The great indian desert and the environment

1. THE GREAT INDIAN
DESERT

2. NASA SATALLITE IMAGE

3. MAP

4. INTRODUCTION
• Total area=446,000 sq. kms.
• Out of that area covered in INDIA is 208,110 sq.
kms.
• Spans over four states-
Rajasthan(61%),
Gujarat(20%),
Punjab
Hariyana.

5. INTRODUCTION
• Bounded by Aravallis in east, Rann of Kutch in
south, plains of Hariyana and Punjab in North
and Indus valleys of Pakistan in West.
• Most populated Desert in World.
• In Pakistan it is called Cholistan Desert.

6. BOUNDARIES OF THAR

7. EVOLUTION OF THAR DESERT
Contradicting theories.

8. EVOLUTION OF THAR DESERT
• Archeological evidence
the region was once a flourishing green country-
side with thick forests and river-systems of which
‘Saraswati’ and ‘Yamuna’ were the most
important.
• About 4,000 years ago this area supported what
is considered to be one of the world's oldest
civilizations, the Mohenjo Daro and Harappa
also known as Indus Valley Civilization.
• One prediction is that the over-exploitation of
land and water resources since the earliest
times has made this place a desert.

9. Evolution
• Another theory
• Epigraphic evidence by Landsat Satellites
Imagery
• Underground tectonic movements changed the
course of Yamuna and Saraswati.

10. Evolution
• Yet another theory…!!!
• Thar Desert was all under Arabian Sea.
• The Great Arabian Sea then changed its route.

11. PHYSICAL FEATURES
• Latitudes 23°3 and 30°12 North
• Longitudes 63°30 and 70°18 East.
• Landforms of Thar Desert are:-
1. The predominantly sand covered Thar
2. Plains with hills including the central
dune-free country
3.Hills

12. • Population is increasing at very higher rate.
• Average growth rate is 3.9 % per year
• Thar constitutes one of the five major physical
divisions of India;.

13. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
Characterized by
• High Velocity Wind.
• High Shifting Sand-dunes.
• Scarce Rainfall.
• Intense Solar Radiations.
• High rate of Evaporation.
• Annual Temperature : extreme variation ranging
from 50C in Summer to near freezing point in
Winter.

14. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
• Annual Rainfall = 100 mm to 500mm
• 90% of which falls between July and
September.
• Out of every 10 years, 4 years are “DROUGHT”
years.
• All conditions are hostile for existence of life.

15. RESOURCES
• Agriculture and animal husbandry
• Out of 4.5 million acres, 3.4 million is cultivable
land and the remaining, about 24% ,is the
grazing land for cattle and livestock and the
waste land.
• Rainfall is very erratic, a pattern of mixed
farming has been developed in which human
and animal populations benefit from each other.

16. Agriculture
• Pearl Millet or Bajra is the
main monsoonal crop.
• The other common crops
are:
Mong ,Moth and Til.
• Cash crops grown in IG
canal irrigated region
includes Groundnut ,
Cotton , Rice , Sugarcane
, Wheat and Barley .

17. Oil Fields
• Just over three years ago Cairn Energy had
discovered Mangala oil field in the state.
• To date Cairn (and previously Shell) have drilled
144 wells during the exploration stage of which
22 were discoveries.
Actually there are 16 different oil and gas fields.
• Major ones are Mangala, Bhagyam and
Aishwariya.

18. Oil Fields
• Estimated to contain oil in volumes of 3.6 Billion
Barrels of which 500 million barrels are thought
to be recoverable.
• The targeted gross production from these three
fields is 150,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd),
estimated to last for 30 years.
• The state cabinet approved the formation of
Rajasthan State Petroleum Corp Ltd.

19. Minerals
• rich in mineral resources.
• The chief minerals are
• Bentonite, Sandstone, Fuller's earth, gypsum,
dolomite, asbestos, lignite and limestone.
• Gypsum mining has become very popular in
Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jaisalmer etc.
• Rajasthan accounts for nearly 90% of the
country's gypsum production.

20. MINERALS
• Granite rock formation is found in the
Nagarparkar region of Thar.
• More than 50 Salt mines are found in the
southern belt of Thar.
• Coal has been found around 45 kilometers
radius around Islamkot.

21. SALT MINE

22. Solar Energy
• The Great Indian Desert receives more
Solar energy than many areas closer to
equater.
• Energy inflow : avg. 275 W/m²
• The quantum of energy received by
Rajasthan State alone is more than
sufficient to meet the world’s annual
energy demands.
• Solar intensity in the region varies from
5.85 to 6.44 kW/m²/day.
• Sun is available for 345-355 days in a

23. Wind Energy
• Very high wind velocity (up to 45
km/hr for some 3000 hrs/year ).
• Avg. wind speed : 15 to 30 km/hr.
• Electricity production
• Water pumping
• On this wind velocity 25 feet diameter
Low Speed Windmill can pump 12000
gallons water/day from a depth of
120-150 feet.

24. VEGETATION
• Stunted scrub and a few sporadic trees.
• 700 species of plants are found
• 107 are of grass alone.
• These plants are deep-rooted and tenacious
enough to withstand extended droughts and yet
efficient enough to gain biomass rapidly during a
favorable season.
• The local grasses are generally prolific seeders,
and most of the species are palatable, fairly
nutritious and rich in minerals, including trace
elements

25. Wildlife
• several species have evolved to survive the
extreme conditions here.
• There are overall 41 species of mammals.
• Sheeps, Goats,Camel, blackbuck, Chinkara,
Donkeys and Horses.
• At present there are about 4.6 million cattle and
livestock

26. CAMEL THE DESERT RIDER

27. Wildlife
Among the 141
birds known in
this eco-region,
the GREAT
INDIAN
BUSTARD is a
globally
threatened
species.

28. Wildlife
• About 23 species of lizard and 25 species of
snakes are found here and several of them are
endemic to the region .
• At present, there are ten times more animals/
person in Rajasthan than the national average

29. Tourism
In Thar there are only three protected
areas:
• 1. Desert National Park (3,162 sq.km )
• 2. Gajner Wildlife Sactuary (24 sq. km )
• 3. Tal Chhaper Blackbuck Sanctuary
(7 sq.km) .
• Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and
Barmer are famous for historical
monuments.
• Thar festival is a significant part of
Thar's cultural life.

30. Water Resources
With frequent droughts, poor drainage and low
rainfall, the inhabitants of the Thar desert were
used to face acute scarcity of drinking water
before the development of Indra Gandhi Nahar
Project(IGNP).
• IGNP (Rajasthan Canal) was started in 1958.
• A water canal bring the sweet Himalayan waters
to the desert region.
• The canal is still not fully complete .
• The IG Canal, has a capacity to flow 524 cubic
m of water/sec.

31. Water Resources
• The total length of the main canal ,at present, is
649 km from Harike barrage in Punjab to
Mohangarh in Jaisalmer.
• In addition to the main canal, feeder channels
are estimated to total nearly 8,000 km in length
after completion.
• Other sources of water are wells and tube-wells.
• The only river flowing through the desert is Luni

32. DESERTIFICATION
• Spreading 12000 hectares/yr.
• Degrading the productive land
• Advancing towards the national capital New
Delhi at the rate of 0.5 km/yr.
• This expansion is due to both Natural and Man
Maintained phenomena.

33. CAUSES OF DESERTIFICATION
• Over-Grazing by Animals
• Shifting of Sand-Dunes
• Poaching ( illegal hunting )
• Tree Cutting
• Over Exploitation of resources

34. Delhi a desert town by 2050?
• This is a big question
• After this rate of expansion of Thar ,will our
National Capital “DELHI” be a desert town by
2050???????
• Can we do something to stop expansion of
THAR??

35. MEASURES TAKEN
• Sand dune fixation work
• Silvipastoral plantations
• Village fodder and fuel wood plantation
• Shelterbelt plantation
• Ecological regeneration
• Restoration and rehabilitation of degraded
desert lands
• Afforestation on barren hills
• Re-seeding of old pastures and farm forestry
Wildlife

36. World Day to Combat
Desertification 2009
• "Conserving land and
water = Securing our
common future"
17 June 2009

37. PRESENTATION MADE BY…
• PARTH KANUNGO
• PARV GUPTA
• PAWAN PAREEK
• PEEYUSH GUPTA
• PRANKUR
• PRABHAKAR PANDEY