic Mountains.

Fold Mountains

Fold Mountains are created when two or more tectonic plates collide and the edges of these plates ‘fold’ because of the enormous push force between them.

fold mountains are classified into ‘young fold’ and the ‘old fold’ mountains according to their age.

The young fold is between 10 and 25 million years old. For example, the Himalayan Mountains and the Alps are young fold mountains.
The old fold is older than 200 million years. Examples are the Aravalli mountains in India and the Ural mountain in Russia.

Block Mountains

Block Mountains are created when large areas are broken and displaced vertically. The uplifted blocks are termed horsts and the lowered blocks are called graben. Examples of block mountains are the Rhine valley and the Vosges mountain in Europe.

Volcanic mountains

Volcanic mountains are formed due to volcanic activity. Mt.Kilimanjaro in Africa and Mt.Fujiyama in Japan are examples of such mountains.

Plateaus

A plateau is an elevated flat land. It is a flat-topped table land standing above the surrounding area. A plateau may have one or more sides with steep slopes. The height of plateaus often varies from a few hundred metres to several thousand metres.

The Deccan plateau in India is one of the oldest plateaus.
The Tibet plateau is the highest plateau in the world with a height of 4,000 to 6,000 metres above the mean sea level.
Plateaus are very useful because they are rich in mineral deposits. As a result, many of the mining areas in the world are located in plateau areas. African plateau is famous for gold and diamond mining.
In India, huge reserves of iron, coal and manganese are found in the Chhotanagpur plateau.
The Hundru falls in the Chhotanagpur plateau on the river Subarnarekha and the Jog falls in Karnataka on the Sharavati River.
The lava plateaus are rich in black soil that are fertile and good for cultivation.

Plains

The long stretches of flat land are called Plains. They are, generally, not more than 200
metres above mean sea level.

How Plains are formed?

Most of the plains are formed by rivers and their tributaries. The rivers flow down the slopes of mountains and erode them. They carry forward the eroded material. Then they deposit their load consisting of stones, sand and silt along with their courses and in their valleys. These deposits form Plains.

In India, plains are formed by the Ganga and the Brahmaputra rivers.

Plains are very fertile.
Construction of transport network is easy.
Plains are very thickly-populated regions.
In India, the Indo-Gangetic plains are the most densely populated regions of the country.

LANDFORMS AND THE PEOPLE

Humans have been living on different kinds of landforms in different ways. Life is difficult in
mountainous areas. Plains provide much better conditions. It is easy to grow crops, and build a house or a road on a plain than on a mountain.

Important Terms

These are the terms that are used in Class 6 Geography Chapter 6 Notes: Major Landforms Of The Earth. To understand Class 6th Geography Chapter 6 notes you have to learn these terms.

Mountain: A mountain is a natural elevation of the earth’s surface.

Erosion: The wearing away of the earth’s surface is known as erosion.

Glacier: Some mountains have permanently frozen rivers of ice. They are called glaciers.

Plateau: A plateau is an elevated flat land. It is a flat-topped table land standing above the surrounding area.

Plain: A plain is a vast stretch of flat land where a thick population is found.

Range: When mountains are in an arranged line, it is called a range.

Horsts and graben: In Block Mountain, the uplifted blocks are known as horsts and the lowered blocks are known as graben.

Terraces: One of the series of flat areas of ground that are cut into the side of hill-like steps in order to grow crops there.

Flora: The plants of a particular area.

Fauna: The animals living in an area.

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Class 6 Geography Chapter 6 Notes- Major Landforms Of The Earth