Northern Fertile Area

The Northern Fertile Plain lies to the south of Himalayan

Region. It is also called the Gangetic Plain. It is a vast plain
and level land between the Himalayas in the North and
Deccan Plateau in the South. From Punjab in the West to
Assam in the East, this plain is about 2400 km. long and its
width varies from 150 km. in the East to about 300 km. in
the West. It includes the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, some parts of Assam and the
Union Territory of Delhi.
The soil of this plain is built of the
sediments brought down by the
rivers from Himalayas. Such plain
is called an alluvial plain and is
very fertile. This plain is one of the
largest and most fertile plains of the
World. It is the most thickly
populated plain. This is also the
major crop growing area in India.
This plain is drained by Sutlej,
Ganga, Brahmaputra and their
tributaries. The slope of this plain
in the West is South-west and in the
East is South-east.
TYPES OF SOIL

Clay soil particles are very small and compact.
Gardens with these types of soil particles dont work
well because the air has a hard time getting to the
roots. The soil absorbs and holds water and creates a
drainage problem. This adversely affects healthy
root and plant growth.

Sandy soil particles are large. The
water and nutrients quickly drain
away from the plant root zone.
Sandy soil is the opposite of clay soil.

Silt soil is made up of fine particles. Like clay the
soil holds water but doesnt have good aeration
around the roots.

Whats soil erosion?
Erosion is the process of detachment and
transport of soil particles by erosive agents
(Ellison, 1944)
Erosion is a natural geologic process

WATER EROSION
WIND EROSION
TILLAGE TRANSLOCATION

SIGNIFICANT SOIL LOSS IN THE USA
WATER
3.5 X 10
9
T/yr
WIND
1.5 X 10
9
T/yr
WIND EROSION CAN BE SIGNIFICANT
Near Mitchell, SD
Dust bowl
1931-1939 there was a
drought called the
dust bowl. It caused
huge dust storms to
erupt that destructed
billions of acres of
farm land.
storms
In the first year of
the drought there
were 14 storms
reported and the
second year there
were 38 storms. It
was getting worse.
THE SOIL WATER EROSION
PROCESS
DETACHMENT
Soil
Sediment Load
Sediment Transport
Detachment
DEPOSITION
Soil
Sediment Load
Deposition
SOIL CONSERVATION