NCERT Book Class 6 Social Science (Geography) Chapter 6 Our Country – India

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OUR COUNTRY – INDIA

India is a country of vast geographical expanse. In the
north, it is bound by the lofty Himalayas. The Arabian
Sea in the west, the Bay of Bengal in the east and the
Indian Ocean in the south, wash the shores of the The peninsula is a piece
Indian peninsula. of land that is
India has an area of about 3.28 million sq. km. The surrounded by water on
north-south extent from Ladakh to Kanyakumari is three sides.
about 3,200 km. And the east-west extent from
Arunachal Pradesh to Kuchchh is about 2,900 km.
The lofty mountains, the Great Indian Desert, the
Northern Plains, the uneven plateau surface and the
coasts and islands present a diversity of landforms.
There is a great variety in the climate, vegetation,
wildlife as well as in the language and culture. In this
diversity, we find unity that is reflected in traditions
that bind us as one nation. India has a population of
more than one hundred twenty crores since the
year 2011. It is the second most populous country of
the world after China. Do you know?
LOCATIONAL SETTING Large countries
which stretch
India is located in the northern hemisphere. The Tropic extensively from
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of Cancer (23 30'N) passes almost halfway through east to west do not have
the country (Figure 6.2). From south to north, main a single Standard Time
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land of India extends between 8 4 ' N and 37 6 ' N for the whole country.
latitudes. From west to east, India extends between The USA and Canada
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68 7'E and 97 25'E longitudes. If we divide the world have seven and six time
into eastern and western hemispheres, which zones respectively. Do you
hemisphere would India belong to? Due to great remember how many
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longitudinal extent of about 29 , there could be a wide time zones are there in
Russia?
differences in local time of places located at two extreme
points of India. As such, the difference between these two