India - Geography

India is located between 8°4' and 37°6' north latitude and 68°7' and 97°25' east longitude. India measures 3214 Km from norht to south and 2933 kms from east to west with a total land area of 3,287,263 km². India is the 7th largest country in the world. It has a land frontier of 15,200 kms and a coastline of 7516.5 kms. Andaman and Nicobar islands in the bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian sea are parts of India. The country shares its political borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan on the west and Bangladesh and Burma on the east. The northern boundary is made up of China, Nepal and Bhutan. India is separated from Sri Lanka by a narrow channel of sea formed by Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.

Physical Regions
The mainland, in geographical terms is broadly divided into a) the great mountains, b) the river the plains, c) the desert and d) the peninsula.

Mountain Ranges
the mountain extend for more than 2400 km. they are seven.
1. the Himalayas;
2. the Patkai and other ranges bordering India in the north and north east,
3. the Vindyas, which separate the Indo-Gangetic plain from the Deccan Plateau,
4. the Satpura,
5. the Aravalli
6. the Sahyadri, which covers the eastern fringe of the West Coast plains and
7. the Eastern Ghats, irregularly scattered on the East Coast and forming the boundary of the East Coast plains.

Watersheds
There are main three watersheds;
1. Himalayan range with its Karakoram branch in the north,
2. Vindhyan and Satpura ranges in Central India, and
3. Sahyadri or Western Ghats on the west coast.


Rivers and the Plains
The main rivers of the Himalayan group are the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. Theser rivers are bothe snow-fed and rain-fed and have therefore continuous flow throughtout the year. Himalayan rivers discharge about 70% of their inflow into the sea. This includes about 5% from central Indian rivers. They join the Ganges and drain into the Bay of Bengal.
The plains of Ganges and Indus run for about 2400 kms with a width ranging from 240 to 320 kms. They are formed in the river basins of Ganges-Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Indus, Godavari, Kaveri etc.

Desert
Te desert region is located in the western and north western part of the country.It can be divided into two parts: the great desert extends from the edge of the Rann of Kutch beyond the Luni river northward. The whole of Rajastan-Sind frontier runs through this. The little desert extends from the Luni between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur up to northern wastes (dry and rocky land).

Peninsula
The peninsula is marked by elevated landmass with height ranging from 460 to 1220 m. The deccan and the Southern part surrounded by water on three sides make the peninsula. It is flanked by Eastern Ghats on the east and Western Ghat on the west. Between the Ghats and the Sea lies the narrow coastal belt.

Climate
Traditionally, seasons in India are divided into six - Vasanta (Spring) (Mar-Apr), Grishma (May-Jun), Varsha (Jul-Aug), Sharada (Sept-Oct), Hemanta (Nov-Dec) and Shishira (Jan-Feb). In broad terms, India experiences 3 main season, such as (a) Winter - Dec to March, (b) Summer - Apr to May and (c) Monsoon - South West - Jun to Sept, and NE (retreating SW monsoon) - Oct to Nov. Between the two main season are Spring and Autumn.

_____________________________________________________________