Physiography

INTRODUCTION Physiography is that branch of geography which studies the present relief features of
the earth's surface or of natural features in their causal relationships. As described in the previous
chapter, the present surface features of India owe their formation to various geological events which
took place in different geological periods. Both endogenetic and exogenetic forces have been
consistently working to shape the present land forms on the surface of the earth. India has a unique
personality with regard to physiography. The great diversity of relief features encompassed in the vast
dimansions of the country is simply amazing. The physiographic diversity of India embraces lofty young
mountains, flat plains and one of the oldest plateaus of the world. The Indian islands have their own
unique personality. A rough estimate made by the Census Commission in 1951, shows that of the total
land area, 10.7 per cent is more than 2135 m above sea level and is mountanious, 18.6 per cent is 1. THE
HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS hilly area (305 to 2135 m), 27.7 per cent is plateau (305 to 915 m) and the
remaining 43 per cent is plain area.

Due to geological complexities and geomorpho- logical diversities, division of India into physiographic
regions is a difficult task. The views expressed by geographers in this regard are as diverse as the
diversities of landforms in India. Some scholars follow the triple tectonic division viz. (i) the Himalayan
Mountains (ii) the Indo-Gangetic plains and (iii) the Indian Peninsula. There are some scholars who feel
that the coastal plains have a separate identity and should be treated as such. More recently, it has been
felt that the distant islands in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea should also be treated separately.
Thus, to be more realistic and for the sake of convenience, it is preferred to divide India into following
five physiographic divisions (Fig. 3.1).

1. The Himalayan Mountains. 2. The Great Plain of North India. 3. The Peninsular Plateau.4. The Coastal
Plains.5. The Islands.

The Himalayan mountains are also known as the Himadri, Himavan or Himachal. The Himalayas consist
of the youngest and the loftiest mountain chains in the world. The magnitude of their size can be
estimated from the fact that the central axial rangenof the main Himalayas alone stretches for a
distance of over 2,400 km (over 22° longitude) from the Indus gorge in the west to the Brahmaputra
gorge in the east. The width of the Himalayas varies from 500 km the Pamir, the Himalayas extend
eastward in the form in Kashmir to 200 km in Arunachal Pradesh. The total of an arcuate curve which is
convex to the south. The area of the Himalayan mountain region is nearly five southern boundary of the
Himalayas is well defined lakh sq km. The Pamir, popularly known as the roof by the foothills (300 m
contour line) but the northern of the world is the connecting link between the boundary is rather
obscure and merges with the edge Himalayas and the high ranges of Central Asia. From of
the Tibet Plateau.
The Himalayas have attained a unique personality owing to their high altitude, steep gradient, snow
capped summits, deeply dissected topography. youthful drainage, complex geological structure and rich
temperate flora in the subtropical latitudes.

The Himalayan mountain chains have the loftiest peaks of the world. The number of peaks higher than
8,000 metre is 14 and those over 7,500 metre total 20. Of the 94 Asian peaks which exceed 7,300 metre,
all but two are in the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges. The number of peaks over 7,000 metre runs into
hundreds and several peaks above 6000 metre have not been adequately counted and mapped. Many
of them have not been even given their names till now.

Origin of the Himalayas

Several scholars have expressed their views regarding the origin of the Himalayas. Prominent among
them are O.H.K. Spate, D.N. Wadia, M.S. Krishnan, S. Burrard, E.H. Pasco, G.E. Pilgrim, de Terra, T.T.
Paterson, T. Hagen, Auden, A. Heim and A. Gansser, Wagner and a host of others. There is almost a
complete unanimity that the Himalayan mountains have come out of a great geosynchine called the
Tethys Sea and that the uplift has taken place in different phases. But divergent views have been
expressed regarding the process and time of uplift as well as the forces responsible for uplift on such a
vast scale. The consensus which has emerged from the views of different scholars is reproduced as
under:

About 120 million years ago, the arrangement of continents and oceans was quite different from what it
is today. There was a super continent known as Pangaea. Its northern part consisted of the present
North America and Eurasia (Europe and Asia) which (Fig. 33). was called Laurasia or Angaraland. The
southern part of Pangaea consisted of South America, Africa, South India, Australia and Antarctica. This
landmass was called Gondwanaland. In between Laurasia and Gondwanaland, there was a long, narrow
and shallow sea known as the Tethys Sea. Sediments were brought by rivers from these landmasses and
deposited on the bed of this sea. These sediments were subjected to powerful compression, either
because of the southward movement of the Angaraland or due to the northward movement of the
Gondwanaland. Majority of the scientists believe that it is the northward movement of the
Gondwanaland which caused compression in the sediments at the floor of the Tethys Sea. In any case,
whether Angaraland moved southwards or Gondwanaland moved northwards or both moved towards
each other, the net result would be the same; the sediment in the Tethys Sea was squeezed and
crushed, and a series of folds were formed one behind the other giving birth to the highest relief
features on the earth-the Himalayas. The curved shape of the Himalayas convex to the south, is
attributed to the maximum push offered at two ends of the Indian Peninsula during its northward drift.
In the northwest it was done by the Aravalis and in the north-east by the Assam ranges, both acting as
two extended arms pushing out the extremities, while the central area sagged giving the arcuate shape
to the Himalayas. Recent studies have shown that India is moving northwards at the rate of about five
cm per year and crashing into rest of the Asia, buckling the Himalayas between Angaraland and
Gondwanaland.
It is important to note that the Himalayas do not comprise a single range but a series of at least three
ranges running more or less parallel to one another. Therefore, the Himalayas are supposed to have
emerged out of the Himalayan Geosyncline ie. the Tethys Sea in three different phases following one
after the other. The first phase commenced about 120 million years ago, when the Himalayas were
formed. Some geologists are of the opinion that the formation of the Great Himalayas was completed
about 70 million years ago. The second phase took place about 25 to 30 million years ago when the
Middle Himalayas were formed. The Shiwaliks were formed in the last phase of the Himalayan orogeny-
say about two million to twenty million years ago

The diastrophic movements which helped in the formation of the Himalayas started in the late
Cretaceous times and continued through the Eocene, Middle Miocene, Pliocene to the lower Pliocene
and finally into the upper Pleistocene to sub-Recent times. There are evidences to show that the process
of uplift of the Himalayas is not yet complete and they are still rising. The heights of various places as
determined by trigonometrical methods indicate that the Himalayas continue to rise till date. According
to the estimates made by Godwin Austen, the average elevation of the Himalayas was 2,440 m above
the sea level about a million years ago which has now risen to 3,050m. The Mahabharat range is still in a
state of rigorous uplift. Following evidences are cited to prove that the Himalyas are still rising:

1. Some of the fossil formation found in the Shiwalik hills are also available in the Tibet plateau. It
indicates that the past climate of the Tibet plateau was somewhat similar to the climate of the
Shiwalik hills and that the elevation of Tibet plateau was almost the same as that of the present
Shiwalik hills and the plateau has since risen to its present elevation.
2. Desiccation of lakes of Tibet has been observed within the recent or even in historical times.
Surrounding these lakes, the sand and gravel terraces at higher levels, sometimes 60-100 meters
above the present water level, are seen which prove that the water stood at a much higher level
till recent times. This could be possible only in the event of uplift of the region.
3. The frequent occurrence of earthquake in the Himalayas region shows that the Himalayas have
not yet attained isostatic equilibrium and they still continue to rise further.
4. The Himalayan rivers are still in their youthful stage and have been rejuvenated in recent times.
This is another proof of rising trend in the Himalayas. Terraces found at the valley sides suggest
rejuvenation of the valley region due to uplift.
The present rate of uplift of the Himalayas has been calculated at 5 to 10 cm per year.