Read and remember in an easy way the -Location -Physical features -Divisions of the Northern Plains -The Satluj basin -The Ganga Basin -The Brahmaputra Basin -Places in the Northern Plain -Importance of the Region

1. SST
3. Fertile Plains of Northern India
Rajashri Bhairamadgi

2. Let’s learn…
 Location
 Physical features
 Divisions of the Northern Plains
 The Satluj basin
 The Ganga Basin
 The Brahmaputra Basin
 Places in the Northern Plain
 Importance of the Region

3. Introduction
 Plains are flat, vast, low-lying areas, where the soils is very
fertile because of the rivers flowing
 Early humans started living in the plains adjacent to rivers
 River deposits alluvial soil (fine, soft and rich in minerals)
 Gangetic plain is most fertile part of India in Northern
area
 Called as food bowl of India

4. Location
 The Northern Plain lies to the south of the great
Himalayas.
 It is bounded by the Thar desert in the west, Purvanchal
ranges in the east and the Southern Plateau in the south.
 The plain stretches from Punjab in the west to Arunachal
Pradesh in the east.
 It is about 2400 Km long

5. Location

6. Physical features
 The Northern Plain is formed by the deposition of soil
brought by the perennial rivers, the Satluj, the Ganga, the
Brahmaputra and their tributaries.
 These rivers originate from the Himalayan ranges and
gush down the mountains with great speed, breaking
down the rocks into pieces and carrying them along.
 When they reach the plains at the foot of the Himalayas,
their speed of flow is reduced and they deposit alluvial
soil there
 The river bed and the plains on its sides together form the
river basin.

7. Physical features
 A basin is a low lying area drained by rivers and their
tributaries. The sediments that these rivers hold become
very dense.
 So, these rivers break into many small rivers called
distributaries forming a triangular piece of land before
joining the sea. This piece of land is known as a delta.
 The Sundarban delta, the largest delta in the world, lies at
the mouth of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra rivers. It
occupies about 4000 square km of area.

8. Divisions of the Northern
Plain
 The Northern Plain is broadly divided into three
parts:
1. The Satluj Basin,
2. The Ganga Basin and
3. The Brahmaputra basin.

9. The Satluj Basin
 The western part of the Northern Fertile Plain is the
Satluj Basin. River Satluj along with its tributary, Beas,
drains the lowland of Punjab and Haryana forming the
Satluj Basin.
 Then it enters into Pakistan to join river Indus. The
region gets very little rainfall.
 The climate is hot in summer and very cold in winter.

10. Bhakra Dam

11. The Ganga Basin
 Source Ganga- Gangotri, Yamuna- Yamunotri
 Glacier melts and forms a perennial river
 Ganga Tributaries- Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak and Kosi
 Yamuna tributaries- Chambal, Betwa
 Triveni Sangam- Ganga, Yamuna, Sarswati

12. Triveni Sangam

13. The Brahmaputra Basin
 This is the eastern part of the Northern Fertile Plain.
 The Brahmaputra basin is very narrow, as compared to
the Ganga basin.
 River Brahmaputra has its origin in Tibet near
Manasarovar lake, where it is called Tsangpo
 it joins one of the distributaries of river Ganga and forms
the largest delta in the world, known as the Sundarbans.
This region is very swampy and is covered with dense
forests called the tidal forests.

14. Places in the Northern Plain
The Satluj Basin:
 Punjab and Haryana are located here. The plain is very
fertile and wheat is grown here extensively.
 The other crops that grow here are rice, pulses, cotton,
sugarcane and oilseeds. Amritsar, Jalandhar, Chandigarh,
Ambala and Ludhiana are the famous cities of this region.

15. Places in the Northern Plain
The Ganga Basin:
 Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal and parts of
Madhya Pradesh are located in this region.
 Rice, wheat, sugarcane, pulses, oilseeds and jute are the
major crops of this area. Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, Haridwar,
Meerut, Lucknow, Patna and Kolkata are the most
important cities of this river basin.
 Rajgir and Bodh Gaya are famous tourist centres.

16. Places in the Northern Plain
The Brahmaputra Basin:
 Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya are the states
through which river Brahmaputra flows. This area, being
surrounded by hills, has less population.
 Tea cultivation and terrace farming are dominant in
Brahmaputra valley. Growing crops o n the long narrow
terraces cut along the slopes of the mountains is known as
terrace farming.
 In this type of farming, rainwater gets drained but the soil stays
moist throughout. Rice and jute are also grown here.
Dibrugarh, Digboi, Guwahati and Shillong are the major cities
of this region.

17. People of the Northern Plain
 Most people living in this areas are farmer. As the soil is
very fertile.
 Favorable climatic conditions,, irrigation is possible.
 People work in sugar, cotton, jute, textile, paper, leather,
fertilizer and chemical industries.
 People are artisan, makes handicrafts from wood, metal
and clay.

18. People of the Northern Plain
 In general, men wear dhoti, kurta, waistcoat and turban.
Women wear salwar kameez or Saree and blouse in
different styles. In big cities. people also wear trousers,
Shirts, Suits, etc.
 Women too wear these along with other western dresses

19. People of the Northern Plain

20. Importance of the Region
 It supports large population.
 Major perennial rivers and their tributaries are useful for
irrigation, hydro-electric power generation, fishing and
inland navigation.
 The alluvial soil brought by the rivers is very suitable for
agriculture. The agricultural products are used as raw
materials for industries.
 The flat land helps in laying of roads and railways without
any difficulty.