India II

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 382.

At the bottom of the Himalayas grow impassable evergreen swampy forests; this is the jungle, the habitat of elephants, rhi­noceroses, tigers and monkeys, as well as of many poisonous snakes. At the higher altitudes there are forests of palm-trees, tree-ferns and many other tropical plants; these are succeeded by forests of evergreen oaks and magnolias, and still higher by thickets of tall and thin bamboo. Then appear coniferous forests that are followed by Alpine meadows which give place to a zone of perennial snow. The foot-hills of the Himalayas present favou­rable conditions for the growing of tea and other valuable sub­tropical and tropical crops.

The lowlands of the Indus and the Ganges lie south of the Himalayas. They are watered by the great rivers: the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. The Ganges and the Brahma­putra rise in the Himalayas and discharge into the Bay of Ben­gal. The Ganges and its larger tributaries are used for naviga­tion.

The lowlands of the Indus and the Ganges are covered with fertile alluvial soils. In spite of the summer monsoons artificial irrigation is necessary in this area like in most other parts of India. The monsoon rains often come too late or cease earlier than is good for the plants, and in such cases the crops greatly suffer from drought. In order to gather in two harvests a year, artificial irrigation has to be resorted to during the droughty winter season. The soils and climate here are particularly favour­able for the growing of rice and sugar-cane. The natural con­ditions in the drier north-west regions of the lowlands are suitab­le for the growing of wheat, and in the east, in the delta of the Ganges, for the growing of jute.

In the extreme west of the country, along the frontier with Pakistan, stretches the Thar Desert. There are areas in this de­sert, where not a single drop of rain falls for years.

The Peninsula of Hindustan is occupied by the Deccan Pla­teau and is composed mainly of rocks. The climate here is more arid. The soils (red earth and black soil) yield good cotton crops. The coastal strips of Hindustan receive heavy rainfall; the na­tural conditions here are favourable for the growing of rubber, rice, tea and tobacco.

India has large deposits of multifarious minerals: coal, oil, iron-ore, manganese ore, etc. The greater part of the mineral de­posits is concentrated on the Peninsula of Hindustan.