60-second revision
- Himalayan ranges north to south: Himadri (Greater) > Himachal (Lesser) > Shiwaliks; duns lie between Himachal and Shiwaliks.
- Plains belts: bhabar (pebbles) > terai (marshy) > bhangar (old alluvium) and khadar (new alluvium).
- Anaimudi (~2,695 m) = highest peak of the peninsula; Doddabetta = highest in the Nilgiris.
- Western and Eastern Ghats meet at the Nilgiri hills.
- Ten Degree Channel: Andaman–Nicobar; Eight Degree Channel: Minicoy–Maldives.
- Barren Island (Andaman Sea) = India's only active volcano; Lakshadweep = coral islands.
- Tropic of Cancer crosses 8 states; Standard Meridian is 82 degrees 30' E.
Location in brief
India lies entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. The Tropic of Cancer (23 degrees 30' N) divides it into almost equal halves and passes through eight states: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram. Indian Standard Time is based on the 82 degrees 30' E meridian, which passes near Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. The southernmost point of the country is Indira Point in Great Nicobar; on the mainland it is Kanyakumari.
1. The Himalayas
The Himalayas are young fold mountains formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. They run in an arc from the Indus gorge in the west to the Brahmaputra gorge in the east and consist of three parallel ranges.
| Range | Features |
|---|---|
| Greater Himalaya (Himadri) | Northernmost, highest and most continuous; snow-bound; core of granite; highest peaks lie here |
| Lesser Himalaya (Himachal) | Middle range; Pir Panjal, Dhaula Dhar and Mahabharat ranges; hill stations such as Shimla, Mussoorie, Nainital; valleys like Kashmir and Kangra |
| Shiwaliks | Outermost, lowest range of unconsolidated sediments brought by rivers |
Between the Himachal and the Shiwaliks lie flat longitudinal valleys called duns, such as Dehra Dun, Kotli Dun and Patli Dun. In the east, the Himalayas bend south as the Purvanchal or eastern hills — the Patkai, Naga, Mizo (Lushai) and Manipur hills along the Myanmar border.
2. The Northern Plains
Formed by alluvium deposited by the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra systems, the plains are among the most fertile and densely populated regions of the world. From north to south they show four belts.
| Belt | Description |
|---|---|
| Bhabar | Narrow belt of pebbles at the foot of the Shiwaliks; streams disappear underground |
| Terai | Streams re-emerge; wet, marshy, once thickly forested |
| Bhangar | Older alluvium above flood level; contains calcareous kankar nodules |
| Khadar | Newer, fertile alluvium of floodplains, renewed by floods |
3. The Peninsular Plateau
The plateau is the oldest landmass of India, made of ancient crystalline, igneous and metamorphic rocks. The Narmada divides it into the Central Highlands to the north (Malwa plateau, Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand, Chotanagpur) and the Deccan Plateau to the south. The north-eastern extension is the Meghalaya (Shillong) plateau with the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills.
| Feature | Western Ghats | Eastern Ghats |
|---|---|---|
| Continuity | Continuous; crossed only through passes such as Thal, Bhor and Pal Ghats | Discontinuous; cut by rivers flowing to the Bay of Bengal |
| Height | Higher (average about 900 to 1,600 m) | Lower |
| Highest peak | Anaimudi (about 2,695 m), Kerala | Lower and rounded; Mahendragiri in Odisha is a well-known high peak |
The two Ghats meet at the Nilgiri hills, whose highest peak is Doddabetta. The Aravallis on the north-western edge are among the oldest fold mountains in the world, now worn down to stumps; their highest peak, Guru Shikhar (about 1,722 m), is on Mount Abu.
4. The Indian Desert
The Thar desert lies west of the Aravallis. It gets very little rain (below about 150 mm a year in the west), has sand dunes including barchans, and its only large river is the Luni. To its south-west lies the salt marsh of the Rann of Kutch.
5. The Coastal Plains
| Coast | Northern part | Central part | Southern part |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western (narrow, between Western Ghats and Arabian Sea) | Konkan (Mumbai–Goa) | Kannad plain | Malabar coast (Kerala), with backwaters or kayals |
| Eastern (wider, with deltas) | Northern Circars | — | Coromandel coast (Tamil Nadu) |
6. The Islands
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Bay of Bengal): elevated parts of submarine mountains; the Ten Degree Channel separates the Andamans from the Nicobars. Barren Island in the Andaman Sea is India's only active volcano.
- Lakshadweep (Arabian Sea): small coral islands. The Nine Degree Channel separates Minicoy from the main group, and the Eight Degree Channel separates Minicoy from the Maldives.
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