PHYSICAL FEATURES OF INDIA 🏔️🏝️🌄

Physical features of India

India has diverse landforms including mountains

Peninsular Plateau

One of the oldest and most stable landmasses on Earth

Himalayas

Geologically young

Width of Himalayas

Varies from 400 km in Kashmir to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh.

Great/Inner Himalayas (Himadri)

Northernmost and most continuous range with average height of 6

Some highest Himalayan peaks

Mt. Everest (8848 m

Himachal (Lesser Himalaya)

Range south of Himadri

Shiwaliks

The outermost range of the Himalayas

Duns

Longitudinal valleys between Lesser Himalaya and Shiwaliks

Regional divisions of Himalayas

Punjab Himalaya (Indus–Satluj)

Purvachal (Eastern Hills)

Hills running through northeast India

Northern Plains

Formed by the Indus

Length and width of Northern Plains

About 2

Punjab Plains

Western part of Northern Plains

Ganga Plains

Extends between Ghaggar and Teesta rivers

Brahmaputra Plains

Located in Assam

Bhabar

Narrow belt (8–16 km) of pebbles parallel to Shiwaliks where streams disappear.

Terai

Wet

Bhangar

Older alluvium forming terraces above floodplains

Khadar

Newer

Peninsular Plateau

Tableland composed of old crystalline rocks

Central Highlands

Part of plateau north of Narmada

Deccan Plateau

Triangular landmass south of Narmada

Western Ghats

Mark western edge of Deccan Plateau

Eastern Ghats

Mark eastern edge of Deccan Plateau

Highest peaks in Ghats

Anai Mudi (2

Deccan Trap

Black soil region of volcanic origin in the Deccan Plateau.

Aravali Hills

Highly eroded hills on the northwest of the plateau

Indian Desert

Located west of Aravali Hills

Barchans

Crescent-shaped sand dunes found in the Indian desert.

Coastal Plains

Narrow plains along the Arabian Sea (west) and Bay of Bengal (east).

Western Coastal Plain

Divided into Konkan (north)

Eastern Coastal Plain

Divided into Northern Circar (north) and Coromandel Coast (south)

Chilika Lake

Largest saltwater lake in India

Coral polyps

Microscopic organisms that form coral reefs; reefs are of three types: barrier

Lakshadweep Islands

Coral islands off the Malabar coast

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Island group in the Bay of Bengal

Barren Island

India’s only active volcano