Our Country-india

India is marked by a diversity of physical features such as mountains, plateaus, plains, coasts and islands. The major physical divisions of India are:
1. The Himalayas
2. The Northern Indian Plains
3. The Great Indian Desert
4. The Peninsular Plateaus and,
5. The Islands.

Additional Information: The Himalayas are divided into three categories- The Great Himalayas, The Middle Himalayas and The Lesser Himalayas. The Great Indian Desert is a dry, hot and sandy stretch of land and has very little vegetation. The peninsular plateau lies towards the south of the Northern Plains. There are two Islands groups in India, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep Islands.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Myanmar share their border with India.

Additional Information: Afghanistan and Pakistan lie to the North-west of India while Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal and Myanmar lie to its east.

The two major rivers that fall into Arabian Sea are Narmada and Tapi.

Additional Information: Narmada and Tapi flows through the Vindhyas and the Satpura ranges, which are the most important ranges of the Aravalli Hills.

Sunderbans delta is formed where the Ganga and the Brahmaputra flow into Bay of Bengal.

Additional Information: The rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri drain into the Bay of Bengal. These rivers form fertile deltas at their mouth and Sunderbans delta is one of them.

There are 29 States and 7 Union Territories in India. The states of Haryana and Punjab have a common capital – Chandigarh and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana share a common capital- Hyderabad.

Additional Information: Telangana is the latest state formed in June 2014 and the state will share its capital with Andhra Pradesh for not more than 10 years. After that, Hyderabad shall become the official capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will have a new capital.

The Northern Plains are formed by the alluvial deposits laid down by the rivers- the Indus, the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and their tributaries. These river plains provide fertile land for cultivation. That is the reason for high concentration of population in these plains.

Additional Information: The Northern plains lie to the south of the Himalayas. They are generally level and flat.

Lakshadweep Islands are made up of corals, and have fringing coral reefs very close to their shores. Corals are the skeletons of tiny marine animals called ‘polyps’. When these living polyps die, other polyps grow on top of their hard skeletons. They grow higher and higher and thus form coral reefs.

Additional Information: The Lakshadweep islands are located off the coast of Kerala, having an area of about 32 sq. km.

The Shiwalik range lies in the outer Himalayas and is 2400 km long. This range is made of unconsolidated river deposits.

Western Ghats runs parallel to the western coast of India. UNESCO has declared the Western Ghats as one of the world heritage sites.

In India, Palk Strait starts from Mannar district of Tamil Nadu and extends till the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.

Lakshadweep Islands are the coral islands of India and is made of 36 different islands.

Aravali hills have a vast variety of flora and fauna. The Aravali Range is the source of many rivers.

(a) India has an area of about 3.28 million sq. kms.

The name of India is derived from Indus. Indian coastline measures 7,517 kilometers.

(b) The Greater Himalayas are also known as Himadari

The average height of Himadari Range is 6000 meters. Mt. Everest and K2 are the prominent ranges of Greater Himalayas.

(c) The largest state in India in terms of area is Rajasthan

Rajasthan is located on the north-western side of India. The Great Indian Desert also lies in this region.

(d) The River Narmada falls into the Arabian Sea.

River Narmada is also known as ‘Rewa’. It flows in the central India and the fifth longest river in the Indian sub-continent.

(e) The latitude that runs almost halfway through India is Tropic of Cancer.

Tropic of Cancer is also referred to as the Northern Tropic and is north of the Equator.

a.

b. 82°30′E longitude

c. Mark the state in which you live.

d. Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea

e. Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats