Answer:
(i)
The Indian Desert
(a) The Indian desert lies towards the Western margin of the Aravali
hills.
(b) It is an undulating sandy plain covered with sand
dunes.
(c) This region receives very low rainfall, below 150 mm
per year.
(d) It has arid climate with low vegetation cover.
(e) Streams appear during the rainy season. Soon they disappear into the
sand as they do not have enough water to reach the sea.
(f) Luni is the only large river in this region.
(g) Barchans (Crescent shaped dunes) cover the larger areas but
longitudinal dunes become more prominent near the Indo-Pakistan border.
(h) The Indian desert is popularly known as the Thar
desert.
(ii) The Central Highlands
(a) The Peninsular plateau consists of two broad
divisions, namely the Central Highlands and the Deccan plateau.
(b) The part of the Peninsular plateau lying to the North of
the Narmada river covering a major area of the Malwa plateau is known as the
Central Highlands.
(c) They are bound by the Vindhya range from the South and
by the Aravali hills from the North-West.
(d) The further Westward extension gradually merges with the
sandy and rocky desert of Rajasthan.
(e) The flow of the rivers draining this region, namely
the Chambal, Sind, Betwa and Ken is from South-West to North-East.
(f) The Central Highlands are wider in the West, but narrower
in the East.
(g) The Eastward extensions of this plateau are locally known
as 'Bundelkhand' and Baghelkhand.
(h) The Chhotanagpur plateau marks the further Eastward extension
of the plateau and is drained by the Damodar river.
(iii) The Island Groups of India
India has two groups of islands namely, the Lakshadweep
group and the Andaman and Nicobar group.
(a) The Lakshadweep islands group lie close to the Malabar
coast of Kerala.
These are composed of small coral islands.
Earlier, they were known as Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindive.
In 1973, these were renamed as Lakshadweep. They cover a small area of 32
square km.
Kavaratti is the administrative headquarters of Lakshadweep.
This island group has a great diversity of flora and fauna. The Pitti island,
which is uninhabited, has a bird sanctuary.
(b) Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The elongated chain of islands located in the Bay of Bengal
extending from North to South are the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
They are bigger in size and more numerous and scattered
than the Lakshadweep islands.
The entire group of islands is divided into two broad categories,
the Andaman in the North and Nicobar in the South. It is believed that these
islands are an elevated portion of the submarine mountains.
These islands are of great strategic importance for the country.
They have great diversity of flora and fauna.
These islands lie close to the equator, experience equatorial
climate and have thick forest cover.
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