Answer the following questions briefly.
(i) What are tectonic plates?
(ii) Which continents of today were part of the Gondwana land?
(iii) What is the bhabar?
(iv) Name the three major divisions of the Himalayas from north to south.
(v) Which plateau lies between the Aravali and the Vindhyan ranges?
(vi) Name the island group of India having coral origin.
(i) The convectional currents present below the solid layer of Earth’s crust split the crust or the lithosphere into a number of large fragments. These fragments are called tectonic or lithospheric plates.
(ii) The continents that were part of Gondwana land are South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia, and Antarctica.
(iii) Bhabar is a narrow belt that lies parallel to the Shiwalik range. Rivers deposit pebbles etc. in the belt of Bhabar when they come down from the mountains. The width of this belt is about 8 to 10 km.
(iv) The three major divisions of the Himalayas from north to south are the Great Himalayas/Inner Himalayas/Himadri (Northernmost division), the Lesser Himalayas/Himachal and the Shiwaliks (Southernmost division).
(v) Malwa plateau lies between the Aravali and the Vindhyan ranges.
(vi) Lakshadweep Islands are composed of small coral islands.