Page 135 - SST Class 08

Plateaus are very useful because they are rich in fore, it is important to use the available land for
mineral deposits. African plateau is famous for various purposes with careful planning to mini-
gold and diamond mining. In India, huge mise its exploitation. Land resources are categor-
reserves of iron, coal and manganese are found ised into the following types on the basis of their
in the Chhotanagpur plateau. In the plateau use :
areas, there may be several waterfalls as the river 1. Forests
falls from a great height. The lava plateaus are
2. Land not Available for Cultivation :
rich in black soils that are fertile and good for
This class consists of following two types of
cultivation. Many plateaus have scenic spots and
land namely :
are of great attraction to tourists.
(a) Barren-and waste lands.
Features of Plateaus
(b) Land used for non-agricultural pur-
1. A plateau is an elevated flat land.
poses, e.g., houses, roads, railways,
2. It is a flat-topped table land standing above factories, rivers, lakes, etc.
the surrounding area.
3. Other Uncultivated Lands : This cate-
3. A plateau may have one or more sides with gory consists of :
steep slopes.
(a) Permanent pastures and grazing lands.
4. The height of plateaus often varies from few
(b) Land under miscellaneous tree crops
hundred meters to several thousand meters.
and groves (not included in net sown
5. Plateaus, like mountains may be young or area).
old.
4. Fallow Land : Fallow land is of two types :
6. The Deccan plateau in India is one of the
(a) ‘Current Fallow’ is the land which has
oldest plateaus.
been left uncultivated for one or less
7. The Tibet plateau the highest plateau in the than one agricultural year.
world with a height of 4,000 to 6,000
(b) ‘Fallow land’ other than ‘current fallow’
meters above the mean sea level.
includes land that is left uncultivated
8. Plateaus are rich in mineral deposits. from 1 to 5 years to help soil regain its
Land Use Pattern in Selected Countries fertility in a natural way.
Country Percentage of Area in 5. Net Sown Area : ‘Net Sown Area’ plus

Crop Pastures Forests Other area sown for more than once in agricul-
lands uses tural year is known as Total (Gross)

Australia 6 56 14 24 Cropped Area. ‘Net Sown’ area accounts
for about 43 percent of the total reporting
Brazil 9 20 66 5
area of India against the world average of
Canada 5 4 39 52
about 32 percent.
China 10 34 14 42
Characteristics of Different Categories of
France 35 21 27 17
Land Use
India 57 4 22 17
1. Forests : Forest area has increased from
Japan 12 2 67 19
19.11 % of total reporting area in 1960-61
UTILISATION OF LAND to 22.5% in 2002-03. However, 22.5% of
The land is an asset of a finite magnitude; there- forest land to the total reporting area is not

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