PHYSIOGRAPHY

OF INDIA

Ø As the 7th largest country in the world, India stands apart from the rest of Asia
with an area of 32,87,263 sq km.
Ø Locational Extent: 8° 4ʹ N to 37° 6ʹ N latitude and 68° 7ʹ E to 97° 25ʹ East longitude.
ü East-West Extent of Mainland India (Including Pak occupied Kashmir) - 68° 7ʹ east
to 97° 25ʹ east longitude
ü South-North Extent of Mainland India: 8° 4ʹ north to 37° 6ʹ north latitude

Ø Four endpoints of India
Ø Northernmost point - Indira Col
Ø Southernmost point - Indira Point or Pygmalion Point
Ø Easternmost point - Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh
Ø Westernmost point - Guhar-Moti in Gujarat
Ø India accounts for about 2.4 per cent of the total surface area of the world.
Ø The Northern Mountains
Ø The North Indian Plain
Ø The Peninsular Plateau (central highland+Deccan plateau)
Ø Great Indian Desert
Ø The coastal Regions
Ø Islands

The Northern Mountains
Ø Young and structurally fold mountains stretch over
the northern borders of India.
Ø Includes the Himalayas, Purvanchal and their
extensions Arakan Yoma (Myanmar). It is the
youngest and highly unstable landmass of India.

Ø PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISION OF THE HIMALAYAS

Ø Trans Himalayas
Ø Greater Himalayas / Himadri
Ø Lesser Himalaya or Himachal
Ø The Shiwaliks

Ø
● 3 ranges - Karakoram,
Ladakh, Zaskar
● Ladakh cold desert,
TRANS HIMALAYA Siachen glacier
(~ 3000mt) ● Kailash range is the
extension of ladakh range

● The highest range in the

world.
● Mt. Everest, Makalu,
Greater/Himadri Himalayas Dhabalgiri, Nanda Devi -
(~ 6000 mt) all situated here
● syntaxial bends at Nanga
Parbat (N.W) & Namcha
Barwa (N.E).

● 3 ranges - Pir Panjal,

Dhauladhar, Mahabharat.
● Kashmir, Kangra, Kullu
Lesser/Himachal Himalaya Valley
(b/w 3,700 to 4,500 metres) ● Hill stations like Shimla,
Dharamsala, Manali etc.

● valleys lying here are

DehraDun, Kotli Dun and
Outer/Shivalik Himalayas (b/w Patli Dun etc.
700 to 1500 metres) ● Almost unbroken chain of
mountain.

● Greater Himalayas & Lesser Himalayas are

separated by Main Central Thrust (MCT).
● Lesser & Shiwaliks are separated by Main
Boundary Thrust (MBT).
● Shiwaliks & Northern plains are separated by
Himalayan Front Fault (HFF).
● NORTH EASTERN MOUNTAINS
● The Brahmaputra marks the eastern border of
the Himalayas. Patkai Hills, Naga Hills,
Manipuri Hills and Mizo Hills together form
the Purvanchal ranges.

●
ü Punjab Himalayas are also known as Kashmir
Himalayas.
Siachen glacier, Vaishno Devi, Amarnath cave
located here.
Saffron cultivation is also famous here.
Karewas are found here.
ü Kumaon Himalayas comprise of famous
Mussoorie, Shimla, Kasauli etc.

‘Valley of flowers’ situated here.

Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, Hemkund,
Dehradun all located here.
‘Panch prayag’ also located here.

ü Karewas are lacustrine deposits [deposits in lake]
in the Valley of Kashmir.
ü They are characterized with fossils of mammals
and at places by peat.

vCentral himalayas are basically Nepal & Sikkim
himalayas taken together.
Nepal himalayas are the longest stretched range
of about 800 km.
Mt Everest, Makalu, Dhabalgiri located here.

vAssam himalayas lie in India, Bhutan.
Patkai Bum, Naga hills, Kohima hills, Manipur
hills, Mizo hills (previously known as the Lushai
hills), Tripura hills and Barail range - all situated
here.
Namcha Barwa also here.
vBanihal vJawahar Tunnel
vPass

vKhardung La vworld’s highest motorable road

vZoji La vConnects Srinagar with Kargil

and Leh

vBara Lacha vb/w HP - J&K

vRohtang Pass vgreat tourist attraction

Northern Plains
vFormed by Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra.
extend 3200 km from east to west.
vFurther divided into - Rajasthan plains, Punjab
plains, Ganga plains & Brahmaputra plains.
vFormation
vThe rivers which were previously flowing into
Tethys sea, deposited huge amount of sediments
in the Tethys Geosyncline, thus creating both the
mountains & the plains.
vRajasthan plains - formed west of Indus.
Drained by Luni, in the west of Aravalli. Dhands &
Dhoros are imp. Features.

vPunjab plains - Drained by Ravi, Sutlej, Beas.

major portion of this plains in Pakistan
vGanga Plains - Extends between Ghaggar and
Teesta rivers.

The northern states, Haryana, Delhi, UP, Bihar,
part of Jharkhand and West Bengal lie in the
Ganga plains.
The largest unit of the northern plains.

vBrahmaputra Plains - This plain forms the eastern
part of the northern plain and lies in Assam.

Largest river island - Majuli is situated here.
b/w eastern himalayas in north & Patkai, Naga is
the east.
vBased of Geomorphological features, northern
plains are divided into 4 parts.
Bhabar
v Terai

Bhangar

Khadar

vBhabar – alluvial fans of rivers with course
boulders and not suitable for cultivation.

Khadar – new floodplains with very fertile soil.

Bhangar – old flood plains with calcareous kanker
formation; less fertile.
Terai – bad drainage with swampy land in south
of the bhabar.

v
Doab : The land formed of alluvium in between
two rivers known as Doab are found in the
Punjab plains.
vChos : The southern slopes of Shiwalik range in
Punjab and Himachal Pradesh has been
intensively eroded by numerous streams called
Chos.

v
v
v The Peninsular Plateau
vPeninsular plateau is triangular in shape &
surrounded by hills, composed of the oldest rocks
as it was formed from the drifted part of the
Gondwana land.
vPeninsular plateau can be divided into three
broad groups:
vThe Central Highlands
vThe Deccan Plateau
vThe Northeastern Plateau
v

ü The Central Highlands

ü lies to the north of the Narmada River & Satpura
in the south,composed mostly of the Archaean
gneisses.
ü They are bounded to the west by the Aravallis.
ü These highlands consist of -
1. Marwar upland - to the east of Aravallis in
Rajasthan.

2. Madhya Bharat Pathar - It is to the east of the
Marwar. Most of plateau comprises the basin of
the Chambal river which flows in a rift valley.
ü 3. Malwa plateau- It lies in Madhya Pradesh
between Aravali and Vindhyas.It is composed of
extensive lava flow and is covered with black
soils.
ü 4. Bundelkhand plateau- It lies along the borders
of UP and MP. Because of intensive erosion,
semi-arid climate and undulating area, it is unfit
for cultivation.
ü 5. Baghelkhand plateau- It lies to the east of the
Maikal range.
ü 6. Chotanagpur Plateau- composed mainly of
Gondwana rocks. It Includes Jharkhand, parts of
Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. It is a mineral rich
plateau.

ü
The Deccan Plateau
ü Largest plateau in India, making up most of the
southern part of the country.
ü It is volcanic in origin.
ü The plateau is suitable for the cultivation of
cotton; home to rich mineral resources.
ü It is bordered by:
ü The Western Ghats in the west,
ü The Eastern Ghats in the east,
ü The Satpura, Maikal range and Mahadeo hills in
the north.

ü
ü The Deccan plateau can be subdivided as follows:
ü 1. Maharashtra Plateau
ü 2. Karnataka Plateau
ü 3. Telangana Plateau
ü The Northeastern Plateau
ü The Meghalaya is mainly the major part here.
ü Shillong (1,961 m) is the highest point of the
plateau.
ü The region has the Garo, Khasi, Jaintia and Mikir
(Rengma) hills.
ü The Meghalaya plateau is also rich in mineral
resources like coal, iron ore, sillimanite,
limestone and uranium.
ü Garo-Rajmahal Gap separates this plateau from
the main block.
ü This area receives maximum rainfall from the
south-west monsoon.
ü An extension of the Meghalaya plateau is also
seen in the Karbi Anglong hills.

ü
ü Hill ranges of the peninsula
ü The plateaus of the Peninsular region
are separated from one another by these
hill ranges, i.e Aravalli, Vindhya, Satpura,
Western and Eastern Ghats.
ü Some hilly regions in south India are
suitable for the cultivation of plantation
crops like tea, coffee, rubber, etc.
ü The plateau is also known for its hill
resorts such as Ooty, Pachmarhi,
Kodaikanal, Mahabaleshwar, Khandala,
Matheron, Mount Abu, etc.
ü Aravali Range
ü one of the oldest (very old) fold mountains of the
world and the oldest in India.
ü about 800 km between Delhi and Palanpur in Gujarat.

ü Here Mt. Abu, a small hilly block, is separated

from the main range by the valley of the Banas.
Guru Shikhar (1,722 m), the highest peak, is
situated in Mt. Abu.
ü Vindhya Range
ü parallel to the Narmada-Son valley.
ü General elevation: 300 to 650 m.
ü Most of them are made up of sedimentary rocks
of ancient ages.
ü Satpura Range
ü runs in an east-west direction south of the
Vindhyas and in between the Narmada and the
Tapi.
ü Dhupgarh (1,350 m) near Pachmarhi on Mahadev
Hills is the highest peak.
ü Western Ghats (or The Sahyadris)
ü Run from the Tapi valley (21° N latitude) to a
little north of Kanyakumari (11° N latitude) for
a distance of 1,600 km.
ü steep-sided, terraced, flat-topped hills.
ü Kalsubai (1,646 m) Mahabaleshwar (1,438 m)
and Harishchandragad (1,424 m) are
important peaks.
ü western ghats play a very important role in
the distribution of the monsoon rainfall on
the western border of India.

ü Eastern Ghatsrun
ü parallel to the eastern coastal plains of India.
ü a chain of highly broken and detached hills starting
from the Mahanadi in Odisha to the Vagai in Tamil
Nadu.
ü The main crop produced in the eastern ghats is
Rice, which is also the staple food of the people
living in the region.
ü Javadi Hills, the Shevroy-Kalrayan Hills, Palkonda
range are some important ranges here

ü
ü Important gaps in Western ghats
ü Thal Ghat – It links Nasik to Mumbai
ü Bhor Ghat – It links Mumbai to Pune
ü Pal Ghat – This pass is located between the Nilgiris
and the Annamalai mountains
ü Nilgiri Hills
ü the meeting point of Western and Eastern Ghats.

ü Doba Betta (2,637 m) is the highest peak of Nilgiri

Hills.
ü first biosphere reserve in India - Nilgiri Biosphere
Reserve lies here.

ü
ü The Indian Desert
ü Location – To the north-west of the Aravali hills.
ü This region gets scanty rainfall which is less than
150 mm in a year.
ü the climate is arid and vegetation is scanty.
ü

Ø Luni is the only prominent river but some streams

appear during rainy season.
Ø originates in the Pushkar valley of the Aravalli
Range, near Ajmer and flows towards the
southwest into the Rann of Kutch.
Ø Sambhar Lake, the largest inland salt water lake,
is also located here.
Ø called the Marusthali.
Ø Sand dunes - these are heaps or mounds of sand
found in deserts.
Ø Shifting sand dunes in the Thar Desert is locally
known as Dhrians.
Ø The Coastal Region
Ø India has a coastline of 7516.6 Km [6100 km of
mainland coastline + coastline of 1197 Indian
islands].
Ø Divided into two parts- western coastal plains &
eastern coastal plains.

v Western Coastal Plain

vKutch and Kathiawar region
vKonkan Coast
vMalabar coast
[ Kannada Coast + Kanyakumari Coast]
vKathiawar Coast → Kutch to Daman
vKonkan Coast → Between Daman & Goa
vKannada Coast → Between Goa to Cannanore
vKanyakumari Coast → Between Cannanore to
Cape Comorin

v
Eastern Coastal Plains
vUtkal coast
vAndhra Coast
vNorthern Circars
vCoromandel Coast

vUtkal coast → Deltaic plains of Ganga to

Mahanadi
vAndhra Coast → Utkal plains to Pulicat lake
vNorthern Circars → Utkal Coast + Andhra Coast
vCoromandel Coast → Between Krishna &
Kanyakumari
v The Islands
vThe island groups of Bay of Bengal: Andaman &
Nicobar Islands
vThe island groups of Arabian Sea: Lakshadweep
and Minicoy Islands.

v
v
v Andaman and Nicobar Islands
vcomposed of 265 big and small islands [203
Andaman islands + 62 Nicobar Islands].

vandaman islands are divided into three main

islands i.e. North, Middle and South.
vPort Blair, the capital of Andaman Nicobar Islands
lies in the South Andaman.
vAmong the Nicobar islands, the Great Nicobar is
the largest.
vBARREN AND NARCONDAM ISLANDS, are volcanic
islands.

v
Ø Lakshadweep & Minicoy Islands
Ø These islands were earlier (before 1st November
1973) known as Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi
Islands.
Ø The entire island group is built of coral deposits.
Ø These consist of approximately 36 islands of which
11 are inhabited.
Ø The islands form the smallest Union Territory of
India.

Ø These islands have calcium rich soils- organic

limestones and a scattered vegetation of palm
species.

Ø
Ø Some other Islands
Ø Majuli - world’s largest river island
Ø New Moore Island - It is an island in the Sunderban
deltaic region and it was a bone of contention
between India and Bangladesh.
Ø Pamban Island - between India and Sri Lanka.