These DAV Class 7 SST Notes and DAV Class 7 SST Chapter 8 Notes – Land and the People hold significant importance as study material for students.
Land and the People Class 7 DAV Notes
→ This chapter is associated with the life of people in the different natural regions of the world such as deserts, grasslands and river basins. These regions have their own special characteristics.
→ Desert areas of the world are characterised by low rainfall, scanty vegetation and extreme temperatures. Depending on the temperatures, there can be hot deserts or cold deserts.
→ The Sahara is the world’s largest and the hottest desert on the earth. It lies between the Atlantic Ocean in the west, Red Sea in the east, Mediterranean Sea in the north and huge mounds of sand dunes in the south. The only source of water in this desert is the Nile river. Sand dunes are quite common in this region.
→ Due to high temperature and low rainfall, vegetation cover is scanty, except near the Nile river valley. The important trees are cactus and date palm.
→ The north-western part of Sahara is known as rocky desert. Most of the land is barren and unihabited. Population is mainly concentrated near the waterbodies like oasis. Major crops are wheat, maize, barley, etc.
→ Ladakh is a new union territory of India, it is the cold desert which is situated in the north-eastern part of Jammu and Kashmir (now union territory). It is surrounded by lofty and high mountain ranges. It is situated at a very high altitude and is covered with snow for many months.
→ Vegetation is very scanty here. Willow trees are found in this area. Sheep, mountain goats and yaks are the common animals of Ladakh.
→ The main river of Ladakh is the Indus. Population is mainly concentrated near the river banks.
→ Agriculture is the main occupation of the people of Ladakh. They grow crops like barley, millets and beans. They also grow fruits like apple, walnut and apricot.
→ The population is increassing in the temperate grasslands such as the Prairies of North America and the Veld of South Africa.
→ The prairies cover a large area of USA and Canada. This area is drained by the river Mississippi and its tributaries. The basin is very fertile and important for agriculture.
→ The rainfall is not sufficient to grow trees. Only grasses can be found here. A large part of prairies is new being converted into agricultural land. The main crops grown here are wheat, corn, oat, etc. The farms are big in size and the work is mostly done with the help of machines.
→ The population is mainly concentrated around wheat growing areas or rivers. The prairies are well-connected with all modern means of communication.
→ In South Africa, the grasslands are known as Velds. It lies between the Darkensberg plateau in the east and merges with the Kalahari desert in the west. The main rivers here are the Limpopo and the Orange.
→ Due to the dry climatic conditions plants do not grow here. Grasses are the dominant vegetation of the Veld.
→ Agriculture is not possible in the Veld as it is a plateau area and the soil is infertile. However, the Veld grasslands are rich in minerals like gold, diamond and coal. Coal mines are common in Johannesberg.
→ The Amazon basin, the largest river basin in the world, lies in South America. This basin is known for its rainforests. The trees here are very tall and thick. There are several layers of vegetation.
→ The forests are so dense that the sunlight hardly reaches the ground. This region has vast and varied species of plants. It is also rich in wildlife. Most of the animals are arboreal (adapted to live on trees). Colourful birds and butterflies are also common. The most important food crop is manioc or cassava.
→ In the past few decades due to the increase in population, many rainforest areas have been cleared for various purposes. People are moving towards this area because of economic potential of Amazon basin.
→ The Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta is the world’s largest delta. It is a part of the northern plains of the Indian sub-continent. It lies to the south of the foothills of the Shiwalik. It is a vast low-lying plain, drained by three rivers of India- the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. These rivers carry huge amount of sediments with them, which make the soil of this plain very fertile.
→ This basin is covered with tropical moist deciduous forests. But now, this area has been completely converted into farms and settlements
→ The Ganga-Brahmaputra delta is the home of various kinds of wild animals. The most common ones are one-horned rhinoceros and Bengal tigers.
→ The soil of this basin is very fertile and crops like rice, wheat, sugarcane, jute and tea are produced. Agro-based industries are common in this region.
→ Desert : A region having extreme temperature conditions with very low amount of rainfall and scanty vegetation.
→ Oasis : The water bodies in desert areas.
→ Temperate grasslands : Grasslands found between sub-tropical and sub-polar regions.
→ Mixed farming : Growing of crops and rearing of animals in the same farm.
→ Extensive farming : The type of farming in which the farms are big in size and the work is mostly done with the help of machines.
→ Canopy : The topmost layer of foliage.
→ Alluvium : Material deposited by a river along its course.
→ Drought : A period of dry weather, especially one lasting for long time to affect life.
→ Mangrove : A type of swampy vegetation that grows along many tropical coastlines.
→ Sub-tropical region : It is a region of the earth bordering on the tropics, just north of the Tropic of Cancer or just south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Sub-tropical regions are the warmest parts of the two temperate zones.
→ Tropical region: It is a region of the earth surrounding the equator, limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere.