Chapter 2 Physical fetures of India

A peninsula is a piece of land enclosed by water on the majority of its border, while being joined to a landmass from which it extends. It is also known as a piece of land with water on its three sides.

Purvanchal is a geographic area of northern India, which embraces the eastern end of Uttar Pradesh and western end of Bihar and forming its boundary with Myanmar. Hindi, Bhojpuri and Awadhi are the predominant languages in this area.

Konkan is also known as the Konkan Coast or Kokan, is a rocky section of the western coastline of India. Its coastline is 720 km long. It comprises of the coastal districts of the western Indian states of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.

Mahendragiri is a highest mountain peak in the Paralakhemundi district of Gajapati, Odisha. It is situated in the Eastern Ghats at an elevation of 1501 metres.

Tectonic plates are the pieces of Earth’s crust and topmost mantle. The tectonic plates are large sheets of rocks that comprise the earth’s surface. These plates move slowly and change their position from time to time. There are 7 major and many minor plates that jointly form the uppermost surface of the earth.

The Gondwana landmass is the oldest landmass. Initially, India, Australia, South Africa and South America made the single landmass, which later bifurcated into four separate landmasses.

Bhabar is located in the south of the lower Himalayas and the Shiwalik hills. It is a narrow belt measuring 8-16 km. Bhabar is made of small pebbles transported by the rivers flowing downward from the mountains.

The three major divisions of Himalayas from North to South are; The Greater Himalayas or the Himadari, The Lesser Himalayas also called Himachal and The Shiwalik or Outer Himalayas. The Greater Himalayas forms the northern most range and includes prominent Himalayan peaks. The lesser Himalayan ranges are mostly comprised of highly compressed and altered rocks. The outermost range of Himalayan region is made of unconsolidated material eg. mud, silt and soft rocks.

Malwa plateau lies between the Aravalli and the Vindhyan ranges. Malwa is a natural region lying in the west-central India and occupies a plateau of volcanic origin.

In 1973, small island group of islands made by Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindive islands renamed as Lakshadweep islands. All these islands form the coral islands of India in the Arabian Sea. These islands have been built up by corals and have been fringing coral reefs very close to their shores.

The differences between Converging and Diverging Plates are given below:

The differences between Bhangar and Khadar are given below:

The differences between Eastern and Western Ghats are given below:

The Himalayas are the world’s tallest mountain range. Their formation can be explained as below:

1. Around 220 million years ago when Pangea was breaking apart, India started moving northward.

2. Pangea broke into two parts - Laurasia (northern part) and Gondwana (southern part).

3. Later, convectional currents fractured the crust of Gondwanaland into a number of plates.

4. One of the cracked plates called Indo-Australian plate drifted towards the north and collided with the much larger Eurasian plate.

5. This collision resulted in the accumulation of sedimentary rocks in the geosynclines also known as Tethys, which were folded and elevated to form the mountain system of Western Asia and Himalayas.

These major physiographic divisions of India are The Himalayan Mountains, The Northern Plains, The Peninsular Plateau, The Indian Desert, The Coastal Plains and The Islands.

Contrast between Himalayan regions with the Peninsular Plateau:

1. The Indus
2. The Ganga
3. The Brahmaputra

Northern plain of India covers around 7 lakh sq. Km of the area and it is 2400 km long and 240 to 320 km broad.

Northern Plains are divided into three parts:-

I. The Punjab Plains- River Indus and its tributaries form these Punjab plains. The principal rivers of this region are the Indus, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and the Satluj. The major part of Punjab plains lies in Pakistan.

II. The Ganga Plains- The Ganga plains expands in the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and parts of Jharkhand and West Bengal. This part of Northern Plains lies in the middle of the river Teesta and the river Ghaggar.
The Ganga river is regarded as one of the most important river in Indian sub-continent because of religious reasons. People worship this river and many holy places like Haridwar, Varanasi, etc. are located on the banks of this river.

III. The Brahmaputra Plains- These plains lies north-eastern parts of India and formed by the Brahmaputra river.

1. The Indian Desert: The Indian Desert lie toward the western borders of the Aravalli Hills. This landform is formed by undulant sandy plains covered with sand dunes. It receives scanty rainfall of about 15 cm annually and thus, this region is not ideal to live in. It has arid land and very little to no vegetation cover. Luni is the only river flown in this region and that too is categorized as an inland drainage.

2. The Central Highlands: The Central Highlands lies to the north of the Narmada and cover a major part of the Malwa Plateau. Vindhya and Aravalli form the edges in south and north respectively. Chambal, Sind, Betwa and Ken rivers are the major rivers flown in this region from southwest to northeast. The Central Highlands are wider in the west and become narrower in the east. Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand, Chhotanagpur plateau are at its eastward extensions. The Deccan Plateau is separated by Narmada and lies to the south of this region.

3. The Island groups of India: There are total 247 island groups in India, out of which 204 lie in the Bay of Bengal and 43 lie in the Arabian Sea. The island groups located in the Bay of Bengal are collectively called The Andaman and Nicobar group of islands and the group situated in the Arabian Sea is known as The Lakshadweep islands. The total area of Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands is 8249 sq. km and the area of Lakshadweep islands is 32 sq. km.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprises of hard volcanic rocks. Lakshadweep islands are formed by the corals. The southernmost point of India is located in the Nicobar Islands and is known as the Indira point, named after India’s first female Prime Minister, Ms Indira Gandhi. After the 2004 Tsunami, the Indira point got submerged into the water. In Lakshadweep islands, there is a bird sanctuary is settled in Pitli Islands.

1. India has seven major mountain ranges having peaks of over 1000 meters. The Karakoram Range is located in the Himalayan Range. The Zaskar range is a mountain range in Jammu and Kashmir that separates Zaskar from Ladakh. The Pataki Bum and The Jaintia range are located in the Purvanchal Range, the Vindhya Range is the chief holy mountains of India. The Aravalli range is the oldest mountain range of India running across Rajasthan and Haryana. The Cardamom hills are the hills of southern India, located in southeast Kerala and southwest Tamil Nadu.

2. K2 or Mount Godwin-Austen or Chhogori, is the second highest mountain in the world. Kanchenjunga is the third tallest mountain in the World.

Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain peak in the World.

Anamudi is located in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the highest peak in the Western Ghats and South India.

3. Chotanagpur is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.

Malwa plateau is a region in north-central India. It is bounded by the Madhya Bharat Plateau and Bundelkhand Upland to the north, the Vindhya Range to the east and south, and the Gujarat Plains to the west.

4. The Indian Desert is a large, arid region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent that forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan.

Western Ghats is a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, located entirely in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Lakshadweep Islands are a group of beautiful islands, located some 400km off India's west coast into the Arabian Sea.

1. Passes: Nathu La, Bomdi La, Shipki La

Nathu La is a mountain pass in the Himalayas connecting India with Tibet.

Bomdi La is the headquarters of West Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh.

Shipki La is a mountain pass and a border post on the Indo-China border. Sutlej enters India through this pass.

2. Ghats: Bhor Ghat, Pal Ghat

Bhor Ghat is a mountain passage located between Palasdari and Khandala for railway and between Khopoli and Khandala on the road route in Maharashtra.

Pal Ghat is located between the Nilgiris to the north and the Anaimalai Hills to the south; it is about 20 miles (32 km) wide and straddles the Kerala–Tamil Nadu border, serving as a major communication route between those two states.

3. Hills: Garo, Khasi, Jaintia

The Garo Hills are part of the Garo-Khasi range in Meghalaya, India. It is one of the wettest places in the world.

The Khasi Hills are located east of the Garo Hills. The other Khasi tribes did not have princes but their twenty petty states, and sometimes even smaller tribal divisions, are led by one or two Chiefs -selected in various ways- usually styled Siem, Syiem

The Jaintia Hills are located further to the east from the Khasi Hills. The Jaintia Hills used to be a part of the Jaintia Hills District. The district has been bifurcated into two separate districts, namely, East Jaintia Hills and West Jaintia Hills on 31 July 2012.

4. Peaks: Everest, Kanchenjunga, Anamudi

Mount Everest, also known in Nepali as Sagarmāthā and in Tibetan as Chomolungma, is Earth's highest mountain. Its peak is 8,848 metres above sea level. Mount Everest is in the Mahalangur Range.

Kanchenjunga, is the third highest mountain in the world, and lies partly in Nepal and partly in Sikkim, India. It rises with an elevation of 8,586 m (28,169 ft).

Anamudi is a mountain located in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the highest peak in the Western Ghats and South India, at an elevation of 2,695 meters (8,842 ft).

5. Mountain Ranges: Vindhya, Maikal, Sahyadri

A mountain range is a group or chain of mountains positioned adjacent to each other. Since adjoining mountains often share the same geological roots, mountain ranges have related arrangement, dimensions and stage of development. Though they are not identical, but share similar features.

6. Islands: Lakshadweep

Kavaratti serves as the capital of the Lakshadweep Islands and the region comes under the jurisdiction of Kerala High Court.

7. Plateau: Chotanagpur, Malwa

Chotanagpur - The total area of the Chotanagpur Plateau is approximately 65,000 square kilometer. The Chotanagpur Plateau is a continental plateau—an extensive area of land thrust above the general land.

Malwa - Agriculture is the main occupation of the people of Malwa. The region has been one of the important producers of opium in the world. Wheat and soybeans are other important cash crops, and textiles are a major industry.