RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 9 Life in the Deserts

These comprehensive RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 9 Life in the Deserts will give a brief overview of all the concepts.

RBSE Class 7 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 9 Life in the Deserts

→ Deserts : It is a dry region characterized by extremely high or low temperatures and sparse vegetation.

→ Depending on the temperatures can be hot deserts or cold deserts. The people inhabit these lands wherever little water is available to practise agriculture.

→ The Hot Desert : Sahara

• Topography :
  • Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world,
  • Besides the vast stretches of sands, that Sahara desert is covered with, there are also gravel plains and elevated plateaus with bare rocky surface.
• Climate : The climate of the Sahara desert is scorching hot and parch dry. It has a short rainy season. Days are unbelievably hot and the nights may be freezing cold.
• Flora and Fauna : Vegetation in the Sahara desert includes cactus, date palms and achcia. Camels, hyenas, jackals, foxes, scorpions, many varieties of snakes and lizards are the prominent animal species living there.
• People : It is inhabited by various groups of people. Among them are the Bedouins, Tuaregs and nomadic tribes.

→ The Cold Desert: Ladakh

• Ladakh is cold desert lying in the Great Himalayas, on the eastern side of Jammu and Kashmir. Several rivers flow through Ladakh, Indus being the most important among them. The rivers form deep valleys and gorges.
• The altitude in Ladakh varies from about 3000 m to more than 8,000 m. Due to its high altitude, the climate is extremely cold and dry. There is little rainfall.

→ Flora and Fauna:

• Here the vegetationjs sparse. Groves of willows and poplars are seen in the valleys. During the summers, fruit trees such as apples, apricots and walnuts are found here.
• Several species of birds such as Robins, redstarts, Tibetan, snowcock, raven and hoopoe are sighted in Ladakh. Some of these are migratory birds.
• The animals of Ladakh are wild goats, wild sheep, yak and special kinds of dogs.
• The animals are reared to provide for the milk, meat and hides.

→ People:

• The people here are either Muslims or Buddhists.    ,
• In the summer season the people are busy cultivating barley, potatoes, peas, beans and turnip.
• Leh, the capital of Ladakh is well connected both by road and air. There are many attractive tourist places.