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Uncategories Physiography of Indian Desert UPSC| Physiographic Regions of India UPSC | Geography of India| UPSC | describe the Indian desert

Physiography of Indian Desert UPSC| Physiographic Regions of India UPSC | Geography of India| UPSC | describe the Indian desert

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 The great Indian desert or "Thar Desert" is one of the six physiographic regions of India, other five Physiographic regions of India are:

  • Himalayan and northeastern mountain
  • The northern plains
  • Peninsular India
  • The coastal plains
  • The islands

Great Indian desert:

    • A Desert is an arid and semi-arid region and it is also called "Marusthal" or "dead land".
    • The great Indian Desert is also called the Thar desert and it is located northwest of the Aravali hills.
    • 85 % of the Area of the Thar desert lies in India and the rest lies in Pakistan.
    • In India, it is mostly in Rajasthan but is also present in Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana state.
    • Thar Desert of India receives below 15 cm or 150 mm rainfall in a year. Due to low rainfall and high evaporation, there is very low vegetation cover.
    • The semi-arid region of the Thar Desert is called "Bagar".
    • There is a number of short seasonal streams in the Bagar region. 
    • Due to low rainfall and the presence of sand in the region, the stream disappears into the sand as does not have enough water to reach the sea.
    • Luni is only a large river in this region.
    • Some fertile lands are also found in the Bagar region which s also called "Rohi".
    Origin of Thar Desert of India or Geological history of Indian desert:
    • The underlying rock structure of the Thar Desert is a part of the Peninsular Plateau. 
    • However, due to extreme climatic conditions, surface geomorphic features are like other deserts.
    • As per surface landforms features of the Thar Desert, it is the latest physiographic region and is formed after the formation of the Indian Plains.
    • During the Mesozoic era, the landmass of the Thar Desert was under the sea.
    • Wood fossils parked at Aakal and "Marine deposits" around Brahmsar near Jaisalmer are evidence of the marine submergence of the land.
    • The exact date of the origin of the Thar Desert is a controversial topic. Some considered, it to be approx 4000 to 10000 years old and some considered it to be around 1500 to 2000 BC.

    Slopes or orientation of Thar desert:
    • The Thar Desert or Indian Desert can be divided into two parts on the basis of slope:
    • The slope of the northern part of the Indian desert is towards Sindh.
    • The slope of the southern part of the Indian desert is towards the Rann of Kutch.
    Important Geomorphic landforms in the Thar Desert:
    • Most of the Thar Desert is covered by sand plains consisting of sand dunes.
    • There are two types of sand dunes:
      • Barchans Dunes: It is crescent/half-crescent in shape and Barchans sand dunes are found in very large areas.
      • Longitudinal dunes are mostly found on the border of India and Pakistan.
    • Chhatra or mushroom rocks and sand dunes are important geomorphological features of the Thar Desert.
    • The shifting sand dunes are locally known as "Dhriyan".
    • Oasis is also found in the southern part of the Thar Desert.
    Answer the following questions:

    1. Which of the following geographic region is lies northwest of the Aravali ranges?
    a) Punjab Plains
    b) Kashmir Himalaya
    c) Great Indian Desert
    d) Puruvanchal Mountain range

    Answer. c) Great Indian Desert


    2. In which era, the great Indian desert was under the sea?
    a) Precambrian Era
    b) Paleozoic Era
    c) Mesozoic Era
    d) Cenozoic Era

    Answer. c) Mesozoic era, the age of Dinosaurs, 252-66 million years 



    3. Underlying rock structure of Thar Desert is part of which of the following?
    a) Himalayan Mountain
    b) Peninsular Plateau
    c) Marine plate
    d) Separate tectonic plate

    Answer. b) Peninsular Plateau


    4. Which of the following is the latest physiographic region of India?
    a) Himalayas
    b) The northern plains
    c) Great Indian desert
    d) The islands

    Answer. c) Great Indian desert


    5. Shifting sand dunes of the Thar Desert is locally known as?
    a) Bagar
    b) Rohi
    c) Dhrian
    d) Doab

    Answer. c) Dhrian is the name of shifting sand dunes of the That Desert.



    6. Semi-Arid region of the Thar Desert is also called?
    a) Bagar
    b) Rohi
    c) Dhrian
    d) Doab

    Answer. a) Bagar


    7. The fertile land of the Thar Desert is also called?
    a) Bagar
    b) Rohi
    c) Dhrian
    d) Doab

    Answer. b) Rohi



    8. Which of the following geomorphic feature is most prominent in the great Indian Desert?
    a) Mushroom rocks
    b) Oasis
    c) Crescent shape sand dunes
    d) Longitudinal sand dunes


    Answer. c) Crescent shape sand dunes


    9. What is the approximate amount of rainfall in the Indian desert every year?
    a) 15 mm
    b) 15 cm
    c) 25 mm
    d) 25 cm

    Answer. b) 15 cm

    10. What percentage of the area of the Thar Desert lies in India?
    a) 45 
    b) 55
    c) 85
    d) 95

    Answer. c) 85 


    Try to solve the following questions:

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