Planned Cities on the Indus

Planned Cities on the Indus (Part I)

Teacher Laura P.
9th grade

Objective

Describe how the first Indian civilization built well-planned cities on the banks of the Indus River.

Setting the Stage

The great civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt rose and fell. They left behind much physical evidence about their ways of life. This is the case in what today is the area known as Pakistan and part of India where another civilization arose about 2500 B.C. 

However, historians know less about its origins and the reasons for its eventual decline than they do about the origins and decline of Mesopotamia and Egypt, because the language of the culture has not been translated. 

Poll

If you could choose, would you live near a _____________.

• mountain

• river

• beach

• desert

The Indian Subcontinent

Geographers often refer to the landmass that includes India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as the Indian subcontinent. 

The Indian Subcontinent

A wall of the highest mountains in the world—the Hindu Kush, Karakorum, and Himalayan ranges—separates this region from the rest of the Asian continent.

Multiple Choice

Geographers often refer to the landmass that includes India, _________, and Bangladesh as the Indian subcontinent.

• Afghanistan

• China

• Pakistan

Open Ended

What do you think are the benefits of being surrounded by mountains?

Rivers, Mountains and Plains

The world’s tallest mountains to the north and a large desert to the east helped protect the Indus Valley from invasion. The mountains guard an enormous flat and fertile plain formed by two rivers—the Indus and the Ganges (GAN•jeez).

Open Ended

What could be a drawback of being surrounded by mountains?

Rivers, Mountains and Plains

The Indus River flows southwest from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea. 

Much of the lower Indus Valley is occupied by the Thar Desert. Farming is possible only in the areas directly watered by the Indus. 

Rivers, Mountains and Plains

The Ganges drops down from the Himalayas and flows eastward across northern India. It joins the Brahmaputra River as it flows to the Bay of Bengal.

Multiple Choice

The Brahmaputra River flows to the _______________.

• Bay of Bengal

• Himalayan Ranges

• Hindu Kush

Rivers, Mountains and Plains

The Indus and Ganges and the lands they water make up a large area that stretches 1,700 miles across northern India and is called the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

Rivers, Mountains and Plains

Like the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the Nile, these rivers carry not only water for irrigation, but also silt, which produces rich land for agriculture. 

Rivers, Mountains and Plains

Below the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the southern part of the subcontinent is a peninsula that thrusts south into the Indian Ocean. The center of the peninsula is a high plateau cut by twisting rivers. This region is called the Deccan (DEK•uhn) Plateau. 

Rivers, Mountains and Plains

The plateau is framed by low mountain ranges called the Eastern and Western Ghats. These mountains keep moist air from reaching the plateau, making it a dry region. A narrow border of lush, tropical land lies along the coasts of southern India.

Open Ended

Why is the Deccan plateau a dry region?

Monsoons

Seasonal winds called monsoons dominate India’s climate. From October to February, winter monsoons from the northeast blow dry air westward across the country. 

Multiple Choice

What would be the best word to describe monsoons?

• rain

• storm surges

• winds

Monsoons

Then, from the middle of June through October, the winds shift. These monsoons blow eastward from the southwest, carrying moisture from the ocean in great rain clouds.

Open Ended

What do monsoons do?

Monsoons

The powerful storms bring so much moisture that flooding often happens. When the summer monsoons fail to develop, drought often causes crop disasters. 

Multiple Choice

What happens when summer monsoons do not develop?

• floods

• droughts

• tornadoes

Open Ended

Explain the difference betweem winter monsoons and summer monsoons.

Environmental Challenges

The civilization that emerged along the Indus River faced many of the same challenges as the ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations.

Environemental Challenges

• Yearly floods spread deposits of rich soil over a wide area. However, thefloods along the Indus were unpredictable.

• The rivers sometimes changed course.

Environmental Challenges

• The cycle of wet and dry seasons brought by the monsoon winds was unpredictable. 

• If there was too much rain, floods swept away whole villages.

• If there was too little rain, plants withered in the fields and people went hungry. 

Open Ended

What environmental challenge did the farmers of the Indus Valley face that the Sumerians and Egyptians did not?