Physical Features of India

What to study?

 Introduction to the Physical Features of

India
 Physical Divisions of India:

 The Himalayan Mountains

Parallel Ranges of the Himalayas
Regional Classification of the Himalayas
 The Northern Plains

 The Peninsular Plateau

 The Central Highlands

 The Deccan Plateau

 NE Plateau

 The Indian Desert

 The Coastal Plains

 The Islands
The Himalayan Mountains

The Himalayas are mountain barriers that stretch over

the borders of northern India. These are some of the most
rugged and loftiest mountains of the world and are one
of the major landforms of earth. The Himalayas form an
arc that covers a distance of 2,400 Km.

Parallel Ranges of the Himalayas

The Himalayas primarily consists of three parallel ranges

which are divided into:

 Great or Inner Himalayas or the ‘Himadri’:

Perennially snowbound, the Great Himalayas
have the loftiest peaks. The Himadri has an
average height of 6,000 meters and consists
of all the major Himalayan Peaks. It is one of
the most prominent physical features of
India.
 Himachal or Lesser Himalaya: The more rugged

parts of the mountain range are often known

as the lesser Himalaya or Himachal. Himachal
is also widely known for its hill stations. These
ranges have an average height of 3700 to
4500 meters. Pir Panjal is the longest range.
 Outer Himalayan Range or Shiwaliks: These are

comparatively lower ranges, with altitude

varying from 900 to 1,100 meters. They
comprise the unconsolidated sediments that
get brought down by rivers from the Himadri
ranges.
 Duns: The longitudinal valley lying between

lesser Himalaya and the Shiwaliks are known

as Duns. Dehra Dun, Kotli Dun and Patli Dun
are some of the well-known Duns.
Regional Classification of the Himalayas

The Himalayas are also divided on the basis of regions of

the west to east:

 The part of the Himalayas lying between Indus and

Satluj has been traditionally known as Punjab
Himalaya but it is also known regionally as Kashmir
and Himachal Himalaya from west to east
respectively.
 . The part of the Himalayas lying between the Satluj
and Kali rivers is known as Kumaon Himalayas.
 The Kali and Tista rivers demarcate the Nepal
Himalayas and the part lying between Tista and
Dihang rivers is known as Assam Himalayas.
  The Brahmaputra marks the easternmost boundary
of the Himalayas.


The Northern Plains

The three major river systems, the Indus, the

Brahmaputra, and the Ganga have resulted in the
formation of the northern plain. Spreading over 7 lakh sq.
km, it is a vast area of alluvial soil.

The northern plain is divided into the following 3 sections:

 The Western part of the Northern Plain is referred

to as the Punjab Plains.
 The Indus and its tributaries–the Jhelum, the
Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and the Satluj originate
in the Himalaya.
 The Ganga plain extends between Ghaggar and
Teesta rivers.
 It is spread over the states of North India, Haryana,
Delhi, U.P., Bihar, partly Jharkhand and West
Bengal to its East, particularly in Assam lies the
Brahmaputra plain.
 The physical features of India, in context to the northern
plans, is given below:

Relief Description
Features of
Northern
Plains
Bhabar It is a narrow 8 KM to 16 KM wide range of boulders and pebbles. It is
in the foothills of Shivaliks or the outer Himalayan range. In this,
the streams disappear.
Khadar The more fertile part of the plains, this region comprises newer and
younger deposits of alluvial soil.
Bhangar This is the largest part of the Northern plain, which is formed of
older alluvial soil. It forms a terrace-like structure that lies above
the flood plains. The soil here consists of calcareous deposits called
“Kankar”
Terai The Terai region is wet and swampy. It is created by the rivers when
they re-emerge. The thickly-forested Dudhwa National Park is located
here.
The Peninsular Plateau

The Peninsular Plateau defines the physical features of

India. It is mainly composed of old igneous, crystalline,
and metamorphic rocks and is also one of the oldest
landmasses. The three major divisions of the Plateaus are
the Central Highlands, Deccan Plateau, and NE Plateau.

The Central Highlands

Spreading over the major area of the Malwa Plateau, The

Central Highlands lie next to the north of the Narmada
river. If you look closely at the physical features of India
map, you will find that these highlands are narrower in
the east and broader in the west.

The Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau forms a broad base of a triangular

landmass that falls to the south of the Narmada river.
The Satpura range, the Kaimur hills, and the Maikal
range, which forms its eastern extensions as can be seen
in the physical features of the India map. Furthermore,
the slope moves gently eastwards.

NE Plateau
 Also called Meghalaya/Karbi-Anglong Plateau/N-central
Chachar Hills, this is the extension of the main peninsular
plateau.

Western Ghats Eastern Ghats

Western Ghats lie parallel to the western
coast.
Their average elevation is 900– 1600
metres
The Eastern Ghats are discontinuous and
irregular and dissected by rivers draining
into the Bay of Bengal
The highest peaks include the Anai Mudi
(2,695metres) and the Doda Betta (2,637
metres).
The Eastern Ghats stretch from the Mahanadi
Valley to the Nigiris in the south
Their average elevation is 600 metres
The Western Ghats cause orographic rain by
facing the rain bearing moist winds to rise along
the western slopes of the Ghats.
Mahendragiri (1,501 metres) is the highest peak
in the Eastern Ghats

The Indian Desert

 The entire expanse of the Indian desert lies in the

western margins of the Aravali hills (demarcated in
the physical features of the India map).
 It is covered in sandy plains and dunes, this region
receives rainfall below 150 mm every year.
 Hence, there is minimal vegetation cover. The largest
river that flows here is Luni.

The Coastal Plains

The coastal plains are narrow stretches of land across the
Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. As seen on the physical
features of India map, the Coastal Plains in the southern
part are broadly divided into, The Konkan, The Kannada
Plain, and the Malabar coast. On the eastern side, across
the Bay of Bengal, the plains are further classified into
Northern Circar and the Coromandel Coast. Tabulated
below are some of the major differences between the
western and eastern coastal plains:

The Islands

India mainly comprises two major Island groups, the

Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea and The
Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Andaman Island
groups include 204 smaller islands. Furthermore, the
A&N islands are divided by 10-degree channels.

The group of islands is divided into two sections:

 Andaman in the North

 Nicobar in the South

These islands are close to the equator, have thick forest

covers and experience equatorial climate

 There is a great diversity of flora and fauna in this

group of islands.
 These islands lie close to the equator and experience
equatorial climate and have.
 This island group has a great diversity of flora and
fauna. thick forest cover.