Human Environment — Settlement Transport and Communication: Class 7 Geography NCERT Chapter 7

Key Features of NCERT Material for Class 7 Geography Chapter 7 –  Human Environment — Settlement Transport and Communication 

In the previous chapter 6: Natural Vegetation and Wildlife, we studied the plants and animals that live in different regions. In this chapter of class, 7 geographies: Human Environment — Settlement Transport and Communication we will discuss settlements and their types, different means of transports and learn more about communication.

Quick revision notes

Individuals are dependent on Environment in many ways. 

To develop food, build homes and enhance ways for transport communication, individuals have modified the Environment. 

Settlements 

• Settlements are places where individuals build their homes. 
• The settlements prior became close to the river valleys as the water was effectively accessible and the land was rich. 
• Settlements can be temporary or permanent. 
• Settlements which are occupied for a brief timeframe are called temporary settlements. 
• People build homes to live in permanent settlements.
• Settlements are rural or urban. Rural; settlements can be compact or dispersed. 
• Individuals in rural zones practice farming. In the urban region, individuals are for the most part occupied with services. 

Transport 

• Transport is the methods by which individuals and goods move. 
• With the creation of the wheel, transport got simpler. 
• Earlier animals like donkeys, mulle, bullocks and camels were utilized for transportation. 
• Earlier traders took the land course or ocean course for transportation. Presently it takes just 6-8 hours to go from India to Europe. 

The four significant methods for transport are roadways, railways, waterways and airways. 

Roadways

The most usually utilized methods for transport, particularly for short separations, are roadways. They could be metalled or unmetalled. 

Railways

• Railroads are the quickest methods for land transport and can carry massive materials over a significant distance. 
• The railroads transport individuals over significant distances rapidly and economically. 
• The innovation of the steam engine and the industrial revolution aided in the fast improvement of rail transport. 
• Diesel and electric engines have to a great extent replaced the steam engines. 
• Presently superfast trains have come into use to make travelling easier and faster. 
• Indian Railways network is the biggest in Asia. 

Waterways

• Waterways are the least expensive methods for transportation for carrying heavy and bulky goods over long distances. 
• There are essentially two kinds of routes, inland waterways and sea routes. 
• Navigable rivers and lakes are utilized as inland waterways. 
• Sea routes are linked through ports. 

Airways 

• Airways are the quickest and most costly method of transport. 
• It is the main method of transport to arrive at the most far off and distant areas particularly where there are no roadways and railways. 
• Some significant air terminals in the world are Delhi, Mumbai, New York, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Cairo and so on. 

Communication.

The procedure for passing on the message to others is known as communication. 

Various methods of correspondence are utilized to give data, to educate and to entertain as well. 

Communication is of two kinds, personal and mass communication. 

Through newspapers, radio and TV, we can communicate with an enormous number of individuals. They are, subsequently, called mass communications. 

Satellites, Internet, Wireless phones are the fundamental methods of communication. 

Places, where individuals construct their homes, are called settlements. Early settlements became close to the river valleys on account of the easy accessibility of water and fertile land availability. 

Eventually, human settlements increased with the improvement of commerce, trade and manufacturing. 

Settlements are of two kinds—permanent and temporary. 

Individuals make their temporary settlements in deep forests, hot and cold deserts and mountains and work on hunting, gathering, shifting cultivation, and so on. Under permanent settlements, individuals build homes to live in. 

Human settlements are rural and urban. The villages are rural settlements where individuals do cultivate, fishing, forestry, and so on. 

Rural settlements can be either compact or scattered. In a compact settlement, houses are built near one another. In a scattered settlement house are spaced over a broad region. 

Houses under rural settlements are made of mud, clay, stones, straw, and so forth. 

Urban settlements exist in towns and cities. Individuals here are occupied with manufacturing, trading and services. 

Transport is fundamental to move between various places. In the good old days, individuals travelled significant distances by walking. They utilized animals to commute their goods. Step by step, a few methods for transport created, in spite of the fact that creature like donkeys, mules bullocks and camels kept on being utilized even today. 

A plane is the quickest method of transport. It spares our valuable time and energy. 

The four methods of transport are—roadways, railways, waterways and airways. 

Roads can be both metalled and unmetalled. 

Manali-Leh highway in the Himalayan Mountain is perhaps the highest roadways worldwide. 

Construction of roads underground is subways/under paths. Flyovers are constructed over raised structures. 

The railways can carry individuals and bulky goods over far distances. The railroad network is very much evolved over the plain zones. 

The Indian railway network is developed and is the biggest in Asia. 

Waterways are the least expensive methods of transport. They are utilized for transporting bulky and heavy products over long distances. There are two sorts of waterways, inland waterways and Sea routes. 

Utilization of Navigable streams and lakes as inland waterways. 

Mostly, Utilization of sea routes and oceanic routes is for moving product and merchandise from one nation to another. Association of these routes is with the ports. 

Some significant parts of the world are—Mumbai and Singapore in Asia, Los Angeles, Newyork in North America, Rio de Janeiro situated in South America, Cape Town and Durban in Africa,  Sydney situated in Australia, Rotterdam and London in Europe. 

Airways are the quickest methods for transport. It is the main method of transport to arrive at the most far off and distant territories particularly where there are no roadways and railways. 

Helicopters are helpful in reaching regions that are generally inaccessible and also in the hour of natural disaster for protecting individuals and other related works. 

Some significant air terminals are Delhi, Mumbai, New York, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Cairo. 

The procedure by which we pass on messages to others is communication. 

Papers, radio and TV are significant methods for communication. They are mass communications since we can convey the message with a large number of individuals simultaneously. 

The satellites have made communication significantly quicker. 

Wireless telephonic communications through the means of cellphones have become widely popular today. 

The Internet furnishes us with worldwide data and communication. 

Settlement:

It alludes to a spot where individuals construct their homes

Site:

It alludes to a spot where structure or a settlement is created. 

Transhumance:

It is an occasional movement of individuals. 

Compact settlement:

It is a closely built territory of residences

Scattered settlement:

 Separation of residences over a broad region. 

Transport:

It is the method by which individuals and goods move from one place to another. 

Metalled roads:

These are pucca streets and their utilization is in all climates.

Unmetalled roads:

these are Kutcha streets. They are of no use during the rainy season.  

Subways:

Underground roads are subways.

Flyovers:

Construction of these is over raised structures.

Communication:

The procedure through which we pass on messages to other people.

Mass Media:

Newspapers, radio and television are mass media because they convey messages with a large number of people simultaneously.