CBSE Class 7 Geography Notes Chapter 7 - Human Environment - Settlement, Transport and Communication

According to the CBSE Syllabus 2023-24, this chapter has been removed from NCERT Class 7 Social Science textbook.

CBSE Class 7 Geography Chapter 7 discusses topics related to settlement and its types, different types of transport and services, types of communications, etc. Students should understand these concepts thoroughly to fetch good marks in their Geography exams. It will help in uplifting the overall percentage of Social Science subjects. While preparing for their exam, we help students to get the appropriate study materials for the subject. So, here we have provided CBSE Class 7 Geography notes of Chapter 7, which are prepared by our subject matter experts.

CBSE Notes Class 7 Geography Chapter 7 – Human Environment – Settlement, Transport and Communication

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Overview

Settlements are places where people build their homes. Early human beings lived on trees and in caves. Settlements can be permanent or temporary.

Temporary settlements – Settlements which are occupied for a short time are called temporary settlements. The people living in deep forests, hot and cold deserts and mountains often dwell in such temporary settlements. They practice hunting, gathering, shifting cultivation and transhumance.

Permanent settlements – Permanent settlements are where people built homes to live in.

Settlement can be further classified into two categories: the rural and urban settlements.

Rural settlement – The villages are rural settlements where people are engaged in activities like agriculture, fishing, forestry, crafts work and trading etc. Rural settlements can be compact or scattered.

Compact settlement – A compact settlement is a closely built area of dwellings wherever flat land is available.

Scattered settlement dwellings – These types of settlements are spaced over an extensive area. This type of settlement is mostly found in hilly tracts, thick forests, and regions of extreme climates.

In rural areas, people build houses to suit their environment. In regions of heavy rainfall, they have slanting roofs. In places where water accumulates in the rainy season, the houses are constructed on a raised platform or stilts. Thick mud-walled houses with thatched roofs are very common in areas of hot climates.

Urban settlement – In urban areas, people are engaged in manufacturing, trading, and services.

Transport Services

Transport is the means by which people and goods move. In the early days, people used to walk, and animals were used to carry their goods. The invention of the wheel made transport easier.

The early traders from other countries used to take several months to reach India. They took either the sea route or the land route. Modern means of transport thus save time and energy. The four major means of transport are roadways, railways, waterways and airways.

Roadways

The most commonly used means of transport, especially for short distances, are roads. They can be metalled and unmetalled. Roads have also been built in terrains like deserts, forests and even high mountains. Manali-Leh highway in the Himalayan Mountains is one of the highest roadways in the world. Roads built underground are called subways/under paths. Flyovers are built over raised structures.

Railways

The invention of the steam engine and the Industrial Revolution helped in the speedy development of rail transport. Diesel and electric engines have largely replaced the steam engines. The railway network is well developed over the plain areas. Advanced technological skills have enabled the laying of railway lines in difficult mountain terrains also. The Indian railway network is well-developed. It is the largest in Asia.

Waterways

Waterways are the cheapest for carrying heavy and bulky goods over long distances. They are mainly of two types – inland waterways and sea routes. Navigable rivers and lakes are used as inland waterways. Some of the important inland waterways are the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system, the Great Lakes in North America and the river Nile in Africa.

Sea routes and oceanic routes are mostly used for transporting merchandise and goods from one country to another. These routes are connected with the ports. Some of the important ports of the world are Singapore and Mumbai in Asia, New York, and Los Angeles in North America, Rio de Janerio in South America, Durban and Cape Town in Africa, Sydney in Australia, London and Rotterdam in Europe.

Airways

Airways is the fastest way of transport developed in the early twentieth century. It is also the most expensive due to the high cost of fuel. Air traffic is adversely affected by bad weather like fog and storms. It is the only mode of transport to reach the most remote and distant areas, especially where there are no roads and railways. Helicopters are extremely useful in most inaccessible areas and in times of calamities for rescuing people and distributing food, water, clothes and medicines.

Communication

Communication means conveying messages to others. With the development of technology, humans have devised new and fast modes of communication. Different modes of communication are used to provide information, to educate as well as to entertain. Through newspapers, radio and television, we can communicate with a large number of people. They are therefore called mass media.

The satellites have made communication even faster. Satellites have helped in oil exploration, survey of forests, underground water, mineral wealth, weather forecast and disaster warning. Wireless telephonic communications through cellular phones have become very popular today. The Internet not only provides us with worldwide information and interaction but also makes our lives more comfortable. With this kind of interconnectivity of people, services and institutions – across the world, we are a large global society.