What do you know about the people of the rainforest? [V- Imp.]
The people of the Amazon basin practise slash and bum agriculture. They grow most of their food in small areas after clearing some trees in the forest. Men hunt and fish along the rivers and 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 support the family. They feed them the vegetables that they grow. Their staple food is manioc, also known as cassava that grows under the ground like potato. They also eat queen ants and egg sacs. Cash crops like coffee, maize and cocoa are also grown.
People get wood for their houses from the rainforests. They build thatched houses shaped like beehives. There are also malocas there which are large apartment like houses with a steeply slanting roof.
The Amazon basin is developing day by day. In 1970 the trans Amazon highway made all parts of the rainforest accessible. With the change of time the people's life style is also changing gradually.
Give reasons:
(i) The rainforests are depleting.
(ii) Paddy is grown in the Ganga-Brahmaputra plains.
What is the main activity of the people of the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin? Give an account of it.
What do you know about the location of the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin? Mention the climate of this Basin.
Answer the following questions briefly:
(a) Name the continent in which the Amazon Basin in located.
(b) What are the crops grown by the people of the Amazon Basin?
(c) Name the birds that you are likely to find in the rain forests of the Amazon.
(d) What are the major cities located on the river Ganga?
(e) Where is the one-homed rhinoceros found?
The Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin has varied topography. How does it affect the distribution of population there? [V. Imp.]