INDIAN GEOGRAPHY

India is the largest country in the Indian sub-continent, deriving its name from the river Indus which flows through the northwestern part of the country.

Indian mainland extends in the tropical and sub-tropical zones from latitude 8°4' north to 37°6' north and from longitude 68°7' east to 97°25' east. The southernmost point in Indian territory, the Indira Point (formerly called Pygmalion Point) is situated 6°30' north in the Nicobar Islands. The country this lies wholly in the northern and eastern hemisphere. The northernmost point of India lies in Jammu and Kashmir and it is known as Indira Col.

India stretches 3,214 km at its maximum from north to south and 2,933 at its maximum from east to west. The total length of the mainland coastline is nearly 6,100 km and the land frontier measures about 15,200 km. The total length of coastline, including that of islands, is about 7,516 km.

India is the seventh largest country in the world with an area of about 32,87,263 sq.km. India occupies about 2.4 per cent of the total world area.

India's neighbours in the north are China (Chinese Tibetan Autonomous Region), Nepal, and Bhutan. To the northwest India shares boundary mainly with Pakistan and also to a smaller extent with Afghanistan. To the east, India shares boundary with Myanmar, while Bangladesh forms almost and enclave within India.

In the south, on the eastern side, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait separate India from Sri Lanka. India's islands include the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and the Laccadive (Lakshadweep), Minicoy and Amindive Islands in the Arabian Sea.

At the time of independence in 1947, India was divided into hundreds of small states and principalities. These states were united to form fewer states of larger size and finally organised in 1956 to form 14 states and six union territories. This organisation of Indian states was based upon a number of criteria, the language being one of the chief criteria.

Presently, India consists of 28 states, eight Union Territories .

India can be divided into three units: i) the mountains in the north, ii) the plains of northern India and the coast, & iii) the plateau region of the south.

The Himalayas are one of the youngest fold mountain ranges in the world and comprise mainly of sedimentary rocks. The Indus Valley and Brahmaputra Valley are taken as the western and eastern limits, respectively, of the Himalayas within India.

The mountainous region to the west of the Indus Valley is often called the Trans-Himalayas while the hilly region to the east of the Brahmaputra Valley is called Purvanchal or Purvachal.

Generally, three major ranges are identified within Himalayas, they are,

A) The Greater or the Inner Himalayas B) The Lesser Himalayas C) The Sub-Himalayas.

A) The Greater or the Inner Himalayas (Himadri): This range is also called the Central Himalayas. This is the northernmost range of the Himalayan system and it is also the highest. The mountains in this range reach an average height of 6000 metres. Mount Everest or Sagarmatha, the highest mountain peak in the world (8,848 metres) lies in this range. The other important peaks of this range are: Kanchenjunga (8,598 metres), Makalu (8,481 metres) and Dhaulagiri (8,172 metres). Granite, gneiss and schist are the chief rocks forming this range.

B) The Lesser Himalayas (Himachal): This range is also called the Middle Himalayas. This range extends to the south of the Central Himalayas. Average height of the mountains in this range is about 1800 metres. The Main Central Thrust Zone lies between this range and the Central Himalayas. Dhauladhar, Nag Reeva, Pir Panjal, and Mahabharata are the important ranges in this Zone. Slate, Limestone and Quartzites are the dominant rocks.

C) The Sub-Himalayas (Siwaliks): This range is also called as the Outer Himalayas. This is the third and the lowest range of the system, lying further south of the Greater and the Lesser Himalayas. The Main Boundary Thrust separates this range from the Lesser Himalayas. Average height of the mountains in this range is about 1200 metres. It is the newest range of the Himalayas. The Himalayan Frontal Fault marks the boundary between the Siwaliks and the alluvial plains to its south.

North of the Great Himalayas lie the Trans-Himalayas or the Tibetan Himalayas. This range acts as a watershed between rivers flowing to the north and those flowing to the south. Tibetan Himalayas range is separated from the Eurasian Plate by the Indus-Tsangpo Suture Zone. The ranges in the Trans-Himalayas include the Karakoram (highest peak – K2), Zaskar and Laddakh ranges in the west, and the Garo, Khasi, Jaintia, Lushao and Pathkai ranges in the east. The hilly region to the east of Brahmaputra Valley is called Purvanchal.

The most important range of the Trans Himalayas is Karakoram Range, which is called as the "backbone of high Asia".

Some of the important peaks in India:

Highest Mt. Peak in India: K2 or Godwin Austin (lies in the Karakoram range in the Trans Himalayas)

Highest Peak in Aravalli Hills: Guru Shikhar ( in Mt. Abu, Rajasthan)

Highest Peak in Satpura: Dhupgarh or Dhoopgrah (Madhya Pradesh)

Highest Peak in Vindhyas: Amarkantak (Madhya Pradesh)

Highest Peak in Eastern Ghats: Jindhagada Peak, 1690 m (Araku Valley in AP) [formerly the highest peak was Mahendragiri in Orissa]

Highest Peak in Western Ghats: Anaimudi (Annamalai Hills - Kerala)

Highest Peak in Nilgiri Hills - Doda Betta

Highest Peak in Andaman and Nicobar Islands - Saddle Peak

Highest Peak in Naga Hills - Saramati Peak

Regional Divisions of Himalayas is into Punjab Himalayas, Kumaon Himalayas, Nepal Himalayas, and Assam Himalayas.

Punjab Himalayas: It stretches between the river Indus and river Sutlej. It is the westernmost part of the region. Stretch measures about 562 km

Kumaon Himalayas: The Kumaon Himalayas extend between the rivers Sutlej and the Kali. It lies to the east of the Punjab Himalayas.

Nepal Himalayas: This part of the Himalayas extends between the rivers Kali on the west and the Teesta to the east. The stretch measures about 800 km. The highest peaks of the Himalayas lie in this zone and also it is the most extensive.

Assam Himalayas: This is the easternmost part of the Himalayas and its western and eastern boundaries are marked by the rivers Teesta and Brahmaputra. The stretch measures about 750 km. The height of the mountains in this zone is the least.

II) The Plains of India: It includes both the plains of northern India and the coastal plains. The northern plain is largely alluvial in nature and the westernmost portion of it is occupied by the Thar Desert. The coastal plains stretch along the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea coasts and these plains are also alluvial to a large extent.

a) The Northern Plain: The northern plain is also known as the Ganga-Brahmaputra plain and the Indo-Gangetic plain. The rivers of the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra systems have contributed to the formation of this plain. The westernmost part of this plain is called the Indus or the Punjab plain. It covers the areas of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. The central part of the northern plain is generally called the Ganga plain. Ganga plain accounts for the largest area of this plain in India. The easternmost part of the great plain is called the Brahmaputra Plain.

b) The Coastal Plains: The coastal plain stretching along the Bay of Bengal coast is called Eastern Coastal Plain, while the one stretching along the Arabian Sea coast is called the Western Coastal Plain. The eastern coastal plain is also known as Coromandel Coastal Plain and is divided into Utkal Plain, Andhra Plain and Tamil Nadu Plain. This plain is occupied by the delta regions of rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri. It is broad fertile coastal lowland. The western coastal plain extends from Gujarat in north to Kerala in south. Unlike the eastern coastal plan, the western coastal plain is rather narrow except for in Gujarat where it the widest. The northern part of the plain is occupied by the Gujarat plain, South of Gujarat up to Goa stretches the Konkan coastal plain. The southern part is occupied the Malabar coastal plain and the Kerala coastal plain.

III) The Peninsular Plateau: The peninsular plateau or peninsular India is the name given to the area spreading to the south of the Indo-Gangetic plain and flanked by sea on three sides. This plateau is shaped like a triangle with its base in the north. The Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats constitute its eastern and western boundaries respectively. The River Narmada, which flows through a rift valley, divides the region into two parts: the Malwa Plateau in the north and the Deccan Plateau in the south. The Aravallis and the Chhota Nagpur Plateau lie to the west and east, respectively of Malwa Plateau. The general slope of land of this part is towards north and the rivers rising in this part flow northwards and join rivers of Ganga system. Rivers Chambal, Son and Damodar are examples of these rivers.

Aravallis act as an important climatic divide in the northwestern part of the plateau region. While the area to the east of the Aravallis is considered a semi-arid region, the area lying to the west of this mountain system in Rajasthan and Gujarat is a desert.

The southern part or the Deccan Plateau is divided into three major units, the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats and the Deccan Trap.

Deccan Trap represents the core of the plateau region and it is in this part that the oldest rocks of India are found. This region is made up of crystalline rocks.

The Western Ghats form a major water divide in the Deccan Plateau region and the rivers rising from the eastern slope of these ghats flow towards the Bay of Bengal. The Godavari, the Krishna and the Cauvery all rise in the Western Ghats and flow across the Deccan Plateau into the Bay of Bengal. The Narmada and the Tapi flowing through rift valleys are the only major exceptions to this generalisation.

The rivers rising on the western slopes of the Western Ghats are short turbulent streams flowing over the steep western face of the ghats into the Arabian Sea.

The Western Ghats separate the Deccan Trap region from the Western Coastal Plain. The Western Ghats are in the form of a continuous range from south to north. The highest range of Western Ghats is named Sahyadri.

The Eastern Ghats lie between the Eastern Coastal Plain and the Deccan Trap. The Eastern Ghats are formed by a series of discontinuous hill ranges with gaps through which rivers of peninsular region flow into the Bay of Bengal.

The Western Ghats are connected to the Eastern Ghats by the Nilgiri Hills (Blue Mountains). To the south of the Nilgiri Hills lie the Annamalai Hills. Anaimudi the highest peak in the peninsular region and it is situated on the Annamalai Hills. Palghat Pass separates Nilgiri Hills and Annamalai Hills. Two branches of the Annamalai Hills are known as the Palani Hills and the Yelagiri (Cardamom) Hills. Many rivers of the Western Ghats make waterfalls.

The Plateau region includes a number of other minor mountains besides the Aravalli and the Eastern and Western Ghats. They include the Vindhyas and Satpuras in Central India. The Satpuras, which lie between the rivers Narmada and Tapi, have several hills, including the Rajpipla Hills in Maharashtra, and the Maikal range and Pachmarhi Hills in Madhya Pradesh.

Dhupgarh (Dhoopgrah) in Satpura range, near Pachmarhi, is the highest peak in Central India.

The territorial limits of India include 247 islands, of which 204 lie in the Bay of Bengal and 43 lie in the Gulf of Mannar and the Arabian Sea. The Andaman and Nicobar form the two major groups in the Bay of Bengal. The Andaman is separated from the Nicobar by Ten Degree Channel.

The Andaman is divided into three groups: North, Middle and South Andamans. The two volcanic islands, the Barren and Narcondam are situated in the Andaman Islands.

Nicobar is a group of 19 islands, of which the Great Nicobar is the largest. Live corals and coral reefs are found around a number of islands, especially in the Nicobar group.

All the islands in the Arabian Sea are coral islands and are surrounded by coral reefs. These islands are also divided into two groups. The northern group is known as the Lakshadweep Islands and the southern group the Minicoy Islands.

Biggest Island in Andaman Group is Middle Andaman.

Smallest Island in Andaman Group is Ross Island.

Biggest Island in Nicobar Group is Great Nicobar.

Smallest Island in Nicobar Group is Pilomillow Island.

Highest Point in the Andaman Group is Saddle Peak (732 m).

Highest Point in the Nicobar Group is Mount Thullier (670 m).

More than 90 per cent of India's total surface run-off flows into the Bay of Bengal and the rest into the Arabian Sea. Only a small area in Rajasthan as internal drainage.