Page 43 - SST Class 05

7 The Prairies :

The Grasslands

Grassland and I

The places with moderate rainfall are fertile but due to not much rainfall, grasses grow there, so grasslands
occur there. These grasslands have been turned into farms where food grains (like wheat, rice, maize etc.)
are grown. The production of these crops is so abundant that these food grains are exported to other
countries where not much of such crops grow. So, grasslands are important for all people around the world.

When there is enough of rainfall or availability of water in an area, tall trees grow, as it
happens in Congo. Where there is scanty rainfall or scarce availability of water in an
area, little vegetation grows, as it happens in Saudi Arabia. Know It!
Different from these two conditions, there are places
v North India also falls in the
where it rains moderately. Moderate rain is not sufficient
Temperate Zone.
to support trees, but it can support grasses well. Such is
the case with the Temperate Zone.
In this zone, the average annual rainfall ranges between 30 cm to 60 cm, which is
sufficient to support grasses and a few trees. This is the reason that extensive

grasslands and a few trees are found in this zone.
Grasslands are known by different names in different places; such as pampas in South

America; downs in Australia; steppes in Russia; velds in South Africa; and prairies in
North America.
In this lesson, we shall study the prairies.

The Prairies

Location

In the continent of North America, grasslands found in America, Canada and Mexico

are called prairies. The word ‘prairie’ is a French word which means ‘meadow’ or
‘grassland’. The prairies mainly extend over the interiors of America and Canada. The
grasslands occurred in this area due to the rising Rocky mountains which check rain
from reaching this region.

The Prairies : The Grasslands 43