HUMAN ENVIRONMENT, SETTLEMENT, TRANSPORTS AND COMMUNICATION

 

 

CLASS-VII GEOGRAPHY

CHAPTER 7.        HUMAN ENVIRONMENT, SETTLEMENT, TRANSPORTS AND COMMUNICATION

 

SETTLEMENTS

•        Where people built homes

•        Earlier on trees and caves

•        Then permanent houses

•        Mainly near rivers, fertile areas and near water sources

•        Slowly became large

 

TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS

•        Temporary: Occupied for short period of time – forests, deserts, mountains – Hunting, shifting cultivation, Transhumance (seasonal movement of people)

•        Permanent:

•        Rural: Compact (closely built) or scattered (extensive)

•        Scattered in Hills and Extensive forests

•        Slanting roof: Rainy areas

•        Stilts: Accumulation of water in rains

•        Hot areas: Thick mud wall with thatched roofs

•        Urban: Towns (small), Cities (large)

 

TRANSPORT

•        Means by which people and goods move

•        Earlier- Walked and animals carried goods (donkeys, mules, camels, and bullocks, S. America – Liamas, Tibet – Yaks)

•        Later- Invention of wheel

•        Roadways

•        Railways

•        Airways

•        Waterways

ROADWAYS

•        Most common for short distances

•        Metalled (pucca)

•        Unmetalled (kutcha)

•        Subways (underpath)

•        Flyover – Above the structure

•        Manali – Leh highway (amongst world’s highest roadways)

 

RAILWAYS

•        Over long distances

•        Cheaper method

•        Steam engine- industrial revolution

•        Diesel and Electric Engines

•        Superfast trains

•        India rail network is longest in Asia

 

 

•        Trans- Siberian Railway- longest in world: from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok- Russia

 

WATERWAYS

•        Cheapest to carry goods for long distances

•        Inland water ways – Navigable rivers (Ganga- Brahmaputra; Nile-Africa) and lakes (Grand lakes – N.America - USA)

•        Sea routes- from one country to another

•        Major ports- Mumbai, Los angels, Singapore, Sydney, Rotterdam

 

AIRWAYS

•        Fastest means of transport

•        Expensive- higher cost of fuels

•        Affected by fog and storms

•        For inaccessible areas (helicopters)

•        In natural calamities – to rescue and provide food

 

COMMUNICATION

•        Process of conveying messages

•        Messages by birds

•        postal system

•        Print media

•        Electronic media – e-mails, internet

•        Mass media – communicate to large no. of people- NP, TV, Radio

•        Satellites- for faster communication- for oil exploration, forest, water, minerals, weather, disaster warning

•        Wireless communication: cellular phones

 

 

 

 

THE END