INDIA : Geographical
Geography of India
The geography of India is extremely diverse, with landscape ranging from snow-capped mountain ranges to deserts, plains, hills and plateaus. India comprises most of the Indian subcontinent situated on the Indian Plate, the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate. Having a coastline of over 7,000 km (4,300 miles), most of India lies on a peninsula in southern Asia that protrudes into the Indian Ocean. India is bounded in the southwest by the Arabian Sea and in the southeast by the Bay of Bengal.
The fertile Indo-Gangetic plain occupies most of northern, central and eastern India, while the Deccan Plateau occupies most of southern India. To the west of the country is the Thar Desert, which consists of a mix of rocky and sandy desert. India's east and northeastern border consists of the high Himalayan range. The highest point in India is disputed due to a territorial dispute with Pakistan; according to India's claim, the highest point (located in the disputed Kashmir territory) is K2, at 8,611 m (28,251 feet). The highest point in undisputed Indian territory is Kangchenjunga, at 8,598 m (28,208 feet). Climate ranges from equatorial in the far south, to tundra in the Himalayan altitudes.
India is bordered by Pakistan, the People's Republic of China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are island nations to the south of India. Politically, India is divided into 28 states, six federally administered union territories and a national capital territory. The political divisions generally follow linguistic and ethnic boundaries rather than geographic transitions.
Location of India
India lies to the north of the equator between 8 degree 4 minutes and 37 degree 6 minutes north latitude and 68 degrees 7 minutes and 97 degrees 25 minutes east longitude. It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total land area of 3,287,590 km² (1,269,219 square miles). India measures 3,214 km (1,997 miles) from north to south and 2,933 km (1,822 miles) from east to west. It has a land frontier of 15,200 km (9,445 miles) and a coastline of 7,516.5 km (4,670.5 miles). The Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea are parts of India.
India is bounded on the southwest by the Arabian Sea and on the southeast by the Bay of Bengal. On the north, northeast, and northwest are the Himalayas. Kanyakumari constitutes the southern tip of the Indian peninsula, which narrows before ending in the Indian Ocean.
Geographical Regions:
India is divided into seven geographic regions. They are
- The northern mountains including the Himalayas and the northeast mountain ranges.
- Indo-Gangetic plains
- Thar Desert
- Central Highlands and Deccan Plateau
- East Coast
- West Coast
- Bordering seas and islands
A great arc of mountains, composed of the Himalaya, Hindu Kush, and Patkai ranges, define the Indian subcontinent. These mountains were formed by the ongoing tectonic collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate which started some 50 million years ago. These mountain ranges are home to some of the tallest mountains in the world and provide a natural barrier against the cold polar winds. They also facilitate the monsoons that drive climate in India. The protection and climatic control they have provided has been a geographical quality that has assisted India's position as a Great power. The numerous rivers that originate in these mountains provide water to the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains. These mountains are recognised by biogeographers as the boundary between two of the earth's great ecozones; the temperate Palearctic that covers most of Eurasia, and the tropical and subtropical Indomalaya ecozone that includes the Indian subcontinent and extend into Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Historically, these ranges have served as barriers to invaders.
India has seven major mountain ranges having peaks of over 1,000 m (3,300 feet). The Himalayas are the only mountain ranges to have snow-capped peaks. These ranges are:
- Aravalli
- Eastern Ghats
- Himalayas
- Patkai
- Vindhyas
- Sahyadri or Western Ghats
- Satpuras
- Karakoram
The Himalaya mountain range is the world's highest mountain range. They form India's north-eastern border, separating it from the rest of Asia. The Himalayas are one of the world's youngest mountain ranges, and extend almost uninterrupted for a distance of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), covering an area of 500,000 km² (193,000 square miles).
The Himalayas extend from the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the west to the state of Arunachal Pradesh in the east. These states along with Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, and Sikkim lie mostly in the Himalayan region. Some of the Himalayan peaks range over 7,000 m (23,000 feet) and the snow line ranges between 6,000 m (19,600 feet) in Sikkim to around 3,000 m (9,850 feet) in Kashmir. Kangchenjunga, which lies in Sikkim, is the highest point in the country's territory (undisputed). Most peaks in the Himalayas remain snowbound throughout the year.
The Shiwalik, or lower Himalaya, consists of smaller hills towards the Indian side. Most of the rock formations are young and highly unstable, with landslides being a regular phenomenon during the rainy season. Many of India's hill stations are located on this range. The climate varies from sub tropical in the foothills to tundra at the higher elevations of these mountain ranges.
The mountains on India's eastern border with Myanmar are called as the Patkai or the Purvanchal. They were created by the same tectonic processes that resulted in the formation of the Himalaya. The features of the Patkai ranges are conical peaks, steep slopes and deep valleys. The Patkai ranges are not as rugged or tall as the Himalayas. There are three hill ranges that come under the Patkai: The Patkai-Bum, the Garo- Khasi- Jaintia, and the Lushai hills. The Garo-Khasi range is in the Indian state of Meghalaya. The climate ranges from temperate to alpine due to altitude. Cherrapunji, which lies on the windward side of these hills, has the distinction of being the wettest place in the world, receiving the highest annual rainfall.
The Vindhya range runs across most of central India, covering a distance of 1,050 km (652 miles). The average elevation of these hills is 300 m (1,000 feet). They are believed to have been formed by the wastes created due to the weathering of the ancient Aravalli mountains. It geographically separates northern India from southern India. The western end of the range lies in eastern Gujarat, near its border with the state of Madhya Pradesh, and the range runs east and north nearly to the Ganges River at Mirzapur.
The Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. It begins in eastern Gujarat near the Arabian Sea coast, then runs east through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and ends in the state of Chhattisgarh. It extends for a distance of 900 km with many of its peaks rising above 1000 m (3,300 feet). It is angular in shape, with its vertex at Ratnapuri and the two sides being parallel to the Tapti and Narmada river. It runs parallel to the Vindhya Range, which lies to the north, and these two east-west ranges divide the Indo-Gangetic plain of northern India from the Deccan Plateau lying in the south. The Narmada runs in the depression between the Satpura and Vindhya ranges, and drains the northern slope of the Satpura range, running west towards the Arabian Sea.
Indo-Gangetic plainThe Eastern and Western Ghats meet at the Nilgiri or Malay knot in Tamil Nadu. The Anai Mudi in the Cardamom Hills at 2,695 m (8,841 feet) in Kerala is the highest peak in the Western Ghats. The Nilgiris are considered to be a part of the Western Ghats.
The plains are one of the world's most intensely farmed areas. Crops grown on the Indo-Gangetic Plain are primarily rice and wheat, grown in rotation. Other crops include maize, sugarcane and cotton. Also known as the Great Plains, the Indo-Gangetic plains rank among the world's most densely populated areas. Water bodies of India are Indian ocean, arabian sea, bay of bengal.
Thar Desert
he origin of the Thar Desert is uncertain. Some geologists consider it to be 4,000 to 10,000 years old, whereas others state that aridity began in this region much earlier. The area is characterised by extreme temperatures of above 45 ° C (113 ° F) in summer to below freezing in winters. Rainfall is precarious and erratic, ranging from below 120 mm (4.72 in) in the extreme west to 375 mm (14.75 in) eastward. The lack of rainfall is mainly due to the unique position of the desert with respect to the Aravalli range. The desert lies in the rain shadow area of the Bay of Bengal arm of the southwest monsoon. The parallel nature of the range to the Arabian Sea arm also means that the desert does not receive much rainfall.The Thar Desert (also known as the Great Indian Desert) is a hot desert that forms a significant portion of western India. Spread over four states in India – Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat it covers an area of 208,110 km² (80,350 mile²). The desert continues into Pakistan as the Cholistan Desert. Most of the Thar Desert is situated in Rajasthan, covering 61% of its geographic area. Most of the desert is rocky, with a small part of the extreme west of the desert being sandy.
The desert can be divided into two regions, the great Desert and the little desert. The great Desert extends northwards from the edge of the Rann of Kutch region of Gujarat. The little desert extends from the River Luni between the towns of Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, up to the northern areas. The soils of the arid region are generally sandy to sandy-loam in texture. The consistency and depth vary according to the topographical features. The low-lying loams are heavier and may have a hard pan of clay, calcium carbonate or gypsum. Due to the low population density, the effect of the population on the environment is relatively less compared to the rest of India.
Highlands
The Central Highlands are composed of three main plateaus – the Malwa Plateau in the west, the Deccan Plateau in the south, (covering most of the Indian peninsula); and the Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand towards the east.
The Deccan plateau is a large triangular plateau, bounded by the Vindhyas to the north and flanked by the Eastern and Western Ghats. The Deccan covers a total area of 1.9 million km² (735,000 mile²). It is mostly flat, with elevations ranging from 300 to 600 m (1,000 to 2,000 feet).
The name Deccan comes from the Sanskrit word dakshina, which means "the south". The plateau slopes gently from west to east and gives rise to several peninsular rivers such as the Godavari, the Krishna, the Kaveri and the Narmada. This region is mostly semi-arid as it lies on the leeward side of both Ghats. Much of the Deccan is covered by thorn scrub forest scattered with small regions of deciduous broadleaf forest. Climate ranges from hot summers to mild winters.
The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Orissa, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh. The total area of Chota Nagpur Plateau is approximately 65,000 km² (25,000 mile²). The Chota Nagpur Plateau is made up of three smaller plateaus, the Ranchi, Hazaribagh, and Kodarma plateaus. The Ranchi plateau is the largest of the plateaus, with an average elevation of 700 m (2,300 feet). Much of the plateau is forested, covered by the Chota Nagpur dry deciduous forests. The plateau is famous for its vast reserves of ores and coal.
Besides the Great Indian peninsula, the Kathiawar Peninsula in Gujarat is another large peninsula of India.
East coast
The Eastern Coastal Plain is a wide stretch of land lying between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. It stretches from Tamil Nadu in the south to West Bengal in the north. Deltas of many of India's rivers form a major portion of these plains. The Mahanadi, Godavari, Kaveri and Krishna rivers drain these plains. The region receives both the Northeast and Southwest monsoon rains with its annual rainfall averaging between 1,000 mm (40 in) and 3,000 mm (120 in). The width of the plains varies between 100 to 130 km (62 to 80 miles).
The plains are divided into six regions: The Mahanadi delta; the southern Andhra Pradesh plain; the Krishna Godavari deltas; the Kanyakumari coast; Coromandel Coast and sandy littoral.
West coast
The Western Coastal Plain is a narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. The strip begins in Gujarat in the north and extends across the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. The plains are narrow, and range from 50 to 100 km (30 to 60 miles) in width.
Small rivers and numerous backwaters inundate the region. The rivers, which originate in the Western Ghats, are fast flowing and are mostly perennial. The fast flowing nature of the rivers results in the formation of estuaries rather than deltas. Major rivers flowing into the sea are the Tapi, Narmada, Mandovi and Zuari.
The coast is divided into three regions. The northern region of Maharashtra and Goa is known as the Konkan Coast, the central region of Karnataka is known as the Kanara Coast and the southern coastline of Kerala is known as the Malabar Coast. Vegetation in this region is mostly deciduous. The Malabar Coast has its own unique ecoregion known as the Malabar Coast moist forests.
Islands
India has two major offshore island possessions: the Lakshadweep islands and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Both these island groups are administered by the Union government of India as Union Territories.
The Lakshadweep islands lie 200 to 300 km (124 to 186 miles) off the coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea. It consists of twelve coral atolls, three coral reefs, and five banks. Ten of these islands are inhabited.
The Andaman and Nicobar island chain lies in the Bay of Bengal near the Myanmar coast. It is located 950 km (590 miles) from Kolkata (Calcutta) and 193 km (120 miles) from Cape Negrais in Myanmar. The territory consists of two island groups, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands. The Andaman islands consist of 204 islands having a total length of 352 km (220 miles). The Nicobar Islands, which lie south of the Andamans, consists of twenty-two islands with a total area of 1,841 km² (710 mile²). The highest point is Mount Thullier at 642 m (2,140 feet). Indira Point, India's southernmost land point is situated in the Nicobar islands, and lies just 189 km (117 miles) from the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southeast.
Significant islands just off the Indian coast include Diu, a former Portuguese exclave; Majuli, Asia's largest freshwater island; Salcette Island, India's most populous island, on which Mumbai (Bombay) city is located; Elephanta in Bombay Harbour; and Sriharikota barrier island in Andhra Pradesh.
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