8.3 Additional Questions :
Answer the following questions :
1. What is susu? What does its presence indicate?
Ans: A variety of dolphin is found in the fresh waters of the River Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers, they are locally known as susu. Its presence indicates the health of the river.
2. How do the river water get contaminated?
Ans: The waste from the towns close by and industries is let out into the rivers. Thus the river water gets contaminated.
3. Describe the climate of the Amazon basin.
Ans: The Amazon basin has hot and wet climate throughout the year. Both the days and nights are equally hot and wet. It rains almost everyday. The day temperature is very high with very high humidity. The night temperature goes down but the humidity remains high.
4. What are some of the crops grown in the Ganga- Brahmaputra basin?
Ans: since the people here do mostly farming, paddy is the main crop here. Other crops grown here are wheat , maize, sorghum, gram and millets . Cash crops like sugarcane and jute are also grown here. In Assam tea is grown in plantations. Silk is produced through the cultivation of silkworms in Bihar and Assam.
5. What sort of wildlife do you know in the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin?
Ans: A variety of animals like elephants, deer, tigers and monkeys are found here. The one-horned rhinoceros is also found here. In the delta region crocodiles, Bengal tiger and alligators are found. In the fresh river water varieties of fish are found.
6. What is slash and burn in agriculture?
Ans: Slash and burn is a way of cultivating land where farmers clear a piece of land by slashing or cutting down trees and bushes. These are then burnt which releases the nutrients into the soil. New crops are grown in this cleared field for a few years.
7. What is terrace farming ?
Ans: Terraces are built on steep slopes to create flat surfaces on which crops are grown. The slope is removed so that water does not run off rapidly.
8. What are Bromeliads ?
Ans: Bromeliads are special plants that store water in their leaves. Animals like frogs use these pockets of water for laying their eggs.
9. What are the main features of the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin ?
Ans: The main features of the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin are the plains of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, the mountains and the foothills of the Himalayas and the Sundarbans delta .
10. Describe the transport system in the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin.
Ans: In the plain areas the roadways and railways transport the people from one place to another. The waterways is an effective way of transport along the rivers. The plain area also has a large number of airports.
Fill in the blanks :
1. The Amazon basin stretches directly on the Equator and is characterized by hot and wet
2. The rainforest is rich in fauna .
3. In the rainforest the men hunt and fish while the women take care of crops .
4. People in the rainforest practice slash and burn .
5. The Ganga –Brahmaputra area is dominated by monsoon .
6. In the mountains and hills, crops are grown on terraces .
7. The delta area is covered with mangrove .
8. Tourism is another important activity of the basin .
9. Tributaries are small rivers that join the main river .
10. The Amazon basin is the largest river basin in the world .