Geography of India

India’s topography is highly diversified, encompassing everything from mountainous regions to deserts, lowlands, valleys, and high mountains. 

The rich Indo-Gangetic plain dominates north, middle, and eastern India, whereas the Deccan Plateau dominates southern India. The Thar Desert, which would be a combination of stone and sand deserts, is located in the western part of the country. 

The great Himalaya mountain forms India’s eastern and northern boundaries. The highest peak (located in the contested Kashmir area) is K2, at 8,611 m. (28,251 feet). Kanchenjunga, at 8,598 metres, is indeed the highest peak in uncontested Indian territory (28,208 feet). The temperatures range from tropical in the deep south to tundra at high elevations in the Himalayas.

Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, as well as Afghanistan surround India. The islands republics of Sri Lanka, as well as the Maldives, were located in the southern part of India. Politically, India is split into 28 states, 8 union territories .

Location and extent

India is located between 8 degrees 4 minutes and 37 degrees 6 minutes north latitude between 68 degrees 7 minutes to 97 degrees 25 minutes east longitude, towards the northern hemisphere. With a land area of 3,287,590 km2, it is the world’s seventh-largest country (1,269,219 square miles). India is 3,214 kilometres (1,997 miles) long from north to south and 2,933 kilometres (1,822 miles) long from eastward. It has a land border of 15,200 kilometres (9,445 miles) and a coastline of 7,516.5 kilometres (4,670.5 miles). 

Mountains

The Indian subcontinent is defined by a large arc of hills made up of Himalayas, Hindu Kush, and Patkai mountains. These hills were produced as a result of the continuous geological colliding of the Indo – Australian plate with both the Eurasian Plate, which began around 50 million years ago. These mountain ranges contain a few of the world’s largest highest mountains and also act as a physical barrier against the chilly arctic storms.They serve as India’s northern-eastern boundary, isolating this from the rest of the region. The Himalayas are one of the world’s most important hills and mountains, stretching nearly continuously for 2,500 km (1,550 miles) as well as spanning an extent of 500,000 sq . km (193,000 square miles).

Indo-Gangetic plain

These Indo-Gangetic lowlands are extensive floodplains formed by the Indus as well as Ganga-Brahmaputra river systems. These extend between Jammu and Kashmir inside the west through Assam inside the east, flooding the regions including Haryana, eastern Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. These plains cover 700,000 square kilometres of land (270,000-mile sq.) and fluctuate in breadth by many hundred kilometres over its length.

Islands

The Lakshadweep Islands as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are both among India’s biggest outer island territories. Each of these island groupings is managed under the Union Territory government or  by the Indian Union government.

Coastal Line

The majority of India is located on a coastline in southwest Asia that ejects into the Indian Ocean and has a coastline of nearly 7,000 kilometres (4,300 miles). The Arabian Sea borders India inside the southwestern, and the Bay of Bengal borders it in the southeastern. The Arabian Sea borders India just southwestern, while the Bay of Bengal borders it on the southeast. 

Peninsular India

Peninsular India includes South India’s various topological and climatic features. The Peninsula is shaped like a large upside down triangle, surrounded on the west by Arabian Sea, on the eastern of Bay of Bengal, and on the north by the Vindhya and Satpura mountain ranges. It is limited in the north west by the Aravallis, in the northeast by the Hazaribagh and Rajmahal Hills, in the west by the Western Ghats (Sahyadri Mountains), and in the east by the Eastern Ghats. The ancient border dividing northern and southern India is formed by the Narmada and Mahanadi rivers. The peninsular upland is India’s biggest geographic region, covering around 16 lakh square kilometres of land.

The River Systems

A river system is also known as a drainage system. It is the entire natural water network contained within a drainage basin. River systems also can act as deposition sites, collecting silt in channels and on floodplains. Rivers are an essential element of most landscapes, serving as the primary method for transporting weathered detritus through upland regions to lakes and oceans, where most of the typical sediment is formed. Water inside a drainage basin normally ends out in the sea, although it can also evaporate or flow into an interior lake. 

Conclusion 

The majority of the Parts of India is located on the Indian Plate, which is the northernmost section of the Indo-Australian Plate. The Himalayas may be found to the north, northeastern, and northwestern. Kanyakumari is the southernmost point of the Indian peninsula, which reduces until entering the Indian Ocean. India includes the Andaman and Nicobar Islands within the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep within the Arabian Sea. The Himalayan mountainous region is the tallest on the planet. Lake Chad, for example, is indeed an endorheic lake that has no outlet to the sea.