Physiographic Subdivisions

of
INDIA

Presented by:
Bhaskarjyoti Rajkhowa
 Content
• Introduction
• Sub-divisions
• The Extra-Peninsular India
•The Indo-Ganga-Brahmaputra Plain
•The Peninsular India
•Coastal Plains
•Islands of India
 Introduction
• India lies on the Indian Plate, the
northern portion of the Indu-
Australian Plate, whose continental
crust forms the Indian subcontinent.
• The country occupies 2.4% of the
total volume of the world.
• India has an area of 3.24 million
square kilometers.
 Sub-divisons
•Physiographically India is divided into five
major divisions-

The Extra-Peninsular India

The Indo-Gangatic Plain
The Peninsular India
Coastal Plains of SW and SE India
Islands of India
Map of Major Subdivions
 The Extra-Peninsular India
• It is composed of the Himalayan
mountain ranges in the north and the
Arakan-Yoma ranges in the east.
• Total length is about 2400 km.
• At its western extremity, the
orographic trend takes a sharp
arcuate bent known as Syntaxial
bend.
Map of Himalayas
 Subdivisions of Himalaya
• The Himalaya is further subdivided into three
tectonic zones-
 The Lesser Himalaya
The Higher Himalaya
 Tethyan Himalayan zone
 Indo-Gangatic Plain
• It is a deep crustal trough filled with
quaternary sediments.
• The plain is feed by the drainage systems of
three major rivers- Indo, Ganga and
Brahmaputra
• It covers an area about 700,000 square km.
• Major tributaries of Indus- Jhelam, Chenab,
Ravi and Sutlej.
• Major tributaries of Ganga- Yamuna, Banas,
Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Son etc.
 The Peninsular India
• It has extremely varied physiography
comprising a complex association of
plateau, mountain with widely distributed
drainage, peneplained ancient folded
mountains, massifs, coastal plains etc.
• Areas in Peninsular India are Aravalli,
Deccan, Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats etc.
• Important rivers are Damodar, Brahmini,
Kaveri, Krishna, Pamba, Mahi etc.
Map of Peninsular India
 Coastal Plains of SW and SE India
• It is divided into two major categories-
Eastern and Western coast.
• The coastal plains of India are located along
the Arabian Sea coast in the west and along
the Bay of Bengal coast in the east.
• Includes coastal landforms, beach deposits
and other swampy areas.
• This east coastal plain begins from the north
with the plains formed by the Subarnarekha
River to extend to the south till Kanyakumari.
• The East Coastal Plain can be physio-graphically
subdivided into: Coromandel Coast and North Sircar
Coast.
• Subdivisions of the West Coastal Plain: The Coastal
Plains of GujaratThe Coastal Plain of the KonkanThe
Coastal Plains of KarnatakaThe Coastal Plains of
Malabar Lagoons.
•Importance of coastal plains of India:
1. The fertile plains along the coast produce large
amounts of rice, sugarcane, coconut, various
spices etc.
2. Through the ports of Mumbai, Chennai,
Mormugao, Kochi (Cochin) etc most of the
international trade of India is conducted.
Map of Coastal Plains
 Islands of India
• There are two major offshore islands of India:
1. The Lakshadweep Islands
2. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Lakshadweep Islands which are situated in the
Arabian Sea, consists of forty three islands,
encircled by beautiful coral reefs.
•The Andaman & Nicobar Islands is a group
comprising two hundred and four islands,
considered to be extensions of the mountain
system in the northeast of India. Some of the
islands are also volcanic in origin.
Photos of Islands of India
 Bibliography
• Fundamentals of Historical Geology and
Stratigraphy of India by Ravindra Kumar.
• Fundamentals of Geomorphology by Manash
Pratim Gogoi.
• Wikipedia
THANK YOU