Important Terms

 Theory of Tectonic Plates: A theory in geology: the lithosphere of the earth is divided into a small
number of plates which float on and travel independently over the mantle and much of the earth’s seismic
activity occurs at the boundaries of these plates.
 Volcanic Activities: An opening in the earth’s crust from which molten lava, rock fragments, ashes, dust,
and gases are ejected from below the earth’s surface.
 Convergent: Coming closer together; converging.
 Divergent: Tending to be different or develop in different directions.
 Collide: Come into conflict or opposition.
 Peninsula: A piece of land almost surrounded by water or projecting out into a body of water.
 Lithosphere Plates: are regions of Earth’s crust and upper mantle that are fractured into plates, that
move across a deeper plasticine mantle.
 Eurasian Plates: The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a
landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia), with the notable exceptions of the
Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia.
 Sedimentary Rocks: are types of rocks that are formed by the deposition and subsequent cementation of
that material at the Earth’s surface and within bodies of water.
 Igneous Rocks or magmatic rock: is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and
metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.
 Metamorphic Rocks: Rock that was once one form of rock but has changed to another under the
influence of heat, pressure, or some other agent without passing through a liquid phase.
 Tethys was an ocean that existed between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia during much of the
Mesozoic era, before the opening of the Indian and Atlantic oceans during the Cretaceous period.
 Indian Desert: Also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a large, arid region in the northwestern part of
the Indian subcontinent that forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan.
 Coastal Plains is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast.
 Loftiest of imposing height.
 Barriers: A fence or other obstacle that prevents movement or access.
 Himadari: The Himalayas consists of three parallel ranges in its longitudinal extent. The northern most
range is called inner Himalayas or great Himalayas or himadri.
 Plateau: An area of fairly level high ground.
 Northern Plains: The northern plains of India comprise a large, flat and fertile region that runs across
the northern and eastern areas of India into Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
 Valleys: A low area of land between hills or mountains, typically with a river or stream flowing through
it.
 Asymmetrical: Having parts which fail to correspond to one another in shape, size, or arrangement;
lacking symmetry.
 Granite: A very hard, granular, crystalline, igneous rock consisting mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar
and often used as a building stone.
 Pir – Panjal Range: is a group of mountains in the Inner Himalayan region, running from east-southeast
(ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Indian administered
Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan administered Kashmir.
 Demarcated: Set the boundaries or limits of.
 Tributaries: A river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake.
 Physiological Division: the Earth’s landforms into distinct regions, based upon the classic three-tiered
approach by Nevin Fenneman in 1916, that further defines landforms
 Crystalline: having the structure and form of a crystal; composed of crystals.
 Highlands: an area of high or mountainous land.
 Western Ghats: is a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula,
located entirely in India.
 Eastern Ghats: also known as ‘Mahendra giri (Mahendra Parvatam)’ in the south, are a discontinuous
range of mountains along India’s eastern coast.
 Sand Dunes: a dune is a hill of loose sand built by wind or the flow of water. Dunes occur in different
shapes and sizes, formed by interaction with the flow of air or water.
 Island: a piece of land surrounded by water.