India is located between 8^o 4’ and 37^o 6’ north latitude and 68^o 7’ and 97^o 25’ east longitude. India measures 3241 km from north to south and 2933 km from east to west with a total land area of 3,287,263 sq. km. India is the 7th largest country in the world. It has a land frontier of 15,200 km and a coastline of 7516.5 km. Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea are the parts of India. The country shares its political borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan on the west and Bangladesh and Burma on the east. The northern boundary is made up of China, Nepal, and Bhutan. India is separated from Sri Lanka by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.

CONTENTS

• Physical Region
• Mountain Ranges
• Important Mountain Peaks
• Watersheds
• River and Plains
• Desert
• Pennisula
• Climate
• Natural Vegetation
• Agriculture

Physical Regions

The mainland, in geographical terms is broadly divided into

• the great mountains,
• the river the plains,
• the desert, and
• the peninsula

Mountain Ranges

The mountains extend for more than 2400 km. they are seven.

1. the Himalayas,
2. the Patkai and other ranges bordering India in the north and north east,
3. the Vindhyas, which separates Indo-Gangetic plain from the Deccan Plateau,
4. the Satpura,
5. the Aravalli,
6. the Sahyadri, which covers the eastern fringe of the west coast plains, and
7. the eastern ghats, irregularly scattered on the East Coast and forming the boundary of the East Coast Plains.

Important Mountain Peaks:

Height in meter above Mean Sea Level:

• in Pak – occupied territory

Watersheds

There are three watersheds

1. Himalayan range with its Karakoram branch in the north,
2. Vindhyan and Satpura ranges in the Central India, and
3. Sahyadri or Western Ghats on the West Coast.

Rivers and Plains

The main rivers of the Himalayan group are the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. These rivers are both snow-fed and rain-fed and have therefore continuous flow throughout the year. Himalayan rivers discharge about 70% of their inflow into the sea. This includes about 5% from central Indian rivers. They join the Ganga and drain to the Bay of Bengal.
The plains of Ganga and Indus run for about 2400 km with a width ranging from 240 km to 320 km. They are formed in the river basins of Ganga-Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Indus, Godavari, Kaveri, etc.

Desert

The desert region is located in the northern and north western part of the country. It can be divided in \to two parts: the great desert extends from the edge of Rann of Kuchch beyond the Luni river northward. The whole of Rajasthan-Sind Frontier runs through this. The little desert extends from Luni between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur up to northern wastes (dry and rocky land)

Peninsula

   The peninsula is marked by elevated landmass with height ranging from 460 to 1220m. The Deccan and the Southern part surrounded by water on three sides makes the peninsula. It is flanked by the Eastern Ghats on the east and Western Ghats on the west. Between the Ghats and the sea lies the narrow coastal belt.

Climate

Traditionally, seasons in India are divided into six – Vasanta(Mar-Apr), Grishma (May-Jun), Varsha(Jul-Aug), Sharada(Sep-Oct), Hemanta(Nov-Dec) and Shishira(Jan-Feb). in broad terms, India experiences three main seasons, such as

• Winter – Dec to March
• Summer – Apr to May and
• Monsoon – South West Jun to Sept, and North East (Retiring South West monsoon) – Oct to Nov.

Between the two main seasons are Spring and Autumn.

India receives 86% of the rain during the SW monsoon. NE monsoon is very restricted one – experienced in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and sometimes AP and Karnataka.   

Natural Vegetation

India has six types of forests.

• Evergreen (Tropical Forests) – is found in areas with 200 to 300 cm rainfall; av. Annual temperature. 20oC to 27oC;av. Annual humidity > 80%
•  Deciduous (Monsoon Forests) – found in places with lesser rainfall of 150 to 200 cm; mean annual temperature between 24oC to 28oC; humidity  75%
• Dry Forest – are found where rainfall is scanty between 75 to 100 cm; mean annual temperature 23oC to 29oC;humidity  50 to 60%
• Hill Forest are common in South India and Himalayas
• Tidal Forest(Mangrove) are found in the coastal submerged plains of Ganges(Sundarbans), Mahanadi, Godavari and Kerala and
• Grasslands (hilly-Himalayas and Deccan hills above 100m, lowland - as in Punjab, Hariyana, UP, Bihar, NW Assam and river line grasslands – found along rivers)

Available data place India in the tenth position in the world and fourth in Asia in plant diversity. From about 70 per cent geographical area surveyed so far., 47,000 species of plants have been described by the Botanical Survey of India  (BSI), Kolkata.

Agriculture

India has two crop seasons.

• Kharif : Rice, Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, Maize, Cotton, Jute. Sowing – Jun/Jul, Harvest – Sep/Oct
• Rabi : Wheat, Barley, Peas, Rapeseed, Mustard, Gram. Sowing – Oct/Dec, Harvest – Apr/May.