Indian Geography
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Geographical Location of India
• Lying between latitude 4′ N to 37°6′ N and from longitude 68°7′ E to 97°25′ E, the country is divided into almost
equal parts by the Tropic of Cancer (passes from Jabalpur in MP).
• The southernmost point in Indian Territory, (in Great Nicobar Island) is the Indira Point (6°45′), while
Kanyakumari, also known as Cape Comorin, is the southernmost point of Indian mainland. The country thus lies
wholly in the northern and eastern hemispheres.
• The 82°30′ E longitude is taken as the Standard Time Meridian of India, as it passes through the middle of India
(from Naini, near Allahabad).
Area Geography & Boundaries Geography
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1. India stretches 3,214 km from North to South & 2,933 km from East to West.
2. Geography Area of India : 32,87,263 sq. km. Accounts for 2.4% of the total world area and
roughly 16% of the world population.
3. Mainland India has a coastline of 6,100 km. Including the Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the
coastline measures about 7516.6 km.
4. In India, of the total land mass:
• Plains Geography: 43.3%
• Plateaus: 27.7%
• Hills: 18.6%
• Mountains Geography: 10.7%
5. In the South, on the eastern side, the Gulf of Mannar & the Palk Strait separate India from Sri Lanka.
6. Total land neighbours: 7 (Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar).
7. India’s Islands include the Andaman & Nicobar Islands in Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep, Minicoy & Amindive
Islands in the Arabian Sea.
Physiography of India
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Physiographically, India can be divided into 3 units:
1. Mountains in the North
2. Plains in the Northern India & the Coast
3. Plateau region of the South
To these can be added the fourth, namely, the coasts and islands
Mountains in North India
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The Himalayas in India
Means ‘Abode of Snow’. They are one of the youngest fold mountain ranges in the world and comprise mainly
sedimentary rocks.
They stretch from the Indus River in the west to the Brahmaputra River in the east. Total length is about 5000 km. The
width of the Himalayas varies from 500 km in Kashmir to 200 km in Arunachal Pradesh. Their average height is 2000m.
The Eastern Himalayas-made up of Patkai Hills, Naga Hills, Mizo Hills and the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills-are also
known as Purvanchal.
The Pamir, popularly known as the Roof of the World, is the connecting link between the Himalayas and the high ranges
of Central Asia.
Can be divided into 3 parallel or longitudinal zones, each with separate features.
The Great Himalayas or The Himadri
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• Average elevation extends upto 6000m & some of the world’s highest peaks are here :
Mt Everest (or Sagarmatha or Chomo Langma) 8850 m (in Nepal)
Mt Kanchenjunqa 8598 m (in India)
Mt Makalu 8481 m (in Nepal)
Mt Dhaulaqiri 81 72 m (in Nepal)
Mt Cho Oyu 8153m (in Nepal)
Mt Nanga Parbat 8126m (in India)
Mt Annapurna 8078 m (in Nepal)
Mt Nando Devi 7817 m (in India)
• There are few passes and almost all of them have a height above 4,500 m. they include Shipki La and Bara
Lapcha La in Himachal Pradesh, Burzil and Zozi La in Kashmir, Niti, Lipulekh and Thag La in Uttarankhand, and
Jelep La and Nathu La in Sikkim.
Lesser Himalayas or The Himachal
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• Average height of mountains is 3700 – 4500 m.
• Mountains and valleys are disposed in all direction (mountains rising to 5000 m and the valleys touching 1000 m).
• Its important ranges are : Dhauladhar, Pir Panjal, Nag Tibba, Mussoorie.
• Important hill resorts are : Shimla, Chhail, Ranikhet, Chakrata, Mussoorie, Nainital, Almora, Darjeeling.
Outer Himalayas or The Shiwaliks
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• Lowest range (average elevation is 900-1200 m).
• Forms the foothills and lies between the Lesser Himalayas and the plains. It is the newest range.
Trans – Himalayan Zone
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• This range lies to the north of the Great Himalayas. It has some important ranges like Karakoram, Laddakh,
Zanskar, etc. the highest peak in this region is K2 or Godwin Austin (8611m, in Pak occupied Kashmir). Other
high peaks are Hidden Peak (8068 m), Broad Peak (8047 m) and Gasherbrum II (8035 m).
• The longest glacier is Siachin in the Nubra valley, which is more than 72 km long (biggest glacier in the world).
Biafo, Baltaro, Batura, Hispar are the other important glaciers in this region.
• This area is the largest snow-field outside the Polar Regions.
Peninsular Mountains
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• While the Himalayas are Fold Mountains, they are not.
• The Aravalli Mountains (Rajasthan) : World’s oldest. Guru Shikhar is the highest peak on which Mount Abu
(1,722 m) is situated.
• The Vindhya Mountains
• The Satpura Mountains (highest point at Dhupgarh [1,350 m] near Pachmarhi)
• The Western Ghats or Sahyadris : Average height 1200mtrs, 1600km long. Its southern part is separated from
the main Sahyadri range by Palghat Gap (link between Tamil Nadu & Kerala). Other passes are Thalghat
(connects Nasik to Mumbai) and Bhorghat (connects Pune to Mumbai).
• The Eastern Ghats (Highest peak : Mahendra Giri (1501 m)).
• The Nilgiris or The Blue Mountains : Meeting place of the Western and the Eastern Ghats. Two highest peaks
are Dodda Betta and Makurti.
• The highest peak of Peninsular India is Anaimudi (2695 m) in Anaimalai Hills.
• Cardamom hills or Ealaimalai is the southernmost mountain range of India.
Facts about position of states
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• UP borders the maximum number of States-8 (Uttarakhand, HP, Haryana, Rajasthan, MP,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar). After UP is Assam, which touches the border of 7 States.
• Tropic of Cancer passes through 8 States : Gujarat, Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, WB, Tripuro,
Mizoram.
• Indian Standard Meridian passes through 5 States : UP, MP, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, AP.
• 9 States form the coast of India. They are : Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu. Andhra
Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal.
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