Physical Features of India

Types of Plates Convergent plate boundaries: When plates moves towards each other. Due to this compressional force is generated and folding occurs creating fold mountains or volcanic activity. Land is destroyed in this type. Divergent plate margins: When plates move away from each other. Due to this tensional force is generated creating faults and fractures. They results in the formation of new land. As, these type of plate margin are usually found under oceans so they leads to sea floor spreading i.e creating new land under ocean increasing size of ocean basin. Transform plate margins: land is neither formed nor destroyed as plates are sliding parallel to each other.

Physical features of India The Himalayan mountains The northern Plains The peninsular plateau The Indian desert The coastal plains The Island

How are Himalayas formed? Millions of years ago two big landmasses- Gondwana land and Eurasian landmass were separated by Tethys sea. Gondwana land that included India, Australia, South America and Africa started moving northward. This lead to the compression of the sediments in the geosyncline called Tethys. Indo-Australian plate on the Gondwana land started subducting under the Eurasian plate. This lead to the folding and the formation of the Himalayan mountain.

Q.Give five important features of the Himalayas. Himalayas are in the form of an arc, which covers distance of 2400 km from east to west. Their width varies from 400km in Kashmir to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh. It is divided into three parallel ranges- Himadri, Himachal and shiwalik from north to south respectively. They are young fold mountains. Their height is still increasing.

Himadri Range or Great Himalays or Inner Himalayas Himachal range or Lesser Himalayas or Middle Himalayas Shiwalik or Outer Himalayas This is the most continuous range of the Himalayas. It consists of high peaks and glaciers. Its average height is 6000 meters. They asymmetrical in nature. Their core is made up of Granite. 1. It lies between Himadri and Shiwalik range. 2.Its continuity is broken by the presences of river vallyes. 3. Its average height is 3500-4500 meters. 4. It is famous for hill stations like Kashmir, Kangra etc. 5. It is known by different names in the different regions- Dhaula Dhar, Pir Panjal and Mahabharata range. It is the most outermost range and young range of the Himalayas. It is made up of unconsolidated sediments thus prone to the landslides. Its average height is 900-1100 meters. Its width is around 10-50 km. The longitudinal valley between Shiwalik and Himachal is known as Dun.

Longitudinal Division of the Himalayas Kashmir Himalayas or Punjab Himalayas Indus River Satluj River Tista River Kali River Kumoan Himalayas Nepal Himalayas Dihang River Longitudinal Division of the Himalayas Assam Himalayas

Extra Question 1. What is purvanchal?

The northern Plains Northern plain has been formed by three major river systems- The Indus, The Ganga and The Brahmaputra. This is 2400 km long and 240-320 km wide. It is very fertile and for this reason it is widely used for agriculture. Its longitudinal divisions are- Punjab plains( Formed by Indus river system), Ganga plains ( formed by Ganga river system), Brahmaputra plains( formed by Brahmaputra river system).

On the basis of relief Northern plain can be divided into: Bhabar- Narrow belt of 8-16 km on the foothill of Himalayas, made up of pebbles. All streams disappear here. Terai-South of bhabar streams reappear again and create wet, swampy and marshy region called terai. Bhangar- Old alluvium that lie above the flood plains. It contains calcareous deposits called kankar. Khadar- New alluvium, renewed every year and is used for intense farming.

Extra question 2. What is doab?

Peninsular plateau Main Features: Peninsular Plateau is a tableland composed of the old crystalline, igneous and metamorphic rocks. The plateau has broad and shallow valleys and rounded hills. It is roughly triangular in shape. It can be divided into two parts: Central Highland-The part of plateau above River Narmada covering major area of Malwa plateau is known as central highland. Eastward extension of central highland is known as Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand. Deccan plateau- It lies south of Narmada. Its eastward extension in Meghalaya is known as Karbi-Anglong plateau. Its edges are called Ghats.

Central Highland Malwa plateau Bundelkhand Baghelkhand Chota Nagpur Plateau Deccan Plateau Deccan Trap Western Gahts Eastren Ghats Karbi Anglong Plateau 4 1 2 3 4 1 3 2

Deccan Plateau Western Ghats Eastern Ghats It lies on the western edge of the Deccan plateau towards Arabian sea. It is in the form of long continuous chain and can be crossed only through gaps. Its average height is 900-1600 meters Its highest peak is Anai Mudi. It lies on the eastern edge of the Deccan Plateau towards Bay of Bengal. It is irregular and dissected by the rivers draining into the By of Bengal. Its average height is about 600 meters. Its highest peak is Mahendragiri.

Thar Desert or Great Indian Desert Westward extension of northern plain is extremely dry. It has number of seasonal rivers most of which do not reach sea or ocean. This is called Inland drainage. The land is rocks and sandy. Barchans- crescent shaped dunes are also found here.

The coastal plains Western Coastal Plain Lies between western Ghats and Arabian sea. In north it is called Konkan ,in central part it is called as Kannad Plains and in south is called Malabar ( Near Kerala). It is narrower than eastern coastal plains. Eastern coastal plain Lies between eastern Ghats and Bay of Bengal. In north it is called Northern Circars and in south is called Coromandel Coast. Many rivers make delta here making it very fertile and broad.

The Island groups Andaman And Nicobar Islands Lakshadweep Islands They are located in the Bay of Bengal. They are volcanic in origin. They are bigger in size than Lakshadweep Islands. They lie very close to the equator , therefore experience equatorial climate and have evergreen vegetation. Lakshadweep Islands They are located in the Arabian Sea. They are of coral origin (Atoll). They are small and closely placed islands. Earlier they were known as Minicoy, Laccadive and Amindive islands.