Chapter 7 Sec. 1 & 2 Study Guide Geography of the Indian Subcontinent

Once upon a time… ► Pangea, 225mya  Pan = Greek for "all"  Geo/a = Greek for "land" ► Gondwanaland, 200mya ► Collision 50 mya  Created Himalayas & Hindu Kush Mountains

Eight countries ► Eight countries of the “Indian Subcontinent”  Pakistan  India  Bangladesh  Nepal  Bhutan  Sri Lanka  The Maldives  Afghanistan

Three major regions  Northern Mountains  Northern Plains  Deccan Plateau

► The Himalayas  Tallest  Mt. Everest ► Hindu Kush  “kush”=death  Khyber Pass through the Hindu Kush ► Mountains  Snowmelt  High valleys Geography of the Subcontinent

► Mountains  Vindhya ► Separate from I-G Plain  Eastern & western Ghats Geography of the Subcontinent

► Rivers  Indus River (“river”)  Ganges ► Sacred to Hindus ► Originates in Himalayas glacial ice cave  Brahmaputra Geography of the Subcontinent

► Indo-Gangetic Plain  Fertile soil, long growing season  Densely populated Geography of the Subcontinent

► Thar Desert  nomads

Deccan Plateau  High, flat land  Crossed by rivers  Low, rolling hills  millet, cotton, wheat, rice

Ch. 7 Sec. 2 Review ► Monsoon  Arabic word ► “season of the winds” ► wet summer monsoon  late May/June  Northeast ► Dry winter monsoon  October  southwest

Monsoons ► If monsoon late  seeds die ► If too much rain  Crops wash away ► Bangladesh  3 crops/year  Cyclones 5-7 years ► In India, 50% of arable land is irrigated by monsoon rains

Sec. 2 Continued ► Natural resources  Water  Minerals ► Iron ► Copper ► Manganese ► Bauxite (aluminum ore) ► Coal ► Not much oil  Nuclear power ► People  1.2 billion & counting  India 1/6 of world  75% rural  62.8% literate  Male – %  Female – 50.8%

Sec. 2 Continued ► Geography led to regionalism  Religions  Languages & dialects ► English serves as a common language for many Indians  41% Hindi