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Answer the following questions briefly.(i) What is meant by a ... - Contemporary India
Answer the following questions briefly.
(i) What is meant by a water divide? Give an example.
(ii) Which is the largest river basin in India?
(iii) Where do the rivers Indus and Ganga have their origin?
(iv) Name the two headstreams of the Ganga. Where do they meet to form the Ganga?
(v) Why does the Brahmaputra in its Tibetan part have less silt, despite a longer course?
(vi) Which two Peninsular rivers flow through trough?
(vii) State some economic benefits of rivers and lakes.
(i) Water Divide: Any elevated area, such as a mountain or an upland, that separates two adjoining drainage basins is known as a water divide. Example: The mountain range between the Indus and the Ganga river systems (Ambala is located on this divide).
(ii) The Ganga Basin is the largest river basin in India.
(iii) Indus: Originates in Tibet, near Lake Mansarovar.
Ganga: Originates from the Gangotri Glacier (as the Bhagirathi).
(iv) The two headstreams are the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda. They meet at Devprayag in Uttarakhand to form the Ganga.
(v) In Tibet, the Brahmaputra (Tsangpo) flows through a cold and dry area, so it carries a smaller volume of water and consequently less silt. It picks up a large amount of water and silt only when it enters India through a region of high rainfall.
(vi) The Narmada and the Tapi.
(vii) Economic benefits:
Rivers: Provide water for irrigation, help in hydro-power generation, and are used for inland navigation.
Lakes: Help in regulating the flow of rivers, prevent flooding during heavy rains, attract tourists (promoting recreation), and help in fish breeding.
