Landforms and Life

Why This Matters

Think about a long journey by bus or train. The land outside your window keeps changing.

In one place, you see tall hills touching the clouds. In another place, the land is flat and full of green fields. Somewhere else, the ground is high but flat on top, like a big raised table.

These different shapes of the land are called landforms. A landform is just a shape or feature on the surface of the Earth.

Why should you care about the shape of the land? Because the land shapes your life.

Where people build their homes, what food they grow, what clothes they wear, how they travel — all of this depends a lot on the kind of land they live on. People living high in the mountains live very differently from people in the flat plains.

In this chapter, we will meet the main landforms. We will see how each one forms and looks. And we will find out the most interesting thing of all — how the land quietly shapes the way people live.

The Big Idea

The Earth’s surface is not flat and even. It has many shapes called landforms. The three main ones are mountains (very high land), plateaus (high land that is flat on top), and plains (low, flat land). Each landform took millions of years to form. And each one shapes human life in its own way — it decides where people can farm, where they can build homes, how they travel, and even what they wear. Most people in the world live on plains, because flat, fertile land is the easiest place to farm and live.

Let’s Break It Down

What are landforms?

Let us start with the simplest question. What exactly is a landform?

A landform is a natural shape or feature on the surface of the Earth. “Natural” means it was not built by people. The land itself has this shape.

A mountain is a landform. A flat plain is a landform. A valley is a landform.

Here is something amazing. Landforms take a very, very long time to form — often millions of years. The Earth is slowly pushing land up in some places and wearing it down in others. We cannot see this happen, because it is far too slow. But over millions of years, it makes the mountains and valleys we see today.

There are many landforms, but we can put the big ones into three main groups:

• Mountains — very high land.
• Plateaus — high land that is flat on top.
• Plains — low, flat land.

Before we look at each one closely, let us see all three side by side. The picture below puts a plain, a plateau and mountains together. Notice how their heights are different.

Tap to zoom

Now let us meet each one, starting with the tallest.

Mountains

A mountain is land that is much higher than the land around it. Mountains are the giants of the Earth’s surface.

How do you know it is a mountain? Look for three things:

• A broad base — it is wide at the bottom.
• Steep slopes — the sides go up sharply, not gently.
• A narrow summit — the top comes to a small point. (“Summit” just means the very top.)

Some mountains are so high and so cold at the top that they are covered in snow all year. This white cap of snow on the peak is called a snow cap. At lower spots, the snow melts in summer and turns into water. This water feeds rivers far below.

Between two mountains, there is often a low strip of land called a valley. A valley usually has a river or stream flowing through it. The picture below points out all these parts.

Tap to zoom

Mountains are not all the same age. Tall, sharp mountains like the Himalayas are actually “young” in Earth’s history. They formed more recently — though that still means millions of years ago! Shorter, rounded mountains like the Aravalli Range are much older. Over a very long time, wind and water slowly wore down their sharp tops and made them rounded.

Many mountains stand together in a long line. A long line of mountains is called a mountain range. The Himalayas in Asia, the Alps in Europe and the Andes in South America are famous mountain ranges. Some ranges stretch for thousands of kilometres.

Mountains are full of life too. Forests grow on their slopes, with tall cone-shaped trees like pine and deodar. Animals like the snow leopard, the yak and the black bear live in the mountains.

Plateaus

The next landform is the plateau. (Say it like “pla-toh”.)

A plateau is land that rises high above the land around it — but its top is flat. The easiest way to picture it is a giant table. A table is raised off the floor, but its top is flat and even.

So a plateau has two key features:

• It is high — it rises above the land near it.
• It is flat on top — not pointed like a mountain.
• Its sides are often steep, like cliffs.

Plateaus can be small or huge. The Tibetan Plateau is the largest and highest plateau in the world. It is so high that people call it the “Roof of the World”. The Deccan Plateau in central and southern India is one of the oldest plateaus on Earth.

The picture below shows a plateau and its flat top.

Tap to zoom

Why do plateaus matter so much to people? Two big reasons.

First, plateaus are rich in minerals. A mineral is a useful material we dig out of the ground, like coal, iron and gold. Plateaus have been called “storehouses of minerals”. So a lot of mining happens on plateaus. In India, the Chhota Nagpur Plateau has huge amounts of iron, coal and manganese.

Second, plateaus often have beautiful waterfalls. A river flowing on the flat top reaches the steep edge and drops down. India’s Jog Falls and Hundru Falls fall from plateaus.

Plains

Now we come to the landform where most people live — the plain.

A plain is land that is wide, low and flat. It has no big hills and no deep valleys. Plains are usually not very high — most are less than 300 metres above sea level. (Remember, mountains can be thousands of metres high. So plains are very low in comparison.)

Many plains are made by rivers. Here is how. A river starts high up in the mountains. As it flows down, it carries tiny bits of rock, sand and soil. These tiny bits are called sediments.

When the river reaches the flat plain, it slows down and drops these sediments on the land. Over thousands of years, this builds up a thick layer of rich soil. Soil that is full of these bits is fertile — that means crops grow very well in it.

This is why plains are perfect for farming. The picture below shows how a river makes a plain fertile.

Tap to zoom

Why most people and farms are on plains

Here is a question worth asking. Why do most people in the whole world live on plains? Why not on mountains or plateaus?

Do not just accept it — let us see why, step by step.

• Plains have fertile soil. The river drops rich soil here, so crops grow easily. Mountains have thin, rocky soil on steep slopes. Many plateaus have rocky soil too. So farming is far easier on plains.
• Flat land is easy to farm. On a plain, a farmer can plough straight across wide, level fields. On a steep mountain slope, that is very hard. You cannot easily plough a steep hill.
• Flat land is easy to build on and travel across. Roads, railways and houses are simple to build on flat ground. Going up and down steep mountains is slow and tiring. Boats can also travel easily on the slow rivers of a plain.
• There is plenty of water. Rivers flow gently across plains, giving water for crops, animals and people.

Put these together and the answer is clear. Plains give people food, water, flat land and easy travel — all in one place. So people gathered on plains, and over time most of the world’s people came to live there.

In fact, India’s huge Ganga plain (also called the Gangetic plain) is home to about 40 crore people — more than one out of every four Indians! People here grow rice, wheat, maize and millets, and crops like cotton and jute. The world’s first great civilisations also grew on fertile plains beside rivers.

Now let us put all three landforms side by side in a table.

The table below compares mountains, plateaus and plains by their height, their look, and the kind of life on them.

How landforms shape life — homes, food, clothes, work

We keep saying the land shapes how people live. Let us now see this clearly by comparing mountain life and plain life side by side.

The picture below shows the two ways of life next to each other.

Tap to zoom

Let us break this down into four parts of daily life.

Homes (where people live). On a flat plain, it is easy to build houses and whole towns. So plains are crowded with villages and cities. On steep mountains, flat ground is rare, so there are fewer homes, often in the valleys.

Food (what people grow). On plains, the soil is fertile and flat, so farmers grow lots of rice, wheat and other crops. On mountains, the slopes are too steep for normal farming. So mountain people cut flat steps into the slope and grow crops on the steps. This clever method is called terrace farming. In some mountain areas, people keep animals like sheep and goats instead of farming — this is called herding.

Clothes (what people wear). High up in the mountains it is cold. So people there wear thick, warm woollen clothes. On the plains, it is usually warmer, so people wear lighter clothes.

Work (what people do). On plains, the main work is farming and fishing in rivers. On mountains, people do herding, and many work in tourism — helping the visitors who come to enjoy the cool air and the beautiful views. On plateaus, the big work is mining, digging out minerals from the ground.

Let us refresh one earlier idea that this all rests on.

Now a quick “why” check on the most important idea of this chapter.

The answer: a plain is flat, so a farmer can plough straight across wide, level fields, and the soil is fertile. A mountain slope is steep, so the field would slide and a plough cannot move easily. That is why mountain farmers must cut flat steps (terrace farming) instead.

Let us try a worked example of matching a landform to an activity.

India’s main landforms in brief

India is a big country, so it has all the main landforms. Let us name them simply.

• The Himalayas — in the far north. These are the tallest mountains in the world. They are young, sharp and snowy. Many big rivers, like the Ganga, start here.
• The Northern Plains — just below the Himalayas. These are wide, flat and very fertile. The huge Ganga plain is here. Most Indians live in these plains.
• The Plateaus — in central and southern India, mainly the Deccan Plateau. These are old, high, flat-topped lands, rich in minerals.
• The Coasts — the flat land along the edge of the sea, where India meets the ocean. India has long coasts on the east and west.
• The Thar Desert — in the northwest. A desert is a very dry land with little rain. The Thar is a hot desert with sand and few plants. People here have rich traditions like folk songs and legends.

So in one country you can find towering mountains, wide plains, flat plateaus, sea coasts and a dry desert. That is what makes India’s land so rich and varied.

A desert is a special landform worth a quick note. A desert is a large, dry area that gets very little rain. Some deserts are hot, like the Thar. Some are even cold, like the Gobi Desert in Asia. People have learned to live even here — which shows how well humans can adapt to any land.

Caring for these places

The land gives us so much. We must also take care of it.

Mountains are fragile, which means they are easily harmed. Too many visitors, too much building, and cutting too many trees can damage them. This can cause landslides, when soil and rock suddenly slide down a slope.

Plains face problems too. Too many people and too many factories cause pollution. And pumping out too much groundwater for farming means the underground water is slowly running out.

So as we use the land, we must use it carefully — so that it stays healthy for the people who come after us.

Common Mistakes

These are slip-ups students often make about landforms. Read them once and you will not fall for them.

Quick Check

Time for a few quick questions. Pick an answer, then read why it is right.

Practice Problems

Try each problem on your own first. Then tap to check the full answer.

Easy

Medium

Challenge

Summary

Here is what you should now be able to explain in your own words.

• A landform is a natural shape on the surface of the Earth, formed slowly over millions of years.
• The three main landforms are mountains (very high), plateaus (high but flat on top), and plains (low and flat).
• A mountain has a broad base, steep slopes and a narrow summit, often with a snow cap; a low strip between mountains is a valley.
• A plateau rises high like a giant table, has a flat top and steep sides, and is rich in minerals, so mining happens there.
• A plain is low, flat and fertile, because rivers drop rich soil on it; this is why it is great for farming.
• Most people and most farms are on plains, because flat, fertile land makes farming, building and travel all easy.
• The landform shapes homes, food, clothes and work — for example, mountain people use terrace farming and wear warm clothes, while plains people farm wide flat fields.
• India has all the main landforms: the Himalayas, the Northern Plains, the Plateaus (like the Deccan), the coasts, and the Thar Desert — and we must care for all of them.

What’s Next

You have seen how the shape of the land affects people today. Next, we travel back in time.

In Chapter 4, Timeline and Sources of History, you will learn how we find out about the past — how we measure time across thousands of years, and the clues (called sources) that tell us how people lived long ago.

Just as landforms quietly shaped how people live, the past quietly shaped who we are today. Let us go and uncover it.