Mountainous areas have lower temperatures. They serve as a climatic divide between two adjoining regions. The Himalayas for example, forms a barrier to the movement of cold winds from Central Asia towards the Indian subcontinent. They also force the South West Monsoons to ascend and cause rainfall on their southern slopes.

Most of the minerals in the world are found in the peninsular plateaus. Besides, the extraction of minerals is relatively easier on the plateaus. These minerals are indispensable as raw material for our industries. We get gold from the Plateau of Western Australia; copper, diamonds and gold from the Plateaus of Africa; and coal, iron, manganese and mica from the Chhota Nagpur Plateau in India.

The plains generally have deep and fertile soil. Since the plains have a flat surface, means of irrigation are easily developed. Both these factors have made the plains agriculturally important that they are often called' food baskets of the world'.

Due to harsh climatic conditions, the number of people living in mountain areas is less. Generally two types of housing pattern can be seen on the mountains. One in which the houses are generally scattered these are mud houses with low roofs and have a lot of distance between them. Second is the clustered type, where all the houses are situated on a particular slope. The houses are generally wooden houses and may be joined wall to wall with each other.

Weathering and erosion are geological processes that act together to shape the surface of the Earth. In simple terms, weathering is a set of processes that break solid rocks into fragments. Erosion is a group of processes that involve running water, blowing wind or moving ice, which pick up and move these fragments to a different locations.

Himalayan rivers have abundant sources of water because rivers rising in this area are perennial in nature. They are snow-fed or heavily rain fed. Therefore, they contain water throughout the year in abundance.

Three natural resources found in plateaus are: gold, diamond and iron.

Some of the depositional features are: moraines, levees, flood-plains and sand dunes.

Some of the recreational activities of the coastal areas include boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, surfing, sun bathing and canoeing. In Kerala, snake boat races are held in connection with Onam, the harvest festival in August/September.

Land as a resource of being wasted by man due to the following reasons:
(i) If we construct houses on a fertile land,
(ii) Throwing garbage on land
(iii) Making water dirty, which leads to wastage of these precious resources, and
(iv) We should avoid using such important gifts of nature in a careless manner. The available land is not only for our use. It is our duty to protect the Earth as a better place for future generations as well.

A plateau is an elevated flat land. It is a flat-topped table land standing above the surrounding area. A plateau may have one or more sides with steep slopes. Plateaus, like mountains may be young or old.
For e.g., the Deccan plateau in India is one of the oldest plateaus. The East African Plateau, The Tibet Plateau and the Western Plateau of Australia are other examples.

Fold Mountains can be old and young. Fold mountains, for e.g., the Appalachians in North America, the Ural Mountains in Russia and the Aravali range in India are the oldest fold mountain systems in the world. The Himalayan Mountains and the Alps are young fold mountains with rugged relief and high conical peaks.

A hill is a land surface higher than the local area, whereas a steep hill with an elevation of more than 600 metres is termed as a mountain.

Mountains may be arranged in a line known as range. Many mountain systems consist of a series of parallel ranges extending over hundreds of kilometres.
For e.g. The Himalayas, the Alps and the Andes are the mountain ranges of Asia, Europe and South America respectively.

Volcanic mountains are formed as a result of volcanic activities on the surface of the Earth.
Example: Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Fujiyama.