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Chapter – 1
India: Location and Size; Relief, Structure and Major
Physiographic Divisions

Q1. Give an account of the location and size of India. 3m

Ans: India is located in the southern part of Asia. It lies entirely in the northern
hemisphere. The Indian mainland extend between 8º4’N and 37º6’N latitudes and
68º7’ E and 97º25’ E longitude. India has a total area of 3.28 million square
kilometres. It is the seventh largest country in the world and has a land boundary of
about 15,200 kilometres. The total length of the coastline of the country including the
islands is 7,516.6 kilometres.

Q2. Name the two islands group of India that lies to its south-west and south-
east. 2m
Ans: The two islands group of India that lies to its south-west and south-east are the
Lakshadweep Islands and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands respectively.

Q3. What does the ‘The Theory of Plate Tectonics’ state? 2m

Ans: Page G-3, 1st Paragraph.

Q4. Explain briefly the three types of plate boundaries. 3m

Ans: The three types of plate boundaries are-
1. Some plates move towards each other and form convergent boundary.
2. Some plates move away from each other and form divergent boundary.
3. Again, two plates may move horizontally past each other and form transform
boundary.

Q5. How was the Northern Plains of India formed? 3m

Ans:- Page – G4, 2nd Paragraph. (Due to the uplift – the northern plains of India was
formed)

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Q6. What type of relief feature do the Himalayan Mountains depict? 1m

Ans: The Himalayan Mountains depict a youthful topography with high peaks, deep
valleys and fast flowing rivers.

1. The Himalayan Mountains

Himalayan mountains are stretched over the northern borders of India. These ranges
run in a west-east direction from the Indus to Brahmaputra.

The Himalaya consists of 3 parallel ranges in its longitudinal extent.

1. The northern-most range is known as the Great or Inner Himalayas or the
Himadri. It is the most continuous range consisting of the loftiest peaks with an
average height of 6,000 metres.
2. The folds of the Great Himalayas are asymmetrical in nature. The core of this part
of Himalayas is composed of granite rocks.
3. The range lying to the south of the Himadri forms the most rugged mountain
system and is known as Himachal or Lesser Himalaya which is made up of highly
compressed and altered rocks.
4. The height of this range varies from 3,700 metres to 4,500 metres and noted for
its hill station.
5. The outermost range of the Himalayas is called the Shiwaliks. These ranges are
composed of unconsolidated sediments.
6. The longitudinal valley lying between Himachal and Shiwaliks are known as Duns.

The Himalayas have also been divided on the basis of regions from west to east.
1. The part of Himalayas lying between the Indus and the Sutlej has been
traditionally known as Punjab Himalaya but it is also known regionally as Kashmir
Himalaya or Himachal Himayalas.
2. The part of the Himalayas lying between the Sutlej and the Kali River is known as
Kumaon Himalayas.
3. The Kali and the Tista rivers divided the Nepal Himalayas and the part lying
between the Tista and the Dihang rivers is known as Assam Himalayas.
4. Beyond the Dihang gorge, the Himalayas bend sharply towards south along the
eastern boundary of India, which is known as the Purvachal or the Eastern hills. It
comprises the Patkai hills, the Naga hills, the Manipur hills and the Lushai hills.

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Q7. Write the chief characteristics feature of the i. Himadri ii. Himacal iii.
Shiwaliks. 3+3+3=9m
Ans: Text book page G-6 to G-7 or the above notes.

2. The Northern Plain

The northern plain has been formed by the interplay of the 3 major river systems -
the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries. It spreads
over an area of 7 lakh sq. km.

The Northern Plain is broadly divided into 3 sections as mentioned below:

1. The Western part of the Northern Plain is referred to as the Punjab Plains. This
plain is formed by the Indus and its tributaries - the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi,
the Beas and the Sutlej.
2. The Ganga plain extends between Ghaggar and Tista rivers. It is spread over the
states of North India, Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar, partly Jharkhand and West
Bengal.
3. Brahmaputra plain lies in the state of Assam between the Dhubri and Sadiya.

According to the variations in elevation points, the Northern plains can be divided
into 4 regions.
1. The narrow belt of about 8 to 16 km in width lying parallel to the slopes of the
Shiwaliks which is made up of porous rocks mainly pebbles is known as Bhabar. All
the streams disappear in this bhabar belt.
2. The streams and rivers re-emerge and create a wet, swampy and marshy region
known as Terai.
3. 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 which is known as
Bhangar.
4. The soil in the bhangar region contains calcareous deposits and is known as
Kankar. The newer, younger deposits of the floodplains are called khadar.

Q8. Why northern plains have fertile alluvial soil? 2m

Ans: The northern plain was formed by the filling up of a large depression lying at the
foothills of the Himalayas by sediments over millions of years. These sediments were
brought down by the three major rivers viz., the Indus, the Ganga and the
Brahmaputra along with their tributaries. Therefore, it is a fertile alluvial plain.

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Q9. Discuss the three divisions of northern plains from west to east. 3m
Ans: Answered from the above points.

Q10. What is terai? 1m

Ans: To the south of the bhabar, the streams and rivers re-emerge and create a
damp and swampy region known as terai.

3. The Peninsular Plateau

The Peninsular plateau is a tableland composed of the old crystalline, igneous and
metamorphic rocks. It was formed due to the breaking and drifting of the Gondwana
land. One of the distinct features of the peninsular plateau is the black soil area
known as Deccan Trap.

This plateau consists of 2 divisions:

1. The Central Highlands: The part of the peninsular plateau lying to the north of
the Narmada River, covering a major area of the Malwa plateau, is known as the
Central Highlands. The eastward extensions of this plateau are locally known as the
Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand.
2. The Deccan Plateau: It is a triangular landmass that lies to the south of the river
Narmada. An extension of the Plateau is also visible in the northeast which is known
as the Meghalaya, Karbi-Anglong Plateau and North Cachar Hills.

The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats mark the western and the eastern edges
of the Deccan Plateau respectively.

Western Ghats Eastern Ghats

Western Ghats lie parallel to the western The Eastern Ghats stretch from the
coast. Mahanadi Valley to the Nigiris in the
South.

They are continuous and can be crossed They are discontinuous and irregular.
through passes only. They can be dissected by rivers draining
into the Bay of Bengal.

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They are higher than the Eastern Ghats. Their average elevation is 600 metres.
Their average elevation is 900–1600
metres.

Anamudi is the highest peak in the Mahendragiri (1,501 metres) is the

Eastern Ghats. highest peak in the Eastern Ghats.

Q11. Explain the relief feature of the Peninsular Plateau. 5m

Ans: Page – G9, 3rd and 4th paragraph (The part of the plateau – the Maikal ranges.)

Q12. What characteristic features distinguish the Peninsular Plateau from the
Himalayan Mountain? 5m
Ans: The major differences between the Peninsular Plateau and the Himalayan
Mountains are:

Peninsular Plateaus Himalayan Mountains

Peninsular plateau is an ancient part of Himalayan mountain ranges are very

earth’s landmass. young and they are fold mountains.

It was formed by the breaking and drifting It was formed by the collision of the
of the Gondwanaland. Eurasian plates and the Indo-Australian
plates due to continental drift.

In the Peninsular plateau, the average In the Himalayan region, the average
height of mountain peaks is around height of mountain peaks is around
900m. 600m.

Peninsular rivers which originate from the Himalayan rivers that originate from the
Peninsular plateau are non-perennial Himalayan region are perennial river
since they sole depend on monsoon. because they are fed by both melting
snow and rains.

The Peninsular plateau has abundant Not many minerals are found in the
mineral wealth. Himalayan region.

Q13. Write an account of the Western Ghats. 5m

Ans: Page G-10, 1st paragraph (The Western Ghats – the highest peak of the
Western Ghats.

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4. The Indian Desert

The Indian desert lies towards the western margins of the Aravali Hills.
It is a sandy plain covered with sand dunes.
This region receives very low rainfall below 150 mm per year.
It has a dry climate with low vegetation cover.

Q14. Name two types of sand dunes found in the Thar Desert. 2m
Ans: i) Crescent-shaped sand dunes and ii) Longitudinal sang dunes or Barchans.

5. The Coastal Plains

A coastal plain is a flat, low-lying piece of land next to the ocean. To the east and
west of the Peninsular Plateau, 2 narrow strips of plain lands are found, which are
respectively called Eastern Coastal Plain and Western Coastal Plain.

Eastern Coastal Plain

The Eastern Coastal Plains is a wide stretch of the landmass lying between the
Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. In the northern part, it is referred to as the
Northern Circar, while the southern part is known as the Coromandel Coast. Large
rivers, such as the Mahanadi the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri have formed
extensive delta on this coast. Lake Chilika is an important feature along the eastern
coast

Western Coastal Plain

The western coast is sandwiched between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea.
It is a narrow plain and consists of 3 sections as mentioned below:
The northern part of the coast is called the Konkan (Mumbai – Goa).
The central stretch is called the Kannad Plain.
The southern stretch is referred to as the Malabar Coast.

Q15. Write two points of difference between eastern and western coastal
plains. 2m
Ans: The two points of difference between eastern and western coastal plain are:

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i) In the eastern coastal plain, wide delta are formed by large rivers like the
Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri on the other hand, no deltas are
formed in the western coastal plains.
ii) The eastern coastal plain is broad and level and also very fertile due to alluvial soil
where as Western coastal plain is very narrow and except for Malabar Coast, the
Western coastal plain in infertile.

Q16. Name the three section of the Western Coastal plain. 1m

Ans: Answered from the above points.

Q17. Name the two parts of the eastern coastal plain. 1m

Ans: Answered from the above points.

6. The Islands
An island is a piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water.

Lakshadweep Islands
Lakshadweep Islands group is composed of small coral isalnds which were earlier
known as Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindive.

The Andaman and Nicobar Island

The entire group of islands is divided into 2 broad categories:
1. The Andaman in the north
2. The Nicobar in the south
These islands lie close to the equator and experience equatorial climate and have
thick forest cover.

Q18. Write the chief characteristic features of

i) The Andaman and Nicobar islands and
ii) The Lakshadweep islands. 3+3=6m
Ans: Page G-11, Give three points each from the 2 nd and 3rd Paragraph.

Q19. How does each physiographic units of India complement the other? 5m
Ans: Page G-10, Last Paragraph.

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