Maps

1.)    How do physical features and elevation relate to each other?

Physical features and elevation relate to each other closely.  Different physical features are all on different levels of elevation.  For example, mountains, valleys, deserts, and plateaus all have different heights.  Mountains have very high elevation, and valleys have low elevation.  Plateaus are raised up from the ground, and deserts can be lower.  The physical features of the land are actually dependent on the elevation of land – you can’t have a mountain with an elevation level of 0 feet. 

2.)    What conclusions can you draw?

I can draw the conclusions that India had a lot of plants and animals in it, because on our climate map, it says that most parts of the country are tropical wet/dry and tropical wet.  The Thar Desert is really one of the few places that is arid in ancient India.  People probably settled in India around the lusher, green areas such as by the Ganges and Indus rivers, as life would have been easier there.  They would have had more food, shelter, and the climate would have been more manageable.  The Thar Desert would probably not be a first choice for ancient humans, and neither would the Himalayas.  The desert was a very arid region, and there probably wasn’t as much life over there as in the forests.  The Himalayas were also not a first choice for the humans settling in India, as it was snowy, icy, and super cold.  It would have been very, VERY hard for people to survive in the mountains without the equipment we have today.  (Think about natural resources, climate/weather, and human settlement.)