GEOGRAPHY

CHAPTER – 10
INDIA - GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION
AND PHYSICAL FEATURES

We learn about the following in this chapter:

• Heritage of our country
• The origin and background of the word ‘Bharat’
• India’s geographical location, extent, land and water
boundaries and the neighbouring countries.
• India - physical divisions.
• Mountains, Plains and Coastal regions
India exhibits unity in diversity, from ancient times. This variety
is unique to our country in the entire world, and as such, has given a

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rich heritage. When we observe a deverse of physical features, climatic
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conditions, natural vegetation and people, we feel this country can be
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called a subcontinent.
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India’s position in the world: India is a peninsula located in South-East

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Asia. It is also called ‘India’ and ‘Hindustan’. The name ‘India’ has been
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derived from rever Indus. It has been named ‘Bharat’ after the ancient
Indian king Bharata. The country is entirely in the northern hemisphere.
It is wide in the north, tapering to form a triangle in the south, ending in
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the Indian Ocean.

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Arcatic

Location of India in the world

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 Ladakh

Jammu &
Kashmir

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INDIA
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Size: India is 32,87,263 square kilometers in area. It is the seventh largest
country in the world. It occupies about 2.4% of the world’s total area. There
are 28 States and 6 Union Territories. New Delhi is also known as the
‘National Capital Territory’ (NCT). As per the 2011 Census, India has a total
population of 121 crores. It has about 17.5% of the world’s population.
India is the second largest country as far as population is concerned and
ranks behind China.
Latitudinal position: India extends from 8°4 to 37°6 in the North Latitued.
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The total length from Kanyakumari in the South to Kashmir in the North
is 3,214 kms. When the islands are also taken into consideration, ‘Indira
Point’ in the Great Nicobar Islands located at 6°45 is the southernmost
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point. The Tropic of Cancer or 23 ° North Latitude passes through Central

part of India.
Longitudinal Position: With regard to its longitudinal position, India
extends from 68°7 east to 97°25 East longitude. From East to West
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about 2933 kms. Indian Standard Time is based on 82 ° East longitude
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passing through Allahabad. Indian time is ahead of Greenwich Meantime
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(0° latitude) by about 5 hours and 30 minutes.
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Frontiers and Neighbouring Countries:

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Do you know this?

India being a peninsula, it has both
neighbouring Countries of India
land and water frontriers too. India has
Countries Length of Boundary
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15,200 kms of land frontiers and 6,100 width India km

kms of coastline.
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Pakistan 3310
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Afghanistan 80
India shares land frontier with
China 3917
seven nations. In the north-west, it shares
Nepal 1752
with Afghanistan and Pakistan; in the Bhutan 587
north with China, Nepal and Bhutan; Mayammar 1458
in the east with Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh 4096
Bangladesh. Sri Lanka in the south Srilanka --
and Maldives in the south-west are also Maldieves --

neighbouring countries of India. India 15200

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 Do you know this?
• The boundary line between India and Pakistan is called “Radcliffe Line”.
• The boundary line between India and China is called “McMohan Line”.
• The boundary line between India and Afghanistan is called “Durrand Line”.

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF INDIA

India has different types of relief features. These are found in

different parts of the country. Their history dates back to different
geological periods and there are differences in the structure and surface
features. Based on these differences, the country is divided into four major
divisions:
1. Northern Mountains :
The Himalayan mountain the highest in the world and consists of
highest peaks, deep valleys, Glaciers rivers etc. The Himalayan range begins

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at the Pamir Knot in the west and extends upto Arunachala pradesh in
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the east. It is about 2500 kms in length. These folded mountain ranges
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are three main ranges: 1. Siwalik mountains (foothills of Himalaya) 2. The
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Himachal (middle Himalaya) 3.The Greater Himalayas (Himadri)

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a) Siwalik Range : These hills are the most recent formations and are
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located in the southern part. They have lesser height. They are also called
‘the Foothills’ of the Himalayas. These hills have narrow strips of plains
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or valleys which are called “Dunes”. For example. Dehradune, Kota, Patli
and chaukhamba, Udhampur and Kotli. These are about 600-1500 meters
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above the sea level.

b) The Himachal (Middle Himalaya) (central) : They are about 3600
meters to 4,500 meters in height and are located between Siwalik and
the Greater Himalayas. They are about 60-80 kms in width. The lesser
Himalayas consist of many parallel mountain ranges. For ex.Pir Panjal,
Mahabharath range, Nagtibba, Mussoorie, etc. Kangra and Kulu are
the famous valleys. Shimla, Mussorie, Nainital, Ranikhet, Chakrata and
Darjeeling are the well known hill stations.
c) Greater Himalayas (Himadri) : These are known for the highest
peaks of the Himalayas and the earlier formed ranges of the Himalayas.
This range is completely covered with snow. Hence it is called ‘Himadri’

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(abode of snow). This is about 6000 meters to 8000 meters above sea level.
The highest peak, ‘Mount Everest’ (8848 meters) lies between Nepal and
Tibet. Other peaks of this range are Kanchenjunga, Dhaualagiri, Nanda
Devi, Gowrishankara etc. These peaks have many glaciers, the most
famous among them being Gangotri it is the origin of river Ganga. There
are many passes which not only provide transport facilities but are also
excellent tourist attractions. They are Kashmirs Burzil, Zojila, Barala cha
of Himachal pradesh.
The range of fold mountains lying to the north of the Greater Himalayas
is called ‘trans Himalayas’. This consists of Karakoram range and Kailash
range, Godwin Austin or K2 is the highest peak in India (8611 mts). Ladakh
plateau also lies in this region.
Importance of the Himalayas: The Himalayan mountains have influenced
the life of Indians to a greater extent. They provide protection to India,

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by obstructing the cold winds from the sibenian regions. They are the
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birth-place of many rivers. They facilitate hydro-electric power generation.
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They are the home to many types of plants and animals. They are a great
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treasure-house of minerals, and are also significant for tourism and

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religious centers.
2. Northern great plain :
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The Great Plains of the North are also called ‘Sutlej-Ganga plains’.
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They are found between the Himalayan Mountains of the north and the
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Peninsular Plateau in the south. These plains stretch from the plains of
the river Indus in the west to the Brahmaputra valley in the east. Their
breadth is around 2,400 kms whereas the width is 70 km to 500 kms.
This area has the least variation in height and is completely flat. The entire
plain is formed by the deposition of alluvial soils brought by the rivers
which rises in the Himalayas.
Do you know this?
Babar, Bhangar and Khadar: When the Himalayan rivers enter the plains,
they deposit of rock there. These are called ‘Babar’. The area with loamy soil
deposited of the ancient times is called ‘Bhangar’. The loamy soil formed in
recent times is called ‘Khadar’.
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3. Peninsular Plateau: The Peninsular Plateau is the largest of all
physiographic divisions of India. Moreover, it is the most ancient, and is
a part of the Gondwana landmass which existed in the early stages of the
earth.

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The Peninsular Plateau stretches from the south of the

Sutlej-Ganga plains upto the Indian ocean in the south. Its total area is

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around 16 lakh sq.km. It stretches from the Aravalli mountains in the
north to Kanyakumari in the south. It extends approximately 1400 kms.
from the Western Ghats in the west to the Rajmahal hills of Jharkhand
in the east. This peninsular Plateau is in the formed in triangular shape
being broad in the north and narrow towards the south. It is bounded
by the Arabian Sea in the west, Bay of Bengal in the east and the Indian
ocean in the south.
In the North of Peninsular Plateau, we find mainly the Vindhya
mountains, Satpura hills, Malwa plateau, Chotanagpur plateau and rivers
like the Narmada, Tapti and Damodar flow amidst these, along with many
small rivers. All these are together to the north of Narmada referred to as
the ‘Central Plateau’. To the south of these, there is the Deccan Plateau.
Mahadev and Maikhal ranges, Amarakantak hills, Rajamahal hills are to
the north of Deccan plateau. To the west of the Deccan Plateau, there are
the Western Ghats. In Maharashtra and Karnataka, these are referred to

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as ‘Sahyadri’. ‘Anaimudi’ peak (2665 meters) in Annamalai range is the
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highest peak in South India. To the east of the Deccan Plateau, there are
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the Eastern Ghats. They meet the Western Ghats in the Nilgiri hills. The
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Eastern Ghats are not very high or continuous. In the Eastern Ghats,
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Armaconda and Mahendragiri are the highest peaks. These Ghats are
separated by river valleys here and there.
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The Peninsular Plateau has great economic significance. The reason for
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this is that it has rich deposits of minerals. As the rivers have many form
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waterfalls, the best suited for the production of hydro-electricity.

4. Coastal Plains : Apart from the islands, India has a coastal line of 6,100
kms. Starting from the Kutch region of Gujarat, the coastline extends
upto Gangetic river basin in the east. The narrow plain along the coast
is called the coastal plain. The Indian coastline is divided into West coast
and East coast.
The West coast spreads from Kutch of Gujarat in the north between the
Arabian sea and the Western Ghats upto the Cape of Kanyakumari is the
south. It is 1,500 kms long. This is further divided into Malabar coast in
Kerala, Canara coast in Karnataka, Konkan Coast in Goa and Maharastra

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and Gujarath coast. Mumbai, Marmugoa, Cochin, Kandla, Karwar and
Mangalore are the major ports of this coast. The Eastern costal plains
extends from Kanyakumari in the south to the Gangetic river in the north.
The East coast is located between the Bay of Bengal and the Eastern Ghats.
This coastline is very wide and flat. It comprises the deltas of Mahanadi,
Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery rivers. In the east coast, there are some
salty, brackish-water lakes or lagoons. Chilka lake of Orissa and Pulicat
lake of Tamil Nadu are the important. The east coast is divided into Utkal
coast in the north and Coromandel coast in the south.
Islands: There are totally 247 islands belonging to India.
Of them, 204 are in the Bay of Bengal and 43 are in the Arabian Sea. In the
Gulf of Mannar, there are a few coral islands. Andaman and Nicobar islands
in the Bay of Bengal are formed from hard volcanic rocks. Lakshadweep
islands are coral islands. India’s extreme southern tip is located in the

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great Nicobar island. This is called Indira Point.
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EXERCISES
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I Fill in the blanks with suitable words:

1. The name ‘India’ is derived from the river ___________.

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2. The total area of India is ____________ sq.kms.

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3. In the central part of India _____North latitude passes.

4. The country lies to the south of India is ________.
5. India has a coastal line of ___________ kms.
6. India is divided into __________ major divisions.
7. Greater Himalaya is also called __________.
8. The highest mountain peak in the world is ____________ .
9. The North Indian plain is made up of __________ soil.
10. The Western Ghats in Karnataka are also called ___________.

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II Answer the following after discussing them in groups:
1. In which part of the Asian continent is India situated?
2. In which hemisphere of the earth is India located?
3. Which is the southern tip of mainland of India?
4. Which is the southernmost point of main land of India?
5. Which is the important latitude passes through Central India?
6. In which island is Indira Point located?
7. What is the other name for the foothills of the Himalayas?
8. Which is the recently-formed landmass in India?
9. What are the advantages of Himalayas ?
10. Explain the extend of peninsular Plateau?
11. Write about the Shivalik range.

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12. ‘The Northern plains are called deposited plains’. Why?
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13. Mention the differences between western and eastern ghats.
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III Activities:
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1. Draw a map of India and mark the latitudes and longitudes and
also the 23 ° latitude passing through the central part of India.
2. Draw a map of India and mark major mountain ranges, the Eastern
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and Western Ghats.

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3. Share your experiences with your teacher when you are travelling in
the ghat sections of Mangalore, Dharmasthala and also its natural
scenes.
IV Projects:
1) Draw a map of India and mark the various States and Union
territories with the help of your teacher.
2) Draw the outline map of India, mark your neighbouring countries.
3) Collect the information, National diversity in Western ghats
and central plains of Karnatka.

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