Tropical and subtropical regions

Class 7 - Geography

1. Tropical and Subtropical Regions Amazon Basin Ganga – Brahmaputra Basin Shashank Raj – VII A

2. Introduction Shashank Raj – VII A

3. What is a Tropical Region ? Shashank Raj – VII A

4. Here is the answer! We have learnt about Tropical Regions but what are subtropical regions? Shashank Raj – VII A

5. Shashank Raj – VII A

6. Amazon Basin Shashank Raj – VII A

7. Shashank Raj – VII A

8. Amazon Basin – Flora and Fauna (Rainforests ) Because of the  heavy rains ,  thick forests grow  and  create a   roof  that is so dense that sunlight cannot penetrate and reach the forest floor. This makes the forest floor permanently  cold and damp  and only shade-tolerant or parasite plants such as  orchids  and  bromeliads  grow here. The forest is rich in fauna with birds like  toucans ,  humming birds , and  birds of paradise  that make  loud noises  and have  brightly colored plumage ,  over-sized beaks for eating . Animals like  monkeys ,  sloths ,  crocodiles ,  ant-eating tapirs , and reptiles like  anacondas ,  rock pythons , etc. are also found here. It is also home to  thousands of species of insects  and  hundreds of species of fish  like the famous  flesh eating Piranha . Shashank Raj – VII A

9. Wildlife found in amazon rainforest Shashank Raj – VII A

10. People of the rainforests People grow most of their food in small areas after clearing the trees there; men mostly  hunt and fish  along the river, and women take  care of the crops . They mainly grow  tapioca ,  pineapple , and  sweet potato , and since hunting and fishing are uncertain, women grow and use vegetables to feed their families. The main type of agriculture practiced here is ' slash and burn ' ,  and  manioc  or  cassava  (an under-ground vegetable) is the  staple diet . People also eat  queen ants  and  egg sacs , and grow cash crops like  coffee ,  maize , and  cocoa . The rainforest provides a lot of wood to build houses that are of two types:  thatched houses   shaped like beehives  and  apartment like houses  (called ' Maloca ') with  steeply slanting roofs . The life of the Amazonian people is changing rapidly. The construction of the  Trans-Amazon highway  has eased transportation in the region so people now don't have to depend on the river to travel to the heart of the basin. Airplanes and helicopters are also used for transportation and the indigenous population that was pushed away from their lands has moved to other places and continued their way of life. Modern development activities  such as construction are  destroying the rainforests,  and  large areas of the rainforests are disappearing every year . As more and more trees are cut down, the  top soil  in the region gets  washed away by the rains , and the land  turns barren  (becomes infertile). Shashank Raj – VII A

11. Shashank Raj – VII A

12. Climate The area is dominated by  monsoon climate , so it rains from  mid-June to mid-September . Summers are hot  and  winters are cool , making the climate  tolerable in all seasons . Shashank Raj – VII A

13. Flora and fauna Shashank Raj – VII A

14. Cultivation (Growing of crops) The topography of the basin is varied and the  distribution of population  in different areas depends highly on the  types of environment  in those areas. The  plain is the most suitable area for habitation  and its  population density   is very high , because  the land is flat  and the   soil is fertile ,  and   agriculture is the main occupation  of the people. Rice paddies  are the main crop of these regions because it rains a lot in these regions and rice  needs a lot of water . Wheat ,  sorghum ,  gram ,  millets ,  maize , and  cash crops  like  sugarcane  and  jute  are also grown here. There are  plantations of bananas  in the  plains ,  tea  in  west Bengal  and  assam , and  silk worms  for  silk  in  Bihar  and  assam . Shashank Raj – VII A

15. Cities IN THE GANGA – BRAHMAPUTRA BASIN The ganga-Brahmaputra plain has many big cities and towns on the  banks of river ganga  such as  Allahabad ,  K anpur ,  V aranasi ,  L ucknow ,  P atna , and   K olkata , all of which have a  population of more than ten lakhs  (one million). The  wastewater  from the  city's industries  is  discharged into the rivers , and this  pollutes  them. The transport system in the basin is well-developed, with  railways and roadways  connecting important towns and villages and  waterways  connecting towns that are on the banks of rivers. Kolkata  is an important  international port  on the  river Hooghly , and there are also many airports in the plains. Tourism is also a major activity in the plains, and important sites are the  T aj mahal  on the  banks of Y amuna  in  A gra ,  Allahabad  on the  confluence  (meeting)  of rivers ganga and Yamuna ,  Buddhist stupas  in  utter Pradesh  and  Bihar ,  imam bara  in  Lucknow ,  karanda  and  manas  wildlife sanctuaries  in  assam , and the  tribal villages  in  Arunachala Pradesh .