Chapter 1 – Location Questions and Answers: NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Geography (Geography: India Physical Environment)

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below:
Question 1(i).
Which one of the following latitudinal extent is relevant for the extent of India’s area?
(a) 8°41’N – 35°7′ N
(b) 8°4’N – 37°6′ N
(c) 8°4’N – 35°6′ N
(d) 6°45’N – 37°6′ N.

Answer:
(b) 8°4’N – 37°6′ N

Question 1(ii).
Which one of the following countries shares the longest land frontier with India?
(a) Bangladesh
(b) China
(c) Pakistan
(d) Myanmar.

Answer:
(a) Bangladesh

Question 1(iii).
Which one of the following countries is larger in area than India?
(a) China
(b) Egypt
(c) France
(d) Iran.

Answer:
(a) China

Question 1(iv).
Which one of the following longitudes is the standard meridian for India?
(a) 69°30′ E
(b) 82°30′ E
(c) 75°30′ E
(d) 90°30′ E.

Answer:
(b) 82°30′ E.

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
Question 2(i).
Does India need to have more than one standard time? If yes, why do you think so?

Answer:
Yes, I think India needs to have more than one standard time.
There is time variation of 2 hours between Easternmost and the Westernmost parts of our country. The sun rises two hours earlier in Arunachal Pradesh as compared to Gujarat.
This is because the earth is tilted and also it rotates in east to west direction. So while rotation, the Eastern parts of the world experiences the sun rays earlier as compared to the western parts of the world.
Many countries like USA, Canada and Russia have more than one standard time because their longitudinal extent is large. India’s longitudinal extent is also 30° approximately. Therefore, it is advisable to use more than one standard time.

Question 2(ii).
What are the implications of India having a long coastline?

Answer:
The total length of Coastline is 7,516.6 km.
India is a southward extension of the Asian continent. The trans Indian Ocean routes which connect the countries of Europe in the west and the countries of East Asia provide a strategic central location to India.
The Deccan Peninsular protrudes into the Indian Ocean, thus helping India to establish close contact with west Asia, Africa and Europe from the Western coast and with Southeast Asia and East Asia from the Eastern coast.
No other country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has and indeed, it is India’s eminent position in the Indian Ocean which justifies the naming of an Ocean after it.

Question 2(iii).
How is the latitudinal spread of India advantageous to her?

Answer:
There are three major advantages of latitudinal extent-
1. Tropic of cancer (23 1/2°.) – It divides India into 2 parts. Southern part is in the tropical zone while northern part is in the temperate zone. Therefore biodiversity in India is exceptional.
2. It also brings climatic diversity in India which has many advantages.
3. As we move from Kannyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir duration of day and night decreases by more than 4 1/2 hours.
4. We have places of all climates. It makes India a subcontinent.

Question 2(iv).
While the sun rises earlier in the east, say Nagaland and also sets earlier, how do the watches at Kohima and New Delhi show the same time?

Answer:
While the sun rises earlier in the east, say Nagaland and also sets earlier but the watches at Kohima and New Delhi show the same time because India follows one standard time all over its land. It is time shown at standard meridian of India. There is a general understanding among the countries of the world to select the Standard Meridian in multiples of 7° 30′ of longitude. Hence , 82°30′ E is chosen as the Standard Meridian of India and the time along the Standard Meridian of India passing through Mirzapur is taken as the Standard Time for the whole country.
Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1.
Which of the following country is not included in Indian subcontinent?
(a) Pakistan
(b) Nepal
(c) Bangladesh
(d) Maldives.

Answer:
(d) Maldives

Question 2.
What is India’s position from point of view of area?.
(a) Second
(b) Fifth
(c) Seventh
(d) Ninth.

Answer:
(c) Seventh

Question 3.
How much is the area of India?
(a) 328.7 million sq. Km
(b) 368.7 million sq. Km
(c) 288.5 million sq. Km
(d) 338.9 sq. Km.

Answer:
(a) 328.7 million sq. Km

Question 4.
How much is the longitudinal and latitudinal extent of India?
(a) 30 degree
(b) 45 degree
(c) 36 degree
(d) 40 degree.

Answer:
(a) 30 degree

Question 5.
What is the length of India from north to south? .
(a) 3214 km
(b) 2856 km
(c) 2933 km
(d) 2850 km.

Answer:
(a) 3214 km

Question 6.
What is the length of India from east to west?
(a) 3214 km
(b) 2856 km
(c) 2933 km
(d) 2850 km.

Answer:
(c) 2933 km

Question 7.
What is the percent share of India’s total area to world’s area?
(a) 4.5%
(b) 3.2%
(c) 2.4%
(d) 2.8%.

Answer:
(c) 2.4%

Question 8.
Himalayas in the north, Hindukush and Sulaiman ranges in the north-west, Purvachal hills in the north-east and by the large expanse of the Indian ocean in the south, it forms a great geographic entity which is called:
(a) Continent
(b) Subcontinent
(c) Indian Subcontinent
(d) Strait.

Answer:
(c) Indian Subcontinent

Question 9.
What separates India from Srilanka?
(a) Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait.
(b) Bay of Hudson
(c) Bay of Bengal
(d) Bay of Biscay.

Answer:
(a) Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait.

Question 10.
What is the length of the entire geographical coast of the mainland plus the island groups?
(a) 6204 km
(b) 6408 km
(c) 7517 km
(d) 6869 km.

Answer:
(c) 7517 km.

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What do you mean by Indian subcontinent?

Answer:
Himalayas in the north, Hindukush and Sulaiman ranges in the north-west, Purvachal hills in the north-east and by the large expanse of the Indian ocean in the south forms a great geographic entity known as the Indian subcontinent.

Question 2.
Name the two southernmost neighbours of India.

Answer:
Maldives and Srilanka are the two southernmost neighbours of India.

Question 3.
Name the northernmost neighbour of India.

Answer:
China.

Question 4.
Name the easternmost neighbour of India

Answer:
Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Question 5.
Name the countries with which India shares its boundaries in the north-west?

Answer:
Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Question 6.
Name the countries with which India share its boundaries in the north-east?

Answer:
Nepal and Bhutan.

Question 7.
India and Srilanka are separated by what?

Answer:
Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.

Question 8.
Which countries are included in Indian subcontinent?

Answer:
It includes the countries — Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India.

Question 9.
What is the length of landmass of India?

Answer:
15200 km.

Question 10.
What is the length of international border between India and Pakistan?

Answer:
3310 km.

Question 11.
Name the southernmost part of India.

Answer:
Indira Point.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Why is there a time variation of 2 hours between the easternmost and westernmost part of the country?

Answer:
Longitudinal extent of India is 68°7′ to 97°25′ E-(2-9°). There is time variation of 2 hours between easternmost and the westernmost parts of our country. The sun rises two hours earlier in Arunachal Pradesh as compared to Gujarat. This is because the earth is tilted and also it rotates in east to west direction. So while rotation, the eastern parts of the world experiences the sun rays earlier as compared to the western parts of the world.
1 degree = 4 minutes
30 degree = 4 x 30 = 120 minutes
120 minutes = 2 hours

Question 2.
What is the size of India with reference to the World? Name the countries larger in area than India? Explain the location of India on the globe?

Answer:
The size of India is 3.28 million square km which accounts for 2.6% of the total land of the world. India is the seventh largest country in the world. The following countries are larger in area.than India: Russia, China, Canada, Brazil and Australia.
India lies entirely in the Northern hemisphere. The mainland extends (Kanniyakumari, Cape Caverian) and 37°6′ N (Indira col, Jammu and Kashmir) and longitudes 68°7′ E (Dwarka, Gujarat) and 97°25′ E (Sadiya, Arunachal Pradesh).
India’s territorial limit extends towards the sea upto 12 nautical miles ( about 21.9km) from the coast.

Question 3.
Explain in detail about the neighbouring countries of India.

Answer:
India is bounded by the Himalayas in the north, Hindukush and Sulaiman ranges in the north- west, Purvachal hills in the north-east and by the large expanse of the Indian ocean in the south, it forms a great geographic entity known as the Indian subcontinent. It includes the countries — Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan. Bangladesh and India. India is located in the south-central part of the continent of Asia, bordering the Indian ocean and its two arms extending in the form of Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, This maritime location of Peninsular India has provided links to its neighbouring regions through the sea and air routes. Sri Lanka and Maldives are the two island countries located in the Indian Ocean, which are our neighbours. Sri Lanka is separated from India by the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait.

Question 4.
What is a Gulf?

Answer:
A gulf can be described as a large body of water that is almost encircled by land except for a small mouth that is opened out to the ocean. While it can be described as a large bay, the Gulf of Mexico is considered to be the largest in the world consisting of a total surface area of about 1,554,000 square kilometres. It is surrounded by the southern coast of the United States, Mexico and Cuba while also being comprised of several bays such as the Mobile Bay in Alabama and the Matagorda Bay in Texas. With typically less windy environment than open areas of the coast, gulfs have proved themselves as valuable town areas as they provide easy access to the sea while being protected as well.

Question 5.
What is a Strait?

Answer:
A strait can be defined as a naturally formed narrow strip of water between two continents, islands or two larger bodies of water. It is usually used for navigational purposes and is sometimes referred to as a channel when it is found between two land masses. Firth is another term often used to refer to straits, although sometimes varying in definition according to the context and the nature of the strait. Straits have served as a crucial part for shipping routes and wars have been fought over the control of straits due to their paramount importance. The strait of Gibraltar that separates northern Africa from the Rock of Gibraltar on the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula is perhaps the world’s most famous strait as this is the shipping route that was most utilized for all commercial purposes between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Question 6.
What is a Bay?

Answer:
A bay is formed when the water from an ocean or a sea stops because of land mass. There is a small inlet passage before the water body becomes large, and then it gets surrounded by land on three sides, to be called a bay, depending upon the people who name it accordingly. Mostly these water bodies have been named as bays depending upon the perception of the people viewing it. If they think they are small, then the smaller ones have been called bays.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Size of India has endowed India with unique physical diversity. Substantiate.

Answer:
The size of India has endowed her with great physical diversity. The presence of lofty mountains in the north; large rivers such as Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Krishna, Godavari and Kaveri; green forested hills in the north-east and south India; and the vast sandy expanse of Marusthali is very impressive. It is bounded by the Himalayas in the north, Hindukush and Sulaiman ranges in the north-west, Purvachal hills in the north-east and by the large expanse of the Indian ocean in the south. The Himalayas, together with other ranges, have acted as a formidable physical barrier in the past. Except for a few mountain passes such as the Khyber, the Bolan, the Shipkila, the Nathula, the Bomdila, etc. it was difficult to cross it.
It has contributed towards the evolving of a unique regional identity of the Indian subcontinent. Peninsular part of India extends towards the Indian Ocean. This has provided the country with a coastline of 6,100 km in the mainland and 7,517 km in the entire geographical coast of the mainland plus the island groups Andaman and Nicobar located in the Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea. Thus India, as a country, is a physically diverse land providing occurrence of varied resources.

Question 2.
Explain in detail about size and extension of India.

Answer:
Total area of India republic is 32,87,263 sq. Km. From the point of view of area, India is seventh largest country of the world. Its population is 1210 million and it has second position in the world after china from population point of view. The mainland of India, extends from Kashmir in the north to Kanniyakumari in the south and Arunachal Pradesh in the east to Gujarat in the west. India extends from territorial limit further extends towards the sea upto 12 nautical miles (about 21.9 km) from the coast. India lies entirely in the Northern hemisphere. The mainland extends between latitudes 8 4′ N (Kanniyakumari, Cape Caverian) and 37 6′ N ( Indira col, Jammu and Kashmir) and longitudes 68 7′ E (Dwarka, Gujarat) and 97 25′ E (Sadiya, Arunachal Pradesh).
Longitudinal extent of India is 68 7′ to 97 25′ E -(29 ). India’s land length is 15,200 km and it has a coastline of 6,100 km in the mainland and 7,517 km in the entire geographical coast of the mainland plus the island groups Andaman and Nicobar located in the Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea Thus India, as a country, is a physically diverse land providing occurrence of varied resources. India is located in the south-central part of the continent of Asia, bordering the Indian Ocean and its two arms extending in the form of Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. This maritime location of Peninsular India has provided links to its neighbouring regions through the sea and air routes.

Question 3.
Differentiate the following:
(a) Gulf and Strait
(b) Gulf and Bay

Answer:
(a) Gulf and strait are two terms that are often discussed when it comes to geography. As gulfs and straits are both common features in seafaring. It is easy to confuse these two words. However, each feature has their own unique characteristics which in turn give them a unique purpose in the history of mankind.
Meaning: A gulf is a large body of water almost encircled by land except for a small mouth that opens out to the sea. A strait is a strip of water that separates two lands or two large bodies of water.
Use: Straits are used for navigational purposes and have played an integral part when it comes to shipping routes. Gulfs are more useful for human settlements, as such areas provide easy access to the ocean while being well protected as well.
Association: Gulfs can be easily associated with inland bodies of water as well as the ocean. Straits are mostly discussed with regards to the ocean.
(b) Difference between Gulf and Bay
A bay is not as enclosed by land masses as a gulf.
Gulf is formed because of erosion of the rocks as water makes inroads into adjoining land.
Gulfs take any form while bays are mostly oval or round shaped.