The Volcano Explosivity Index

Volcanic eruptions can be violent, passive, or anywhere in between. When a people are told that a volcano is going to erupt, many imagine an explosive eruption with a giant ominous cloud of ash and red hot lava flowing down a mountain. However, since volcanic eruptions can vary greatly in size and intensity, volcanologists use the Volcano Explosivity Index, or VEI, to classify the size of an eruption.

The Volcano Explosivity Index

The VEI scale has been used in modern volcanology as a way to forecast the possible size of a volcanic eruption based on that volcano's historical eruptions.

It first debuted in 1982 as a paper titled "The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI): An Estimate of Explosive Magnitude for Historical Volcanism," written by Christopher Newhall and Steve Self and published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

The VEI of a volcano depends mostly on the volume of material ejected during the eruption and the height of the ash column or plume. The VEI scale breaks down volcanic eruptions into nine classifications ranging from a VEI of zero to eight - zero being a non-explosive eruption and eight being a mega-colossal eruption. There are no known explosive events with a VEI greater than eight.

Read more at Suite101: The Volcano Explosivity Index: Scientists Use the VEI Scale to Measure the Impact of an Eruption http://volcanoes.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_volcano_explosivity_index#ixzz0aooybuVZ

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What Is the Rift Valley?
Africa's Great Rift Valley is a 6,000-mile crack (fissure) in the earth's crust, stretching from Lebanon to Mozambique. One of its most dramatic sections slices through East Africa, dividing Kenya into two segments. Geologists know that the Rift Valley was formed by violent subterranean forces that tore apart the earth's crust. These forces caused huge chunks of the crust to sink between parallel fault lines and force up molten rock in volcanic eruptions. Evidence that this process, called rifting, is still in progress comes from the many active and semi-active volcanoes, located along the Rift. Evidence of volcanic activity along the rift is provided by the presence of numerous boiling hot springs.
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What is Orogenesis?

In its original, literal sense, orogenesis means ‘mountain building’, but today it more specifically refers to the tectonics of mountain building (as opposed to mountain building by erosion).

Orogenesis is brought about by the movements of the rigid plates making up the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle (described by plate tectonics).

Where two plates collide at a destructive margin rocks become folded and lifted to form chains of mountains (such as the Himalayas).

Processes associated with orogeny are faulting and thrusting , folding, metamorphism, and plutonism .

However, many topographical features of mountains – cirques, U-shaped valleys – are the result of non-orogenic processes, such as weathering, erosion, and glaciation.

Isostasy (uplift due to the buoyancy of the Earth's crust) can also influence mountain physiography.

Source--

Earthquake n Landforms

Earthquakes

Solar System (imp points)

Solar System Currently Whats IN news Indian scientist examines possibility of life on planets other than Earth.. A recent article by Ashwini Kumar Lal, from the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, government of India, has examined the possibility of life on planets and satellites within our solar system and beyond.Read More--http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_indian-scientist-examines-possibility-of-life-on-planets-other-than-earth_1327530

Planets	Have no light of there own, all of tem EXCEPT Venus n Uranus rotate upon their axis from west to east
Satellites	earth has one(moon) Jupiter has more than 60 Mercury n Venus Have none
Asteroids n Planetoids	Term---whole series of very small planets or fragments of planets revolving around the sun between Jupiter n Mars.
Centre of Solar System	The SUN (this theory was given by Copernicus called heliocentric view.) Prior to earth was considered as the centre(this theory by Ptolemy)
Sun	Average dist. Frm earth—150,000,000kms Pluto Farthest
Earth	third planet after Mercury n Venus(called inferior planets) age—4.6 billion Shape-Oblate spheroid or a geoid Rotation –Spinning on polar axis every 23 hr 56 min n 9.54 secs
Do u Know	Mercury,Venus,earth,Mars---inner planets Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune n Plut----outer planets Venus brightest planet. Mercury--- smallest Jupiter—largest Earth—living or blue planet Mars-red planet Pluto’s orbit elliptical intersects orbit of Neptune

EARTH MOVEMENTS AND LANDFORMS (INTERNAL FORCES)

EARTH MOVEMENTS AND LANDFORMS (INTERNAL FORCES)

EARTHQUAKES: are violent tremors of Earth’s crust.

CHIEF CAUSE: slipping of rock formation along faults and fractures in the earth’s crust. This happens due to constant change in volume and density of rocks due to intense temperature & pressure in the earth’s interior.

FOCUS/HYPOCENTER: place of origin of an Earthquake inside the earth

EPICENTRE: point on the Earth’s surface vertically above the focus is called epicenter. On the earth’s surface, the maximum damage is caused at the Epicentre.

Generally, the greater the intensity of the shocks, the longer they last.

ISOSEISMIC LINE: an imaginary line connecting all points on the surface of the earth where the intensity of shaking produced by earthquake waves is the same.

MAGNITUDE: a measure that depends on the seismic energy radiated by the quake as recorded on seismographs; measured in terms of Richter scale.

INTENSITY: depends on the damage caused by the quake; does not have mathematical basis but the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale is used.

AFTERSHOCKS: earthquakes that often occur during the days and months that follow some larger quake.

SEISMIC WAVES: spread out from the seismic focus. These waves are of three main types.

The two main areas of earthquakes in the world are

• Around the Pacific ocean along a belt of volcanoes known as the RING OF FIRE .(more active)
• From the middle Asia through the Mediterranean Sea to West Indies

LANDSLIDES

The term ‘landslides encompasses falling, toppling, sliding, flowing and subsidence of soil and rock materials under the influence of gravity and other factors.

Slope instability may be caused by removal of lateral or underlying support mainly by river erosion and road cuts, landfill dumping, faulting, tectonic movements or the creation of artificial slopes by constructional activities.

Large Landslides of India

year	location
1971	Alakananda (Uttaranchal)
1993	Ratighat (Uttaranchal)
1993	Niligiri ( Tamil Nadu)

VOLCANO ACTION

Rocks below the crust have very high temperature, but the great pressure upon these keeps them in a semi –solid state. If the pressure weakens then some of the rocks become liquid – called MAGMA. Within crust, volcanic features are BATHOLITHS: a large mass of magma, which often forms the root of mountain and is made of granite; SILI: a sheet of magma lying along the bedding plane – same may give rise to waterfalls and rapids when a mass of magma cuts across the bedding planes. Some dykes when exposed on the surface resist erosion and stand up as ridges or escarpments.

Sometimes magma reaches the surface through a VENT (hole) or FISSURE (crack). When magma reaches the surface, it is called LAVA. If lava comes through a vent, it builds up a volcano and if it emerges through a fissure. It builds up a LAVA PLATFORM OR LAVA FLOW.

Volcanoes pass through three stages:

In the active stage, eruptions are frequent: Mt Etna (Italy), Cotopaxi (Ecuador)

In dormant stage, eruptions become infrequent: Mt. Vesuvius (Italy)

Volcanoes, which have not erupted in historic times, are called extinct: Mt Aconcagua (Argentine Andes)

SOME DISASTROUS VOLCANOES

Distribution of Volcanoes in the World

They occur along coastal mountain ranges, as off- shore islands and in the midst of ocean, but there are few in the interiors of continents. The greatest concentration is probably that in the Circum –Pacific Region (Pacific Ring of Fire)- accounts for 2/3 of the world’s Volcanoes ; active Volcanoes in; Philippines- 100 , Andes-40, Japan- 35 , Indonesia – 70.

Atlantic Coasts- has many dormant or extinct volcanoes. Mediterranean region – associates with the Alpine Folds e.g. Vesuvius, Etna, Stromboli.

The Himalayas have no active volcano at all.

In Africa- Mt Kilimanjaro & Mt Kenya (both Extinct); Mt Cameroon (active volcano)

Landforms formed by Internal Forces

MOUNTAINS	They are formed in the process of orogenesis.
Fold Mountains Young fold mountains Old fold mountains	formed relatively recently & higher than old fold mountain; pointer peaks e.g. The Andes , The Rockies , the Alps, The Himalayas formed long ago, rounded peaks e.g. The Appalachians, The Urals and The Aravalis
Block Mountains	Land betn the two parallel faults either rises, forming block mountains or horsts , or subsides into depression termed as a rift valley . e.g. Arabian Peninsula, the Sinai Peninsula, the Vosgus( France) Black Forest Mountains( Germany) , Salt Range(Pak) , The Vindyas & The Satpuras (India)
Volcanic Mountains	called mountains of accumulation as formed by the accumulation of volcanic material. e.g. Mt Fuji( Japan) , Mt Mayon( the Philippine) , Mt Merapi (Sumatra) Mt Agung( Indonesia ) & Mt Catopaxi( Ecuador)
Residual Mountains	form due to erosion by different agencies, known as relict mountain/ mountain of circumdenudation e.g. Mt Manodnock( USA) , the Niligiri , the Parasnath, the Girnar & the Rajmahal( all in India)
PLATEAUS
Tectonic Plateaus	also called continental plateaus e.g. Plateaus of Brazil, SOUTH Africa , West Australia, Chhota Nagpur & Shillong
Intermontane Plateaus	when plateaus are enclosed by fold mountains they are known as Intermontane Plateaus e.g. Tibetan plateaus , Bolivian plateaus
Piedmont Plateaus	situated at the foot of mountains e.g. plateau of Malwa (India ) , plateau of Patagonia(Argentina) , plateau of Appalachian (USA)
PLAINS
Structural Plain	structurally depressed areas e.g. Russian Platform, the Great Plains of USA , central lowlands of Australia
Erosional Plain	e.g. Northern Canada , . Northern Europe & Western Africa (all ice-eroded plains) & parts of Sahara in Africa(wind eroded plains)
Depositional Plain	e.g. Indo-Ganga (India), the Hwang Ho Plains (N.China) , the Po River Plains/Lombardy ( N.Italy) , Nile River- all great alluvial plain plains of north-western Eurasia 7 PLAIN OF Ladakh – are plains made by glacial deposition

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PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISION OF INDIA

Mountains
The Peninsular Mountains : classified as follows
the western Ghats	run along the west coast from south of the Tapti river valley to Kanyakumari; Deccan trap constitutes the northern portion of the Ghats; Southern part : composed of Archean gneisses, Schists and Charnockites Anai Muddi in the Anaimalai Hills 2,695 m (8,842 ft) in Kerala is the highest peak in the Western Ghats.
the Eastern Ghats	irregular hill ranges stretches from northern Orissa to the Kerala and Tamil Nadu across coastal Andhra; Highest Peak at 1680m in Vishakhapatnam dist( Andhra)
The meeting point of the western and Eastern Ghats in the Nilgiri Hills has the highest point at Doda Betta Peak.
The Vindhya Range	Running from Sasaram(Bihar) in the east to Jobat(Gujarat) in the west separates northern India from the southern mainland They are believed to have been formed by the wastes created by the weathering of the ancient Aravali mountains.[
The Satpura range	extends from Narmada valley(N) to the Tapti valley (S) ; It is triangular in shape, with its apex at Ratnapur highest point : Dhupgarh near Pachmarhi(M.P.)
The Aravalis	the oldest mountain range in India; most ancient fold mountain ranges ; separates the semi desert and fertile regions of Rajasthan highest point: Gurushikhar peak of Abu hills
The Northern Mountains : stretches across northern India from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh( abt 2400km); the world’s youngest fold mountain ,achieve greatest heights in eastern Nepal
the outer Himalayas ( the siwaliks )	composed of tertiary sediments; emerged as most recent phase in Himalaya OROGENY
the outer Himalayas ARE SEPERATED FROM THE LESSER Himalayas by Duns ( valleys resulting from draining away of the temporary lakes formed by ridges when these obstructed the course of rivers
the lesser/outer Himalayas ( the himachal)	the ranges include the 400km Pir Panjal range, the longest range of the Himalayas
the greater Himalayas ( the himadri)	the innermost Himalayan Range is the world’s highest and most continuous of Himalayan ranges ; Himadri’s highest peak include world’s highest peak- Mt Everest
the trans Himalayan zone	include imp ranges such as Zaskar Range and the Great Karakoram Range :extends 2wards south-east to form the Kailash Range; highest peak K2 longest glacier : Siachen ( Nubra Valley – 72 km )
the Peninsular Plateau : largest and oldest of all the physiographic division ; north- east limit: Aravali Range ‘ northern extreme – Bundelkhand and western and eastern ends : Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats resp.
the central plateaus	the upland of Central India with river Ganga (N) , Vindhya and Satpura ranges (S)Kaimur-Maikal Range (E) and Aravalis and Kutch to (W) comprise Mewar,Malwa(in M.P. formed of lava ) and Vindhya Plateaus
the eastern Plateaus	diversified to topography ; low lying Mahanandi basin to undulating plateatus of the Bhaghelkhand , Chhota Nagpur and Dandakaranya Meghalaya Plateau : beyond lava ridden Rajhmahal Hills
The Kathiawar and Kutch Plateaus	joined to the Peninsular Plateaus by Gujrat’s plain; Deccan lava make up this region while Kutch – tertiary rocks
The Deccan plateaus	occupy land between the Western and Eastern Ghats and south of Mahadeo ,Maikal and Satpura ranges ; comprise the Maharashtra Plateau(basalt) ‘Karnataka and Telangana plateaus ( Archaean gneisses) India’s largest plateaus
the great plains : lies between the Himalayas and the peninsular Plateau , alluvial in nature
the Punjab Haryana plains	Comprise the Bist Doab (betn Sutlej &Beas Rivers); Upper Bari Doab ( betn Beas and Ravi Rivers) and south- east Malwa Plain.
the Rajasthan plains	comprise the marusthali of Thar and nearly Bagar areas Luni river : flowing 2wards south-east ,only river in region Rajasthan desert : sloping 2wards 2 direction – Indus valley in Pak ( W-wards ) and Ran of Kutch (S-wards)
the Ganga Plains	spreading across the states of Uttar Pradesh ,West Bengal &Bihar divided into : Ganga –Yamuna Doab , Rohilkhand Plain ,Avadh plain ( U.P.),Bihar Plain and Bengal Plain Ganga Delta : constitutes the Ben gal basin , covered with tidal forests ( the Sunderbans)
the Brahmaputra Plains	formed by deposit carried by Brahmaputra River , moist soil conditions
the Coastal plains : 4500 –km long coastline , Arabian Sea (W) , the Bay of Bengal (E)&Indian ocean (S) runs from Rann of Kutch (W) to the delta of the Ganga- Brahmaputra (E)
the east coastal plains	extend betn the source of Subarnarekha and Kanyakumari ; contain deltas of almost all rivers ( except Tapti and Narmada ) ; include Tamil Nadu plains, Andhra Plain and Utkal Plain
the West coastal plains	run from Rann of Kutch to Kanyakumari; sandy plains
Islands : has a no. of islands (247) ; Bay of Bengal ( 204) & Arabian Sea (43) The Andaman and Nicobar Islands: in the Bay of Bengal, represent elevated potions of submarine mountains. Mount Harriet (460m): in South Andaman Islands is the highest point. The Nicobar group contains 19 Islands. The Great Nicobar – largest island in group Islands in Arabian Sea : coral origin & surrounded by fringing reefs e.g. Lakshadweep islands Author--Nisha Dolas

River System

Principal river system of the world

Nile (Africa)	Longest river (6690km) White Nile : originates from Lake Albert (Uganda) and Blue Nile (Ethiopia) ; join 2gether at Khartoum in Sudan to form River Nile ; flowing thru Egypt (longest course) it falls into Mediterranean Sea near Alexandria
Amazon ( South America )	Originates from Andes Mountain (Peru); tributaries come from Boilivia,Ecuador and Venezuela ,, flows mainly thru Brazil and falls into Atlantic Ocean
Yangtze Kiang (Asia )	Rises in north-east Tibet ; flows mainly thru China, draining into the East China Sea
Mississippi-Missouri (North America )	Mississippi- rises in Lake Itasca(USA); Missouri joins it Saint Louis ; they flow into Gulf of Mexico( New Orleans)
Mackenzie (North America )	Rising in great Slave lake , flows thru Canada to Mackenzie Bay in Arctic Ocean
Mekong (Asia)	Rises in Tibet. Falls into South china Sea
Niger (Africa)	Rising near Sierra Leone , it crosses Niger and flows mainly thru Nigeria and enters Atlantic Ocean at Gulf of Guinea
Murray- Darling (Australia )	Murray – rises in Australian Alps; Darling-biggest tributary ( joins it in the New South Wales ) both empty into Indian Ocean at Encounter Bay
Volga ( Europe)	Rises in Valdai Plateau north-east of Moscow and enters the Caspian Sea
Danube (Europe)	Rises near Baden (Germany); enters the Black Sea

RIVER SYSTEMS OF INDIA

HIMALAYAN RIVERS : Rises from Great Himalaya, Karakoram .Ladakh, Zanskar, Kailasah and Trasns –Himalaya ranges and ultimately join to form 3 great river systems.
The Indus system : One of the world’s largest river system
River	Origin	Destination	Length				Tributaries			Other Features
The Indus (westernmost of Himalaya )	Mansarover Lake side of, Tibet	Arabian Sea		1270			Zanskar( rises on Zanskar Range and joins Indus below Leh) Dras( from northern side of Zojila pass) Shyok(from northern side of Karakorum Shigar: drains southern slope of k2			draining the glaciers and mountain slopes of many peaks: Masherbrum(7821m), Nanga Parbat (7114m), Rakaposhi(7788m), Tirich Mir (7690m)
The Jhelum	Seshanag	Wular lake		725			Lidar: at the head of it			Imp river in Kashmir , main waterway
The Chenab ( largest of Indus tributaries )				1800			Chandra and Bhaga : at source , rises opp sides of Baralacha Pass in Lahul Chandra: flows thru a snow-clad , barren country Bhaga :precipitous stream Chandra & bhaga joins @Thandi nd flows thru Chamba			largest tributary of Indus
The Ravi ( smallest river of Punjab )	Rohtang pass	join Chenab in Pakistan		725km
The Beas	Rohtang pass	Joins Sutlej
The Sutlej	Rakas Lake						Spiti			Imp trading centre betn Kailas & Mansarover
The Saraswati	In siwalik hills of simur	joins Ghaggar
The Ganga System : important river system, covers fourth of country’s total surface; Bhagirathi: upper course of river , Source: Gangotri Glacier(Gomukh) Alakananda: another stream from Alaka Glacier , Devprayag: two head streams meet at Devprayag , largest river basin in country
River	Origin	Destination			Length		Tributaries			other features
The Yamuna	Yamontri glacier			1376			Joins Ganga @ Allahabad ; Chambal ( rises near Mhow ), Sind , Betwa ,Ken
The Son	Amarkantak	Joins Yamuna @Etawah district					joining Ganga near Ramnagar
The Ram Ganga	Kumaon Himalaya						joining Ganga near Kannauj
The Sarda (called Cauka and Kali)	greet Himalaya	Joins Ganga near Kannauj
The Ghaghra	East of Gangotri
The Gandak	Nepal china border ( central Himalaya )						Meets Ganga on its left at sonpur
The Kosi	Peaks of Nepal	ends in Ganga below Bhagalpur
The Damodar	Chottanagpur Plateau						Garhi, Konar, Jamunia. Barakar
The Brahmaputra System: also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. From its origin in southwestern Tibet as the Yarlung Zangbo River, it flows across southern Tibet to break through the Himalayas in great gorges and into Arunachal Pradesh where it is known as Dihang.[2] It flows southwest through the Assam Valley as Brahmaputra and south through Bangladesh as the Jamuna (not to be mistaken with Yamuna of India). There it merges with the Ganges to form a vast delta. About 1,800 miles (2,900 km) long, the river is an important source for irrigation and transportation.
PENINSULAR RIVERS
The East-flowing Rivers
River	Origin	Destination		Length				Tributaries		other features
The Mahanadi	near Sihawa in Raipur (Chhattisgarh)	Bay of Bengal		858						drainage areas: 53%M.P nd chattisgarh,46%Orissa and rest- M.P. nd Jharkhand
The Godavari	Trambak(Nasik – western Ghats )	Bay of Bengal (form large delta before draining)		1465			Manjara , Penganga , Pranhita ,Wardha, Waingangā ,Indrāvati, Tal , Sabari, Mula and Pravara			largest of peninsula and 2nd largest river of country , known as Vrindha Ganga and Dakshin Ganga
The Krishna	North of Mahabaleshwar (western Ghats )	Bay of Bengal		1400			Tungabhadra –largest tributary (Tunga+Bhadra):originates in Mysore nd join below shimoga Bhima: flows thru Maharashtra nd Andhra Pradesh
The Subarnarekha	Chottanagpur Plateau(Ranchi)	Bay of Bengal		395
The Penner	Kolar dist.(Karnataka)	sea near town of Nellore					Chitravati and Papaghni
The Brahmani	formed by joining Koel and sankh	Bay of Bengal (Brahmani meets Baitarani just before)		705
The Baitarani	Keonjar Plateau in Orissa			333
The Cauvery	Brahmagiri hills in Coorg dist.			805			Bhavani, Noyil, Amaravati,Hemavati, Shimsa and Kabbani			55% of Cauvery basin lies in Tamil Nadu Karnataka (41%) Kerala (5%)
The Tambrapani	Agastyamalai’s slope (western Ghats )	Gulf of Mannar
The West-flowing Rivers
River	Origin	Destination				Length			Tributaries	other features
The Narmada	Amarkantak plateau (M.P.)			1312						largest of west flowing rivers ; Dhuandhara Falls: it cascades down to make the narrow gorge of Marble Rocks
The Tapti	near Multai Plateau (Satpura)	Gulf of Cambay		724			Purna :enters Khandesh			2nd largest of west flowing rivers
The Luni	Annasagar in Aravalis(Ajmer)	Sahni marshes of the Rann of Kutch.					Sarsuti: rises Pushkar lake at Ajmer
The Sabarmati	Lake of Jai Samudra in Udaipur dist.	Gulf of Cambay					Sabar(coming from Idar) and Hathmati(coming from Mahikantha)
The Mahi	Gwalior Author---	Gulf of Cambay Nisha Dolas		560

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• Continent facts (swapsushias.blogspot.com)

Continental Facts

Continent facts

Asia

largest continent , covering almost third of the world’s land area highest place on the earth :Mount Everest (8848mtrs above sea level lowest place on the earth: Dead Sea shore (399mtrs below sea level)

physicaldivision

Northern Lowlands :comprise the Serbian plain which extends between theUral mountains (W) and river Lena (E) Central mountains :comprising fold mountains and plateaus Southern plateaus :formed of very old rocks , the southern plateaus comprising the plateau of Arabia, the Deccan plateau and the plateau of Yunnan Great river valleys: some of these river systems – the Tigris-Euphrates, The Indus, The Ganga-Brahmaputra, the Ayeryarwaddy, the Mekong, the Sikiang, the Chang Jiang (Yangtze- kiang) and the Huang He – are very old. Island groups : Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan

mountains

Asia has more mountain than any other continent. Himalaya, Karakoram, Altai, Elbruz, Zagros, Urals. Kunlun , Tein Shan Pamir Knot(Roof of the world):large group of rugged peaks and deep valleys(lies where Afghanistan, china , Pakistan and Central Asian Republics meet) Tarim Basin : Between the Kunlun and the Tein Shan

rivers

Euphrates, Tigris, Ganga, Hwang Ho, Amur, Sikiang, the Yangtze is Asia’s longest river.

deserts

Arabian Desert, Gobi Desert, Thar Desert

lakes

Baikal (Siberia ): deepest lake in world ; Caspian Sea, Aral Sea

straits

Strait of Malacca, Bering Strait

Coastline

129077km

Africa

Second largest continent, one-fifth of the land area: separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and from Asia by the Red Sea. In the north-west: Gibraltar, northeast: Suez Canal; strait of Bab-el Mandeb connect Africa to Eurasia: Africa has largest tropical area in the world.

physicaldivision

Low Africa (consisting northern, western nd central ) Costal Lowlands Northern highlands Saharan Plateau Western Plateau Nile Basin Congo Basin

High Africa (consisting eastern and southern Africa) Rift system: spl physical feature of Africa, consist of the Great Rift Valley (series of parallel cracks in the earth), extends from Ethiopia in the East to Mozambique in the southeast. Rich in volcanic soil Eastern highlands Southern Plateau Coastal Lowlands Madagascar

mountains

Atlas( extending from Morocco to Tunisia ,non –volcanic), Drakensberg, Mt. Kilimanjaro(in Tanzania) and Mt. Kenye (in Kenya) are volcanic activity

rivers

Nile(longest river in the world, drains into the Mediterranean sea ) , Zaire(Congo: carries the greatest volume of water among all the rivers of Africa)), Niger(discharge into the Atlantic), Limpopo and Zambezi(drain into Indian ocean) , Orange, ,Nyasa, Turkana

deserts

cover two-fifths of Africa Sahara(world’s largest desert; stretches across northern Africa from the Atlantic sea to the red sea), Kalahari, Namib

lakes

Victoria: largest lake in Africa and source of river Tanganyika, Rudolf, Albert ,Nyasa, Turkana

straits

strait of Babel-Mandeb, strait of Gibraltar

Coastline

----

north America

Third largest continent, extending from the Arctic Ocean in the north to south America in the south.

physical division

Canadian Shield: huge area of ancient rocks covers most of Canada; reservoir of valuable mineral resources like gold, silver, nickel, iron, and copper, platinum; made up of swamps nd no. of lakes: Great Bear, Winnipeg and Great Lakes (Superior, Huron, Erie, Ontario, and Michigan). The famous Niagara Falls is located between Lake Erie and lake Ontario The Appalachian Mountains/Eastern Highlands The Central plains :cover flat river basin of the Missouri-Mississippi Western Cordilleras: intermontane Plateaus- the Great Basin (largest intermontane Plateau of continent) active volcano in Alaska and Mexico.

mountains

Rockies(north America’s largest mountain range), Alaska(north America’s highest mountain range), Cascade, Sierra Madre Mt McKinley(6194m): north America’s highest mountain

rivers

Mississippi, Missouri, Rio Grande, Mackenzie. Columbia Mississippi- Missouri-Ohio: continent’s largest river system Grand Canyon of river Colorado- largest in world

deserts

Mojave, Sonoran

lakes

Superior(largest freshwater lake in world), Huron, Erie, Ontario, Great Bear , Great Slave ,Great Salt Lake in Utah ( saltier than sea)

straits

Bering strait

Coastline

About 300000km (longer than any other continent )

South America

fourth largest continent , surrounded by water – the Caribbean Sea (north), the Atlantic Ocean (northeast and east) , the Pacific ocean (west) and the Dark Passage (south) the Isthmus of Panama : connected to central America by narrow strip of land

physical division

Western coastal strip Western Mountains The central plains :covering about three-fifths of south Africa made up of LALMOS (rolling grasslands in Orinoco river basin of Colombia and Venezuela), THE SELVA:tropical rain forest of the Amazon river basin in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru) , THE GRAN CHACO(HARDWOOD SERIAL FOREST IN NORTHG-CENTRAL Argentina , western Paraguay and southern Bolivia ), THE PAMPAS(vast grasslands in Argentina) Eastern Highlands: consist of the Guyana Highlands and the Brazilian Highlands

mountains

Andes : called western mountains, from Venezuela in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south , young fold mountain second highest mountain system in the world ,next to Himalaya , world’s largest mountain ranges above sea level Mt Aconcagua(6959m)in Argentina : tallest mountain in western hemisphere Cotopaxi in Ecuador: highest active volcano in the world.

rivers

Amazon: world’s second longest river but has the largest drainage basin , Orinoco, Parana, Paraguay , The Rio de le Plata, the Magdalena-Cauca, the San Francisco the Angel Falls in southern-eastern Venezuela- highest water fall in the world

deserts

Atacama, Patagonia

lakes

lake Maracaibo, Lake Titicaca

straits

Strait of Magellan

coastline

32000km , Tierra del Fuego( largest islands ), the Juan Fernandez the Falkland and the Galapagos

Europe

sixth in terms of area of continents ; extends from the arctic Ocean (North) to the Mediterranean Sea , the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains (south) and from the Atlantic Ocean (west)

physical division

Northwest Mountains: include some of the oldest rock formations on earth North European Plains: extends from Urals in east to Atlantic coast in west. The Central Uplands: include the Meseta (Spain and Portugal)The Massif Central and Juna Mountains (France), the Black Forest (Germany) The Alpine System :stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in west to Caspian sea in East

mountains

Alps(covering part of south –eastern France, north Italy, most of Switzerland ,parts of southern Germany, Austria and Northern Yugoslavia), the Apennines, the Alpines Pyrenees, Carpathians, Urals, Balkans The highest mountain peak of Europe is Mount Elbrus (5633m) in the Caucasus.

rivers

Volga: longest river of Europe (flowing thru Russia – Caspian Sea), Danube( 2nd longest river of Europe , drains into Black Sea) , Rhine(flows thru Alps –western Germany – Netherlands- North Sea) ,Po, Dnieper, Don, Vistula, Elbe, Oder

deserts

No desert

lakes

Lake Ladoga (Europe’s largest freshwater lake in Russia). The salt water Caspian sea: which lies partly in Europe and partly in Asia, is the world’s largest lake (Europe’s lowest point). Finland : country of 60000 lakes, known as ‘land of thousand lakes’

straits

Strait of Gibraltar

coastline

60957km

Australia

lies entirely in Southern Hemisphere

physical division

Western Plateau : covers two-third of Australia ; The Nullarbor Plain : vast, dry ,treeless plateau Central Lowlands: Eastern Highlands

mountains

Great Dividing Range , Mount Kosciusky(2228m)- highest peak in Australia

rivers

Murray: originating from the Snowy mountains in Alps , continents’ longest permanently flowing river, fed by Darling in dry season ;Darling

deserts

Gibson Desert, Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert, Simpson Desert ; cover third of Australia

lakes

Lake Eyre (lowest point in Australia)

straits Author----

Bass Strait ; world largest coral reef: Barrier Reef Nisha Dolas