Grade Six Social Studies
1. B 2. C 3. C 4. A 5. D 6. B 7. D 8. A 9. C 10. B 11. A 12. A 13. A 14. C 15. CARIFTA 16. CDERA 17. CCJ 18. CSME 19. CARICOM 20. CDB 21. CEHI 22. IMPACS 23. CARDI 24. True 25. False 26. False 27. True 28. False 29. Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines 30. CXC, West Indies Cricket, CDERA
Answers to last week’s questions
Hello Boys and Girls,
Have you successfully completed last week’s exercise?
Great! Continue to work diligently and revise constantly.
This week we will be looking at the natural regions of our country, Guyana.
Natural Regions of Guyana
You have already learned that Guyana in its natural state is made up of mountains, hills, valleys, plains, islands, waterfalls, rivers and creeks, grasslands and swamplands, coastlands and riverbanks, forests, and different types of soil. Many parts of our country that are created by nature can be very useful and important to us.
Before we go any further, we must have an understanding of what is a natural region. So let us have a definition for a natural region. A natural region can be defined as an area of land which has similar natural features such as:
· Landform or build of land – plains, plateaus, hills, mountains and valleys
· Soil – sand, clay. rock, pegasse, loam
· Vegetation – trees, plants, flowers
· Climate – conditions of heat and cold, dryness and moisture, wind and calm,
clearness and cloudiness
· The way of life of the people
Guyana covers an area of 83,000 square miles or 216,000 square kilometres. This area of land consists of ten administrative regions and four natural regions. The four natural regions of Guyana are:
1. The Low Coastal Plain
2. The Hilly Sand and Clay Area 3. The Forested Highland
4. The Interior Savannahs
Here is a map of Guyana showing the four natural regions. Let us study the key. It will help us in locating the natural regions. 3. Which natural region is along the Atlantic Ocean?
The Low Coastal Plain
We will now look at some facts and details about the Low Coastal Plain.
The Low Coastal Plain is a narrow strip of land that borders the Atlantic Ocean on the north and it stretches from the northern tip of Point Playa to the Corentyne River to a distance of about 432 kilometres (268 miles) and its width is about 60 to 64 kilometres (37 to 40 miles). This area is approximately 2 to 4 metres below the level of the sea and ordinary spring tides cause severe flooding, especially in sections where protective barriers from the sea are not adequate. Many of you may have experienced flooding as a result of high tides which caused sea defences to fall apart. Whenever this happens severe damage is done to life and property.
Elaborate sea defences and drainage systems made up of concrete seawalls, groynes, jetties, dykes, dams and canals controlled by pumps and kokers or sluices were built as early as the time of the Dutch rule of our country. These still have to be used today to break the force of the waves, limit the flow of water and the movement of sediments, thus prevent flooding by keeping out the sea water and draining the land of water that accumulates during the rainy season. Below is an example of a drainage sluice. Is there any drainage koker or drainage sluice in your area? Find out about areas with structures such as this one.
Looking back at our history we found out that in the early days the flat coastal areas of our country were completely covered by water whenever the tide was high. So the early Dutch settlers did not settle there when they first arrived but they went up the river instead. However, sometime later they moved back, after they discovered that the coastal lands were fertile and with the labour of enslaved Africans built sea defences and drainage systems which prevented sea water and heavy rain from flooding their plantations. Then they planted cotton which was carrying a high price at the time. However, later they switched to sugar cane cultivation.
It must be noted that besides man-made sea defences there are natural sea defences such as mangrove and courida trees which also help to break the force of the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. These trees grow at the edge of the ocean, along river banks and on the mudflats of the Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice rivers. The mangrove and courida roots hold the soil together and help to prevent it from eroding. They must be protected because they help to protect us and our land and other properties from floods. The troolie palm, ete palm, mannie, crabwood and white cedar are some of the other natural vegetation on the Low Coastal Plain of Guyana.
Climate on the Coastal Plain
The people living along the Low Coastal Plain of Guyana experience two types of climatic conditions: rainy or wet season and dry season. There are two rainy or wet seasons (one from May to mid-August and the other from November to January), and two dry seasons (one from mid-August to mid-November and the other from February to mid-April). However, the area may have occasional rain at any time of the year.
We’ll take a break until next week when we shall continue to learn more about our Coastal Plain.
Goodbye boys and girls. Please stay safe and healthy and keep on doing the things that will help you to do well at the National Grade Six Assessment.