Mountains
Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 3: Landforms and Life · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 3.1
Learn
Ritika's school trip goes to a hill town. The bus winds round and round the slopes, the air gets cooler, and soon she sees snow on faraway peaks. "The higher we go, the colder it gets," says her teacher.
A landform is a natural shape of the Earth's surface. A mountain is land that rises high above its surroundings, with steep slopes and a narrow peak. A long chain of mountains is a range. The Himalayas, in the north of India, are the highest mountain range in the world, with Mount Everest as the highest peak.
Mountains are cold, with thin air and little flat land, so fewer people live there. People adapt: they build terraces (steps cut into slopes) to farm, keep yaks, sheep and goats, wear warm wool, and build houses with sloping roofs so snow slides off.
Mountains are a store of water: glaciers and snow feed rivers like the Ganga and the Yamuna all year. Forests on the slopes give wood, herbs and homes for wildlife. Cutting too many trees can cause landslides, when soil and rocks suddenly slide down.
Explore: how do mountain people adapt?
- Sort each card.
Remember
- Mountains are high, steep landforms; ranges are chains of mountains.
- Mountain people adapt with terrace farms, warm clothing and animals like yaks; mountains feed rivers.
Quick check
Which is the highest mountain range in the world?
- The Himalayas
- The Aravallis
- The Western Ghats
- The Vindhyas
Answer
The Himalayas. The Himalayas have the world's highest peaks, including Mount Everest.
Think about it
Why do many people from the plains visit hill towns in summer?
One answer
It is much cooler in the mountains because temperature falls as height increases. That is why hill stations became summer holiday places.
Practice
Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.