Lesson-2 Physical features of India

1. Describe Purvanchal.
Ans. The easternmost boundary of the Himalayas is demarcated by the
Brahmaputra.
Beyond the Dihang gorge, the Himalayas bend sharply to the south and
spread along the eastern boundary of India.
They are called the Purvanchal or the eastern hills and mountains.
These hills have been composed of strong sandstones which are sedimentary
rocks.
2. The land of India displays great physical variation. Explain.
Ans. There is a great physical variation in the landmass of India.
Geologically the peninsular plateau constitutes one of the ancient land
masses on the earth surface.
It was considered to be one of the most stable land blocks.
The northern plains and the Himalayas are the most recent land forms. In
the opinion Geologists Himalayan Mountains form an unstable zone.
The northern plains are formed of the alluvial deposits.
The peninsular plateau is formed by igneous and metamorphic rocks.

3. Describe Corals?
Ans. Coral Polyps are short lived microscopic organisms, which live in
colonies.
They flourish in shallow, mud free and warm waters.
They secrete hard rock like substances.
The coral secretion and their skeletons from coral deposits in the form of
reefs.
They are mainly of three kinds- barrier reefs, fringing reefs and atolls.
The Great Barrier Reef of Australia is a good example of the first kind of
coral reefs.
Atolls are circular or horseshoe shaped coral reefs.

4. Write down the features of the Central Highlands.

Ans. The central highlands of the plateau lie to the north of the Narmada River
covering a major area of the Malwa plateau.
The Aravallis range is bounded by the Central Highlands on the northwest and
Vindhya range on the south.
The further westward extension includes the sandy and rocky desert of Rajasthan.
The flow of the rivers draining this region namely the Chambal, the Sind, the
Betwa and Ken is the southwest to northeast, thus indicating the slope.
The central Highlands are narrower in the east but wider in the west.
The eastward extension of this plateau is locally known as the Budelkhand and
Baghelkhand.
*********************************************************************

The Himalayas ( 14 Mins)

Northern Plains (13 mins)
The Peninsular Plateau ( 8 mins)
Video ( 10 mins)

Physical Features of India- worksheet

Physical Features of India- worksheet- Answer key

Gist of the lesson
Physical Divisions of India

The physical features of India can be divided into its geological and physiological divisions.
While the former consists of the Peninsular Block, Indo Ganga-Brahmaputra plain, and the
Himalayas. The Physiographic Divisions have 6 major divisions:

● The Himalayan Mountains

● The Northern Plains
● The Peninsular Plateau
● The Indian Desert
● The Coastal Plains
●
 ● The Islands

The Himalayan Mountains

The Himalayas are mountain barriers that stretch over the borders of northern India. These
are some of the most rugged and loftiest mountains of the world and are one of the major
landforms of earth. The Himalayas form an arc that covers a distance of 2,400 Km.

Parallel Ranges of the Himalayas

The Himalayas are primarily consists of three parallel ranges that are further divided into:

● Great or Inner Himalayas or the ‘Himadri’: Perennially snowbound, the Great Himalayas
have the loftiest peaks. The Himadri has an average height of 6,000 meters and
consists of all the major Himalayan Peaks. It is one of the most prominent physical
features of India.
● Himachal or Lesser Himalaya: The more rugged part of the mountain range that is also
called as the lesser Himalaya or Himachal. This area of Himachal is widely known for
its beautiful hill stations. These ranges have an average height of 3700 to 4500
meters. Pir Panjal is the longest range.
● Outer Himalayan Range or Shiwaliks: These are comparatively lower ranges, with
altitude varying from 900 to 1,100 meters. They comprise the unconsolidated
sediments that get brought down by rivers from the Himadri ranges.
● Duns: The longitudinal valley lying between lesser Himalaya and the Shiwaliks are known
as Duns. DehraDun, Kotli Dun and Patli Dun are some of the well-known Duns.

Regional Classification of the Himalayas

The Himalayas are also divided on the basis of regions of the west to east:
 ● The part of the 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 the Satluj and Kali rivers is known as
Kumaon Himalayas.
● The Kali and Tista rivers demarcate the Nepal Himalayas and the part lying between
Tista and Dihang rivers is known as Assam Himalayas.
● The Brahmaputra marks the easternmost boundary of the Himalayas.

The Northern Plains

The three major river systems, the Indus, the Brahmaputra, and the Ganga have resulted in
the formation of the northern plain. Spreading over 7 lakh sq. km, it is a vast area of alluvial
soil.

The northern plain is divided into the following 3 sections:

● The Western part of the Northern Plain is referred to as the Punjab Plains.
● The Indus and its tributaries–the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas and the
Satluj originate in the Himalaya.
● The Ganga plain extends between Ghaggar and Teesta rivers.
● It is spread over the states of North India, Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar, partly
Jharkhand and West Bengal to its East, particularly in Assam lies the Brahmaputra
plain.

The physical features of India, in context to the northern plains, have been given a rundown
below:

Relief Features of Northern Plains Description

Bhabar It is a narrow 8 KM to 16 KM wide range of

boulders and pebbles. It is in the foothills of
Shivaliks or the outer Himalayan range. In
this, the streams disappear.

Khadar The more fertile part of the plains, this

region comprises newer and younger deposits
of alluvial soil.

Bhangar This is the largest part of the Northern

plain, which is formed of older alluvial soil.
 It forms a terrace-like structure that lies
above the flood plains. The soil here consists
of calcareous deposits called “Kankar”

Terai The Terai region is wet and swampy. It is

created by the rivers when they re-emerge.
The thickly-forested Dudhwa National Park
is located here.

The Peninsular Plateau

The Peninsular Plateau defines the physical features of India. It is mainly composed of old
igneous, crystalline, and metamorphic rocks and is also one of the oldest landmasses. The
three major divisions of the Plateaus are the Central Highlands, Deccan Plateau, and NE
Plateau.

The Central Highlands

Spreading over the major area of the Malwa Plateau, The Central Highlands lie next to the
north of the Narmada river. If you look closely at the physical features of India map, you
will find that these highlands are narrower in the east and broader in the west.

The Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau forms a broad base of a triangular landmass that falls to the south of
the Narmada river. The Satpura range, the Kaimur hills, and the Maikal range, which forms
its eastern extensions as can be seen in the physical features of the India map. Furthermore,
the slope moves gently eastwards.

NE Plateau

Also called Meghalaya/Karbi-Anglong Plateau/N-central Chachar Hills, this is the extension of

the main peninsular plateau.

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

Their average elevation is 900– 1600 metres Their average elevation is 600 metres

The Eastern Ghats are discontinuous and The Western Ghats cause orographic rain by
 irregular and dissected by rivers draining facing the rain bearing moist winds to rise
into the Bay of Bengal along the western slopes of the Ghats

The highest peaks include the Anaimudi Mahendragiri (1,501 metres) is the highest
(2,695metres) and the Doda Betta (2,637 peak in the Eastern Ghats
metres).

Quick Fact: The point at which the Eastern and Western ghats meet, it is called the Deccan
Trap. Bering volcanic in nature, it has black soil and igneous rocks.
The Indian Desert

● The entire expanse of the Indian desert lies in the western margins of the Aravali hills
(demarcated in the physical features of the India map).
● It is covered in sandy plains and dunes, this region receives rainfall below 150 mm
every year.
● Hence, there is minimal vegetation cover. The largest river that flows here is Luni.

The Coastal Plains

The coastal plains are narrow stretches of land across the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. As
seen on the physical features of India map, the Coastal Plains in the southern part are
broadly divided into, The Konkan, The Kannada Plain, and the Malabar coast. On the eastern
side, across the Bay of Bengal, the plains are further classified into Northern Circar and the
Coromandel Coast. Tabulated below are some of the major differences between the western
and eastern coastal plains:

Western Plains Eastern Plains

Narrow Broad

Submerged Plain Emerged Plain

Rivers don’t form Deltas here Well Developed Deltas

The Islands

India mainly comprises two major Island groups, the Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea
and The Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Andaman Island groups include 204 smaller
islands. Furthermore, the A&N islands are divided by 10-degree channels.
The group of islands are further divided into two sections:

● Andaman in the North

● Nicobar in the South

These islands are close to the equator, have thick forest covers and experience equatorial
climate

● There is a great diversity of flora and fauna in this group of islands.

● These islands lie close to the equator and experience equatorial climate and have.
● This island group has a great diversity of flora and fauna. thick forest cover.

play-collection-PPT Physical features of India.

*************************************************************************