Location of
India: 20 00 N, 77 00 E
Continent: Asia
Time Zone: GMT + 05:30 Hours
India, the seventh largest country in the world, occupies 2.4% of
the world's land area. The geographical features of the country is
extremely diverse. It has landscape of snow-capped mountain ranges,
deserts, plains, hills and plateaus. The climate also has a
diversification. It is equatorial in the extreme south and tundra in
the Himalayan altitudes. The complete geographical details are as
given below:
| Region |
South Asia (also known as Indian subcontinent), bordering
Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan. |
| Area |
3,287,590 square kms. |
| Area Classification |
90.44% land. |
| Coastline |
7,516 km |
| Borders |
Total - 14,103 km
Bangladesh - 4,053 km
Bhutan - 605 km
Burma (Myanmar) - 1,463 km
China - 3,380 km
Nepal - 1,690 km
Pakistan - 2,912 km |
| Highest Point |
Kanchenjunga (8,598 m or 28,209 ft) |
| Lowest Point |
Kuttanad (-2.2 m or -7.2 ft) |
| Longest River |
Ganges-Brahmaputra |
| Largest Lake |
Chilka Lake |
| No. of States |
28 |
| No. of Union Territories |
7 |
| No. of Districts |
600 |
| No. of Villages |
6.4 lakhs |
Physical Features
The mainland comprise of four zones:-
- The great mountain zone;
- Plains of the Ganga & Indus;
- The desert region and
- The Southern Peninsula
Geological Structure
The geological regions may be grouped into three regions:-
- The Himalayas & their associated group of mountains
- The Indo Ganga Plain
- The Peninsular Shield
Rivers
- Himalayan Rivers
- Peninsula Rivers
- Coastal Rivers
- Rivers of inland drainage basis
Extreme Points of India
| Northernmost Point |
Siachen Glacier near Karakoram Pass in Jammu and Kashmir. |
| Southernmost Point |
Indira Point, Great Nicobar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari), Tamil Nadu in Mainland India. |
| Westernmost Point |
West of Ghaur Mota in Gujarat. |
| Easternmost Point |
Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh. |
Climate
- Mainly tropical with temperature ranging between 10 to 40 C
in most parts of the country
- Humid subtropical in Ganges basis
- Semi-arid in North West
- Tropical humid in north east & most of peninsula
- Tundra in Himalayas
- All areas receive annual monsoon rainfall with the
south-west monsoon dominating
Seasons
- Winter (January-February)
- Hot weather Summer (March-May)
- Rainy South-Western monsoon (June-September)- Post monsoon
also known as north-east monsoon in the southern peninsula
(October-December)
Natural Vegetation
The Himalayan region is very rich in natural vegetation. It possess
varieties which are found from the tropical to tundra regions. But,
the altitude influences the vegetation distribution. In the rest of
the country, amount of rainfall determines the type of vegetation.
The country, leaving Himalayan region, can be divided in the
following three major vegetation:
- The tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests.
- The tropical deciduous forests.
- The thorn forests and shrubs.
Natural Resources
- Coal (4th largest reserves in the world)
- Iron ore
- Manganese
- Mica
- Bauxite
- Titanium ore
- Chromite
- Natural gas
- Diamonds
- Petroleum
- Limestone
- Arable land
Countries Having Common Boundaries with India
- Afghanistan & Pakistan to North West
- China, Bhutan & Nepal to North
- Mayanmar to East · Bangladesh to East of West Bengal
- Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea
formed by Palk Strait & Gulf of Mayanmar.
