Location

India has all of the Earth's major physical characteristics, including mountains, plains, deserts, plateaus, and islands.

Because different types of rocks are used to make the soil in India, the color varies from location to place.

India is a huge continent created during several geological periods.

The relief characteristics of India are the result of various processes like weathering, erosion, and deposition.

India has a variety of physical traits that may be explained using the 'Theory of Plate Tectonics.'

Plate tectonics states that the seven major and minor plates that make up the Earth's crust are constantly shifting, creating stress and hence bending, faulting, and volcanic activity

Plate borders can be convergent, divergent, or transform.

The peninsular region of India is made up of one of the world's oldest landmasses, 'Gondwana land.' India, Australia, South Africa, South America, and Antarctica formed one continent.

India's physical characteristics may be classified into the following physiographic divisions:

  • The Himalayan Mountains (i)
  • Northern Plains (ii)
  • The Peninsular Plateau (iii)
  • The Indian Desert (iv)
  • Coastal Plains (v)
  • The Islands (vi)

The Himalayan Mountains

The Himalayas are young-fold Mountains that are the world's tallest and most challenging mountain barriers.

From Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, the Himalayas are 2400 km long and 400 to 150 km broad.

In terms of longitudinal extent, the Himalayas have three parallel ranges.

  • The Great or Inner Himalayas, also known as Himadri. It is the tallest mountain range, with an average elevation of 6000 meters.
  • Middle Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh. The elevation ranges from 3700 to 4500 meters. It contains the Pir Panjal, Dhaula Dhar, and Mahabharat mountains.
  • Shivalik or the outer Himalayas is the most remote range, with an average elevation of 900 to 1100 meters.

Duns is the longitudinal valleys that run between the lower Himalayas and the Shiwaliks.

The Himalayas are separated into four parts:

  • The Punjab Himalayas, are located between the Indus and Satluj rivers.
  • Kumaon Himalayas Between Satluj and Kali
  • Nepal Himalayas — between the Kali and Tista.

Eastern Himalayas) (Tsangpo)

  • Between Tista and the Dibang in the Assam Himalayas

The Northern Plains

It is formed by the confluence of three main river systems: the Indus, Ganga, and the Brahmaputra.

The Northern Plains cover an area of 7 lakh square kilometers, are 240 kilometers long, and range in width from 240 to 320 kilometers.

Rivers that flow from the highlands to the plains are involved in depositional work.

The Northern Plain is divided into four parts due to differences in relief.

  • Bhabar is located at the foot of the Shiwalik Mountains, a narrow 8 to 16 km broad strip of pebbles.
  • Terai - a damp and marshy area with fauna and trees located adjacent to Bhabar.
  • Bangar - An older alluvium plain that rises above the flood plains.
  • Khadar - Younger alluvium of the flood plains.

The Peninsular Plateau

The Peninsular Plateau is a tableland that arose as a result of the fracturing and drifting of Gondwana land.

It is made up of ancient crystalline, igneous, and metamorphic rocks.

The plateau is divided into two sections: the Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau.

The central highlands extend north to the Narmada River.

The Peninsular Plateau's eastward expansions are known as Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand. The Chhota Nagpur Plateau denotes the Damodar river's farther eastward expansion.

The Deccan Plateau is a triangular mass to the south of the Narmada River.

The Western and Eastern Ghats represent the western and eastern margins of the Deccan Plateau, respectively.

The Western Ghats are higher than the Eastern Ghats.

The highest peak in the Western Ghats is Anaimudi (2695 m), whereas the highest peak in the Eastern Ghats is Mahendragiri (1501 m).

The black dirt region known as Deccan Trap is a distinctive characteristic of the peninsular plateau.

The Indian Desert

The Indian Desert is an undulating sandy plain covered with sand dunes at the western edges of the Aravalli Hills.

The Indian Desert is covered in crescent-shaped dunes known as barchans.

It receives just about 150 mm of rain every year.

Luni is the only major river in this area.

The Coastal Plains

The Peninsular Plateau is flanked by a thin coastal Plateau.

From north to south, the coastal strips in the west are split into Konkan (Mumbai-Goa), Kannad Plain, and Malabar coast.

The plains that go along the Bay of Bengal are wide and level.

From north to south, the coastal strip is split into Northern Circars and the Coromandal Coast.

The Islands

Kerala is adjacent to the Lakshadweep Islands group in the Arabian Sea.

Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindive were the previous names for the Lakshadweep Islands.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a string of islands in the Bay of Bengal.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise a ridge of undersea mountains.

India's regions complement one another, making the country richer in natural resources. Mountains provide habitat for trees and water. The plains supply cereals. Plateaus are mineral-rich areas. Coastal locations are important for fishing and port development.