Q1.
Study the map in Fig.1.11. What are the different physical features represented here? (Hint: You may refer to LET’S EXPLORE on page 2 of this chapter.)
Answer
Reading Fig. 1.11 with the colour key from page 2, the map of Asia shows five kinds of physical feature, four of them named on the map itself:
| What you see | Colour on the map | The feature |
|---|---|---|
| The whole surround, and the deep water off the east coast | Blue, darkening where the sea is deepest | Oceans and seas — the Pacific Ocean is labelled on the right, the Arctic across the top |
| A broad green band across the north, labelled Siberian Taiga | Dark green | Cold northern plains under coniferous forest |
| A green belt across the middle, labelled Eurasian Steppes | Lighter green | Flat, unforested temperate grassland |
| A pale patch in the interior, labelled Gobi Desert | Light yellow / tan | Desert — dry land with very low rainfall |
| A narrow ridge running north–south, labelled Ural Mountains | Brown, with white on the highest parts | An old mountain range, the natural boundary between Europe and Asia |
| A high pale-and-white block in the south, labelled Tibetan Plateau | White (ice and snow) with brown around it | The highest and largest plateau on Earth, with the Himalaya on its southern edge |
The map also carries a compass rose and a scale bar reading 0 – 2,000 – 4,000 km, so you can judge how huge these features are: the Steppes alone run over 8,000 km from west to east.
Why it happens: notice that the bands lie roughly one below the other, north to south — taiga, then steppe, then desert, then the plateau and mountains. That order is not an accident.
- The far north is cold, so only hardy coniferous trees grow: taiga.
- Further south it is warm enough for grass but too dry for forest, because these lands lie deep inside the continent and the moist sea winds have already lost their rain: steppe.
- Deeper still into the interior, almost no moist air arrives at all, and the Gobi becomes true desert.
- In the south the Himalaya stand across the path of the moist monsoon winds, catching the rain on their Indian side and leaving the Tibetan Plateau behind them high, cold and dry.