Physiography of India

Introduction
India has a complex history and is one of the World's oldest and largest civilizations. It ranges
from the snow-capped Himalayas in the north to Sun-drenched southern coastal villages and the
lush tropical forests on the south-west coast, from the rich Brahmaputra valley in its east to the
west Thar Desert. India shares its border from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the north-west, China,
Bhutan and Nepal to the north, Myanmar to the Far East and Bangladesh to the east.

• Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and
the Gulf of Mannar.
• The country can be divided into six
zones, mainly North, South, East,
West, and Central and Northeast
zone. It has 28 states and eight
union territories.
• India is located entirely in the
northern hemisphere with
latitudinal extent for the mainland
extends from 8°4' N to 37°6' N and
southern boundary extends up to
6°45' N in the Bay of Bengal. India's
longitudinal extent is from 97°25′ E
in Arunanchal Pradesh to 68°7′ E in
Gujrat.
• The mainland extends to about
3214 km from north to south
between the extreme latitudes. It
also extends to about 2933 km from
east to west between the extreme
longitudes.
• It covers an area of 32,872,631 sq.km which is 2.4% of the World's land surface area and
stands as 7th largest country in the World.
• India also has a coastline of 6,100 km in the mainland and 7,517 km including islands.
• They are classified into the following physiographic units:
1. The Himalayas and other ranges.
2. The Indo-Gangetic plain.
3. The Thar Deserts
4. The Peninsular Plateau.
5. The Coastal belts and Islands.
 Mountains of India
The mountains of India can be studied in two ways:
Horizontal Distribution (West to East) and the vertical distribution (north to south)
Based on Horizontal distribution, Himalayas are distribution into the following types

Kashmir Himalayas
• It lies between the Indus and the Ravi river. Kashmir Himalayas have a series of ranges
such as the Karakoram, Ladakh, Zaskar, and PirPanjal.
• The north-eastern part of the Kashmir Himalayas, i.e., Ladakh is a cold desert. It lies
between the Greater Himalayas and the Karakoram ranges.
• Between the Great Himalayas and the PirPanjal range, lies the world-famous Valley of
Kashmir and the famous Dal Lake.
• Important glaciers of Kashmir: Baltoro and Siachen
• Fresh Water Lakes: Dal Lake and Wular Lake.
• Saltwater Lake: Pangong Tso and Tso Moriri
• The Kashmir Himalayas are known for Karewa formations, which are useful for the
cultivation of Zafran, a local variety of saffron.
• Important Rivers: Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab
• Point to note: Most of the rivers form meanders in its youth stage, but the Jhelum river
form meanders in its youth stage

Himachal or Uttarakhand Himalayas

• It lies between the Ravi in the west and the Kali (a tributary of Ghaghara) in the east.
• Major river systems: Indus and Ganga.
• The Himalayas is the extension of the Ladakh cold desert.
• All three ranges of Himalayas are also present in this section
• The three ranges are the Great Himalayan range, the Lesser Himalayas (which is locally
known as Dholadhar in Himachal Pradesh and Nag tibha in Uttarakhand) the Shiwalik
range.
• The two most important features of this region are the Shiwalik and 'Dun formations.
• Some important duns located in the region are the Dehra Dun, Chandigarh-Kalka dun,
Nalagarh dun, Harike dun, etc.
• Dehra Dun is the largest among all the duns with an approximate length of 35-45 km.
• It has a width of 22-25 km.
• In the Great Himalayan range, Bhotia's live in the valleys.
 • These are nomadic groups who migrate to Bugyals' during summer months and return
to the valleys during winters.
• The famous 'Valley of flowers' lies in this region.
• The places of pilgrimage like the Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath(Char
Dham), and Hemkund Sahib lie in this region.
• The region has five famous Prayags: Dev Prayag, Karan Prayag, Rudra Prayag, Nand
Prayag

Sikkim Himalayas
 • Sikkim Himalayas is bordered by Nepal Himalayas on the west side and Bhutan
Himalayas on the east side.
• Sikkim Himalaya is relatively small but is the most significant part of the Himalayas.
• River: Teesta
• Important Mountain peaks: Kanchenjunga.
• Lepcha tribes inhabit the higher areas of this region, and the southern part, mainly the
Darjiling Himalayas, has a mixed population of Nepalis, Bengalis, and tribal from Central
India.
• The British introduced tea plantations in this region by taking advantage of the physical
conditions of the region, such as moderate slope, thick soil cover, high organic content,
well-distributed rainfall throughout the year, and mild winters.
• Absence of the Shiwalik formations. In place of Shiwaliks here, the 'duar formations' are
important and have also been used for the development of tea gardens.

Arunachal Himalayas
• Arunachal Himalayas extend from the east of the Bhutan Himalayas to the Diphu pass in
the east.
• The mountain range in this region is from south-west to northeast.
• Important mountain peaks: Kangtu and NamchaBarwa.
• Rivers: Brahmaputra, Kameng, Subansiri, Dihang, Dibang, and Lohit
• Hills: Monpa, Dafla, Abor, Mishmi, Nishi and the Naga (From west to east)
 • The region is known for shifting cultivation or slash and burn cultivation

The Eastern Hills

• The Eastern Himalayas align from the north to the south direction.
• They are known by different local names.
• In the north, the Eastern Himalayas are known as Patkai Bum, Naga hills, the Manipur
hills, and in the south, they are known as Mizo or Lushai hills.
• These are mainly low hills, inhabited by numerous tribal groups practising Jhum
cultivation.
• Important River: Barak River
• Important Lake: Loktak lake
 • Mizoram is also known as Molasses basin, which is made up of soft unconsolidated
deposits
• River in the eastern part of Manipur are the tributaries of Chindwin River
• Chindwin River, itself is a tributary of Irrawady of Myanmar

Himalayan Mountains-Vertical Distribution

The Great Himalayas
• The great Himalayas are also known as Inner Himalaya, Central Himalaya, or Himadri.
• It is mainly formed of the crystallines (granites and gneisses) overlaid by
metamorphosed sediments (limestone). These mountains are convex to the south, just
like the other two ranges.
• The Himadri terminates abruptly at the syntaxial bends. One in the Nanga Parbat in the
north-west and the other in the Namcha Barwa in the north-east

• Important Peaks: Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga, Makalu

• Antecedent River: The river which got its origin before the upliftment of the landmass is
called an antecedent river. If the landmass rises on the way of the river, the antecedent.

Lesser Himalayas
 • Lesser Himalayas lies between the Shiwaliks in the south and the Greater Himalayas in
the north.
• The Lower Himalayan ranges are almost 60-80 km wide and 2400 km in length.
• The elevation of the Lower Himalayas varies from 3,500 to 4,500 m above sea level.
• The Lower Himalayas have steep, bare southern slopes (steep slopes prevent soil
formation) and gentler, forest-covered northern slopes.
• There are several ranges under the Lesser Himalayas.
• PirPanjal, Dhauladhar, Nagtibba, Mahabharata Range(North to South)

Shiwalik
• It is the newest part of the Himalayas.
• Shiwalik Himalayas is located between the Great Plains and Lesser Himalayas.
• The altitude generally varies from 600 to 1500 meters.
• It runs for a distance of 2,400 km from the Potwar Plateau (west) to the Brahmaputra
valley (east).
• The width of the Shiwalik Himalayas varies from 50 km in Himachal Pradesh to less than
15 km in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Shivalik is an almost unbroken chain of low hills except for a gap of 80-90 km.
• The unbroken chain is occupied by the valley of the Teesta River and Raidak River.

Plateaus
• The Peninsular Plateau rise from the height of 150 m above the river plains up to an
elevation of 600-900m is the irregular triangle
• The outer extent of the Peninsular plateau extends as Delhi Ridge in the north-west, the
Cardamom Hills in the south, and Gir range in the west
• An extension of Peninsular Plateau in the northeast is present in the form of Shillong
and Karbi-Anglong plateau.
• Peninsular India is the combination of a series of plateaus such as the Hazaribagh
plateau, the Palamau plateau, the Ranchi plateau, the Malwa plateau, the Coimbatore
plateau, and the Karnataka plateau, etc.
• Peninsular Plateau is among the oldest and the most stable landmass of India.
• The general elevation of the Peninsular plateau is from the west to the east.
• The same pattern is also proved by the pattern of the flow of rivers.
• Important physiographic features of the peninsular plateau are tors, block mountains,
rift valleys, spurs, bare rocky structures, and wall-like quartzite dykes that provides
natural sites for water storage
• The western and north-western part of the peninsular plateau has black soil.
 • This Peninsular plateau has undergone various phases of upliftment and submergence
accompanied by crustal faulting and fractures
• The Bhima fault is important because of its recurrent seismic activities.
• The north-western part of the plateau has ravines and gorges.
• Chambal, Bhind, and Morena ravines are famous ravines.
• The Peninsular plateau has three parts.

The Deccan Plateau:

The Western Ghats borders the Deccan Plateau in the west, Satpura, Maikal range and
Mahadeo hills in the north and the Eastern Ghats in the east.
Western Ghats

• The Western Ghats are locally known by various names such as:
• Sahyadri in Maharashtra, Nilgiri hills in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and Anaimalai hills,
and Cardamom hills in Kerala.
• The Western Ghats are comparatively higher in elevation, and they are more continuous
than the Eastern Ghats.

Eastern Ghats

• Eastern Ghats' average elevation is almost 1,500 m, and it increases from north to
south.
• The highest peak of Peninsular plateau: Anaimudi is followed by Dodabetta (2,637 m)
• Most of the Peninsular rivers originate in the Western Ghats.
• The Eastern Ghats comprises of the discontinuous and low hills are highly eroded by the
rivers such as Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, the Kaveri, etc.
• Some important ranges are Javadi hills, the Nallamala hills, the Palconda range, the
Mahendragiri hills, etc.
• The Eastern and the Western Ghats meet at the Nilgiri hills.

The North-Eastern Plateau:

• It is an extension of the Peninsular plateau.
• It is assumed that a huge fault was formed between the Rajmahal hills and the
Meghalaya plateau due to the force exerted by the north-eastern motion of the Indian
plateau at the time of Himalayan origin.
• Later this depression was filled up by the numerous rivers' deposition activity.
• Today the plateau of Meghalaya and Karbi Anglong stands separate from the main
Peninsular Plateau.
• The Meghalaya plateau is sub-divided into three hills: (i) The Garo Hills; (ii) The Khasi
Hills; (iii) The Jaintia Hills.
• Meghalaya
• gets maximum rainfall from the south-west monsoon. Consequently, the plateau of
Meghalaya has a highly eroded surface.
• Cherrapunji has a bare rocky surface without any permanent vegetation cover.

The Central Highlands

 • The Central highlands are bounded to the west by the Aravali range.
• The Satpura range is a series of scarped plateaus on the south. The central Highlands
forms the northernmost boundary of the Deccan plateau.
• It is one of the best examples of the relict mountains, which are highly denuded and
form discontinuous ranges.
• The extension of the Peninsular plateau can be seen until Jaisalmer in the West.
• Jaisalmer, it has been covered by the longitudinal sand ridges and crescent-shaped sand
dunes called barchans.
• The central Highland region has undergone metamorphic processes in its geological
history, which can be shown through metamorphic rocks such as marble, slate, gneiss,
etc.

Passes of India
Many mountains pass present in the areas of Jammu, Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and
Arunachal Pradesh.
Some passes also lie in the Western Ghats.
Some of the important passes are as follows:
Passes of Jammu and Kashmir (including Leh-Ladakh)

Zoji La Zoji-La pass is located on the Great Himalayas. It connects Srinagar

with Kargil and Leh.
Photu La Photu-La is located on the Zaskar Range
Banihal Banihal pass is located on the Pir Panjal Range
Chang-La It connects Ladakh with Tibet
Aghil-Pass It connects Ladakh with Xinjiang province of China
Bara Lachla It connects Manali with Leh
 Khardunga La It connects Leh and Siachen Glaciers
Burzil Pass Connects the Astore Valley of Kashmir and Deosai Plains of Ladakh
Passes of Uttarakhand

Mana Pass It connects Tibet with Uttarakhand

Niti Pass It also connects Tibet with Uttarakhand
Lipu lekh It connects Tibet with Uttarakhand. The Pilgrims for Mansarovar
travel through this pass
Rohtang Pass It connects Kullu, Spiti, and Lahul

Passes of Sikkim

Nathu La It Connects India with China

Jelep La It passes through the Chumbi valley. It connects Sikkim with Lhasa,
the capital of Tibet

Passes of Himachal Pradesh

Shipki La: It connects Himachal Pradesh and Tibet. Sutlej River enters India through this pass.
Passes of Arunachal Pradesh

Bomdi-La It is located in the east of Bhutan. It connects Arunachal Pradesh with

china
Dihang Pass Trijunction of India, China, and Myanmar
Diphu Pass Trijunction of India, China, and Myanmar

Passes of South India

Pal Ghat The Pal Ghat pass is located between Nilgiri Hills in the North and
Anaimalai Hills towards the south and Connects Coimbatore in Tamil
Nadu with Kerala
Thal Ghat Connects Mumbai to Nasik
Bor Ghat Connects Mumbai to Pune