Question.
Answer the following questions briefly.
(i) What is meant by a water divide? Give an example.
(ii) Which is the largest river basin in India?
(iii) Where do the rivers Indus and Ganga have their origin?
(iv) Name the two headstreams of the Ganga. Where do they meet to form the Ganga?
(v) Why does the Brahmaputra in its Tibetan part have less silt, despite a longer course?
(vi) Which two Peninsular rivers flow through trough?
(vii) State some economic benefits of rivers and lakes.
Answer the following questions briefly.
(i) What is meant by a water divide? Give an example.
(ii) Which is the largest river basin in India?
(iii) Where do the rivers Indus and Ganga have their origin?
(iv) Name the two headstreams of the Ganga. Where do they meet to form the Ganga?
(v) Why does the Brahmaputra in its Tibetan part have less silt, despite a longer course?
(vi) Which two Peninsular rivers flow through trough?
(vii) State some economic benefits of rivers and lakes.
Solution:
(i) Any elevated area, such as a mountain or an upland, which separates two drainage basins is known as water divide; for example, the water divide between the Indus and the Ganga river systems. Ambala is located on this water divide. The Western Ghats form the main water divide in Peninsular India.
(ii) The Ganga, which is over 2,500 km long, forms the largest river basin in India.
(iii) The river Indus rises in Tibet, near Lake Mansarowar.
The Ganga originates at the Gangotri Glacier on the southern slopes of the Himalayas.
(iv) The two headstreams of the Ganga are Bhagirathi and Alaknanda. They meet to form the Ganga at Devaprayag in Uttarakhand.
(v) Since Tibet has a cold and dry climate, the Brahmaputra carries a smaller volume of water and less silt in this region.
(vi) Narmada and Tapi are the two peninsular rivers flowing through trough.
(vii) Economic benefits of rivers and lakes:
(a) Source of fresh water
(b) Irrigation
(c) Navigation
(d) Hydro-power generation
(e) Development of tourism
(i) Any elevated area, such as a mountain or an upland, which separates two drainage basins is known as water divide; for example, the water divide between the Indus and the Ganga river systems. Ambala is located on this water divide. The Western Ghats form the main water divide in Peninsular India.
(ii) The Ganga, which is over 2,500 km long, forms the largest river basin in India.
(iii) The river Indus rises in Tibet, near Lake Mansarowar.
The Ganga originates at the Gangotri Glacier on the southern slopes of the Himalayas.
(iv) The two headstreams of the Ganga are Bhagirathi and Alaknanda. They meet to form the Ganga at Devaprayag in Uttarakhand.
(v) Since Tibet has a cold and dry climate, the Brahmaputra carries a smaller volume of water and less silt in this region.
(vi) Narmada and Tapi are the two peninsular rivers flowing through trough.
(vii) Economic benefits of rivers and lakes:
(a) Source of fresh water
(b) Irrigation
(c) Navigation
(d) Hydro-power generation
(e) Development of tourism