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Indian Geography – All you need to know about
In this write-up, we will talk about Indian Geography. We have included the meaning of geography and the major geographical features of India.
Alongside, know the location and extent of India. We have also included the geographical division of India, the political geography, and the frontiers of India.
Also, explore the tallest, longest, shortest, biggest, largest, and more of India.
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Latitude and Longitude of India
What are the important rives of India?
What is geography?
Geography refers to the study and exploration of places and the relationships between humans and their environment.
It studies the Earth and its characteristics like the seasons, climate, atmosphere, longitudes and latitudes, landforms, water bodies, and more.
Geography of a country refers to the study of the physical characteristics of the country and its features.
It studies the location, extent, boundaries, climate, water bodies, and more similar features.
Must Read:- Physical Features of India
Geographical location and extent of India
India is situated north to the equator between the 8o 4’ North to 37o 6’ North latitude and 68o 7’ East to 97o 25’ East longitude.
Based on the total land area, India is the 7th largest country in the world. It lies on the Indian plate which is the northern part of the Indi-Australian Plate. Its continental crust forms the Indian subcontinent.
Territorial projections of India are the Arabian Sea in the West, Bay of Bengal in the East, the Indian Ocean to the South and Lakshadweep Sea to the southwest.
Sri Lanka is separated from India by the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait.
The territorial waters of India are up to a distance of 12 nautical miles from the baseline of the coast.
Grab an overview of the location features of India
| Latitude | 8o 4’ N to 37o 6’ N |
| Longitude | 68o 7’ E to 97o 25’ E |
| Total Area | 32, 87, 263 kilometres |
| East to West Distance | 2933 kilometres |
| North to South Distance | 3214 kilometers |
| Land Frontier | 15200 kilometres |
| Mainland Coastline | 6100 kilometres |
| Total Coastline | 7516 kilometres |
| Eastern-most Point | Kibithu, Arunachal Pradesh |
| Western-most Point | West of Ghuav Mota, Gujarat |
| Northern-most Point | Siachen Glacier |
| Southern-most Point | Indira Point, Great Nicobar |
What is the geographical division of India?
India is a vast country which different landscapes across the country. From snow-capped mountains to deserts, plains, hills and plateaus, India has it all.
It is divided into seven geographic regions which are as follows:-
The Northern Mountains
The chain of mountains from the Pamir Plateau to the Indo-Myanmar border, Himalayas is 3600 kilometres long forming an arc.
The Himalayas are the only snow-capped mountain ranges in India. The width of the rage varies between 150 and 400 kilometers.
India has seven major mountain ranges which have peaks over 1000 m which are as follows:-
- Himalayas
- Aravalli
- The Eastern Ghats
- The Western Ghats
- Vindhyas
- Patkai
- Satpuras
- Karakoram
Indo-Gangetic Plains
The large floodplains of the Indus and Ganga-Brahmaputra river system cover an area of 700000 kilometres square and has a width of several hundred kilometres through their length.
The plains run parallel to the Himalayan Mountains, from the West from Jammu and Kashmir to Assam in the east.
They drain the states of Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and eastern Rajasthan.
The Ganga and the Indus River are the major rivers forming the system along with their tributaries which are Beas, Yamuna, Gomti, Chambal, Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej.
These plains are the world’s most extensive expanse of alluvium formations by silt deposition.
They are intensively farmed and also the world’s most densely populated areas.
Thar Desert
Also known as the Great Indian Desert, Thar Desert forms a significant portion of western India.
It covers an area of 208110 kilometres in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The major part of the desert is in Rajasthan covering 61% geographic area of the state.
Central Highlands and Deccan Plateau
The Central Highlands has three main plateaus which are as follows:-
- The Malwa Plateau in the West
- The Chota Nagpur Plateau in the East
- The Deccan Plateau in the South
The Deccan plateau is a large triangular plateau that is bounded by the Vindhyas to the North and covered by the Eastern and Western Ghats.
It covers a total area of 1.9 million kilometers and is mostly flat with elevations that range from 300 to 600 meters.
East Coast
The East Coast stretches from Tamil Nadu to West Bengal. It is a wide stretch of land that lies between the Bay of Bengal and the Eastern Ghats.
A major portion of this plain is formed by the Deltas of several rivers.
The Eastern Coastal Plains are divided into six regions that are the Mahanadi Delta, the Southern Andhra Pradesh Plain, the Krishna Godavari Deltas, the Kanyakumari Coast, Coromandel Coast and sandy littoral.
West Coast
The narrow strip of land between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea ranges from 50 to 100 kilometres in width.
The Western Coastal Plains are divided into three regions that are the Konkan Coast, the Kanara Coast, and the Malabar Coast.
Bordering seas and islands
The Lakshadweep Islands and the Andaman Nicobar Islands are the two major offshore island possessions of India. These are the Union Territories of India.
The Lakshadweep islands are off the coast of Kerela in the Arabian Sea at 200 to 300 kilometers.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are located 950 kilometers from Kolkata in the Bay of Bengal near the coast of Myanmar.
What is the political geography of India?
India has 28 states which are subdivided into districts and 8 union territories which include the National Capital of India.
Rajasthan is the biggest state of the country in terms of area.
India shares its borders with China, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
India shares the longest border with Bangladesh while the shortest with Afghanistan.
What are the Frontiers of India?
India has a total border of 15106.7 kilometres that runs through 92 districts in 17 states.
All other states except Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, and Telangana have one or more international borders or a coastline.
India-Bangladesh Border
India has the longest border with Bangladesh which is 4096 kilometres long.
The boundary was determined under the Radcliffe Award under which the erstwhile province of Bengal was divided into two parts.
India-China Border
With a border of 3488 kilometres, it is the second-largest border of India.
The Indian states forming the boundary with China are Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh.
India-Pakistan Border
This was formed as a result of the partition of India under the Radcliffe award in 1947.
The border is 3323 kilometers long with Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir as the touching states.
India-Nepal Border
Uttarakhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal touches the 1751 kilometres long Indo-Nepalese border.
A major portion of the border runs in the east-west direction along the Shiwalik Range foothills.
India-Myanmar Border
The 1643 kilometres long border of India and Myanmar runs along the watershed between the Brahmaputra river and Ayeyarwady.
India-Bhutan Border
India and Bhutan have a 699 kilometres long border. The border is peaceful with no disputes and military tensions between the two countries.
India-Afghanistan Border
The shortest border of India with Afghanistan is 106 kilometres long.
The Tallest, Longest, Largest, Biggest, Smallest and Firsts of India
We have compiled a list of the largest, tallest, biggest, smallest, firsts and more things, places, people and more of India.
Explore the list and boost your memory.
| WHAT | NAME/ LOCATION | SPECIFICATIONS |
| Largest State | Rajasthan | |
| Largest Lake | Wular Lake (Jammu & Kashmir) | Surface area – 30 to 260 kilometres squares |
| Largest Mosque | Jama Masjid, Delhi | 25000 person capacity |
| Largest cave | Kailasa Temple, (Cave 16) Ellora, Maharashtra | |
| Largest Zoological garden | Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Chennai, Tamil Nadu | 602 hectares |
| Largest National Park | Hemis National Park | 4400 square kilometres |
| Largest Saline Water lake | Chilika lake, Odisha | Surface area – 1165 square kilometres |
| Largest artificial lake | Dhebar Lake | Surface area – 87 square kilometres |
| Longest Railway Platform | Gorakhpur Railway Station | 1.35 kilometres |
| Longest Bridge (on water) | Dhola-Sadiya Bridge | 9.15 kilometres |
| Longest National Highway | NH 44 | 3745 kilometres |
| Longest Rail Tunnel | Pir Pranjal Railway Tunnel, Jammu & Kashmir | 11215 metres |
| Longest River | Ganges | 2525 kilometres |
| Longest Sea Beach | Marina Beach | 13 kilometres |
| Longest Canal | Indira Gandhi Canal | 640 kilometres |
| Longest Glacier | Siachen Glacier, Jammu & Kashmir | 76 kilometres |
| Biggest stadium | Yuva Bharati Krirangan Stadium, Kolkata | 105 × 70 metres |
| Biggest River Island | Majoli, Assam | 1250 square kilometres |
| Biggest Planetarium | Birla Planetarium, Kolkata | |
| Highest Mountain peak | K2 or Mount Godwin-Austen | 8611 metres |
| Highest Airport | Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, Leh | 3256 metres altitude |
| Highest Gravity Dam | Bhakra Dam, Sutlej River | Height – 225.55 metres |
| Highest Plunge Waterfall | Nohkalikai Falls, Meghalaya | Height – 340 metres |
| Highest Lake | Tso Lhamo Lake, Sikkim | 5330 metres altitude |
| Highest Rainfall | Cherrapungi | |
| Tallest Statue | Statue of Unity, Gujarat | 182 metres |
| Tallest Building | Imperial Tower | 254 metres |
| Tallest Dam | Tehri Dam, Uttarakhand | 260.5 metres |
| Tallest Waterfall | Thoseghar waterfalls, Maharashtra | Height – 500 metres |
| Lowest Region | Kuttanadu, Kerela | -2.2 metres below sea level |
| Extreme South Point | Indira Point (Nicobar Islands) | |
| Coldest place | Dras | Minimum Temperature (Average) – -22 |
| Smallest State | Goa | 3702 square kilometres |
| FIRSTS IN INDIA | |
| President | Rajendra Prasad |
| Prime Minister | Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru |
| President (Female) | Pratibha Patil |
| Prime Minister (Female) | Mrs. Indira Gandhi |
| Astronaut | Rakesh Sharma |
| Commander-in-Chief | Kodandera Madappa Cariappa |
| Chief Justice of Supreme Court | Justice Hirala J. Kania |
| Women Cosmonaut | Kalpana Chawla |
| Miss World | Reita Faria |
| Miss Universe | Sushmita Sen |
| Women Commercial Pilot | Durba Banerjee |
| Defence Minister | Baldev Singh |
| Finance Minister | Shanmukham Chetty |
| Nobel Prize (Economics) | Amartya Sen |
Hello! My name is Mansi Shrivastava who happens to have a knack for writing. It has not always been what I admired but developing into a writer was something I appreciate the most now. When not glued to the computer screen, I love to try my hand in arts and crafts. Also, binge-watching with a bowl of snacks has always been my thing.
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