Geographical Epithets

TRIBES & RACES

Tribes and Races
Afridis: A war-like race of hill men on the north-west frontier of Pakistan (tribal area of Waziristan).
Bedouins: Nomadic tribe of Arabia, spread over the whole of Northern Africa and Western Asia.
Bhils: a primitive Dravidian race inhabiting Central India.
Boer: a name applied to South Africans of Dutch or Huguenot descent, especially to early settlers of Transvaal and the Orange Free State and their descendants.
Bushmen: They live in the Kalahari desert. They are probably the descendants of the earliest inhabitants of Africa. They rank among the most uncivilized and backward peoples in the world. Their food consists almost entirely of meat, often raw or decomposed, and in times of scarcity they will eat insects, snakes etc.
Cossacks: Peasants of the south-eastern border land of Poland, or Ukraina are known as Cossacks. Many of them belong to Turkic people while many others are of a mix descent.
Eskimos: Race living in the Arctic regions: Greenland, Alaska, Labradors and the extreme north-east corner of Siberia.
Karbis: are natives of Assam.
Khasis: are a tribe inhabiting the Khasi and Jaintia hills in the north-eastern hilly tracts in MeghalayaState of India. The Khasis have their own distinctive language and culture.
Kikuyu: are a race of Bantu negroes who live in the north of Mount Kenya. They combine agriculture with pastoralism.
Kirghiz: of Central Asia are an example of people adopted to a grassland environment. They are pastoral nomads who move from pasture to pasture with the flocks and herds of horses, camels, oxen, sheep and goats. Meat forms only a small portion of their food. The Kirghiz are fearless horsemen, and even their children are expert riders.
Kiwis: inhabit New Zealand.
Lambadies: are concentrated in KarnatakaState of India.
Lepchas: are aborigins of Sikkim and Darjeeling. They are one of the Scheduled Tribes of the Hills, recognised by the Government of India.
Magyars: the Hungarian race who came to Eastern Europe from south-west Asia and settled in Hungary in the 10th century.
Mahsud: Hill-tribe living in north-west of Pakistan.
Maoris: are the original inhabitants of New Zealand. The Maoris are tall, muscular, handsome people, with brown skin and black hair. They are greatly skilled in stone and wood-carving.
Masai: of the east African Plateau are the example of pastoral people. They are tall, strong, warlike race, partly negroid in type. They treat their cattle with great respect and affection and do not kill them for food or for sale as meat.
Moplas: A Muslim tribe of Malabar (Kerala, India).
Mayas: A large group of American Indians living in the highlands of Gauatemala.
Munda: They are mostly located in the State of Madhya Pradesh in India.
Nagas: Hill tribe of Nagaland (India).
Negritos: are the ancient tribes of Andamans.
Negro: A race of men distinguished by dark skin, fuzzy hair, broad and protruding lips, living in south-west and Central Africa.
Red Indians: Race living in U.S.A. between the rocky Mountains and the Missouri River. They are original inhabitants of America.
Santhals: Aboriginal natives of Orissa and Chhotanagpur.
Semangs: are tribal people living in Malaysia.
Todas: They are aboriginal tribe of the Nilgiris (India).
Zulus: are a race of negroid people in Natal (South Africa), having close ethnic, linguistic and cultural ties with the Swazis and the Bantus.

GEOGRAPHICAL EPITHETS

Bengal’s Sorrow: Damodar River
Blue Mountains: Nilgiri Hills
China’s Sorrow: Hawang-Ho
City Beautiful: Chandigarh
City of Dreaming Spires: Oxford
City of Golden Gate: San Francisco
City of Magnificent Buildings: Washington
City of Palaces: Calcutta
City of Seven Hills: Rome
City of Sky-scrapers: New York
Cockpit of Europe: Belgium
Dark Continent: Africa
Emerald Isle: Ireland
Eternal City: Rome
Forbidden City: Lhasa (Tibet)
Garden City: Chicago
Gate of Tears: Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb
Gateway of India: Bombay
Gift of the Nile: Egypt
Granite City: Aberdeen
Hermit Kingdom: Korea
Herring Pond: Atlantic Ocean
Holy Land: Palestine
Island Continent: Australia
Island of Cloves: Zanzibar
Isle of Pearls: Bahrain (Persian Gulf)
Key to the Mediterranean: Gibraltar
Land of Cakes: Scotland
Land of Golden Fleece: Australia
Land of Maple: Canada
Land of Morning Calm: Korea
Land of Thousand Lakes: Finland
Land of the Midnight Sun: Norway
Land of the Rising Sun: Japan
Land of the Thunderbolt: Bhutan
Land of White Elephant: Thailand
Loneliest Island: Tristan De Gunha (Mid-Atlantic)
Never Never land: Vast Prairies of N. Australia
Pearl of the Antilles: Cuba
Pearl of the Pacific: Guayaquil port of Ecuador
Pillars of Hercules: Straits of Gibraltar
Playground of Europe: Switzerland
Quaker City: Philadelphia
Queen of the Adriatic: Venice
Roof of the World: The Pamirs, Central Asia
Rose-pink City: Jaipur
Sorrow of China: Yellow River
Spice Garden of India: Kerala
Sugar bowl of the World: Cuba
Venice of the East: Alappuzha
Venice of the North: Stockholm
White man’s grave: Guinea Coast of Africa
Windy City: Chicago

ANIMALS & PLANTS

Animals, Mammals and Birds(and places where they are found)
Albatross: Sea birds; North Pacific, off the American coast.
Alpaca: Animal found in Chile (South America).
Anatolian goat: Angora wool is sheered from this goat.
Beaver: found in Europe (Russia and Poland) and North America. It is a genus of mammals of the Rodentia order with short scaly ears and webbed hind feet and broad flat muscular tail. It attains a length of 2.5 to 3 ft. Its skin is of considerable commercial value. It is noted for ingenuity and industry in building houses and damming shallow streams. It is also valued for its reddish brown fur and a secretion castoreum (caster oil) used in medicines and perfumes.
Camel: Found in deserts of Arabia and India. It has long legs with padded feet, a long neck with a hump on its back. Its hump is made up of fat and is a store-house for food. It can also store water in the stomach and can go for days without a drink.
Caribou: is an animal, also called reindeer.
Chameleon: It is a family of lizards of which these are numerous species. The common chameleon is a native of Africa. It is about 12 inches long including tail. Chameleon is remarkable for its power of changing colour to resemble its surroundings when surprised—a power that is due to the presence of pigment bearing cells beneath the skin. It is slow in movement.
Chamois: a species of antelope and a native of Western Europe and Asia; from its flesh, chamois leather is made. It is not much larger than a goat and lives in mountainous regions. It possesses wonderful leaping power and is difficult to capture.
Cheeta: Found in India and Africa.
Cod: are well-known food-fish. These are found in abundance on the British coast and on the banks laying off Newfoundland. The extraction of oil which these cod fish yield forms an important industry.
Corals: Small marine animals closely related to sea-anemone, found mainly in the Mediterranean; also found in the Pacific and in the Indian Ocean.
Dinosaur: a group of extinct reptiles of the Mesozoic period, some of which were of immense size. Diplodocus is one of the best known of the extinct mammoth dinosaurs. Fossil remains have been discovered in the Jurassic rocks of the United States. Some reach a length of over 80 ft.Dinosaurs roamed the earth about 180 million years ago.
Elephant: Found in Africa and India. It is the largest existing quadruped 8 to 14 ft. in height weighing up to five tons. Usually dark grey in colour, small eyes, large ears and nose extending to form trunk which almost reaches the ground and is flexible. Both males and females have large ivory tusks of considerable commercial value. The Indian elephant is domesticated and used as a beast of burden. An elephant can carry up to 2,000 lbs. on long journeys maintaining a pace of about 6 km per hour.
Emu: running bird of Australia. It is the largest of living birds after the Ostrich.
Giraffe: Found in Africa and South Sahara except in the Congo forests. It is the tallest of existing animals reaching a height of 18 to 20 ft. when fully grown. It is of high fawn colour marked with dark spots and has a prehensile tongue. Its sloping back and elongated neck seem to be the natural evolution of an animal that has to feed on the branches of trees.
Gnu: Animal found in East Africa.
Guano: Bird; west coast of South America; Africa.
Hamdaryad: Large snake 12-14 ft. long extremely poisonous; found in India, Philippines and South China.
Herring: a common sea-fish abounding in northern seas and found in large numbers round the British coasts.
Ibex: wild goats of several species, the male having exceedingly curved ridged horns; found in the mountain regions of Europe, Asia and Africa.
Ilama: a dwarf camel-like animal found in South America. It has no hump, but has a long neck and is used as a beast of burden.
Kangaroo: is a pouched (marsupial) mammal of Australia and adjacent islands. It can leap in a succession of springly bounds 10-20 ft. long, the fore-feet not touching the ground. It can reach a height of over 6 ft.
Kiwi: flightless bird; found in New Zealand; now very rare. It is little larger than a domestic hen and lays astonishingly large eggs for their size. It is nocturnal in habit. Its feathers are hair-like and it has rudimentary wings concealed by the plumage.
Koala: Animal found in Australia.
Ladybird: It is an insect usually of a red or yellow colour with small coloured or black spots.
Lion: Found in Gujarat Kathiawar jungles in India; Africa.
Musk-deer: Animal found in North Canada.
Mustang: Animal found in American prairies.
Nightingale: A singing bird found in India.
Octopus: a genus of marine molluscs with eight tentacles that bear suckers.
Ostrich: is the largest living bird now found only on the sandy plains of Africa and parts of South West Asia. The male has beautiful white plumes on wings and tails. The wings are useless for flight, but the birds have a fleetness of foot exceeding that of the swiftest horse. Its egg weighs 3 lbs.
Penguin: is a genus of large birds with small wings and webbed feet. They exist in enormous numbers in the Southern Ocean and AntarcticSea. Penguins breed on the rocky coast, and in the season are to be seen in vast numbers standing erect over their eggs. They are facile swimmers, and live on fish.
Plover: Bird; common in all continents except Africa and South America.
Puma: a carnivorous quardruped of North America. It is called “American Lion”. It is smaller than lion. It seldom attains a length of more than 40 in., exclusive of tail and a height of 2 ft.
Reindeer: A genus of deer horned in both sexes; Siberia. It is also called
Rhinoceros: In the swamps of Assam and Sunderbans; South-East Asia; Africa.
Seal: Fish found in Northern Russia.
Sea Lions: One of the families of Seal found in the Pacific.
Shark: a large and powerful ocean fish, mostly found in tropical seas. Oil is obtained from its liver.
Trout: A fresh water fish of the Salmonidoe family; found in Kashmir.
Walrus: A very large marine mammal related to the Seals; ArcticSea.
Yak: A curious long-haired ox, found in Tibet.
Yeti: or the abominable snow-man of the high Himalayas is variously described as being from 6 to 12 ft. tall half-Gorrilla-like, with shaggy body and hairless face. His foot-prints have been seen and photographed many times.
Zebra: African quadruped of whitish-grey colour with regular black stripes.
Wild Animals in India
Black Bear: is found in Kashmir, some other parts of the Himalayas and to some extent in the Terai forests.
Deer (spotted): is widely distributed in India. It is also found in Sri Lanka.
Elephants: are found in the forests of Western Ghats, Karnataka and in parts of the districts of Coimbatore, Nilgiri, Palni, and Madura hills in South India; to some extent in the eastern parts of Vishakhapatnam and in OrissaState, east of Mahanadi river.
Lion and Panther: Occur all over India. Lions are mostly found in GirForest (GujaratState).
Rhinoceros (Indian): found in Chitwan forests of Nepal Terai of Gandak river, Bengal and Assam.
PLANTS, TREES ETC.
Common Trees(where grown and their usefulness)
Ash: grown in North Africa. Its wood is elastic and tough and valuable in cabinet work and barrel staves. ‘Mauna’, a medical material is extracted from the flowering ash. Ashes from tree also make a good fertilizer.
Bamboo: grown in tropical and sub-tropical lands. The tabular stems are used as pipe, boat-masts, fishing poles, lathies etc. It is used in building material. Its seeds and tender shoots are edible. Flutes are also made of it.
Camphor: grown in China, Japan and Formosa (Taiwan). It is used for the manufacture of celluloid, perfumes, disinfectants, medicine and explosives. It is used to stimulate the skin as in camphorated oil.
Cinchona: the tree is native to the Andes which is famous for its bark—source of the drug quinine. It was introduced into Sri Lanka, India, and Jawa, the latter becoming the main supplier of quinine.
Coconut Palm: grows in all tropical countries, but thrives best near the sea. Its fruit is eaten. Its oil is used for the hair, for cooking and for making face cream. Its fibre is used for stuffing mattresses and ropes. Its wood is also valuable.
Walnut: grown in England, North America and India. It yields valuable furniture wood; juice from the husk of walnuts is used to stain the skin. The fruit resembles a plum, but the ‘stone’ is edible portion furnishing the well-known wrinkled fleshy kernel.
Trees, Plants, Flowers, Fruits, Vegetables and Stones
(Description, where grown or found etc.)
Cacao: an evergreen tree, from 16 to 40 feet high. It grows abundantly in tropical America, West Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka
Carnation: garden plant, Great Britain.
Chrysanthemum: National flower of Japan.
Coca: shrub, South America.
Dates: fruits of the date palm tree; Iraq, Arabia and Iran.
Ebony: hard wood; Mauritius, East Indies and Sri Lanka.
Eucalyptus: a family of plants originated from Australia; oil is extracted from its leaves for use in soap-making, medicines and disinfectants.
Gooseberry: Shrub; northern hemisphere.
Jasmine: originally a Persian plant now planted in almost all parts of the world. A graceful climber belonging to olive with odoriferous blossom. Two of its species (the common and the Spanish jasmine) yield oil which is used in perfumery.
Juniper: a genus of hardy evergreen trees grown in the northern hemisphere.
Ladies Finger: vegetable; India.
Love Apple: vegetable; south west of America.
Mistletoe: a parasitic plant found growing on many trees, particularly the apple tree; Europe.
Mulberry: tree; Central Asia.
Natural Rubber: is a plant product which is chemically known as latex.
Oak: tree; North America.
Olive trees: These grow in the Mediterranean type regions.
Pine: a coniferous tree that flourishes in most northern latitudes, in the mountains of India, Tibet and China.
Sandal Wood: tree; Karnataka.
Spinach: a flowering plant grown in South and Central Europe.
Teak: a tree grown in the East Indies and Myanmar.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

The Earth—Its Motions and their Effects
The earth has two motions, viz., (1) Rotation around its axis or the daily motion. The axis of the earth is an imaginary line inclined at 66.5° to the plane of the orbit of the earth. The earth rotates round its axis from west to east once in 24 hours. Effects: Days and nights are caused. The sun, moon and other heavenly bodies appear to revolve round the earth from east to west. Direction of winds and currents is changed.
(2) Revolution round the sun on its orbit, or the annual motion: The earth revolves round the sun once in about 365.25 days. Effects: It causes seasons; days and nights are of unequal length at the same place.
Important elements in the earth’s crust
The five most abundant elements in the earth’s crust are: Oxygen, Silicon, Aluminium, Iron and Calcium. (The other three are Sodium, Potassium and Magnesium.)
Oceans—Their Importance
Oceans are the source of all water on earth as the evaporated water from over their surface is brought to earth by the winds passing over them. They are the highways of the world and most of the world trade is carried through the sea. Innumerable fish and other animals living in the oceans are a great source of food to mankind. Minerals like salt, iodine etc. are derived from the ocean waters and sea-weeds.
Ocean Currents: are rivers of warm or cold water flowing in an ocean. Their banks and beds also consist of water.
Natural Regions
A natural region is a large area in which the topography, climate and vegetation are largely similar, and therefore there is a certain uniformity in human activities.