LESSON 14.5 How do people connect with mountains?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
• identify the ways people value significant landscapes • identify the challenges for people living on mountains • explain the importance of mountains to different cultural groups.
Tune in Discuss how you think rice crops grow and consider why the people who live here would need to build these terraces. If you have time, quickly research this information to find out how accurate you were. Think about why hillsides and the slopes of mountains may provide ideal growing conditions. Discuss in a small group and present your theory to the class.
FIGURE1 The Longshen rice terraces in China show how a mountainside can be changed to grow food.
14.5.1 Mountain people and cultures People have moved through and lived in mountain areas for thousands of years. But few people live in the world’s highest mountain ranges, where it can be very cold and difficult to grow food and make a living. Thousands of people visit mountains, often in remote areas, for recreation and to see the spectacular scenery, plants and animals, historic and spiritual sites, and different cultures. Mountains are also vital for global water supply. Around 12 per cent of the world’s people live in mountain regions. About half of those live in the Andes, the Himalayas and the mountains of central and eastern Africa. Usually, population density is very low in these areas. One reason for this is that mountains are very difficult to cross, as they are often rugged and covered with forests and wild animals. They can also be hard to climb and may have ice, snow or glaciers that make travel dangerous. Another reason is that soil quality is often poor and intensive farming is difficult without significant effort and expertise.
TOPIC14 Geomorphological processes and hazards
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