Write short notes on the Northern Plains and the Indian Desert.

Northern plains lie in the south of Himalayas Mountains and north of Deccan plateau. It is formed by flooding of three major rivers- Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra. It is drained by many other rivers like Yamuna, Ghaghara, Gandak, etc. These are perennial rivers which flow throughout the year which helps plains maintain their fertility. It has the largest tract of 3200 km of alluvial soil in the world. The soil of these plains is very fertile. Many people live here who are dependent on agriculture for livelihood.

The Thar Desert is also known as Great Indian Desert. It is an arid region which lies in West Rajasthan and Gujarat. Some of the features include:

i. The climate in this region is very extreme. In the day, the temperature gets up to 50 degrees whereas in the night it gets drop below 0 degrees.

ii. It is a very dry area. Some of the regions of Thar Desert experience very low rainfall.

iii. The natural vegetation of this area includes thorn scrub forest.

iv. It is the most widely populated desert area in the world.