The Indian Subcontinent : Position, Extent and Physical Features

⇒ Mainland of the Indian subcontinent, comprising India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan extends between 8°4’N and 37°6’N latitudes and between 68°7′E and 97°25’E longitudes.

⇒ If the sixth country of this subcontinent Sri Lanka, is Are included, then it starts from 6°N latitude.

⇒ The Tropic of Cancer (23½°N) passes through the middle of India.

⇒ Total area of the Indian subcontinent is 44.9 lakh sq. km i.e. India 32,87,263 sq. km, Pakistan 7,96,095 sq. Prekm, Bangladesh 1,48,393 sq. km, Nepal 1,47,181 sq km., Bhutan 46,500 sq. km and Sri Lanka 65,610 sq. km. From North to South this subcontinent stretches over 3,200 km and from east to west it is 2,933 km. 82°30’E longitude, also known as ‘Standard Meridian of India’, helps in calculating the Indian Standard Time (IST) which is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

⇒ This very meridian (8212° E) dictates time in Sri Lanka and Nepal also.

⇒ India forms part of the large continental land mass of Eurasia.

⇒ It is located on one of the peninsulas of Southern Asia. The country extends from Kashmir in north to Kanyakumari in the south.

⇒ The Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal are situated on western and eastern side of peninsular India respectively.

⇒ The latitudinal extent of the country is from 8°4′ North to 37°6′ North.

⇒ The Tropic of Cancer (23½° N) which passes through the middle of the country measures from 68° 7′ E to 97°25′E. The location of the country is in the northern and the eastern hemispheres.

⇒ The importance of location of India is that it is located on the world’s major sea routes.

⇒ Due to its location, India has maritime contacts with south-west Asia and Africa on the west and southeast Asia in the east. Its location has given India an advantage of the route of the Suez Canal for trade with North America and Europe.

⇒ India is the seventh largest country (in terms of area) in the world. Total area is about 3.28 million sq. km.

⇒ The area of India is nearly equal to the area of the continent of Europe excluding Russia. India is eight times as large as Japan. India ranks as the second largest country in terms of population (next to China only).

⇒ No continent of the world except Asia has a larger population than that of India. India contains about onesixth of the total population of the world.

⇒ A chain of high mountains radiate out from the Pamir Knot which lies just in the north of India.

⇒ In these mountains the Hindukush, the Sulaiman and the Kirthar in the west and the Himalayas in the east separate the Indian subcontinent from rest of Asia.

⇒ Indian subcontinent can be divided into following physical divisions :

* The Great Mountain Wall of the North

* The Great Northern Plains

* The Great Peninsular Plateau

* The Coastal Plains

* The Great Indian Desert

* The Island Groups

⇒ The Himalayas, the highest mountain wall of the world, are situated on the northern boundary of India like an arc.

⇒ From west to east the Himalayas are 2500 km long. The average breadth of the Himalayas is between 250 to 400 km.

⇒ Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, lies in these mountains in Nepal.

⇒ The Himalayas consist of three parallel mountain ranges (i) The Greater Himalayas, (ii) The Lesser Himalayas and (iii) The Outer Himalayas.

⇒ This is the loftiest of the three ranges of Himalayas. Mount Everest lies in this range.

⇒ These snow-covered mountains give birth to many glaciers. The Ganga originates from this glacier.

⇒ South of the Greater Himalayas, the range also lies parallel to it from west to east. This ranges 60 to 80 km wide and its average height ranges between 3500 to 4500 metres.

⇒ Tourist centres like Shimla, Mussorie and Nainital are situated in this range.

⇒ The northern plains are divided into three sub-divisions. These are the Punjab and Haryana plains, the Ganga plains and the Brahmaputra valley.

⇒ The Ganga plains form the largest lowland drained by the Ganga and its tributaries.

⇒ The Yamuna is the most important tributary of the Ganga.

⇒ The Ghaghara, the Gandak, the Kosi etc. are other tributaries of the Ganga.

⇒ The Sone, which flows northward, and the Damodar are tributaries of the Ganga while the Chambal and the Betwa are tributaries of the Yamuna from the peninsular plateau.

⇒ The Ganga plain has an extremely gentle slope. Parts of the plain are subject to floods in the rainy season. In the lower course, the Ganga divides itself into tributaries to form a large delta along with the Brahmaputra.

⇒ The Punjab and Haryana plains represent a part of the Indus basin. A low watershed separates these plains from the Ganga plains.

⇒ Anamudi or Anaimudi (2,695 m) situated in Sahyadri range is the highest peak of the peninsula.

⇒ The Deccan plateau includes the area to the south of the Vindhyas.

⇒ The western edge of the plateau rises steeply from the Arabian Sea to form the Western Ghats (which includes the Sahyadri).

⇒ The Deccan plateau slopes gently towards the east. The surface of the plateau is dissected into a rolling upland by a number of rivers. The elevation ranges from 300 to 900 metres.

⇒ The eastern edge of the plateau is known as the Eastern Ghats.

⇒ The north-western region of the Deccan plateau is covered by nearly horizontal sheets of lava. This region is called ‘Deccan trap region.’ The Deccan plateau is drained by many long east flowing rivers. These rivers originate in the Western Ghats, flow towards the east and enter the Bay of Bengal.

⇒ The Godavari, the Mahanadi, the Krishna and the Cauvery are the major rivers that have built deltas along the coast.

⇒ The Narmada and the Tapti rivers are west flowing and do not have deltas. Both the rivers enter the Arabian Sea along the Gujarat coast.

⇒ Narmada and Sone rivers originate at Amarkantak.

Major Plateaus: Marwar Upland, Central Highland, Bundelkhand, Malwa Plateau, Baghelkhand, Chhotanagpur Plateau (Hazaribagh Plateau, Ranchi Plateau and Raj Mahal Hills), Meghalaya Plateau, Deccan Plateau, Maharashtra Plateau, Karnataka Plateau, Telangana Plateau, Chhattisgarh Plain.

⇒ Narrow strips of flat land on eastern and western coasts are known as the East Coastal Plain and the West Coastal Plain respectively.

⇒ This plain which lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats spreads from Gujarat in the north to Kanyakumari in the south.

⇒ It is broader in the north and narrower in the south. This uneven plain has been dissected by many fast flowing rivers.

⇒ Its northen part from Gujarat to Goa is called Konkan, while southern part from Goa to Kanyakumari is known as Malabar. Several lagoons (salt water lakes separated from the main sea by sand bars and spits) are found on the coastal plain.

⇒ Important ports developed on its coast from north to south are: Kandla, Mumbai, New Jawahar Port Mumbai, Marmagao, Mangalore and Cochin.

⇒ This broader coastal plain spreads along the Bay of Bengal from Odisha in the north to Kaynakumari in the south.

⇒ Its northern part is known as Northern Circar plains and the southern part is called Coromandal Coast. Rivers like Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery form deltas on this plain.

⇒ This coast is famous for rice cultivation. A large number of lagoons are also found here. Chilka and Pulicat lakes are fine examples of lagoons on our east coast.

⇒ It lies to the west of the Aravali range. It extends over major part of Rajasthan and Sindh in Pakistan.

⇒ This desert does not get much rain as the Aravali range run parallel to the south-western monsoon winds.

⇒ It is in the rain shadow area of the Bay of Bengal current.

⇒ Lake Sambhar is found here.

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