Maharashtra Board Class 11 Geography Solution Chapter 4 Climatic Regions
Balbharati Maharashtra Board Class 11 Geography Solution Chapter 4: Climatic Regions. Marathi or English Medium Students of Class 11 get here Climatic Regions full Exercise Solution.
Std |
Maharashtra Class 11 |
Subject |
Geography |
Chapter |
4 |
Chapter Name |
Climatic Regions |
- 1) Write the names of climatic regions according to the factors that dominate their characteristics :
Latitudinal location | Winds and wind systems | Proximity to sea | Continental location | Altitude |
Answer –
Climatic Regions | Latitudinal location | Winds and wind systems | Proximity to sea | Continental location | Altitude |
Tropical Monsoon climate | Between 10 & 30 degree North as well as south | On shore in summers & Offshore in winters | Coastal areas | At sea levels | |
Tropical savannah Climate | Between 10 & 20 degrees latitudes North and South | Easterlies, subtropical high | Interiors as well as Coastal areas | ||
Arid Region – Tropical desert | Between 20 – 30 degrees latitudes North & south | Circulation of high and windy conditions | Interior locations | ||
Mediterranean Climate | Between 30 & 40 latitudes North & South | During summer by subtropical highs and during winter by westerlies | Coastal locations | ||
China Type climate | Between 20 & 40degrees North & South | Winter – Cyclonic storms; Summer – on shore humid air movements | East coastal location | ||
Marine west European climate | Between 45 & 60 degrees North & South | Westerlies influence this region | Western coast | ||
Taiga or Sub-Artie climate | Between 55 & 65 degrees North latitudes | Strong polar anticyclones in winter; Westerlies in summer | Distant locations from sea | Continental area | |
Tundra climate | Between 65 & 90 degrees North latitudes | Polar anticyclones | Coastal areas | ||
Ice sheets | Near North & South poles | Polar anticyclones – frequently occur | Interior areas | ||
Mountain or Highland types climate | All mountainous regions | Bitter cold winds | High altitudes |
2) Choose the correct alternative :
- Monsoon region
- annual average temperature around 27° C
- >2500 mm annual precipitation
- Indonesia
- Hard-wood evergreen trees
b)
- Average temperature in Summers around 35° C
- < 2500 mm annual rainfall
- South East Asia
- Hard wood deciduous trees
c)
- Temperatures in summer around 35° C
- 1000 mm annual rainfall
- Continental part of Indian peninsula
- Tall and thick grass
d)
- Average temperatures in summer around 27° C
- 1000 mm rainfall in winter
- South Africa
- Hard–wooded, waxy, evergreen forests
Answer – The correct alternative is
b)
- Average temperature in Summers around 35° C
- < 2500 mm annual rainfall
- South East Asia
- Hard wood deciduous tree
2) The region with high diurnal range of temperature :
a) Tropical rainforests
b) Tropical grasslands
c) Tropical desert regions
d) Tropical Monsoon regions
Answer – The region with high diurnal range of temperature is c) Tropical desert regions
3) Lumbering flourished as an occupation from the Newfoundland to Alaska in North
America because :
a) Tundra Climatic Region
b) Taiga Climatic Region
c) West European Climatic Region
d) China-type climatic region
Answer – Lumbering flourished as an occupation from the Newfoundland to Alaska in North
America because of b) Taiga Climatic Region
4) The main reason behind the months of precipitation in the graphs of Monsoon climatic regions being different is :
a) ITCZ b) orographic rainfall
c) hemispheres are different d) apparent movement of the sun
Answer – The main reason behind the months of precipitation in the graphs of Monsoon climatic regions being different is a) ITCZ – Inter Tropical Convergence Zone.
3) Give geographical reasons :
1) In Monsoon climate region, rainfall occurs in specific season.
Answer – It is known that in monsoon climate regions, rainfall occurs in specific seasons, because of the following reasons –
There is a differential heating as well as cooling pattern of the land and sea areas, causing a low pressure on the land whereas the sea experiences a high pressure. This results in the formation of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).
Movement of the ITCZ is seen northwards to the latitudes 20 – 25 degrees during summers.
After a few months, the moisture bearing summer monsoon is replaced by the dry north east monsoon.
During this time the ITCZ has shifted to the southern hemisphere. We find that the winds move from sea to land bringing in moisture with them during summers, in the northern hemisphere thereby causing rainfall. By convectional currents, moist air rises, condenses and ultimately precipitates, resulting in heavy rainfall.
Direction of the winds in summer is soth-westerly, while in winters they are north easterly.
In the southern hemisphere similar conditions exist when there are winters in the northern hemisphere and so the process repeats.
2) Taiga region is not found in Southern Hemisphere.
Answer – The main reason for there not being a Taiga region in the southern hemisphere are –
In the southern hemisphere, there is not much of land on higher altitudes with low temperatures, the Antarctic on the other hand is totally ice covered with extreme climatic conditions and therefore cannot be termed a Taiga region.
Most of the land in the southern hemisphere is close to the oceans and as a result is under the influence of heating and cooling patterns, as with the marine areas. Oceanic winds also reduce the extremity or severity of the winters, and also affects the precipitation in the region.
Taiga characterised by the coniferous forests is seen in the northern hemisphere between the latitudes of Tundra and temperate forest.
3) The diurnal range of temperature is more in desert areas.
Answer – the diurnal range of temperature ie the extremity of high and low temperature is more in the desert areas because of the following reasons –
Deserts get heated quickly during the day and cools down rapidly during the night due to the soil composition (mainly sand), lack of vegetation and humidity and cloud cover.
Desert areas are known to receive large amounts of sunlight making temperatures rise very high, which heats up the air, the warmer air due to lack of vegetation or cloud cover, allows it to escape to the atmosphere, while cooler air settles in its place, at a rapid pace.
4) There is no concept of season in equatorial regions.
Answer – The region lying between 0 to 10 degrees latitudes in both the northern and southern hemisphere is referred to as the Equatorial region, since they lie on either side of the equator ( which is the 0 degree latitude).
The equatorial region constantly faces the sun, as the sun is overhead throughout the year, thus experiencing high temperatures. This also is the main reason for the region to experience heavy convectional precipitation.
Days and nights in the equatorial region are of equal lengths and facts that summers are hot and winters are cold do not have any meaning in these areas, therefore there rightly is no concept of seasons at all.
5) The Savannah region is prone to droughts
Answer – The Savannah region typically lies between 10 to 20 degrees North and South, where the temperatures are constantly high, since the sun is almost overhead during the noon.
Wet and dry seasons are distinctly felt in this region, which experiences most of its rainfall during the wet season. However, there is hardly any precipitation during the long dry season, leaving a lengthy dry season which may be prone to drought like conditions.
Long dry seasons with relatively short wet seasons are the sheer characteristics of the Savannah region. When the dry season becomes more severe, they result in drought in the region.
6) Though Mussoorie and Dehradun are located on the same latitude, why is their climate different?
Answer – Though both the places are located on the same latitude, it should be understood that Mussoorie is a hill station at an altitude of 1880m above sea level while Dehradun is located at only 450m above sea level.
Dehradun experiences a sub-tropical climate, where summers are long, hot and humid. During monsoons, Dehradun does experience a good amount of rainfall, while Mussourie gets orographic rainfall averaging 660mm.
Winters in Dehradoon, the temperature varies from lowest of 1degrees to 20degrees with fog, while in Mussourie snowfall is a common phenomenon in the winter months.
4) Differentiate between :
1) Rainforests and Savannah Climatic Regions
Answer – Differences between the Rainforests and the Savannah Climatic Region are stated as under ; –
a) Location – The Equatorial rainforests are located between 0 & 10 degrees latitudes both North and South of the equator, where as the Savannah Climatic region lies between 10 & 20 degrees North & South.
b) With respect to Temperature – Since the Equatorial rain forests are very close to the equator, the temperature is high (at about 27 – 30 degrees Centigrade ) throughout the year irrespective of the seasons, while in the Savannah region, Summers and .winters are distinctly felt. Summer temperatures are round 30 – 35 degrees Centigrade while winters are around 20 – 24 degrees Centigrade.
c) Rainfall – Equatorial Rainforests experience heavy rainfall due to rapid evaporation, wind conditions (around 2500mm to 3000mm ) throughout the year, whereas the Savannah Climatic region receives a very average to moderate rainfall of 250mm to 1000 mm .
d) Vegetation – The Equatorial rainforests consists of thick dense evergreen forests due to heavy rainfall and humid climatic conditions, home to herbivores as well as reptiles, while the Savannah region has tall thick elephant grass. The density of forests here is not much and as such this region has both Herbivores, carnivores and scavengers in these grasslands residing here..
e) Parts of the world – The equatorial forests are seen in the Amazon, Congo basin, Indonesia, Malaysia, Central America (east coast), Madagascar, New Guinea where as the Savannah Climatic Region can be seen in South Central Africa, Brazil (Campos). In India, the Savannah Climatic Region can be found in parts of rain shadow zone of Maharashtra, Telengana, Karnataka and also parts of Mizoram.
2) Taiga and Tundra regions
Answer – The differences between Taiga and Tundra regions can be stated as follows : –
Taiga Region – The Taiga region is ideally located between 55 to 65degrees in the Northern hemisphere.
Being situated at such latitudinal regions, where the rays of the sun are slanted, the summers are short and cold with temperatures ranging from 15 – 20degrees centigrade. Winters are long, chill and sub-zero.
Precipitation can be seen throughout the year – rain in summers (around 300 – 500mm ) and snowfall during winters. Drizzle, fog and cold pole ward winds also seen in this region.
Vegetation is found by presence of Coniferous forests and animals with fur like bear, foxes, moose can be seen.
People living here have hunting gathering as their occupation
The regions of North America around Alaska, Northern Eurasia from Scandinavia through Siberia to Bering Sea are all the Taiga Region.
Tundra Region – Tundra region is located between 65 – 90 degrees in Northern hemisphere.
It is further north in comparison to the Taiga region and temperatures are lower. Summers are colder around 10 degrees Centigrade.
Winters are extremely cold with temperatures being – 20 to -30degrees Centigrade. Precipitation in the form of snow around 300 – 500mm.
Tundra region is close to the sea coasts and proximity to the sea makes coastal fog often visible in this region.
There is hardly any vegetation at all, melting of ice occasionally forms swamps. Animals like polar bear and seal can be seen.
People in the Tundra region have hunting and fishing as their main occupation.
North American borderlands of Arctic Ocean, Greenland, Eurasia are some of the places where Tundra region can be seen.
3) Monsoon and Mediterranean Regions
Answer – The differences between Monsoon region and Mediterranean region is as follows ; –
Monsoon Region – Monsoon region is located between 10 & 30 degrees in the Northern and Southern hemisphere.
Temperature – There is a high variance Summer temperatures ranging from 27 to 32 degrees Centigrade while winter temperatures range from 15 – 24 degrees Centigrade.
There is a very wet rainy season in this region, annual precipitation ranges from 250 – 2500mm.
In the monsoon region, there are the tropical rainforests, dense jungles which mainly account for the vegetation.
People living here practice agriculture as their main occupation.
The Monsoon region comprise of South East Asia, South West Africa, Coastal areas of Western India, southeast Brazil, Northern parts of Australia and some parts of Japan that face the monsoon winds.
Mediterranean Region – This region lies in the Western coastal areas between 30 – 40 degrees North and South.
Temperature – Summers are dry, warm with temperatures ranging from 21 – 27degrees Centigrade while winters are moist, with temperatures ranging from 10 – 14degrees centigrade.
Annual rainfall is around 500 – 1000 mm, mainly in winters.
Vegetation mainly comprises of scrub, forests with trees having evergreen leaves. Higher altitudes are seen to have coniferous forests. Grapes, Olives, Citrus fruits grow during the winters.
People living here earn by the Tourism industry, which is common in these areas.
The Mediterranean climatic region is mainly seen in the borders the Mediterranean sea, central parts of Chile, Southern and south west Australia, Cape Town in South Africa, parts of Japan.
5) Answer in detail :
1) Explain, with examples, the effect of latitude on a place’s climate.
Answer – The effect of Latitudes on place’s climate can be clearly understood by the following examples –
Places at latitudes close to the equator – Equatorial Region
Equatorial Region – This region is ideally located at 5 – 10degrees North and South of the equator.
Temperatures here are often almost the same throughout the year. The Sun is close to being directly overhead, therefore receiving direst rays from the sun.
Days and nights are almost of equal length remains nearly constant throughout the year and the seasons concept of summer or winter does not exist here.
Due to the ITCZ (Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone) of low pressure in equatorial regions and the converging northeast and southeast Trade winds which keep moving north or south with the movement of the south, heavy precipitation is seen in the region ranging from 2500 – 3000mm (annually).
Rainfall also results by the effect of the convectional currents of the doldrums, unstable conditions along the ITCZ and low pressure, whereby, the moist air rises, condenses and consequently rainfall occurs on a daily basis.
Heavy rainfall, moist and humid conditions result in evergreen dense rain forests in these areas. Example the Amazon basin.
Places at latitudes away from the equator –
Temperature decreases with the increase in distance from the equator, mainly because of the decreasing angle of the sun’s ray.
The tropics for example receive sun’s rays in a slanted manner, thereby, it covers a grater area but lesser in heat. The Tropic of cancer is at 23 ½ degrees North passing through India while the Tropic of Capricorn is at 23 ½ degrees south.
Further towards the poles, at 66 ½ degrees north or 66 ½ degrees south, regions become extremely cold due to the fact that sun’s rays are extremely slanted and for very little time, the heat intensity has very little role to play. The polar regions are covered with snow almost throughout the year. These areas experience long and chilly winters and cold short summers.
2) Explain, with examples, how winds affect the climate of a place.
Answer- Winds affect the climate of a place because –
Winds blowing from a place of higher temperature carry the heat wave, while those blowing from a cold area carry lower temperatures, Eg. Cold wind moving from the Himalayas bring in the cold waves to the Deccan plateau.
Winds blowing from sea to the land carry moisture thereby causing rain in the coastal areas. Eg. South west monsoon winds give rain to the west coast of India.
Winds also create hot or cold air when they move about thus affecting the climate of a place. Direction of the wind movement is determined by the variations in temperature.
3) Russia is larger than Chile in area but does not experience climatic diversity as Chile. Explain.
Answer – The respective geographic locations of Russia and Chile are being mentioned below : –
Russia is located 61.5240 degrees North (latitude) and 105.3188 degrees East (longitude) in northern Asia, between Europe (on west) and Pacific Ocean (in east).
Russia is surrounded on the south and west by huge landmasses (Asia in south and Europe in west) and in the north lies the Arctic ocean – snow covered almost throughout the year.
The continental location, makes Russia have dry summers and very cold winters with temperatures of around -30 degrees centigrade. Winter months are from October – March, long, dry and very heavy snowfall is experienced during winters.
Chile on the other hand is located on the western coastline of the continent of South America at 35.6751.8 degrees South and 71.5430 degrees West.
Chile therefore has very less east west extent and has a coastal location.
A great Climatic diversity is found in Chile, with the Atacama desert in the north, extremely cold climate in the east and Mediterranean climate in the central part.
Factors contributing to the climatic diversity in Chile are the mountain ranges in the coastline, Pacific anticyclone, cold Humboldt ocean currents (Atacama desert – near the coast)
Thus inspite of the fact that Russia is many times larger than Chile, Russia in short because of its continental and higher latitudinal position experiences a cold climate, while Chile being close to the coast line, in the South America experiences varied climatic conditions because of the ocean currents, and winds .
4) Explain the factors affecting climate of a place giving examples.
Answer – The factors affecting the climate of a place are : –
a) Latitude
b) Altitude
c) Distance from the sea
d) Winds
e) Ocean currents
a) Latitude – Latitudes are the main factor influencing the climate of a place. Latitudinal places that are closer to the equator or lower degree latitudes have places which are warmer as they face the direct rays of the sun. As the degree of latitudes increase and one moves away from the equator towards the poles, the rays of the sun get slanted, more scattered thereby the region starts getting cooler.
b) Altitude – Altitude does have an effect on the temperature and therefore affects the climate of the region. The temperature decreases with increasing height. So, the higher the altitude of a region from sea level the lower will be its probable temperature. It is believed that there is a drop of about 6.4 degrees centigrade with rise of every 1000 m in altitude. This rate of decrease of temperature with height is called the normal lapse rate.
c) Distance from the sea – The distance of the region from the sea also is a deciding factor for climatic conditions in that region. Though the same amount of heat is received from the sun, land and water reacts differently due to their inherent properties. The land gets heated and cools down quickly, while the water bodies including sea takes a larger time to heat up as well as to cool down. This difference in heating pattern gives rise to the breezes and allows the region nearby to experience a equable climatic condition of neither too hot, nor too cold.
d) Prevailing winds – Winds also play an important role in affecting the climatic condition of an area, as they carry with them heat or cold conditions as well as moisture. Therefore temperature and rainfall are directly affected by winds. Eg. Winds from the Himalayas carry cold conditions to the Deccan plateau, while the South west monsoon winds cause rainfall in the western coastal areas by carrying with them moisture from the sea.
e) Ocean currents – Like winds, ocean currents too have an influence on an area especially in the coastal regions. Warm currents increase the temperature while cold currents decrease the temperature
6) On a world map, show the following areas :
1) Savannah climatic region in Africa
2) Highland climatic region in India
3) Chile and Russia
4) Ice cap climatic region
5) Desert climatic region