AN INTRODUCTION TO INDIA

• The largest Country in the Indian subcontinent (2.1% of the world’s total area)
• Derive its name from the river Indus which flows through the Northwestern part of the Country.
• 7th largest country in the world in terms of area with a total land area of 32, 87,263 square kilometers. (other six biggest are: 1)Russia, 2)Canada, 3)china, 4)United States, 5)Brazil, 6)Australia)
• 17.5 % of the World’s population reside in India
• Situated in South Asia is divided into almost two equal parts by the Tropic of Cancer

PHYSIOGRAPHY OF INDIA

On basis of Physiography India can be divided into four units:
1) The Mountains in the North (Himalayas)
2) The plains of Northern India and the Coast Plains
3) The plateau region of the South.
4) Islands of India

1. HIMALAYAS

One of the youngest fold mountain ranges in the world, Comprise mainly sedimentary rocks. It extends from Jammu and Kashmir in the west to Assam, Manipur and Mizoram in the east. The Indus Valley and Brahmaputra Valley are taken as the Western and Eastern limits.

Himalayas are believed to have been formed during the Tertiary Era in the zone formerly called the Tethys Sea, a geosynclines situated between the Gondwanaland to the south and the Angaraland to the north.
According to this view the two blocks of landmass collided with each other and the sediments laid in the Tethys were compressed and folded to form the Himalayas. This theory explains the formation of the Himalayas as a result of inter-continental collision.

2. THE PLAINS OF INDIA

It includes both the plains of Northern India and the Coastal plains. The northern plain is largely alluvial in nature and the westernmost portion of it is occupied by the Thar Desert.
The coastal plains stretch along the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea coasts and these plains are also alluvial to a large extent.

3. PENINSULAR PLATEAU

The peninsular plateau is the name given to the area spreading to the south of the Indo-Gangetic plain and flanked by sea on three sides. This plateau is shaped like a triangle with its base in the north.
The Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats constitute its eastern and western boundaries.

River Narmada flows through a rift valley Divides the Peninsular plateau into two parts:
A. The Malwa Plateau in the North.
B. The Deccan Plateau in the South.

4. ISLANDS OF INDIA

The territorial limits of India include 247 islands

• Bay of Bengal = 204
• Gulf of Mannar & Arabian Sea = 43

The Andaman’s and Nicobars (the two groups separated by the Ten Degree Channel) form the two major groups in the Bay of Bengal.

The Andaman’s are divided into three groups:
The Nicobar is group of 19 islands, of which the Great Nicobar is the largest.
Two volcanic islands, the Barren and Narcondam are situated in the northern part of Nicobar island group.
All the islands in the Arabian Sea are coral islands and are surrounded by coral reefs.

These islands are also divided into two groups:
The Northern group is known as the Lakshadweep Islands
The Southern group is known as Minicoy Islands.