Geography of India

The Geography of India presents a varied and diverse landscape ranging from snow-clad mountain ranges, deserts to plains, hills and plateaus. Climate ranges from equitorial in the far south, to tundra in the Himalayan altitudes. India has a long coastline of over seven thousand kilometres, most of which lies on a peninsula, which protrudes into the Indian Ocean. Western India is bounded by the Arabian Sea and eastern India, the Bay of Bengal.

India's main geographical features are the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain, which occupies most of northern, central and eastern India, and the Deccan Plateau of southern India. To the west of the country is the Thar Desert, which consists of a mixed rocky and sandy desert. India's east and north-eastern border consists of the lofty Himalayan range. The highest point in India is the Kanchenjunga, which is at a height of 8,598 m (28,208 feet).

India is bordered by Pakistan, the People's Republic of China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan¹. Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia are the neighbouring island nations lying to the south of India. Politically, India is divided into twenty-eight states, six federally administered union territories and a National capital territory.

Geographical regions

There are five main geographical regions in India:

1. Himalayan range
2. Indo-Gangetic plains
3. Thar desert
4. Deccan plateau
5. Western and Eastern Ghats
6. Coastal plains

Himalaya

The Himalaya mountains lie in the north of the country. They range from the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east, passing through Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, and Sikkim. In the east, the states of Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram have hilly terrotory from the same tectonic processes that created the Himalaya mountains.

The climate in this region ranges from temperate to alpine.

Indo-Gangetic plains

The Indo-Gangetic plains are large flood plains of the Indus and the Ganges-Brahmaputra river systems. They run parallel to the Himalaya mountains, to their west and south, from Jammu and Kashmir in the west to Assam in the east, passing through Punjab, Haryana, eastern Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. This is the most fertile and heavily populated region of the country.

This region usually has hot summers and cool winters.

Thar desert

The Thar desert is situated in Rajasthan. This region is arid.

Deccan plateau

The Deccan plateau is a large triangular plateau that occupies most of peninsular India. The plateau slopes gently from west to east. It gives rise to several peninsular rivers such as the Godavari, the Krishna, the Cauvery and the Narmada.

This region is mostly semi-arid due to not receiving the full impact of the monsoons. It has hot summers and mild winters.

Western and Eastern Ghats

Main article: Western and Eastern Ghats

The Western and Eastern Ghats form the boundaries of the Deccan plateau, seperating it from the Coastal Plains. While the western ghats are higher of the two and mostly continous, the eastern ghats are discontinous and eroded by several rivers and their tributaries. The western ghats are more suitable for Hydro Power Plants. These ranges exhibit a variety of flora and fauna and contain rain forests. Only a few regions however remain untouched by human exploitation.

The western ghats are more humid than the eastern ghats.

Coastal plains

The region between the Deccan plateau and the sea is occupied by a very flat coastal plain. This plain is narrower in the west than in the east. Especially on the east coast, the plains are extensively used for agriculture, especially rice cultivation. Many large river deltas aid in this activity, with good alluvial soil.

The coastal plains are hot and humid throughout the year, with the western plains getting four months of rainfall from the monsoons.

Features

Mountain Ranges and Peaks

Plains

Deserts

Plateaus

Wetlands

India is a party to the Wetlands Convention and has nineteen Ramsar sites distributed mostly in Punjab. Assam, Orissa, Kerala, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. Most adjoin lakes and wildlife sanctuaries.

• Ashtamudi Wetland (Kerala)
• Bhitarkanika Mangroves (Orissa)
• Bhoj Wetland (Madhya Pradesh)
• Chilika Lake (Orissa)
• Deepor Beel (Assam)
• East Calcutta Wetlands (West Bengal)
• Harike Lake (Punjab)
• Kanjli (Punjab)
• Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan)
• Kolleru Lake (Andhra Pradesh)
• Loktak Lake (Manipur)
• Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu)
• Pong Dam Lake (Himachal Pradesh)
• Ropar (Punjab)
• Sambhar Lake (Rajasthan)
• Sasthamkotta Lake (Kerala)
• Tsomoriri (Jammu and Kashmir)
• Vembanad-Kol Wetland (Kerala)
• Wular Lake (Jammu and Kashmir)

Islands

• Island Chains
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Daman and Diu
  • Lakshadweep

• Prominent Islands
  • Majuli
  • Sriharikota
  • Srirangapatna

Rivers and lakes

• Major Rivers (Rivers and their major tributaries):
  • Brahmaputra
  • Cauvery
  • Ganga
    • Yamuna
    • Alaknanda
  • Godavari
  • Indus
    • Chenab
    • Ravi
    • Sutlej
    • Jhelum
    • Beas
  • Krishna
  • Narmada

• Major Lakes
  • Chilika Lake (Orissa)

Peninsulas and straits

Deltas

• Sunderbans (Brahmaputra and Ganga river systems)

Elevation extremes

• lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
• highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m (K2 8,611 m lies in the disputed territories).

Geology

Climate

Political geography

Natural resources

India is particularly rich in a variety of Natural resources, along with 56% arable land, it has significant sources of Coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), Iron ore, Manganese, Mica, Bauxite, Titanium ore, Chromite, Natural gas, Diamonds, Petroleum, Limestone, Thorium (world's largest along Kerala's shores).

Land use:

• Arable land: 56%
• Permanent crops: 1%
• Permanent pastures: 4%
• Forests and woodland: 23%
• Other: 16% (1993 est.)

• Irrigated land: 480,000 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards

India is particular dependent on the Monsoons and thus has seasonal, periodic droughts, which have resulted in famines. Rivers originating in the Himalayas particularly Brahmaputra are a cause of flash floods in the North east, The coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu on the West Coast and Kerala along the east coast suffer from seasonal severe thunderstorms. Earthquakes are most common in regions of Maharastra, Gujrat, Andaman and Nicobar islands and the north east along the himalayas.

Environment – current issues

India has one of the largest populations of the world, most enviornmental problems are a result of over population and the resulting strain on limited resources. Some of the major issues which need urgent attention are:

• Deforestation
• Soil erosion
• Overgrazing
• Desertification
• Air pollution (Industrial Effluents and Vehicular Emissions).
• Water pollution (Raw Sewage, Runoff from use of agricultural Pesticides)
• Potable water

Environment – international agreements

India is a party to several International agreements related to enviornment and climate, the most prominent among them are:

See also

• India
• Indian subcontinent

External link

• Maps of India
• Ramsar Annotated List