Our Country India – Class 3

Objective of the chapter: Our Country India - Class 3

You will learn about:

  • Important basic facts of India
  • Himalayan mountain ranges
  • Deccan Plateau and the ghats
  • Islands of India

Our Country India

This chapter is important for Class 3.

Basic facts about India:

  1. India is located in South Asia. Capital of India is New Delhi.
  2. India is the seventh largest country in the world. Russia, Canada, China, USA, Brazil and Australia are the six countries larger in area than India. India is four times the size of Pakistan.
  3. India is the second most populated country in the world after China. According to the 2011 Census of India, population of India is 121 crore.
  4. India shares its borders with Pakistan, China, Bhutan, Burma, Bangladesh and Nepal. India shares the longest border (approximately 4000 km) with Bangladesh. India does not share its border with Sri Lanka.
  5. India achieved independence on 15 August 1947. We celebrate independence day on 15th August every year.
  6. India became Republic on 26th January 1950. The Republic Day is celebrated on 26 January every year.
  7. India has 29 states and 7 Union Territories. The 29 states are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The 7 Union Territories are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.
  8. Main rivers of India are Ganga, Sutlej, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Brahmaputra, Narmada and Yamuna.
  9. India is surrounded by Arabian Sea in the South-West, Indian Ocean in the South and Bay of Bengal in the South-East. Andaman and Nicobar island lies in the Bay of Bengal. Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean in the world.
  10. Himalaya is the highest mountain range of India. The rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra start from the Himalayas.
  11. The Indian rupee (sign: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency of India.

India has many landforms. It has mountains, plains, desert, plateaus and islands. This makes India so beautiful and unique. Lets learn more about these landforms.

The Himalayan Mountain Ranges

Himalayas
Himalayas

What is a mountain? Mountains are portions of the Earth that rise steeply from the surrounding area. And a chain of mountains form a range.

All along the northern part of India lie the Himalayan mountain ranges. These ranges some of the highest peaks in the world. Mount Everest in Nepal, the highest peak in the world, is a part of the Himalayan range. The top of these peaks are always covered with snow.

Many big rivers of India like Ganga, Yamuna and Brahmaputra start from the Himalayas. As they flow down to the plains, many smaller rivers join the main rivers. These rivers never become dry. Do you know why? The melting snow from the mountains keep these rivers fed through the hot and dry seasons. As we move down to the lower slopes we can find thick forests. This is called the terrai region.

The Northern Plains

Plains is a flat landmass that generally does not change much in elevation.  Plains are one of the major landforms, or types of land, on Earth. As we move down to the south of the Himalaya, we come across the Northern Plains of India. It is also called the Gangetic Plain. As many rivers flow through these plains, the land of these area are very fertile and most suitable for cultivation. Due to this nature, the plain region is thickly populated. We can see that many well-known cities and town are settled along the banks of these big rivers like Ganga and Yamuna. The plains are very hot in summer and very cold in winter.

The Thar Desert

A desert
A desert

What is a desert? A large area of land covered with sand is called a desert. They are the driest places on Earth. In India, as we travel to the north-western part, the landscape of the area changes. We can see that kilometers of land area are covered with sand. This area is called the Great Indian Desert or the Thar Desert.

The climate of these area are dry and very hot in summer and very cold in winter. These regions gets very little rainfall. Due to extreme weather and little rainfall these regions are not thickly populated.

The Deccan Plateau and the Ghats

The southern part of India is a peninsula. A peninsula is a piece of land jutting into the sea and surrounded by large water bodies on its three sides. The Indian Peninsula has the Bay of Bengal to its east, the Arabian sea to its west, and the Indian Ocean to its south.

This part of India is called the Southern Plateau or the Deccan Plateau. What is a Plateau? A plateau is a flat-topped region that is raised above the surrounding land.

The Deccan Plateau has a moderate climate. It is neither too hot nor too cold. Rivers such as Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery and Mahanadi flows through this region. These rivers are rain fed and thus often become dry during the summer season.

To the west of the Deccan Plateau are mountains called the Western Ghats. To the east of the Deccan Plateau are mountains called the Eastern Ghats.

There are narrow strips of plain land along the east and west coasts of India called the Coastal Plains.

The Islands of India

An island
An island

What is an island? An island is a piece of land surrounded by water. India has many small islands in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. In the Arabian Sea there is a group of islands called the Lakshadweep Islands. In Bay of Bengal there is another group of islands called the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

For Questions and Answers on the chapter Our Country India, click the Next Button given below.

A. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS.

  1. Name any five rivers of our country India?

    The five rivers of India is Ganga, Yamuna, Krishna, Kaveri and Godavari.
  2. Name any two groups of islands, which are part of India.

    The two groups of islands which are part of our country India are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep Islands.

  3. Why are the Northern Plains thickly populated?

    Many rivers flow through the Northern Plains of India which make the land very fertile and most suited for cultivation. That is why the Northern Plains are thickly populated.
  4. In which region of India do you live? What kind of climate do you have in the place that you live in?

    I live in Kolkata. It has a moderate climate. It is neither too hot in summer nor too cold in winter.
  5. What is a peninsula?

    A peninsula is a piece of land jutting into the sea and surrounded by large water bodies on its three sides.

 

B. TRUE OR FALSE

  1. Our country India is the third most populated country in the world.
  2. The Himalayas is the highest mountain range in the world.
  3. It is very cold at night in a desert.
  4. All rivers in India get water from melting snow in the mountains.
  5. The rivers make the Gangetic Plain very fertile.
  6. It is neither too hot nor too cold in the Deccan Plateau.

  1. False. Our country India is the second most populated country in the world.
  2. True
  3. True
  4. False.
  5. True
  6. True

C. FILL IN THE BLANKS.

  1. The Indian Ocean lies to the _______ of India.
  2. Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie in the ________.
  3. India is the _________ largest country in the world.
  4. The Himalayas lie to the _______ of India.
  5. The rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra start from the __________.

  1. south
  2. Bay of Bengal
  3. seventh
  4. north
  5. Himalayas

 

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