A History of Agriculture in India v1.c8.11

v1.c8.11

Meteorological conditions in India, with their wide diversity, have given rise to major secondary modifications in the basic character of soils. The climates are manifold. The conditions in the north are very different from those in the south; the coasts present a marked contrast to the interior; the climate of the West Coast region is different from that of the East Coast tract, and the Himalayan zone is a class by itself. The normal annual rainfall varies from about 11,685 millimetres (460 inches) in the Assam hills to less than 76 millimetres (3 inches) in Rajasthan. During some months of the year, vast areas are deluged; during others, drought prevails. Under the influence of such climatic variations, geological differences have ceased to be of predominant importance, and soils of similar properties cover the most varied rock systems. The more extreme the climate, the more generally will the climatic type of soils predominate. Examples are the black soils derived from different types of rocks.