Geography and Climate of India Chapter 7 Sections 1 and 2

The region known as South Asia (Indian Sub- continent) is considered a sub-continent – At one time used to be its own separate land mass – Collided with Asia and formed the Himalayas Himalayas-8000 meters (5 miles) high – Contains 1/5 of the world’s population

South Asia (Indian Subcontinent contains many countries): – Nepal – India – Bangladesh – Pakistan – Sri Lanka – Maldives – Afghanistan******

Divided into several Regions: – Himalayas- Northern Mountains Extremely high elevations Cooler Climate – Indo-Ganges Plains- Northern Plains Made up of Rivers (Indus and Ganges) which flow down into central India from the Himalayas Climate ideal for farming because of rivers, but dry – Deccan Plateau-South Central India Area between the Western and Eastern Ghats Extremely Dry – Coastal Plains-Extreme south and southwest, northeast Areas along the coast with tropical climates Tropical=Rain Forests

Weather: – Defined by Monsoons Monsoons-seasonal changes in the direction of the winds – Summer-Winds come from Southwest and push moisture from Indian Ocean bringing rain – Winter-Winds come from Northeast pushing dry air from Asia across the sub-continent Due to the geography different regions are effected differently by the monsoons (Mainly based on changes in elevation

Agriculture – Based in each region on the amount of rainfall that it receives as well as its geography Deccan Plateau- Sugarcane (dryer) Coastal Plains-Indo-Ganges Plains- rice, tea, peppercorns (Need water) Northwest deserts (Thar Desert)- Sorghum, Millets Himalayas- Potatoes and Barley

Resources – Plentiful Resources South Asia – Iron ore – Manganese – Bauxite – Copper Northern Plains – Coal – Mica – Limestone – Gypsum – Missing Resource Oil (has led to the development of nuclear power by the government)

People – Over 1.25 billion people in region India Second Most populated in the world Bangladesh and Pakistan in top 10 – ¾ of people depend on farming – Many diverse people have migrated from: Middle East Europe Other parts of Asia – Most people separated into regional and local groups Leads to wide variety of customs and practices Also many languages – Nepal 13 languages – India 700 languages and dialects (15 official, 35 regional) » Largest spoken is Hindi-30 percent » English also spoken though not an official language Due to British colonization