South Asia Physical Geography 1 India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh

Land Area

Mountains and Plateaus  Northern Mountains  Collision caused plate tectonics on a huge scale, creating very large mountains (Himalayas) in the north  Stretches 1500 miles, forming a natural boundary between China and India  Contains Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world  The Hindu Cush is to the west and is a natural boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan

Himalayas

Southern Plateaus  Other ranges and plateaus caused by the collision.  Vindhya Range in Central India  Deccan Plateau further south  Tilts towards the Bay of Bengal  Flanked by the Western and Eastern Ghats Mountain Ranges

Ranges and Plateaus of India

Rivers, Deltas, and Plains  The Indo-Gangetic Plain Lies between the northern mountains and southern plateaus.  It is formed by three rivers  Indus  Ganges  And Brahmaputra

Great Rivers  Indus flows west, then south trough Pakistan to the Arabian Sea  Ganges comes from the central Himalayas and flows eastward across northern India  Brahmaputra winds east, then west and south through Bangladesh

Rivers

Fertile Plains  The flow of these often over flow the banks, creating alluvial plains and making the Indo- Gangetic Plains very fertile

Offshore Islands  Shri Lanka: Tear drop shaped island country off the coast of India  Maldives Archipelago: A group of over 1,200 small islands off the coast of India

Natural Resources  Water and Soils: The river system provides much of India with alluvial soil and water to grow crops.  Forests: Rain forests and Highland forests provide important industry, but it makes deforestation a problem.  Minerals: Coal, petroleum, iron-ore and mica are all important aspects of the economy, energy production, or both.