Hinglish

Plains

Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 3: Landforms and Life · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 3.3

Learn

Ritika's cousin Arjun lives in a village near the Ganga. From his roof, the land stretches flat in every direction, green with wheat and sugarcane, all the way to the horizon. This is a plain.

Plains are large stretches of flat, low land. Most are made by rivers: as a river flows down from the mountains, it carries fine soil called silt, and spreads it over the land, especially during floods. Layer after layer, over thousands of years, this builds a plain.

The Indo-Gangetic Plain across north India is one of the most fertile in the world. Flat land, rich soil and plenty of water make farming easy, and roads, railways and towns are easy to build. That's why plains are the most crowded places on Earth, with many big cities.

Rivers in the plains can also flood. Building on river banks, filling up ponds and cutting trees make floods worse. Different landforms give different gifts: mountains give water, plateaus give minerals, and plains give food. Many Indian festivals celebrate rivers and harvests from the land.

Explore: how is a plain made?

  1. Put the steps in order.

Remember

  • Plains are flat, low lands, mostly built by rivers spreading silt.
  • Fertile plains like the Indo-Gangetic Plain are crowded with farms, towns and cities.

Quick check

Why do so many people live on plains?

  1. Flat, fertile land and water make farming and building easy
  2. Plains are very cold
  3. Plains have no rivers
  4. Plains are full of mines
Answer

Flat, fertile land and water make farming and building easy. Plains are the easiest landform to farm, travel across and build on.

Think about it

A river floods its plain every few years. Why might farmers still choose to live there?

One answer

Floods bring fresh fertile silt, so the soil stays rich, and water for crops is close by. People reduce the danger with raised houses, embankments and early warnings.

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.