Physical Features of India

● The Peninsular Plateau constitutes one of the ancient land masses

on the Earth’s surface. It was supposed to be one of the most
stable land blocks.
● The Himalayas and the Northern Plains are the most recent
landforms. From this point of geology, Himalayas form an unstable
zone.
● The Himalayas represent a very youthful topography with high
peaks, deep valleys and fast flowing rivers.
● The Northern Plains are formed of alluvial deposits.
● The Peninsular Plateau is composed of igneous and meta-morphic
rocks with gently rising hills and wide valleys.

The Himalayan Mountains

● Geologically young and structurally folded mountains stretch over
the northern borders of India.
● Run in a West to East direction from the Indus to the
Brahmaputra.
● It has a total length of about 2400 km and its width varies from
400 km in Kashmir to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh.
● Their altitudinal variations are greater in the eastern half than
those in the western half.
● It consists of three parallel ranges in its longitudinal extent:

● Himadri
○ Northernmost range.
○ Also known as greater or inner Himalayas.
○ Has an average height of 6000 m.
○ Asymmetric folds.
○ Core of the Himadri is composed of granite.
○ Perennially snow-bound.

● Himachal
○ To the south of the Himadri.
○ Also known as lesser Himalaya.
○ Altitude varies between 3700 m and 4500 m.
○ Average width of 50 km.
○ Pir Panjal range is the longest and most important, apart
from that, Dhaula Dhar and Mahabharat ranges are also
prominent ones.
 ○ Consists of the famous valley of Kashmir, the Kangra and
Kullu valley in Himachal Pradesh.

● Shiwaliks
○ Extend over a width of 10-50 km and have an altitude
varying between 900 and 1100 m.
○ Composed of unconsolidated sediments brought down by
rivers from the main Himalayan ranges located farther north.
○ Covered with thick gravel and alluvium.
○ The longitudinal valleys lying between the Himachal and the
Shiwaliks are known as Duns, e.g. Dehradun, Kotli Dun and
Patli Dun.

Indus To Satluj To Kali To Teesta To Dihang

X
Punjab
X
Kumaon
X
Nepal
X
Assam
Himalaya Himalayas Himalayas Himalayas X
○ Beyond the Dihang Gorge, the Himalayas bend sharply to the
south and spread among the eastern boundary of India. They
are known as Purvanchal or the Eastern hills and mountains.
 ○ The Purvanchal comprises of Patkai hills, Naga hills, Manipur
hills and Mizo hills.

The Northern Plain

● Formed by the interplay of three major river systems, namely —
the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their
tributaries.
● Formed of alluvial soil.
● The deposition of alluvium lying at the foothills of the Himalaya
over millions of years, formed this fertile plain.
● Spreads over an area of 7 lakh sq. km. The plain is about 2400 km
long and 240 to 320 km wide.
● Densely populated.
● Rich soil cover combined with adequate water supply and
favourable climate.
● Agriculturally a productive part of India.
● Rivers coming from northern mountains are involved in
depositional work. In the lower course, due to gentle slope, the
velocity of the river decreases, which results in the formation of
riverine islands.
 ● The rivers in their lower course split into numerous channels due
to the deposition of silt. These channels are known as
distributaries.
● The Western part of the Northern Plains is called the Punjab
Plain, it is formed by the Indus and its tributaries. A larger part of
this plain lies in Pakistan.
● The part of the Northern Plains which lies between Ghaggar and
Teesta rivers is known as the Ganga Plain. It is spread over North
India in Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
● In the East, particularly in Assam, lies the Brahmaputra Plain.

Relief Features of the Northern Plain

● The rivers, after descending from the mountains deposit pebbles
in a narrow belt of about 8 to 16 km lying parallel to the slopes of
Shiwaliks, it is known as Bhabar. All the streams disappear in this
bhabar belt.
● South of this belt, the streams and rivers re-emerge and create a
wet, swampy and marshy region, known as Terai. This was a
thickly forested region full of wildlife. Forests were cleared to
 create agricultural land and to settle migrants from Pakistan after
partition.
● The largest part of the Northern Plain is formed of older alluvium.
It lies above the floodplains of the rivers and presents a terrace
like feature. This part is known as Bhangar. The soil in this region
contains calcareous deposits, locally known as kankar.
● The newer, younger deposits of the floodplains are called Khadar.
● They are renewed almost every year and so are fertile, thus, ideal
for intensive agriculture.

The Peninsular Plateau

● A tableland composed of crystalline, igneous and metamorphic
rocks.
● Formed due to breaking and drifting of the Gondwana land and
thus, making it a part of the oldest landmass.

Topography and relief features of the Peninsular

Plateau
● Has broad and shallow valleys and rounded hills.
● Consists of two broad divisions, namely — the Central Highlands
and the Deccan Plateau.

● Central Highlands
○ The part of the Peninsular Plateau lying to the north of the
Narmada river, covering a major area of the Malwa Plateau.
○ The Vindhya Range is bounded by the Satpura Range on the
south and the Aravallis on the northwest.
○ The further westward extension merges with the sandy and
rocky desert of Rajasthan.
○ The flow of the rivers draining this region, namely—
Chambal, Sind, Betwa and Ken — is from southwest to
northeast, thus indicating the slope.
○ Wider in the west and narrower in the east.
○ The eastward extensions of this plateau are locally known as
Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand.
○ The Chotanagpur plateau marks the further eastward
extension, drained by the Damodar river.

● Deccan Plateau
○ Triangular landmass.
 ○ Lies to the south of Narmada.
○ Satpura range flanks its broad base in the north, while the
Mahadev, the Kaimur hills and Maikal range form its eastern
extensions.
○ Higher in the west and slopes gently eastwards.
○ Meghalaya, Karbi-Anglong plateau and North Cachar Hills
mark the north-eastern extension.
○ It is separated by a fault from the Chotanagpur plateau.
○ Prominent hill ranges: Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills.
○ Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats mark the western and
eastern edges respectively.
○ Deccan Trap, a black soil area, is of volcanic origin so the
rocks are igneous. These rocks have denuded over time and
are responsible for the formation of black soil.

● Western Ghats:
○ Lie parallel to the western coast.
○ They are continuous and can be crossed through passes only.
○ Higher than the Eastern Ghats, elevation varies from
900-1600 m.
 ○ Cause orographic rainfall by facing the rain bearing moist
winds that rise along the western slopes of the Ghats.
○ Height increases progressively from north to south.
○ Highest peaks: Anai Mudi (2695m) and Doda Betta (2637m).

● Eastern Ghats:
○ Stretch from the Mahanadi Valley to the Nigris in the south.
○ Discontinuous and irregular, dissected by rivers draining into
the Bay of Bengal.
○ Highest peak: Mahendragiri (1501 m).

The Indian Desert

● Lies towards the western margin of the Aravalli Hills.
● Undulating sandy plain covered with sand dunes.
● Receives very low rainfall, below 150 mm per year.
● Has an arid climate with low vegetation cover.
● Streams appear during the rainy season.
● Soon after, they disappear into the sand as they do not have
enough water to reach the sea.
● Luni is the only large river.
 ● Barchans (crescent shaped dunes) cover larger areas but
longitudinal dunes become more prominent near the Indo-Pakistan
boundary.

The Coastal Plains

● The Peninsular plateau is flanked by stretches of narrow coastal
strips, running along the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of
Bengal on the east.
● The western coast is a narrow plain. It consists of three sections,
the northern part of the coast is called Konkan (Mumbai-Goa), the
central stretch is called Kannad Plain, while the southern stretch
is referred to as the Malabar Coast.
● The eastern coast is wide and level. In the northern part, it is
referred to as Northern Circar. In the southern part, it is referred
to as Coromandel Coast.

The Islands
● Lakshadweep:
○ Composed of small coral islands.
○ Earlier known as Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi, until 1973.
○ Covers a small area of 32 sq. km.
 ○ Kavaratti island is the administrative headquarters.
○ With wide flora and fauna, Pitti island has a bird sanctuary.

● Andaman and Nicobar Islands:

○ Bigger in size.
○ More numerous and scattered.
○ Divided into two — Andaman in the north and Nicobar in the
south.
○ It is believed that these islands are an elevated portion of
submarine mountains.
○ Experience equatorial climate and has thick forest cover.

Corals
● Coral polyps are short-lived microscopic organisms which live in
colonies.
● They flourish in shallow mud-free and warm waters.
● They secrete calcium carbonate.
● Three kinds of reefs — Barrier reef, fringing reef and atolls.
● The Great Barrier Reef of Australia is a good example of the first
kind of coral reef.
● Atolls are circular or horseshoe-shaped coral reefs.

DO YOU KNOWs
1. Majuli, in the Brahmaputra river, is the largest inhabited
riverine island in the world.
2. Chilika lake is the largest salt water lake in India, it lies in
the state of Odisha, to the south of the Mahanadi Delta.
3. India’s only active volcano is found on Barren island in the
Andaman and Nicobar group of islands.