PHYSICAL FEATURES OF INDIA

2
Y
ou have already learnt earlier that India (1) The Himalayan Mountains
is a vast country with varied land forms. (2) The Northern Plains
What kind of terrain do you live in? If (3) The Peninsular Plateau
you live in the plains, you are familiar with the (4) The Indian Desert
vast stretches of plain land. In contrast, if you (5) The Coastal Plains
live in hilly region, the rugged terrain with (6) The Islands
mountains and valleys are common features.
In fact, our country has practically all major The Himalayan Mountains
physical features of the earth, i.e., mountains, The Himalayas, geologically young and
plains, deserts, plateaus and islands. structurally fold mountains stretch over the
The land of India displays great physical northern borders of India. These mountain
variation. Geologically, the Peninsular Plateau ranges run in a west-east direction from the
constitutes one of the ancient landmasses on
Indus to the Brahmaputra. The Himalayas
the earth’s surface. It was supposed to be one
represent the loftiest and one of the most
of the most stable land blocks. The Himalayas
rugged mountain barriers of the world. They
and the Northern Plains are the most recent
form an arc, which covers a distance of about
landforms. From the view point of geology,
2,400 Km. Their width varies from 400 Km in
Himalayan mountains form an unstable zone.
Kashmir to 150 Km in Arunachal Pradesh. The
The whole mountain system of Himalaya
represents a very youthful topography with altitudinal variations are greater in the eastern
high peaks, deep valleys and fast flowing rivers. half than those in the western half. The
The northern plains are formed of alluvial Himalaya consists of three parallel ranges in
deposits. The peninsular plateau is composed its longitudinal extent. A number of valleys lie
of igneous and metamorphic rocks with gently between these ranges. The northern-most
rising hills and wide valleys. range is known as the Great or Inner
Himalayas or the Himadri. It is the most
MAJOR PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS continuous range consisting of the loftiest
The physical features of India can be grouped peaks with an average height of
under the following physiographic divisions 6,000 metres. It contains all prominent
(Figure 2.2): Himalayan peaks.

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 Figure 2.1 : Himalayas

Some Highest Peaks of the Himalayas The range lying to the south of the
Peak Country Height Himadri forms the most rugged mountain
in metres system and is known as Himachal or lesser
Mt. Everest Nepal 8848 Himalaya. The ranges are mainly composed
Kanchenjunga India 8598
Makalu Nepal 8481 of highly compressed and altered rocks. The
Dhaulagiri Nepal 8172 altitude varies between 3,700 and 4,500
Nanga Parbat India 8126
metres and the average width is of 50 Km.
Annapurna Nepal 8078
Nanda Devi India 7817 While the Pir Panjal range forms the longest
Kamet India 7756 and the most important range, the Dhaula
Namcha Barwa India 7756
Dhar and the Mahabharat ranges are also
Gurla Mandhata Nepal 7728
prominent ones. This range consists of the
The folds of the Great Himalayas are famous valley of Kashmir, the Kangra and
asymmetrical in nature. The core of this part Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh. This
of Himalayas is composed of granite. It is region is well-known for its hill stations.
perennially snow bound, and a number of
glaciers descend from this range.
• Location of Mussoorie, Nainital,
Ranikhet from your atlas and also name the state
where they are located.
• The names of the glaciers and passes
that lie in the Great Himalayas.
• The name of the states where the highest The outer-most range of the Himalayas is
peaks are located. called the Shiwaliks. They extend over a width

8 CONTEMPORARY INDIA-I

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 Figure 2.2 : Relief

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF INDIA 9

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 Figure 2.3 : The Himalayas

of 10-50 Km and have an altitude varying categories. Find out some regional names of
between 900 and 1100 metres. These ranges the Himalayas
are composed of unconsolidated sediments The Brahmaputra marks the eastern-most
brought down by rivers from the main boundary of the Himalayas. Beyond the Dihang
Himalayan ranges located farther north. gorge, the Himalayas bend sharply to the south
These valleys are covered with thick and spread along the eastern boundary of
gravel and alluvium. The longitudinal valley India. They are known as the Purvachal or the
lying between lesser Himalaya and the Eastern hills and mountains. These hills
Shiwaliks are known as Duns. Dehra Dun, running through the north-eastern states are
Kotli Dun and Patli Dun are some of the mostly composed of strong sandstones, which
well-known Duns. are sedimentary rocks. Covered with dense
Besides the longitudinal divisions, the
forests, they mostly run as parallel ranges
Himalayas have been divided on the basis of
and valleys. The Purvachal comprises the
regions from west to east. These divisions
Patkai hills, the Naga hills, the Manipur hills
have been demarcated by river valleys. For
and the Mizo hills.
example, the part of Himalayas lying between
Indus and Satluj has been traditionally
known as Punjab Himalaya but it is also
known regionally as Kashmir and Himachal
Himalaya from west to east respectively. The
part of the Himalayas lying between Satluj
and Kali rivers is known as Kumaon
Himalayas. The Kali and Teesta rivers
demarcate the Nepal Himalayas and the part
lying between Teesta and Dihang rivers is
known as Assam Himalayas. There are
regional names also in these broad Figure 2.4 : Mizo Hills

10 CONTEMPORARY INDIA-I

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The Northern Plain The Northern Plain is broadly divided into
three sections. The Western part of the Northern
The northern plain has been formed by the
interplay of the three major river systems, Plain is referred to as the Punjab Plains.
namely — the Indus, the Ganga and the Formed by the Indus and its tributaries, the
larger part of this plain lies in Pakistan. The
Brahmaputra along with their tributaries. This
plain is formed of alluvial soil. The deposition Indus and its tributaries — the Jhelum, the
of alluvium in a vast basin lying at the foothills Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and the Satluj
originate in the Himalaya. This section of the
of the Himalaya over millions of years, formed
this fertile plain. It spreads over an area of 7 plain is dominated by the doabs.
lakh sq. km. The plain being about 2400 km
long and 240 to 320 km broad, is a densely ‘Doab’ is made up of two words
populated physiographic division. With a rich — ‘do’ meaning two and ‘ab’ meaning water. Similarly
‘Punjab’, is also made up two words — ‘Punj’ meaning
soil cover combined with adequate water five and ‘ab’ meaning water.
supply and favourable climate it is
agriculturally a productive part of India.
The Ganga plain extends between Ghaggar
and Teesta rivers. It is spread over North India in
Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar, partly Jharkhand and
West Bengal. In the East, particularly in Assam
lies the Brahmaputra plain.
The northern plains are generally described
as flat land with no variations in its relief. It is
not true. These vast plains also have diverse
relief features. According to the variations in
relief features, the Northern plains can be
divided into four regions. The rivers, after
descending from the mountains deposit
pebbles in a narrow belt of about 8 to 16 km
in width lying parallel to the slopes of the
Figure 2.5 : The Northern Plains Shiwaliks. It is known as bhabar. All the
streams disappear in this bhabar belt. South
The rivers coming from northern of this belt, the streams and rivers re-emerge
mountains are involved in depositional work. and create a wet, swampy and marshy region
In the lower course, due to gentle slope, the known as terai. This was a thickly forested
velocity of the river decreases, which results in region full of wildlife. The forests have been
the formation of riverine islands. cleared to create agricultural land and to settle
migrants from Pakistan after partition. Locate
Dudhwa National Park in this region.
Majuli, in the Brahmaputra
river, is the largest inhabited riverine island in the The largest part of the northern plain is
world. formed of older alluvium. It lies above the
floodplains of the rivers and presents a terrace-
The rivers in their lower course split into like feature. This part is known as bhangar.
numerous channels due to the deposition of silt. The soil in this region contains calcareous
These channels are known as distributaries. deposits, locally known as kankar. The

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