NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science Geography Chapter 8

The tropical region lies very close to the equator; between 10°N and 10°S. So, it is referred to as the equatorial region.

The place where a river flows into another body of water is called the river’s mouth. For example, numerous tributaries join the Amazon River to form the Amazon basin.

The Amazon Basin stretches directly on the equator and is characterized by hot and wet climate
throughout the year. Both day and nights are almost equally hot and humid. The skin feels sticky. It rains almost every day, that too without much warning. The day temperatures are high with very high humidity. At night the temperature goes down but the humidity remains high.

People grow most of their food in small areas after clearing some trees in the forest. While men hunt and fish along the rivers, women take care of the crops. They mainly grow tapioca, pineapple and sweet potato. As hunting and fishing are uncertain it is the women who keep their families alive by feeding them the vegetables they grow. They practice “slash and burn agriculture”. The staple food is manioc, also known as cassava that grows under the ground like the potato. They also eat queen ants and egg sacs. Cash crops like coffee, maize and cocoa are also grown.

The rain-forests provide a lot of wood for the houses. Some families live in thatched houses shaped like beehives. There are other large apartment-like houses called “Maloca” with a steeply slanting roof.

The tributaries of rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra together form the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin in the Indian subcontinent. The basin lies in the sub-tropical region that is situated between 10°N to 30°N latitudes.

The basin area has varied topography. The environment plays a dominant role in the distribution
of the population. The mountain areas with steep slopes have inhospitable terrain. Therefore, less number of people live in the mountain area of the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. The plain area provides the most suitable land for human habitation. The soil is fertile. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people where flat land is available to grow crops. The density of population of the plains is very high. The main crop is paddy. Since cultivation of paddy requires sufficient water, it is grown in the areas where the amount of rainfall is high.

The main crop is paddy. Wheat, maize, sorghum, gram and millets are the other crops that are grown. Cash crops like sugarcane and jute are also grown. Banana plantations are seen in some areas of the plain. In West Bengal and Assam tea is grown in plantations. Silk is produced through the cultivation of silk worms in parts of Bihar and Assam. In the mountains and hills, where the slopes are gentle, crops are grown on terraces.