DAV Class 7 SST Chapter 8 Land and the People Solutions

1. Which one of the following is a feature of the Sahara Desert?
(a) The summers are short and warm.
(b) It is the world’s largest and the hottest desert.
(c) It is surrounded by lofty and high mountains.
(d) The climatic conditions are very moderate.
Answer: (b) It is the world’s largest and the hottest desert.

2. Which river passes through the world’s largest rainforests, located in South America?
(a) Mississippi
(b) Amazon
(c) Nile
(d) Orange
Answer: (b) Amazon

3. The Prairies are also known as the ‘Granaries of the World’ due to the practice of:
(a) extensive farming
(b) dairy farming
(c) intensive farming
(d) subsistence farming
Answer: (a) extensive farming

4. In which continent is the Kalahari Desert located?
(a) South America
(b) North America
(c) Asia
(d) Africa
Answer: (d) Africa

5. Rice, jute and tea are important crops of:
(a) Indus basin
(b) Nile basin
(c) Ganga-Brahmaputra basin
(d) Amazon basin
Answer: (c) Ganga-Brahmaputra basin

1. Sand dunes are the common features formed by winds in the hot deserts.
2. The opening of Srinagar-Leh road has made Ladakh a big tourist centre.
3. The prairies produce huge surplus of wheat.
4. River Nile is the world’s longest river.
5. Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta is known as the world’s largest delta.

1. Sahara receives heavy rainfall in the winter season.
Answer: False (Sahara receives very low annual rainfall of less than 20 cm).

2. Rhinoceros is a common animal of the Amazon basin.
Answer: False (The one-horned rhinoceros is an animal found in the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin and Assam).

3. The top layer of the Amazon forests is known as canopy.
Answer: True

4. Deserts are the areas of low vegetational cover.
Answer: True

5. The yak and the sheep are the common animals of the Ladakh desert.
Answer: True

Question 1: What are the various uses of date palm tree for the inhabitants of the Sahara desert?
Answer: The date palm tree is immensely useful to desert inhabitants in multiple ways:

• The nutritious date fruit serves as a staple food for people and their domestic animals.
• The sap tapped from the tree trunk is consumed as a refreshing drink or made into wine.
• The crushed seeds of dates are ground into nutritious feed for camels and goats.
• The fibrous leaves and trunks are utilized for weaving baskets, making durable ropes, and constructing wooden doors and roofing frames.

Question 2: Name the two types of deserts according to their locational zones.
Answer: According to their geographical locations and climatic conditions, deserts are classified into two main types:

1. Hot Deserts: Located in the tropical zones (e.g., Sahara Desert, Thar Desert, Kalahari Desert).
2. Cold Deserts: Located in high-altitude or high-latitude temperate and polar regions (e.g., Ladakh Desert, Gobi Desert).

Question 3: Name the important rivers found in the Veld grasslands.
Answer: The two major rivers that drain the temperate Veld grasslands of South Africa are the Orange River and the Limpopo River.

Question 4: Why is the Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta known as Sunderban?
Answer: The lower deltaic area of the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers is densely covered with mangrove tidal forests dominated by a unique hardwood mangrove tree species named Sundari. Hence, the delta is named Sunderban.

Question 5: Mention the three layers of foliage of the equatorial forests.
Answer: The dense equatorial rainforest (such as the Amazon rainforest) consists of three distinct vertical foliage layers:

1. Canopy: The continuous overhead roof formed by the crowns of tall, closely packed trees (reaching 30 to 40 meters).
2. Middle Layer (Understory): Formed by smaller trees, saplings, epiphytes, and thick climbing lianas that grow beneath the canopy.
3. Ground Layer (Forest Floor): The lowest level shrouded in deep shade, consisting of ferns, fungi, mosses, and damp leaf litter.

Question 1: Distinguish between the Sahara desert and the Ladakh desert with respect to location, climate and vegetation.
Answer:

• Sahara Desert (Hot Desert):
  • Location: Located in northern Africa, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east.
  • Climate: Scorching, arid tropical climate with daytime temperatures soaring above 43 degrees Celsius and night temperatures dropping to around 10 degrees Celsius. Annual rainfall is under 20 cm.
  • Vegetation: Extremely sparse, consisting of thorny shrubs, hardy cacti, and date palms clustered around oases.
• Ladakh Desert (Cold Desert):
  • Location: Located in northern India in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, situated at a high altitude of over 3,500 meters in the Karakoram and Himalayan ranges.
  • Climate: Extremely cold, dry climate with freezing temperatures and dry winds. Winters are freezing with ground covered under snow for months.
  • Vegetation: Very sparse due to thin stony soil and freezing winds. Scattered alpine shrubs, willows, and poplars grow along riverbanks, with summer orchards of apples, apricots, and walnuts.

Question 2: Why are the rainforests of the Amazon basin disappearing?
Answer: The rapid deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is driven by the following factors:

• Population Pressure and Migration: Massive influx of settlers from urban areas into the interior basin has led to large-scale forest clearance for human settlements.
• Commercial Agriculture and Cattle Ranching: Vast tracts of jungle are clear-cut and burned to create agricultural land for soybean cultivation and pastures for commercial cattle grazing.
• Infrastructure Projects: Construction of transport highways like the Trans-Amazonian Highway and hydroelectric dams has fragmented virgin forest ecosystems.
• Commercial Lumbering and Mining: Illegal logging for valuable timber (mahogany, rosewood) and extensive open-cast mining for gold and iron ore cause continuous devastation of the forest canopy.

Question 3: Why is the density of population in the Sahara desert low?
Answer: The population density in the Sahara Desert is extremely low because:

• Severe Water Shortage: Fresh surface water is virtually absent, with annual precipitation remaining below 20 cm.
• Extreme Temperatures: Daytime temperatures exceed 43 degrees Celsius with scorching heat, dust storms, and cold desert nights, making outdoor work grueling.
• Unfertile Rocky Terrain: Large expanses of shifting sand dunes (ergs) and bare rocky plateaus (hamadas) lack organic humus and fertile topsoil required for farming.
• Restricted Habitation Zones: Human survival is practically confined to narrow zones around oases or along the banks of the Nile River where irrigated farming is possible.

Question 4: Differentiate between the Prairies and the Velds.
Answer:

• Prairies:
  • Location: Temperate grasslands located in the interior plains of North America (USA and Canada), drained by the Mississippi river basin.
  • Climate: Continental climate characterized by warm summers and bitterly cold, freezing winters.
  • Economy: Famous as the ‘Granaries of the World’ due to highly mechanized, extensive commercial wheat farming and large cattle ranches.
• Velds:
  • Location: Temperate grasslands situated on the high plateau of South Africa, bounded by the Drakensberg mountains on the east and the Kalahari desert on the west.
  • Climate: Mild climate moderated by the surrounding oceans, with warm summers and cool, dry winters.
  • Economy: Dominated by sheep rearing for merino wool and cattle farming. The region is exceptionally rich in gold and diamond deposits (Johannesburg and Kimberley), fostering major mining industries.

Question 5: Why is the Ganga-Brahmaputra region thickly populated?
Answer: The Ganga-Brahmaputra basin is one of the most densely populated river valleys in the world due to:

• Deep Alluvial Soils: Continuous deposition of fertile river silt creates ideal agricultural conditions for high-yield crops like paddy rice, wheat, sugarcane, and jute.
• Perennial Water Resources: Rivers originating from Himalayan glaciers ensure dependable year-round water supply for canal irrigation, drinking, and sanitation.
• Favourable Topography and Climate: Flat level plains make building houses, schools, highways, and railway tracks convenient and inexpensive. Monsoons provide abundant rainfall.
• Industrial Hubs and Historic Cities: Numerous manufacturing industries and thriving commercial cities (Kolkata, Patna, Varanasi, Kanpur, Guwahati) provide abundant employment opportunities and social amenities.

Question 1: How does extensive mechanized farming in the Prairies contribute to environmental issues like soil erosion?
Answer: In the Prairies, indigenous deep-rooted prairie grasses that originally bound the soil and retained moisture were entirely cleared for commercial monoculture wheat farming. Heavy tractors, combine harvesters, and repeated deep ploughing pulverize the fragile topsoil. During periods of drought and strong continental winds, the loose topsoil is blown away in massive dust storms, depleting organic matter and accelerating land degradation.

Question 2: Why are cold deserts like Ladakh experiencing a rise in tourism despite harsh climatic conditions, and what precautions should be taken?
Answer:

• Reasons for Rising Tourism: The improvement of all-weather road connectivity (Srinagar-Leh and Manali-Leh highways), direct air travel to Leh, stunning high-altitude mountain landscapes, vibrant Buddhist monastic festivals, and trekking circuits attract tourists from around the world.
• Precautions Needed: Because Ladakh is an ecologically fragile cold desert, strict conservation measures must be taken:
  • Strictly prohibit single-use plastic bottles and ensure scientific disposal of solid garbage.
  • Conserve scarce mountain groundwater and ban untreated sewage release into streams.
  • Regulate motor vehicle numbers to limit carbon emissions and melting of high-altitude glaciers.
  • Preserve local ladakhi architecture and safeguard sensitive wildlife habitats of snow leopards and black-necked cranes.

“Indigenous people are those that have historically belonged to a particular region or country before its colonisation or transformation into a nation state and have different, often unique cultural traditions and lifestyles.”

Question 1: In your opinion, should the indigenous people be modernised to get rid of their backwardness?
Answer: No, indigenous people should not be forcefully modernized or coerced into abandoning their traditional ways of living. Forced assimilation destroys their unique indigenous knowledge, distinct dialects, and time-tested sustainable relationship with nature. Modernization should be voluntary and balanced, ensuring access to modern healthcare, clean drinking water, and quality education while upholding complete respect for their cultural autonomy and identity.

Question 2: Suggest measures to protect their identity, rights and bring some elements of modernisation for the betterment of their life.
Answer:

1. Legal Protection of Ancestral Lands: Guarantee strict legal property rights over tribal forest lands and prohibit unlawful commercial logging and corporate mining encroachment.
2. Culturally Rooted Education: Establish community schools where children are taught in their mother tongue alongside mainstream science and modern languages.
3. Adapted Healthcare Infrastructure: Set up accessible healthcare centers and mobile clinics that blend modern medical services with traditional healing wisdom.
4. Livelihood Empowerment: Provide fair market prices and cooperative platforms for their traditional handicrafts, herbal produce, and organic agricultural yields.
5. Self-Governance and Representation: Involve indigenous village councils directly in the formulation and implementation of local developmental policies.

Question: On the political outline map of the world, locate and label:
(a) All the continents of the world.
(b) Countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, United States of America, South Africa, Algeria.
Answer:

• (a) Continents of the World:
  1. Asia: The largest continent, situated in the eastern hemisphere.
  2. Africa: The second-largest continent, home to the Sahara Desert and River Nile.
  3. North America: Home to the Prairie grasslands and Mississippi River.
  4. South America: Home to the Amazon Basin and Amazon Rainforest.
  5. Europe: Situated west of Asia, separated by the Ural Mountains.
  6. Australia: Island continent located in the southern hemisphere.
  7. Antarctica: The frozen, ice-covered continent surrounding the South Pole.
• (b) Countries to Locate:
  1. Bangladesh: Located in South Asia, east of India on the Bay of Bengal coast (part of the Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta).
  2. Brazil: Largest country in South America, containing the major portion of the Amazon Rainforest.
  3. United States of America: Located in North America between Canada and Mexico, encompassing the Prairie wheat belt.
  4. South Africa: Located at the southernmost tip of Africa, encompassing the Veld grasslands.
  5. Algeria: Located in North Africa, covering extensive parts of the Sahara Desert.