India Geography

Definitions

Sub-continent

Large landmass that juts out from a continent

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monsoon Strong, seasonal winds that blow across a region or continent for months at a time at certain times of the year

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Cools heat of summerVaries in location

Comes between June and Sept

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plateau• Flat land with higher elevation than

a plain

tributary

• Small river that flows into a larger river

Himalaya Mountains• Highest mountain range in world

• Located along India’s northern border

• Mt. Everest- world highest mountain

• Name means “home of the snows” Always covered by snow and ice

• Glacier (Ice fields) waters feed the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra Rivers

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Buddhist Monastery in Himalayan Mts.

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Indus River• Originates in

Tibet, north of India

• Flows thru Pakistan and empties into Arabian Sea

• Receives water from Himalaya, and Hindu Kush Mtns.

• Carries deposits and makes fertile farmland

• Fish and shrimp live in the river

Deccan Plateau• Southern part

of India between the Eastern and Western Ghat Mountains

• Plateau is at 1500 ft. below sea level

• Fairly flat with hardened lava beds-600 million yrs old

• Hillier parts have thin forests

Ganges River• Originates in the Himalaya Mountains and goes for 1500 miles

• Joined by the Brahmaputra River where it empties into the Bay of Bengal

• Sediment carried downstream from mountains

• During rainy season river floods-crops grown there

• Sacred river

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Ganges River Festival

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Eastern and Western Ghats• Long mountain

chains near India coast

• Form a V when seen from above

• Deccan Plateau stretches between 2 ranges

• Western Ghats higher and wetter than the Eastern range

Brahmaputra River• Originates

in the Himalayan Mountains

• 1800 miles -longest river in modern day India

• Joins Ganges River in present day Bangladesh- where they meet land very fertile

Hindu Kush• Located NW of India

in present-day Afghanistan

• Form fierce barrier between countries

• One of the world’s highest mountain ranges

• Permanent snow and ice

• Khyber Pass 28 mile long gap between mountains- traders and invaders used the pass

Thar Desert• Also know as Great

Indian Desert• Straddles the

border between the India and Pakistan and flanked by Indus and Sutlej River valleys

• Mostly sand and very hot in summer

• Very little rain• Sparse plant life

What is this?

• A petrified bagel

• A heavy bracelet

• A form of money

• An ancient toilet seat

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Indus Bracelets

Early Settlement In India• 1st people in India

settled by the RIVERS

• Scientists believe that there were ancient rivers like the Sarasvati River that runs thru the Thar Desert

• Farming settlements in Indus-Sarasvati region as early as 6500 B.C.E.

• By 2500 B.C.E. walled settlements near the Indus River

Mohenjodaro

• Ancient Indian Civilization on Indus River from about 2700-1900 BCE

• Means “Place of the Dead

• 40,000 people once lived here

• 2 parts– Citadel or fort– Houses and

workshops