Geography Chapterwise Notes.
Geography Chapterwise Notes.
Geography Chapterwise Notes.
CHAPTER 1:
→ Population Geography is a branch of Human Geography.
→ In this branch, we study quantitative and qualitative
composition of population, how population influences the
economy and development and much more.
→ The distribution of population in the world is uneven.
→ Asia has 30% landmass and supports 60% of the world’s
population.
→ Number of people living in a unit area is called density of
population.
→ Density of population = Total population / Total area (sq.
km)
Demographic Dividend:
→ The growth in an economy as a result of a change in the
age structure of a country’s population is known as
Demographic Dividend.
→ The change in demographic dividend comes because of a
decline in birth and death rates.
→ As birth rate decreases, the number of young dependent
population decreases.
→ Economic productivity of a country depends upon the
ratio between working and dependant (non-working)
population.
→ Higher the ratio, higher is the contribution of working
population in the economy.
→ With fewer people to support and more people working,
economy’s resources are invested in other areas to
accelerate a country’s economic development.
→ Per capita income increases.
→ Demographic dividend depends on the proper
implementation of policies in the areas such as education,
health, research, etc.
→ It also depends on the level of schooling, employment,
frequency of childbearing, economic policy on tax incentives,
health, pension, and retirement policies.
Literacy and Education
→ An important indicator of socio-economic development is
the proportion of literate population of a country.
→ The standard of living, social status of females, education
facilities, government policies reveal socio-economic
development of a country.
→ Population above 7 years of age, who can read, write and
have the ability to do simple arithmetic calculations with
understanding is considered as a literate person in India.
Occupational Structure:
→ Population of men and women in the age group 15-59
years are considered as working population.
→ Working population take part in primary, secondary,
tertiary and quaternary occupations.
Types of Settlement:
→ Settlements vary in their size and types ranging from
hamlets to metropolitan city.
→ Type of settlement refers to some common features of the
settlement.
→ Pattern of settlements refers to regular form in which
series of things occur.
→ The term settlement pattern is strictly applied to the
spatial arrangement or distribution of settlement within the
given area.
→ On the basis of functions, there are two types of
settlement – rural and urban.
→ Cities can be divided on the basis of their function.
→ Some cities specialise in certain functions, activities,
products or services.
→ On the basis of specialisation of some important functions,
Indian cities can be classified as follows:
Pimpri – Chinchwad as industrial town, Khadki as cantonment
town, Pune as educational centre and Kolhapur, Pandharpur
as religious town etc.
→ As town becomes city and city becomes metro cities, lots
of changes can be seen in them in their form, land uses and
structure.
→ As cities grow in their size, there is change in their skyline.
Suburbs:
→ Outside metropolitan cities, there might be small towns or
number of well-developed cities or towns. Such cities or
towns are suburbs of Mumbai.
→ Andheri, Goregaon, Bhandup, Mulund, Thane, Kalyan etc.,
are suburbs of Mumbai.
→ All these suburbs developed as a result of the growth and
development of Mumbai.
CHAPTER 4:
→ Primary economic activities are dependent on nature and
produce natural resources. They are affected by natural
calamities.
Hunting:
→ Hunting was a primitive activity of man to get food; as a
result, many animal species have become extinct.
→ Even today hunting is practised in some parts of the world.
Example: Bushmen of Kalahari Desert, Pygmies of Equatorial
Selvas, Boras, Eskimos of Tundra, etc.
→ Commercial hunting is banned all over the world and
many laws have been passed to protect animals.
Gathering:
→ Gathering depends on forest products, such as fruits,
roots, tubers, leaves, flowers, medicinal plants, gum, lac,
honey, wax, rubber, etc., which are carried out in all the
forest-covered areas.
→ In the equatorial rainforests, the climate is humid and
unhealthy.
→ Due to the disturbances of reptiles and insects, collection
of forest products on a large scale becomes difficult.
Lumbering:
1. An important primary activity.
2. Lumbering is practised in coniferous forest region due to
its softwood.
Fishing:
→ Initially fishing started as a primary activity on subsistence
level, now it is one of the important economic activity.
→ Development of fishing is greatly affected by number of
physical factors as follows:
→ Extensive continental shelf with shallow water.
→ Confluence of warm and cold ocean water currents and
availability of plankton.
→ Large size population and limited cultivable land.
→ Absence of alternative occupations.
→ Use of technology and excellent port facilities has
increased fishing activity.
→ Cold climate for preservation of fish.
Animal Husbandry:
→ Climate is the most important factor in the development
of animal husbandry.
→ It is concentrated between 30°N to 60°N and 30°S to 55°S
latitudes.
→ Development of animal husbandry depends upon
advancement of technology, advancement of markets and
availability of large estates.
Mining:
→ Since ancient times, minerals have been used for making
weapons, tools, jewellery, utensils and medicines.
→ Industries using minerals as raw material are located near
mining areas.
→ Improved transport facilities are very important for the
development of mining activities.
→ Development of mining increases industries, thus
improving the economy.
→ Our economic development is closely related to the
exploitation of minerals, oil and natural gas.
→ Exploitation of minerals depends upon the ecology of the
region, value of minerals, capital investments, technology,
skilled labour and climate.
Agriculture:
→ Agriculture is the most important occupation of man.
→ Influencers in the development of agriculture are climate,
topography, soil and biotic factors.
→ Socio-economic factors like labour, capital, market,
transportation facilities, storage facilities, government policy,
population and ownership of land influence agriculture.
→ Greenhouse and playhouse are modern agricultural
techniques.
CHAPTER 5:
→ Some products obtained from primary activities are
consumed directly by man.
→ However, some products need to be processed to make
them more useful and durable.
→ Thus, products obtained from primary activities are used
as raw materials in secondary activities.
→ Processing of products from primary activities takes place
in manufacturing industries where they are changed into
finished product to be sold in markets.
→ Thus, secondary activities increases the value of primary
products by transforming raw material into finished
products.
Physical Factors
→ Extreme climate is not suitable for the development of
industries. Hence, most of the industries develop in the areas
of moderate climate.
→ Industries using perishable, heavy, bulky and weight-losing
raw materials are located near the raw material producing
areas.
→ Water is one of the most important factor for the
industries. Power or energy like coal, electricity, etc., are
indispensable resources for running the machinery of
industries.
→ Different types of industries require different labour.
Some industries need semi-skilled whereas some need skilled
labour.
→ The cost of transportation and time required to transport
raw material and finished product is known as economic
distance.
→ Low cost of transportation is deciding factor of location of
industry.
→ Large area is necessary for the construction of industry
and therefore, flat and well-served areas with transportation
facilities are important for the development of industries.
Economic Factors
→ The entire process of manufacturing is futile until the
finished goods reach the market. Therefore, nearness to
market is an added advantage for quick disposal of finished
products.
→ Capital is a very important factor in the development of
industries as huge investments is necessary for establishing
industries.
Political Factors
→ The government can encourage or discourage the
development of industries in certain areas by providing
facilities and vice-versa.
→ Governments support establishing zones or regions which
are specially developed for industrial production. In India,
they are called Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
Other Factors
→ Some productions are decentralized and are arranged at
different places to reduce transport cost which is referred to
as split location.
→ A proportionate saving in costs gained by an increased
level of production is called economy of scale or
agglomeration.
→ By using available opportunities according to ‘economies
of scale’, the region attracts more and more industries in a
region.
Footloose Industries
→ Footloose industries are industries which does not depend
much on available resources, production skills and
consumers on which it depends can be found in numerous
places.
→ Most footloose industries produce low volume and high-
value outputs.
Characteristic Features of Industrial Regions
1. Agglomeration of industries.
2. Dense population growth, large labour force.
3. Employment to large working populations.
4. Large banking and credit facilities.
5. A large network of transportation.
6. Excellent communication facilities
Transportation
→ Transportation is a service or facility through which
passengers, freight and industrial products are carried from
one place to another.
→ Transportation is a very important tertiary activity in the
development of trade.
→ Means of transportation are essential components of
transport systems wherein, each mode has its own
requirements and features.
Communication
→ Different means of communication are used to express
one’s thoughts and making it reach the other.
→ Communication is being depicted through pictures,
symbols, verbal communication using signs, body language,
postures, etc.
→ This is the era of information. Therefore, telephones,
mobiles, internet, etc., are used to communicate.
→ These means of communication are largely used for
regional development. Each country is trying to stay updated
with information. Hence, technology in communication has
increased manifold.
Other services
→ Tourism is an important tertiary economic activity. The
population employed in tourism is increasing.
→ The climate, natural beauty of the region, availability of
land and sea adventure sports are major contributors to the
country’s GDP.
→ The geographical factors like the site and situation of a
place, climate, relief, altitude, biodiversity, accessibility,
availability of water plays an important role in the growth of
tourism.
→ However, transportation facilities, lodging and boarding
facilities, cultural diversity, government policies and political
conditions are human factors affecting the development of
tourism.
→ Considering tertiary economic activities, the services
included in this sector are varied in nature. Therefore, these
are categorized into quaternary (fourth) and quinary (fifth)
activities.
→ Quaternary activities refer to think, research, and develop
ideas whereas quinary activities involve work related to
administrative character.
→ The difference between the two types is that the people
involved in quinary activities are involved in the highest level
of decision-making or policy-making.
CHAPTER 7:
→ Natural (physical) or man-made (administrative
boundaries, political or linguistic) feature of a small or large
area of land having common features help us to identify
them separately.
→ Demarcated boundary separates one region from the
other. The geographical area that distinguishes itself from
another area is called a region.
Types of regions
→ Formal regions and functional regions are the two types
of regions.
→ A formal region is an area inhabited by people who have
one or more characteristics in common.
→ On the basis of characteristics, a formal region is divided
into a physical region or political region.
→ A functional region is an area organized to function
socially and economically as a single unit.
→ Functional region involves more than one type of physical
or political regions.
Factors affecting regional development
→ Development is a relative term. Therefore, while
considering regional development the physical, economic,
social, environmental aspects of a region are taken into
consideration.
Regional imbalance:
→ The balanced regional development policy is considered
on economic, social and political grounds.
→ The policy is adopted to reduce inequalities between
different regions of a country and also increasing the
standard of living to a higher level at a uniform rate.
Causes of regional imbalance in India:
→ There is regional imbalance in India since the level of
development is not similar in all sub-regions.