NCERT Book Class 11 Geography - India Physical Environment PDF

Chapters Included in NCERT Physical Environment Class 11 Geography book

The contents of NCERT books for class 11 Geography India physical environment is divided into four units. There are a total of seven chapters in this book. It also contains Appendices where there are five chapters. It contains details about the different states, area, population, rivers, forests, and national parks of India.

Unit 1 and 2 gives a brief of India’s location and physiography. Unit 3 has chapters on the climate, vegetation, and soil of India. The 4th unit talks about various natural disasters and hazards. 

Brief Notes on Chapters Included in India Physical Environment NCERT book for Class 11

Chapter 1: India- Location

Chapter 1 gives information about the north, south, east and west extents of mainland India. It also mentions the latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the country. Next, there is a map of India displaying all the administrative divisions.

Another map in Chapter 1 of NCERT geography India Physical Environment book Class 11 locates India in the eastern world. The next topic in this lesson is about the size of India. This includes mentions of the lofty mountains, large rivers, forests and sandy expanses of the Indian mainland. It also includes a discussion on the neighbouring countries of India. Chapter 1 has some questions and project activities provided at the end.

Chapter 2: Structure and Physiography

India can be divided into three geological divisions based on its structure and formations. These divisions are-

1. The Peninsular Block

2. The Himalayas and the other Peninsular Mountains

3. The Indo-Ganga-Brahmaputra Plain

Chapter 2 in India Physical environment book of Class 11 explains all these divisions with appropriate details. Starting with peninsular block, students learn about the features in north-eastern India. It also talks about the rift valleys and residual mountains.

Chapter 2 includes a discussion on the great Himalayas and peninsular mountains of India, including the north and north-eastern mountains. India is divided into the following physiographic divisions-

• Northern and North-eastern Mountains

• Northern Plain

• Peninsular Plateau

• Indian Desert

• Coastal Plains

• Islands

It consists of the physical map of India displaying the mountain ranges, peaks, gulfs, plateaus, and all other land features.

Chapter 3: Drainage System

This chapter discusses the flow of water, better known as the drainage pattern of India. Firstly, it explains the important drainage patterns like dendritic, radial, centripetal, and so on.

NCERT book for class 11 geography India Physical environment in 3rd chapter gives a detailed note of the Himalayan drainage pattern. It explains the evolution of the Himalayan drainage and the various rivers systems it contains. These river systems are as follows-

1. Indus

2. Ganga

3. Brahmaputra

Later, there is a discussion on the evolution of peninsular drainage pattern in India. Chapter 3 in India Physical environment book of class 11 also talks about smaller rivers flowing towards west and east of the Indian mainland. It also contains a note on the extent of usability of river water in India.

Chapter 4: Climate

India predominantly has a hot monsoonal climate which is prevalent in south and south-east Asia. However, different regions of India experience different climates. Chapter 4 in Geography book class 11 India Physical Environment discusses the unity and diversity seen in the Indian monsoon climate.

This chapter also provides a short note on how weather differs from climate. Factors which determine the Indian climate has been explained in this lesson. These factors include-

1. Factors related to location and relief (Latitude, Himalayas, distribution of land and water, distance from the sea, altitude, and relief).

2. Factors related to air pressure and wind

The lesson then goes to elaborate on the mechanism of weather during summer and winter season in India. NCERT Class 11 geography India Physical environment book also explains the nature of Indian monsoon. This includes discussion on the following aspects-

• Onset of monsoon

• Rain-bearing system and the relationship between their frequency and distribution of monsoon rainfall

• Break in monsoon

Climate 5: Natural Vegetation

Natural vegetation refers to the undisturbed plant distribution of a particular region which allows individual species to adapt to the climate and soil conditions of that place. India physical environment class 11 textbook classifies the different types of forests. They are-

1. Tropical Evergreen and semi-evergreen forests

2. Tropical deciduous forests

3. Tropical thorn forests

4. Mountain forests

5. Littoral and swamp forests

This lesson gives a detailed study of all these forest types. Chapter 5 of India physical environment book of class 11 provides notes on India’s forest cover, forest conservation, social forestry, farm forestry, wildlife, wildlife conservation, etc. It also talks about the various biosphere reserves in India. They are-

• Nilgiri biosphere reserve

• Sunderbans biosphere reserve

• Nandadevi biosphere reserve

• Gulf of Mannar biosphere reserve

It details about the vegetation, wildlife, and topography of these biosphere reserves.

Climate 6: Soil

Chapter 6 is all about the various kinds of soils found in different areas of India. It explains the nature, characteristics of all the soil types. Types of soil in India include-

• Alluvial soil

• Laterite soil

• Black soil

• Red soil

• Forest soil

• Arid or desert soil

• Saline soil

• Sub-mountain soil

Chapter 6 in India physical environment book of class 11 teaches about soil degradation and soil conservation. This lesson also differentiates between Khadar and Bangar type of alluvial soil. Soil formation is also an important topic in chapter 6.

Chapter 7: Natural Hazards and Disasters

Chapter 7 of class 11 Geography India Physical environment book is about the different hazards and disasters faced by nature. It provides a precise definition of disaster before proceeding with the detailed study.

This lesson includes the classification of natural disasters. It also contains an elaborate study of all the natural hazards faced by India so far. This includes earthquakes, tsunami, cyclones, floods, droughts, landslides, etc. The chapter also talks about the different types of droughts, which are as follows-

1. Meteorological drought

2. Agricultural drought

3. Hydrological drought

Note on disaster management comes towards the end of Chapter 7 in India physical environment book of class 11.

Appendices

The NCERT Physical Environment geography textbook for 11th standard students contains five appendices. Appendix 1 includes a detailed chart of the Indian states along with their capital, number of districts, area, and population. Appendix 2 of this NCERT book gives details of the capitals, area, and population of seven union territories of India.

Appendix 3 of India physical environment class 11 NCERT book is about the important river basins of India. Some of these river basins are given below-

1. Ganga

2. Brahmaputra

3. Barak and others

4. Meghna

5. Sabarmati

6. Mahi

7. Narmada

8. Tapti

9. Brahmani and Baitarni

10. Mahanadi

11. Godavari

12. Krishna

13. Penner

14. Kaveri

15. Suvarnarekha

Appendix 4 of this book contains a chart about all the states and union territories of India along with their geographical area and forest cover. The forest cover is further classified into two types. These types are-

• Dense

• Open

The chart gives figures for the total and percentage forest cover of all the Indian states and UTs. Appendix 5 of geography India physical environment book of class 11 consists of a list of all the national parks in India, along with their area. This book also comprises a glossary of key terms relevant to Physical geography.

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