TSO CIVIL

Adaptations in Desert Plants

Green building concept

SOILS OF THE GANGETIC PLAIN
Alluvial soils of the Gangetic Plain can be divided in the following manner :

Bhangar is older alluvial soil above the floodplains. Large parts of the Northern Indian Plains are formed of the Bhangar soil. It is more clayey and generally dark colored. It is not as fertile as the Khadar soil.

Khadar is composed of newer alluvium and forms the flood plains along the river banks. It is found at the lower valley of the river. Newer alluvium is deposited with every flood. This makes them the most fertile soils of the Ganges. It is more sandy and less clayey and light to pale brown in colour

KARST TOPOGRAPHY

Karst is a topography formed from the soluble rocks of limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized with underground drainage systems having sinkholes and caves.

Favourable Conditions for development of Karst topography

First, there must be the presence of limestone strata at or near the surface.

Secondly, the soluble rock should be dense, highly jointed, and thinly bedded.

The third condition is the existence of entrenched valleys below uplands.

The fourth condition demands that the region must receive moderate to abundant rainfall. That is why the arid and semi-arid areas do not have fully developed karst, even though other three conditions as mentioned above are fulfilled.