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11. India: Physical Divisions An introduction to India The northern mountains and plains States of India Theplateau a...

11. India: Physical Divisions An introduction to India The northern mountains and plains States of India Theplateau and the desert regions Physical divisions of India The coastal plains and islands Look at the following picturesand tick V) the ones which are found in India. Indiais a land of diverse physical features. There are high snow-covered mountains, thickforests, plateaus and fertile plains. In the northern part of India, lie the mighty Himalayas. They are one of the highest mountain ranges in the world. The other importantmountain ranges in India are the Aravalis,the Vindhyas, the Satpuras, theEastern Ghats and the Western Ghats. India,Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives form the IndianSubcontinent. A subcontinent is a large mass of land that forms part of a larger continent. The Indian Subcontinent is a peninsula. It is surrounded by water onthreesides—theArabianSea in the West, Bayof Bengalin the East IndianOcean and the in the South. PHYSICAL DIVISIONS OF INDIA into six broad divisions: The physical features of India are divided The Northern Mountains The Great Northern Plains The Plateau Region The Great Indian Desert The Coastal Plains The Island Groups Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal. Indian Ocean Mapnottosue Map showing physical divisions of India TheNorthern Mountains TheKarakoram Range is andthe Ladakh ranges located along the lie to the northern bound)ry of India. The Zaskar extend along the northern south of the Karakoram border of Range.The Himalayas India, in the form of a great arc made up of These parallel ranges (Himachal) and outer are—Greater Himalayas (Himadri), Lesser Himalayas Himalayas (Shiwalik). eastern boundary of our The Purvanchal Range lies along the country.z TheGreat Northern Plains The northern plains extend from the state of Punjab in the West to Assamin the East—a distance of about 2,400km. These plains are also called the Indo- ''Life," : Gancetic Plains. Rivers which originate from the Himalayas carry large quantities of sediments. As the rivers enter the plains, these sediments get deposited in the plains. As a result, the northern plains Himalayas get covered with thick fertile soil. WiseOwl Asks Due to favourable climate and adequate Do the physical features of India affect also been the climate of the country? water supply, this region has most ancient the birthplace of one of the Indus Valley Civilisation. civilisations in the world—the The Plateau Region of land with a A plateau is a raised area sloping sides. India has three flat top and __.gcca.u- main plateaus Nagpur Plateau. Plateau Chota triangular shape Deccan Plateau has a by the Western Ghats and is surrounded Eastern Ghats in the in the West and the ur Plateau covers a some parts Deccan Piateau and most parts of Jharkhand of Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, topOve The Malwa Plateau lies in the western Makea modelofa plateau part of Madhya Pradesh. usingclayor stones, The Great Indian Desert The Thar Desert lies in the North-western part of India. It is also called the Indian Desert. To the North-west of the desert, flows the Satluj River, to the Eas the Aravali Range and to the South is the marshy land of Rann of Kutch in Gujarat The Thar D sert inl The Coastal Plains There are two coastal plains in the southern part of India—the Western and Eastern Coastal Plains. The Western Coastal Plains lie between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats on the West coast of India. They stretch from Rann of Kutch in the North to Kanniyakumari in the South. between the Bay of Bengal and the Goa lies in the WesternCoastal Plains Eastern Ghats on the East coast. They stretch from the mouth of the river Gang in the North to KanniyÄÜGÜin the South. Many rivers flow across these plains The rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri have formed fertile deltas on the Eastern coast. The Eastern Coastal Plains are broader than the Western Coastal Plains. lop Ote Unscramble the given words to read the physical features of India. + ESTARENTGHAS + DNCCEA PLTEAUA + RHA DESRET HMILAAYSA rnarshy: wet, swampy I deltas: triangular deposits of sediments at the mouth of rivers TheIsland Groups India has two island groups—the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and The number of islands in the world Ge¯Ääadwcep Islands, Andåman keeps changing as the sea levels rise and Nicobar consist of more than a. and fall, When the sea level rises, 500 islands in the Bay of Bengal, small islands get submerged. LakshadweepIslands are located in the ArabianSea. Lakshadweepis also the smallest union territory in India. RIVERS India has a number of rivers. There are two types 36'N of rivers-—seasonal and wu perennial. Seasonal (non- ake perennial) rivers receive CHINA (TIBET) water from rainfall. These PAKIS N include rivers of South India like Krishna, Kaveri Sambhar Salt Lake Mahanadi etc. Perennial C. rivers get water from 23hS the melting snow of the Himalayas. These include No MYANMAR Pa,0i rivers of North India like Ganga, Yamuna, etc. Bayof Arabian Bengal WFäthere is heavy rainfall, Sea Nagarjuna the rivers overflow their banks causing widespx.ea.d destruction. In some places, REF R NCES river water is treated and Rivers supplied as drinking water. Vembaoad Lakes However, there has been LOke SRI widespread pollution caused IN PIAN ANKA -OCEAN Mapnot to scale by sewage, industrial waste, bathing of animals and Major rivers and lakes of India —Unans—Thishas made water impure and unfit for human consumption. perennial:lasting throughout the year