BA I Geography (H)

Paper- III A ( India and Bihar: Regional Study)

Unit- 1
Topic- Physiographic Division of India
India is the seventh largest country in the
world. The country is bounded by the great
Himalayas in the north and the Indian
Ocean in the south. It stretches
southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer,
the shape of the country tapers into a cape
form near the Indian ocean. The southern
part is flanked by the Bay of Bengal on the
east and the Arabian sea to the west.
India is located entirely in the northern
hemisphere. The mainland extends to
about 3214 km from north to south
between the extreme latitudes. It also
extends to about 2933 km from east to west
between the extreme longitudes. It covers
an area of 32,872,631 sq.km. Indian
subcontinent is characterized by a great
and diversified physiographic conditions. If
we look at the distribution of physiographic
units, mountains occupy 10.6 %, hills
occupy 18.5%, plateaus occupy 27.7% and
the plains occupy 43.2%
They are classified into the following physiographic units :
1.The Himalayas and other ranges.
2. The Indo-Gangetic plain.
3. The Thar Desert
4. The Peninsular Plateau.
5. The Coastal belts
6. Islands.
 The name "Himalaya" means "the abode or house
of snow" in Sanskrit (i.e. hima "snow", and ālaya
"abode or house".
The Himalaya mountain range is the highest
mountain range on the earth situated to the north of
India
These mountain ranges run in a west-east direction
from the Indus to the Brahmaputra.
The Himalayas represent the loftiest and one of the
most rugged mountain barriers in the world.
The great Himalaya is one of the young fold
mountains.
The Himalayas run along the northern border
of India.
The width varies from 400 km in Kashmir to
150 km in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Himalayas form an arc which is about
2,400 km long.
The altitudinal variations are greater in the
eastern part than in the western part.
There are three parallel ranges in its
longitudinal extent (i.e. The Great or Inner
Himalayas or Himadri, The Lesser Himalaya or
Himachal and The Shiwaliks).
This is the northernmost range and is also known as
'Himadri'.
This is the most continuous range.
It contains the loftiest peaks.
The average height of peaks in this range is 6,000 meters.
All the prominent Himalayan peaks are in this range.
The folds of the Great Himalayas are irregular in nature.
The core of this part is composed of granite.
Because of the lofty heights, the peaks of this range are
perennially covered with snow.
Famous glaciers like the Siachen Glacier, the Gangotri and
Yamunotri, etc.
•This range lies towards the south of the Great Himalayas.
•The altitude of peaks in this range varies from 3,700 to 4,500
meter.
• The average width of this range is 50 km.
•This range is mainly composed of highly compressed and
altered rocks.
•The most important mountain range here is the Pir Panjal
mountain range and it is the longest range.
•Dhaula Dhar and Mahabharat mountain ranges are also
important ranges of lesser Himalayas.
•All great valleys like Kashmir Valley, Kangra Valley, Kullu Valley
are present here.
•This region is also known as for its hill stations (for e.g. Kullu-
Manali, Kufri, Shimla, Mussoorie, Nainital, etc.).
•The outermost range of the Himalayas is known as Shiwalik,
also known as Manak Parbat in ancient times.
•The altitude varies between 900 and 1100 meters in this
range.
•The width varies between 10 to 50 km.
•These ranges are composed of unconsolidated sediments
brought down by the rivers.
•The longitudinal valleys lying between the Himachal and
Shiwalik are called 'Dun'.
•Unlike typical river valleys, duns have a structural origin and
are covered with boulders and gravel originating from the
erosion of the Himalayas and the Shiwalik uplands. Major duns
found in the region are Dehra, Kothri, Chaukham, Patli and
Kota.
The Himalaya Mountain
•Himalayas have also been divided on the basis of
regions from west to east. The division has been done
on the basis of the rivers flowing in the Himalayan
regions. Following is the division: -
1. Punjab Himalayas: This part lies between the
Indus and Sutlej. They are also known as Kashmir
Himalaya and Himachal Himalaya.
2. Kumaon Himalayas: This part lies between Sutlej
and Kali river.
3. Nepal Himalayas: This part lies between the Kali
and Tista river.
4. Assam Himalayas: This part lies between the Tista
and Dihang river.
The Brahmaputra marks the eastern border of the
Himalayas.
Beyond the Dihang gorge, the Himalayas bend sharply
towards south and form the Eastern hills or Purvachal.
These hills run through the north eastern states of India.
They are mostly composed of sandstones (i.e. Sedimentary
rocks).
These hills are covered with dense forest.
These hills are composed of the Patkai Hills, Naga Hills,
Manipuri Hills and Mizo Hills.
The northern plain of India is formed by three river systems, i.e.
the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra; along with their
tributaries.
This plain is composed of alluvial soil which has been deposited
over millions of years.
The total area of the northern plain is about 7 lakh square km.
It is about 2400 km long and width is about 240 to 320 km .
Northern plains are most densely populated areas of the country.
Here, we find alluvial soil, thus making the plain very fertile and
agriculturally very productive.
Because of the three river systems, i.e. the Indus, the Ganga and
the Brahmaputra; along with their tributaries, availability of water
is there in abundance through the year.
Punjab Plains:
The Punjab plains form the western part of the northern
plain.
This is formed by the Indus and its tributaries; like Jhelum,
Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.
A major portion of this plains is in Pakistan.Doabs are
found in Punjab plains.
Doab (do, "two" + ab, "water" or "river"). It is a region or
land lying between and reaching to the meeting of the two
rivers.
Ganga Plains:
•This plain extends between Ghaggar and
Tista rivers.
•The northern states, Haryana, Delhi, UP,
Bihar, part of Jharkhand and West Bengal in
the east lie in the Ganga plains.

Brahmaputra Plains:
•This plain forms the eastern part of the
northern plain and lies in Assam.
The Peninsular plateau is a tableland which contains igneous
and metamorphic rocks.
It is composed of the oldest rocks because it was formed from
the drifted part of the Gondwana land.
Broad and shallow valleys and rounded hills are the
characteristic features of this plateau.
The plateau can be broadly divided into two regions, i.e. the
Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau.
One of the important features of the peninsular plateau is the
black soil area which is known as the Deccan Trap.
This black soil originated from the volcanic eruption which is
very fertile for cotton cultivation.
The Central Highlands lies to the north of the Narmada river.
It covers the major portion of the Malwa plateau.
Situated between Narmada river in the north and Vindhyan ranges in
the south.
Aravalis is situated in the North West.
 It covers Malwa plateau, Bundelkhand , Baghelkhand and
Chotanagpur plateau.
The rivers in this region flow from southwest to northeast (i.e.
Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken, Son, etc.); which indicates the slope of this
region.
It is wider in the west and narrower in the east.
Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand mark the eastward extension of this
plateau.
The plateau further extends eastwards into the Chotanagpur plateau.
The Peninsular Plateau
The Deccan Plateau lies to the south of the Narmada
river and it is triangular in shape.
The slope of the Deccan Plateau is from west to east.
Most of the rivers flow from west to east.
The Satpura range makes its northern part.
The Mahadev, Kaimur Hills and Maikal range make its
eastern part.
It extends into the north east which encompasses
Meghalaya, Karbi-Anglong Plateau and North Cachar
Hills.
Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills are the prominent ranges;
starting from west to east.
Western Ghats stretch from the Tapi River to Kanyakumari. But
The Eastern Ghats stretch from Mahanadi Valley to the Nilgiris
in the south.
Western Ghat's average width is 50 to 80 km. But Eastern
Ghat's width varying from 100 to 200 km.
Western Ghats is source of many large rivers but no big river
originates from the Eastern Ghats.
Western Ghats are continuous and can be crossed through
passes only. But Eastern Ghats has been divided into several
parts by large rivers.
Western Ghats average elevation is 900 to 1,600 meters But
the average elevation of Eastern Ghats is about 600 metres
above sea level.
Highest Peak of Western Ghats: Anai Mudi (2695 meters).
Highest Peak of Eastern Ghats: Mahendragiri (1501 meters).
The Indian desert is also known as the Thar Desert.
The Indian desert lies towards the western margins of
the Aravali Hills.
This region gets very less rainfall which is less than 150
mm in a year.
The climate is dry and vegetation is very less.
Luni is the only large river but some streams appear
during rainy season. It is a river of western Rajasthan
which originates in the Pushkar valley of the Aravalli
Range, near Ajmer and ends in the marshy lands of Ran
of Kutch in Gujarat.
Crescent-shaped dunes (barchans) are found in this
area.
The Western Coastal Plains is a thin strip of coastal plain with a width
of 50 km between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats.
It is divided into three sections. The Konkan; (Mumbai – Goa) in the
north. The Kannada Plain makes the central part and the Malabar coast
stretches in the south.
The Eastern Coastal Plains is a strip of coastal plain with a width of 100
- 130 km between the Bay of Bengal and the Eastern Ghats
It is divided into two parts. The northern part is called Northern Circar.
The southern part is called the Coromandel Coast.
Extensive deltas are formed by large rivers like Mahanadi, Godavari,
Krishna and Kaveri.
Chilka lake is the largest salt water lake in India situated on the eastern
coast.
The Coatal Plains of India
India has two group of islands (i.e. Lakshadweep in the Arabian
Sea and Andaman & Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal).
The Lakshadweep Islands are coral islands and covers an
area of 32 sq km. Its administrative headquarter is
Kavaratti .
Andaman & Nicobar are a group of 324 islands which are
volcanic in nature.
This group of islands can be divided into two groups. The
Andaman is in the north and the Nicobar is in the south.
These islands are located close to equator and thus,
experience equatorial type of climate and also have thick
forest cover.
Both group of islands have rich biodiversity (flora &
fauna).
Lakshadweep Island
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