Physical Features of

IndiaMade by

Mustafa khanChirag Ch.

The physical features of India can be grouped under the following

physiographic divisions:• The Himalayan Mountains• The Northern Plains• The Peninsular Plateau• The Indian Desert• The Coastal Plains• The Islands

The Himalayan

Mountains

INTRODUCTION• The himalayas, geigraphically young and structurally fold

mountains stretch over the northern borders of india.• They form an arc, which covers a distance of about 2,400

km.Their width varies from 400 Km in Kashmir to 150 Km in Arunachal Pradesh.

• The Himalayas consists of three parallel ranges in its longitudinal extent.

a) Himadrib) Himachalc) Shiwaliks

• Himadri range – It is the northern most range also known as inner himalayas . It contain all the prominent himalayan peaks.

• Himachal range – It lies in the southern part of himadri . The altitude varies between 3,700 to 4,500 meters and average width about 50 km.

• Shiwaliks range – It is the outer most range of the himalayas . They having the altitude about 900 and 1100 meters

RANGES OF HIMALAYAS

• Punjab himalayas – It is the part of himalayas lies between Satluj river and Indus river.

• Kumoan himalayas – It is the part of himalayas lies between Satluj river and kali rivers.

• Nepal himalayas – It is also the part of himalayas which is not lies in our country and lies between kali river and Tista river

• Assam himalayas – It is the part of himalayas lies between Tista river and Dihang river

PART OF HIMALAYAS INBASES OF RIVERS

Peaks• Mt. Everest• Kanchenjunga• Makalu• Dhaulagiri• Nanga Parbat• Annapurna• Nanda Devi• kemat

Country height in m• Nepal 8848 meters• India 8598 meters• Nepal 8481 meters• Nepal 8172 meters• India 8126 meters• Nepal 8078 meters• India 7817 meters• India 7756 meters

SOME HIGHEST PEAK OF HIMALYAS

The Northern

Plains

The northern plain has been formed by theinterplay of the three major river systems,

namely– the Indus, the Ganga and theBrahmaputra along with their tributaries. Thisplain is formed of alluvial soil. The depositionof alluvium in a vast basin lying at the foothillsof the Himalaya over millions of years, formedthis fertile plain. It spreads over an area of 7

lakh sq. km. The plain being about 2400 Km long and 240 to 320 Km broad, is a densely populated

physiographic division.

Introduction

• The Northern Plain is broadly divided into three sections.a) The Western part of the Northern Plain is referred to as

the Punjab Plains formed by the Indus and its tributaries .b) The larger part of this plain lies in Pakistan.c)The Indus and its tributaries–the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and the Satluj originate in the Himalaya. This section of the plain is dominated by the doabs .

Division

• The Ganga plains extend between ghaggar & Teesta rivers .

• It is spread over the states of North India, U.P, Delhi, Bihar, Haryana, partly Jharkhand, West Bengal to its east.

• The Northern plains plains are generally described as flat land with no variations in its relief. It is not true. These vast plains also have diverse relief features.

Extension

- the mountains deposit pebbles in a narrow belt of about 8 to 16 km in width lying parallel to the slopes of the Shiwaliks. It is known as bhabar.

- wet, swampy and marshy region known as terai.- older alluvium is known as bhangar.- The soil in this region contains calcareous deposits locally known as kankar.

Variation

The

peninsular

plateau

Introduction• The peninsular plateau is a tableland composed

of the old crystalline, igneous & metamorphic rocks.

• It was formed due to the breaking and drifting of the Gondwana land i.e. it is a part of the oldest landmass.

• The plateau has broad and shallow valleys and rounded hills.

• This plateau consists of two landmass :a) The Central Highlandsb) The Deccan Plateau

The Central Highlands• The Central Highlands is lies in the

northern part of peninsular plataeau.• The Central Highlands s further

divided in two parts:• The Central Highlands are wider in

the west but narrower in the east. a) Western part - Malwa Plateau b) Eastern part – Chota Nagpur

Plateau

• The Deccan Plateau is a triangular landmass that lies to the south of the river Narmada.

• The Satpura range flanks its broad base in the north while the Mahadew, the kaimur hills and the maikal range form its eastern extensions.

• The deccan plateau is higher in the west and slopes gently eastwards.

The deccan Plateau

• Western ghats lies parallel to the eastern ghats.

• The Western Ghats are higher than Eastern ghats.

• The Western Ghats are known by different local names.

• The highest peaks include the AnaiMudi (2,695m) and the Doda Betta(2637m).

Western Ghats

• The Eastern ghats stretch from the Mahanadi Valley to the Nigiris in the South.

• The Eastern ghats are discontinuous and irregular and dissected by rivers draining into the Bay of Bangal.

• Mahendragiri (1,501m) is the highest peak in the Eastern ghats.

Eastern ghats

The Indian Desert

The Indian Desert

• The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a large, arid region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent that forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 17th largest desert, and the world's 9th largest subtropical desert.About 85% of the Thar Desert is in India, and the remaining part in Pakistan.In India, it covers about 320,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi), of which 60% is in Rajasthan and extends intoGujarat, Punjab, and Haryana.

Thar DesertThe Thar Desert extends between theAravalli Hills in the north-east, the Great Rann of Kutch along the coast and the alluvial plains of the Indus River in the west and north-west. Most of the desert is covered by huge shifting sand dunes that receive sediments from the alluvial plains and the coast. The sand is highly mobile due to strong winds occurring before the onset of the monsoon. The Luni River is the only river integrated into the desert.Rainfall is limited to 100–500 mm (3.9–19.7 in) per year, mostly falling from July to September.

Fauna

• About 23 species of lizard and 25 species of snakes are found here and several of them are endemic to the region.

• Some wildlife species, which are fast vanishing in other parts of India, are found in the desert in large numbers such as the blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), chinkara(Gazella bennettii) and Indian wild ass (Equus hemionus khur) in the Rann of Kutch

Flora

• The natural vegetation of this dry area is classed as Northwestern thorn scrub forest occurring in small clumps scattered more or less openly. Density and size of patches increase from west to east following the increase in rainfall. The natural vegetation of the Thar Desert is composed of the following tree, shrub and herb species:

The Coastal

Plains

• The Peninsular plateau is flanked by stretch of narrow coastal strips, running along the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east.

a) Eastern Coastal Plainsb) Western Coastal Plains

Introduction

• The western coast, sandwiched between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, is a narrow plain. It consists of three sections.

• The northern part of the coast is called the Konkan (Mumbai – Goa),

• the central stretch is called the Kannad Plain• the southern stretch is referred to as the

Malabar coast.

Western Coastal Plains

• The plains along the Bay of Bengal are wide and level. In the northern part, it is referred to as the Northern Circar, while the southern part is known as the Coromandel Coast. Large rivers such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri have formed extensive delta on this coast. Lake Chilika is an important feature along the eastern coast. The Chilika Lake is the largest salt water lake in India. It lies in the state of Orissa, to the south of the Mahanadi delta.

Eastern Coastal Planes

The area of land which is surrounded by water is called Island.

India is having two groups of Island :-Andaman & Nicobar Island

Lakshadweep.

THE ISLANDS

• This group of island is located in the Bay of Bengal extending from north to south.

• They are bigger in size & are more numerous & scattered.

• These are divided into two broad categories:-• Andaman in north • Nicobar in south• These island groups are of great strategic importance of

the country. • There is great diversity of flora & fauna.

ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLAND

• It lies close to Malabar coast of Kerala.• It is composed of small coral islands.• Earlier they were known as laccadive , Minicoy

& Amindive.• In 1973 these were named as lakshadweep.• It covers area of 32 sq km.• Administrative headquarter is Kavaratti island.• It has a bird sanctuary.

LAKSHADWEEP ISLAND

• Coral polyps are short-lived microscopic organisms which lives in colonies.

• They flourish in shallow , mud free &warm waters.

• They secrete calcium carbonate.• These corals deposit in the form of reefs.

CORALS