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Question

Give an account of the Northern Plains of India.

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Solution

Northern Plains are in India are the most recent landforms. These plains comprise of enormous features. The northern plain is the largest plain covering many rivers that are running from Himalayan mountains. Let us know more about these plains.

Facts about northern plain

The plain has various spectacular features. Let us read about the feature of the plain one by one.

Alluvial deposits

  • The northern plains are mainly formed by the alluvial deposits.
  • The northern plain has been formed by the interplay of the three major river systems. They are the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries.
  • This plain is completely formed of alluvial soil.
  • The deposition of alluvium in a vast basin lying at the foothills of the Himalaya over millions of years formed this fertile plain.

Area- How it is spread

  • It stretches its area around 7 lakh sq. km.
  • The plain is about 2400 km lengthwise and 240 to 320 km breadthwise.
  • It is a densely populated physiographic division. As per the survey the population maybe around 400 million.
  • With a rich soil cover equipped with an adequate water supply and favourable climate, it is agriculturally a productive part of India.

Division of the plain

The Northern Plain is mainly divided into three sections.

  • The Western part of the Northern Plain is referred to as the Punjab Plains. It is formed by the Indus and its tributaries, the larger part of this plain lies in Pakistan.
  • The Indus and its tributaries are the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and the Satluj all originate in the Himalayas.
  • The Ganga plain broadly extends between Ghaggar and Teesta rivers.
  • The plain spreads over the northern states of Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar and partly Jharkhand.
  • The Ganga plains also extend towards Bengal towards the eastern region.
  • Further towards the east, in Assam lies the Brahmaputra plain.
  • The northern plains are called as flatlands with no variations in its relief. However, this is not completely true. These vast plains also have diverse relief features.

Variations in relief features

According to the variations in relief features, the Northern plains can be categorised in four segments or regions.

  • The rivers, that are descending from the mountains, deposit pebbles in a narrow belt of around 8 to 16 km in width lying parallel to the slopes of the Shiwaliks. This region is called bhabar. All the streams disappear or vanish in this bhabar belt.
  • In the southern part of this belt, the streams and rivers re-emerge and create a wet, swampy and marshy region called terai. This was once a thickly forested region, full of wildlife.
  • Bhangar is the largest part of Northern Plains and it is composed of old alluvial soil (deposited before the river changed its course). It lies above the floodplain and resembles a terrace. Locally, the soil of this region is called Kankar.
  • Khadar: This floodplain is formed by younger alluviums called Khadar. The soil of this region is renewed every year and it is highly fertile. This region is considered ideal for intensive agricultural activities.

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