Our major domains of the earth are
LITHOSPHERE - Solid portion of Earth (i.e) Land
ATMOSPHERE - Gaseous layers of the Earth
HYDROSPHERE - Water, ice, Glacier, water vapour in the Earth
Biosphere is the narrow zone where we find land, water and air together, which contains all forms of life.
LITHOSPHERE
HYDROSPHERE
- The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean. It is spread over one-third of the earth.
- Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the earth, lies in the Pacific Ocean.
- The Pacific Ocean is almost circular in shape.
- Asia, Australia, North and South Americas surround it. Look at the map
- The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest Ocean in the world.
- It is ‘S’ shaped. It is flanked by the North and South Americans on the western side, and Europe and Africa on the eastern side.
- The coastline of Atlantic Ocean is highly indented.
- This irregular and indented coastline provides ideal location for natural harbours and ports.
- From the point of view of commerce, it is the Busiest Ocean
- The Indian Ocean is the only ocean named after a country, that is, India.
- The shape of ocean is almost triangular. In the north, it is bound by Asia, in the west by Africa and in the east by Australia.
- The Southern Ocean encircles the continent of Antarctica and extends northward to 60 degrees south latitude.
The Arctic Ocean is located within the Arctic Circle and surrounds the North Pole.
ATMOSPHERE
- The atmosphere extends up to a height of about 1,600 kilometres.
- The atmosphere is divided into five layers based on composition, temperature and other properties.
- These layers starting from earth’s surface are called the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere and the exosphere.
- The density of the atmosphere varies with height.
- It is maximum at the sea level and decreases rapidly as we go up.
- The temperature also decreases as we go upwards.
- Air moves from high pressure to low pressure. Moving air is known as wind.
BIOSPHERE
- The Biosphere is the narrow zone of contact between the land, water and air.
- It is in this zone that life, which is unique to this planet, exists.
- All living organisms including humans are linked to each other and to the biosphere for survival.
- The organisms in the biosphere may broadly be divided into the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom.
- The three domains of the earth interact with each other and affect each other in some way or the other.