GEOGRAPHY OF THE WORLD

 

1.What is the total surface of our Earth?

Ans: 510 million square km. Out of this, only 29 percent of the earth 's surface area,that is 149 million square km is covered by land and 71 percent,that is 361 million square km is covered with water.

2.Name the largest continent.

Ans: Asia.

3. Name the largest ocean?

Ans: Pacific Ocean.

4.What is the total population of the world?

Ans: 730 crores or 7.3 billion.

5.Write about Continental Drift Theory.

Ans: According to the Continental Drift Theory, in the Palaeozoic Eta, that is about 300 million years before ,the Earth's lithosphere was together as a single landmass ,which was surrendered by hydrosphere. This state of lithosphere  of the earth is known as Pangaea, and the hydrosphere surrounding the Pangaea is known as panthalasa. Aftar passage of sometime the Tethys sea  was formed. Formation of this  Tethys sea divided the pangaea  into two parts in north - south direction. Its  northern part is called Angaraland or Laurasia and the southern part Gondowana Land. 

               During the Mesozoic eta,due to splitting and continental drift the Laurasia and Gondowanaland got further divided and moved towards the equator and the west and thereby the continents of present form were created.

                 According to the theory of continental drift, North America ,Greenland and the landmass of Europe and Asia north of Indian subcontinent were form after division of the Laurasia. On the other hand, South America ,Africa, Madagascar, India, Arabian region, Malaysia and its other islands, Australia, Antarctica ,etc were formed after the division of the gondwanaland.

6.What is hydrosphere?

Ans: The earth's surface covered by the oceans and seas including rivers,  lakes ,etc is known as the hydrosphere.

7. What is lithosphere?

Ans: The earth's surface formed by land slightly above sea- level is called the lithosphere.

8. What are the four divisions of lithosphere?

Ans: The four divisions or parts of lithosphere are :

a) The first part of lithosphere is formed by the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa.

b) The second part is formed by the continents of North America and South America.

c) The third part  is formed by Australia including a large number of islands consisting the continent of oceania.

d) The fourth part is formed by the continent of Antarctica.

9. How many percent of hydrosphere is confined to the southern hemisphere?

Ans: 57 percent.

10. How many percent of the lithosphere is confined to the northern hemisphere?

Ans: 67%.

11. How many percent of the world's human population lives in the Northern hemisphere?

Ans: 90%.

12. Name the smallest ocean.

Ans: Northern Ocean.

13. What is the average depth of ocean floor?

Ans: 4000 meter.

14. What is continental Shelf?

Ans: The shallow part of the oceans and seas surrounding the coasts is called the Continental Shelf .Its  average depth is up to about 200 meter.

15. What is Continental Slope?

Ans: The deep part after the continental shelf is known as the continental slope.Its average height is about 2000 meter.

16. What is the average depth of oceanic floor?

Ans: 4000 eter.

17. What is the average depth of oceanic trench?

Ans: 8000 meter.

18. Which is the deepest trench of the Pacific Ocean?

Ans: The Mariana Trench or Challenger Trench.

19. What is the depth of Mariana Trench?

Ans: 11,022 meter.

20. Write about Pacific Ocean.

Ans: The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world. It has a land area of avoid 165 million square km. It covers about one- third of the earth's surface area.

Its surroundings:

a) On the north, the Pacific Ocean is surrounded by Alaska state of the United States of America , eastern part of Siberia and the Arctic Ocean.

b) On the south, Australia ,New Zealand and the Southern ocean.

c) On the East, Western coasts  of north  and South America.

d) On the West, eastern coasts of Asia and islands of Japan, Philippines, etc.

The average depth of the Pacific Ocean is about 5000 meter. It has at least 20,000 number of small and big oceanic Islands , including Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, New Zealand, Indonesia ,Hawaii,etc. Important trenches of the Pacific Ocean are Mariana Trench,Aleutian,  Kurile, Philippine, Tonga, Peru- Chile etc. Some of the major seas under the Pacific ocean include Bering sea, Okhotsk sea, Japan sea, South China sea, Phillipines sea, Alaska sea, etc.

21.How many countries are there in the world?

Ans: 197.

22. Which is the largest country in terms of land area?

Ans: Russia.

23. Which is the smallest country in terms of land area ?

Ans: Vatican City.

24.Which is the most populous country of the world?

Ans: China.

25. Write about Atlantic Ocean.

Ans: The Atlantic ocean is the second largest ocean in the world. It covers an  area of about 82  million square kilometre. The Atlantic ocean covers about one - sixth the earth's surface area and it is about  half of the Pacific Ocean. The shape of the Atlantic ocean is like that of English letter 'S'.

Its surroundings:

a)On the North: Greenland and Arctic Ocean.

b) On the South: Southern Ocean

c) On the East: the continents of Europe and Africa.

d) On the West: the continents of North America and South America .

             The average depth of the Atlantic ocean is about 3000 meter. There is a ridge  named Mid- Atlantic Ridge almost in the middle of the Atlantic ocean in north - south direction. Its northern part is called Dolphin Rise and the southern part Challenger Rise.

                The Atlantic ocean has innumberable small and big Ocean islands. Among them, Iceland, Newfoundland, British Isles, West Indies, Canary, Falkland, Bermuda,etc are worth mentioning. Some of the major seas  under the Atlantic ocean are Mediterranean sea, Baltic sea, Caribean sea, Gulf of  Mexico, Labrador Sea , Hudson sea, etc.

26) Write about Indian Ocean.

Ans: Indian ocean is the third largest ocean in the world. Eid covers and area of about 73 million km square. Indian ocean is surrounded by- 

a) On the North: by Indian sub-continent and South East Asia.

b) On the South: by the southern ocean.

c) On the East: by Australia and the islands of South -East Asia,

d) On the West: By Africa and Madagascar.

           The average depth  of the Indian Ocean is about 4000 meter. It has a few oceanic trenches like Sunda, Socotra- Chagos, Scychelles, Madagascar, Crozet,etc. Some of the important seas under the Indian Ocean include Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, Bay of Bengal, Andaman sea ,Red sea etc. On the other hand , some of the important oceanic islands in the Indian Ocean are Sri Lanka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Indonesia, Maldives , Mauritius, Seychelles,Madagascar etc.

27) Write about Southern ocean.

Ans: The southern Ocean is the fourth largest ocean in the world. Eid commerce and area of about 20 million square kilometre. It surrounds  the content of  Antarctica. Roughly the Southern Ocean lies to the south of  40° south latitude.Actually, the southern ocean is an extension of the   Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean. Due to its location in the south polar region  the Southern ocean remains covered with ice in most part of the year.

28) Write about Arctic Ocean.

Ans: With an area of about 14 million km² the Arctic ocean is the smallest ocean of the world. Its area is about one-fifth of the Indian ocean. As the Arctic ocean surrounds the north pole, its shape is circular. Infact, the northern part of Asia, Europe and North America surround the Arctic ocean . Its average depth is about 3500 meter. Due to its location in the north polar region, the Arctic ocean remains covered with thick ice in most part of the year.

29) Write about the continent of Asia.

Ans: Asia is the largest continent in the world. With a land area of 44.6 million km² the continent of Asia covers about 30 per cent of the earth's land area . The continent of Asia is mainly located in the northern hemisphere. It lies between 78° north latitude in the north to 1° north latitude in the south, and 25⁹ east longitude in the west to 170° west longitude in the east. It may be mentioned that the islands located in the Pacific ocean, such as Japan, Taiwan, Philippine, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, etc and that located in the Indian ocean, such as Andaman and Nicobar, Sri Lanka, Lakshadweep, Maldives, Bahrain, etc are all in Asia. The continent of Asia is surrounded by the Arctic ocean on the north; the Indian ocean on the south; the Bering strait and the Pacific ocean on the east; and the Red sea, Suez canal, Mediterranean sea, Caucasus mountain, Caspian sea, Ural river and Ural mountain range on the west . As per 2014 estimates the population of Asia is 430 crores, which constitutes about three-fifth of the world's population.There are 51 countries in Asia.

        The continent of Asia is covered with high mountain ranges, plateaus, river valleys, low-lands, coastal plains, islands, deserts, etc. Its central part is full of mountains and plateaus. Among the mountain ranges, the north-south Ural mountain ranges forming the western boundary of the continent, the world's highest the east-west running Himalayan mountain ranges and the offshoots in the middle, and the Karakoram ranges, Kunlun ranges, Altain ranges, Tienshan ranges, Altai mountain, Aravalli ranges, etc are worth mentioning. The world's highest peak Everest (8,848 meter) belonging to the Himalayan mountain system and the second highest peak Godwin Austin or Mount K, (8,611 meter) belonging to the Karakoram mountain system are both located in the content of Asia. On the other hand, among the plateaus, the Tibetan plateau, the world's highest Pamir plateau, Siberian plateau, Mongolian plateau, Deccan plateau, Arabian plateau, Iranian plateau, etc are important. 

 Many large rivers being originated from such highland region of mountains, hills and plateaus flow to the oceans and seas in north, south and east direction and have formed a number of fertile plains and deltas. Among the worth mentioning rivers, the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra are flowing almost in the south-central part of the continent; Yenisei, Ob and Lena rivers in the northern part; Amur, Hwang Ho, Yangtze Kiang and Sikiang rivers in the eastern part; and Narmada, Tapti, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Barak, Menam, Irawati and Mekong rivers in the south and south-east. There are many small and large lakes in Asia. Among the lakes, Balkhas, Baikal, Chilka, Sambar, Dal, Pulikat, Kolleru, Loktak, etc are worth mentioning. Besides, Gobi, Thar and Arabian deserts are also located in the continent of Asia.

30) Write about the continent of Europe.

Ans:The continent of Europe is situated along the north-western boundary of Asia. It is located completely in the northern hemisphere. It extends from 36° north latitude in the south to 71⁰ north latitude in the north, and from 10° west longitude in the west to 65⁰ cast longitude in the east. Its geographical area is 10.9 million km², which constitutes 7.3 per cent of the earth's land area and three times the land area of India . 

It may be mentioned that the islands like British islands, Ireland, Iceland and Shetland in the Atlantic ocean; Crete, Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, Corsica and Balearic islands in the Mediterranean sea; and Gotland, Aland, Novaya, Zemlya, Svalbard and Greenland are in the Arctic ocean are all under the continent of Europe. Europe is surrounded by the Arctic ocean on the north; the Mediterranean sea, Caspian sea and Black sea on the south; the continent of Asia on the east; and the Atlantic ocean on the west. It means that the continent of Europe is surrounded by seas and oceans from three sides . Physically, the continent of Europe is separated from Asia by the Ural mountain range and the Ural river, According to the estimates of 2014, the population of Europe is 74 crores, which constitutes about 10.4 per cent of the world's total population. There are 44 countries in Europe.

The physiographic structure of Europe is very complex and diverse. In respect of physiography Europe can be broadly divided into two parts -northern part and southern part. The northern part which stretches from the coastal France on the west to the Ural mountain ranges on the east is almost a plain land. But, the southern part (from Spain to the Black sea) having covered with hills, mountains and plateaus is highly rugged. Among the mountain ranges of the southern Europe, the Alps, Pyrenees, Carpethian and Caucasus are worth mentioning. The Mount Albrus' peak (5,633 meter) of the Caucasus mountain range is the highest place of Europe. On the other hand, the highest peak of the Alps is *Mount Blanc (4,807 meter). Europe is full of rivers, lakes, etc. Among the rivers, Elbro of Spain; Rhone and Seine of France; Rhine and Elbe of Germany; Oder and Vistula of Poland; Danube of Austria, Hungary and Romania; Dnieper of Balarus and Ukraine; Po of Italy, Thames of the Great Britain; Don, Volga and Ural of Russia, etc are worth mentioning. Some of the important lakes of Europe are Onega, Ladoga, Sudskowe, Venarn, etc.

31) Write about  the Continent of Africa.

Ans: Africa is the second  continent in the world. With an area of slightly more than 30 million km² the continent of Africa covers about 20 per cent of the world's total land area . The equator which passes almost through middle of continent divides it into two parts. Africa is located between 37° north latitude in the north to 34ºsouth latitude in the south, and 51°east longitude in the east to 17° west longitude in the . surrounded by the Mediterranean sea on the north; the Southern ocean on the south; the Indian ocean on the east, and the Atlantic ocean on the west. With an area of 2.4 million km² algeria is the largest country of the continent. As per estimates of 2014, the population of Africa is 11 crores. There are 53 countries in Africa .

Excluding the narrow coastal plains, the major part of the continent is a large plateau. There is no high mountain range in Africa. Of course, the small patches of highlands scattered throughout the continent have made its topography rugged. The Kilimanzaro peak (5,895 meter) located on the east is the highest place of the continent. Among the highlands of Africa, the Atlas mountain of northern fringe, the Ethiopian highland of north-eastern fringe, the Adamawa highland of western fringe, Drakensberg highland of South Africa, etc are worth mentioning. The continent is full of rivers and lakes. Apart from the world's longest river Nile, its other main rivers include Congo (Zaire), Niger, Zambezi, Orange, Limpopo, Volta, Senegal, Chive Ogu, Lurio, Luangwa, Kaledon, etc. Among the lakes, Victoria, Albert, Tanganyka, Chad, Volta, Nyasa, Cabora Bassa, Malawi, Turkana, Kivu, Kochow, Abbe, etc are worth mentioning. Besides the world's largest Sahara desert, the Kalahari and Namibia deserts are also located in Africa.

32) Write about the continent of North America.

Ans: North America is the world's third largest continent. Its land area is 24.3 million km², which constitutes 16.3 per cent of the world's land area. As this continent is located on the north of South America and also in the northern hemisphere, it is called North America. This continent extends from 7° north latitude on the south to 83° north latitude on the north, and from 50⁰ west longitude on the east to 168° west longitude on the west. The continent of North America is surrounded by the Northern ocean on the north; South America, Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific ocean on the south; the Atlantic ocean on the east, and the Bering sea, Bering strait and the Pacific ocean on the west . Along with Canada, United States of America and Mexico; Guatemala, Costarica, Panama, etc of the central America; and Cuba, Jamaica, Bahama, Dominican Republic, etc of the Carribean islands there are altogether 23 countries in North America. The world's second largest country Canada is the largest country in North America. As per 2014 estimates the total population of North America is 565 million.

The physiographic character of North America is highly diverse. Its highest place is McKinley peak (6,194 meter) and lowest place is  Death Valley (86 me meter below sea level). The western and eastern parts of the continent are hilly and mountainous in north-south direction. On the other hand, the remaining part of the continent is covered with high and low land plains. On the basis of physiographic character North America can be mainly divided into four divisions- (1) Rocky mountainous region, (2) Great upland plain region, (3) Appalachian Highland region, and (4) Coastal lowland plains. The Rocky mountainous region consisting of the lofty young folded mountain ranges is located in the western part of North America from Alaska to Mexico in north-south direction. Besides, the coastal west is characterized by the mountain ranges like Cascade, Sierra Nevada and Coast-range, and the eastern part extending from Newfoundland in the north to Florida in the south being characterized by hills and mountains, narrow valleys, fragmented plateaus, etc forms the rugged Appalachian highlands. The Alleghany and Blue Ridge mountains are located in the southern part of this region. There is a wide plain land of the Atlantic coast located on the east of Appalachian highlands stretching from Nova Scotia in the north to Panama in the south. Along the western coast of the continent there is a narrow California coastal plain. Besides, there are innumerable small and large islands in the north, south-east and western parts of the continent.

There are many rivers and lakes in North America. Among the rivers, Missouri, Missisippi, Yukon, Mackenzie, Riogrande, Red, Arkansas, Colorado, Colombia, Snake, Ohio, Tennessee, Hudson, St. Lawrence, etc are worth mentioning. On the other hand, the major lakes of the continent include Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, Ontario, o, Great Bear, Great Slaye, Winnipeg and Great Salt. There is a desert-like area in the south-western part of the continent called Colorado.

(33) Write about the  Continent of South America.

Ans: The continent located just on the south of North America is South America. It is located between 12° north latitude on the north to 55° south latitude on the outh and 35° west longitude on the east to 81° west longitude on the west. The shape of this continent is like a reversed triangle. It means its northern part very wide and southern part is very narrow. The geographical area of the continent is about 18 million km², which is 11.9 per cent of the world's land area (Table 3.2). The continent of South America is surrounded by North America and Carribean sea on the north; the Southern ocean on the south; the Atlantic ocean on the east; and the Pacific ocean on the west. With Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, etc there are altogether 12 countries in South America.

The world's fifth largest country Brazil is the largest country of South America . According to 2014 estimates, the total population of South America is 407 million.

The physiographic character of South America is highly diverse. It contains almost all the landforms including high mountains, riverine plains, plateaus, coastal plains, islands, deserts, etc. The western part of South America is covered the high Andes folded mountain ranges in north-south direction from Panama Canal to Cape of Horn. It is worth mentioning that with a length of about 8,000 km it is the longest mountain system in the world. In respect of altitude also the position of Andes is just next to the Himalayas. Its highest peak is Acancagua (7,020 meter). The great Brazilian plateau is located in the central-eastern part of the continent. On the other hand, Ecuador plateau and ParanaPatagonia plateau are located respectively in the northern and southern fringe areas of the Andes mountain system. Both the Pacific and Atlantic coastal plains of South America are narrow. Among the rivers of the continent, Orinico, Amazan, Parana, Paraguay, Uruguay, etc are worth mentioning. These rivers have created very large plains covering most part of the continent. It may be mentioned that the world's highest lake 'Titicaca' is also located in this continent. The Atacama hot desert and Patagonia temperate desert are located in the extremely rainless dry parts of the Andes mountain ranges.

35) Write about the  Continent of Oceania

 Ans: The continent of Oceania is formed by the great island of Australia and many other small and large islands located in the south-west Pacific ocean including New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea, etc. Located on the south of Asia this continent is completely a part of southern hemisphere. It roughly extends from 0° equator on the north to 48° south latitude on the south, and 180° longitude on the east to 113° east longitude on the west. The land area of this continent is about 8 million km², which constitutes 5.4 per cent of the world's total land area . Australia is the largest country of this smallest continent, and it is the sixth largest country of the world. The continent of Oceania is surrounded by the islands of Java, Sumatra, Celebes, etc of the SouthEast Asia and the Pacific ocean on the north; the Southern ocean on the south; the Pacific ocean on the east; and the Indian ocean on the west . Along with Australia and New Zealand the continent of Oceania altogether has 14 countries. As per 2014 estimates, Oceania has about 38 million population.

Australia, the main land of Oceania, is an ancient plateau. It has narrow coastal plains all around. The eastern part of Australia is a highland region formed by the Great Dividing Range and Snowy mountain. This region is known as the Australian Alps. The Murray and Darling rivers have created a great plain in the south-eastern part of Australia. Besides these two major rivers, the other important rivers of Australia are Baliando, Fitzroy, Flinders, Victoria, Sowan, etc. Among the lakes, Eyre, Barlee, Carnezie, Mackay, Carey, etc are worth mentioning. The western part of Australia is covered with a wide desert. Among the deserts of Australia, the Great Victoria, Great Sandy, Tanamy, Simpson, Gibson, Little Sandy, Tirarie, Pedirka, etc are important.