NCERT Solutions For Class 12 Geography Chapter 18 Water Resources

(i) Mica in India is produced in Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan followed by Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. About 95 % of India’s mica is found in three states of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand.

(ii) Nuclear power, also called nuclear energy, is power that is produced by human supervised nuclear reaction. The important nuclear power projects are Tarapur (Maharashtra), Rawatbhata near Kota (Rajasthan), Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kaiga (Karnataka) and Kakarapara (Gujarat).

(iii) Minerals that do not have iron content are non-ferrous such as copper, bauxite, etc.

Copper: The Copper deposits mainly occur in Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh and Jhunjhunu and Alwar districts in Rajasthan.

Bauxite : Orissa happens to be the largest producer of Bauxite. Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are other major producers.

(iv) Non-conventional energy sources consist of those energy sources, which are infinite, natural, renewable and ecologically safe; such as solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy, tidal energy, wave energy, ocean thermal energy, geothermal energy, nuclear energy, etc.

(i) (a) Assam

(ii) (d) Tarapur

(iii) (b) Lignite

(iv) (c) Thermal

(i) Petroleum is oil obtained from sedimentary rocks of the earth. Petroleum consists of hydrocarbons of liquid and gaseous states varying in chemical composition, colour and specific gravity. Petrochemical industries produce numerous by-products, such as fertiliser, lubricants, wax, synthetic rubber, synthetic fibre, medicines, vaseline, soap, cosmetics, etc.

Petroleum reserves are located in the sedimentary basins of Assam, Gujarat and Mumbai High i.e. offshore region in the Arabian Sea. In Assam, Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran are important oil producing areas. The major oil fields of Gujarat are Ankaleshwar, Kalol, Mehsana, Nawagam, Kosamba and Lunej. Mumbai High lies 160 km off Mumbai. Oil and natural gas have been found in exploratory wells in Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri basin on the east coast.

(ii) Hydroelectric energy or water energy is the renewable energy. It is one of the non-polluting source of energy and can be transmitted to a long distances through wires and cables. Electricity is generated from harnessing water from a waterfall or an artificial dam built across a river valley. The potential for hydro-electric potential in terms of installed capacity in India is estimated about 148,700 MW out of which a capacity of 30,164 MW (20.3%) has been developed so far. The National Hydroelectric Corporation (NHPC) is the apex government organization set up in 1975 to promote the development of hydroelectric power in core sectors.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) had identified 845 economically feasible schemes in various river basin of the country. Currently Hydro Power through large dams contribute 2^nd largest share (40.7 GW) of total power generation and stands next only to thermal power. Bhakra Nangal project, the Damodar valley project, the Hirakud dam project, the Rihand project, the Chambal valley project, the Koyana hydro electric project, the Tungabhadra project, etc., are some of the important major hydropower projects. Apart from these, there are numerous other projects of different rivers of India. Some hydroelectric projects either are completed or are on the verge of completion.