Physical Features of India Class 9 Notes Geography - Chapter 2
Chapter: 2
What are Physical Features of India ?
Major Physiographic Division Of India
The Himalayan Mountain
- These mountains ranges run in a west-east direction, from the Indus to Brahmaputra covering a distance of 2400km.
- The Himalaya consist of 3 parallel ranges in its longitudinal extent.
- The northern-most range is called the Himadri or the inner Himalayas or Greater Himalayas with an average height of 6000m.
- Range lying to the south of the Himadri is known as Himachal or Lesser Himalayas and the outer most ranges is called the Shiwaliks.
- The longitudinal line between lesser Himalayas and Shiwaliks are knowns as “Duns”
- The Himalayas have also been divided by river valleys on basis of region from west to east, between
(a) Indus and Satluj rivers – Punjab Himalaya or Kashmir and Himachal Himalaya from west to east respectively.
(b) Satluj and kali rivers – Kumaon Himalaya
(c) Kali and Teesta rivers – Nepal Himalayas
(d) Teesta and Dihang rivers – Assam Himalayas
- Brahmaputra marks the eastern most boundary of the Himalayas. Beyond this Himalayas bends sharply towards south along the eastern boundary of India and are known as the Purvachal or Eastern hills.
The Northern Plains
- They are formed by the three major river system mainly The Indus, The Ganga and The Brahmaputra.
- The plain is formed of alluvial soil. It is densely populated and spreads over an area of 7 lakhs sq kilometer.
- It is broadly divided into three sections, Punjab plain, Ganga plain and Brahmaputra plain.
- According to the variation in the relief features it can be divided into four regions:
(a) Bhabar region – it is a belt of pebbles extending from 8 -16 km (in width) in which streams disappear.
(b) Terai region – it is wet swampy and marshy region with thick forested region full of wildlife.
(c) Bhangar region – it is a terrace like feature made of older alluvium, it lies above flood plain.
(d) Khadar region – the newer, younger deposit of the flood plains are called Khadar.
The Peninsular Plateau
- It is a tabled land composed of the old crystalline, igneous and metamorphic rocks.
- The plateau has 2 broad divisions namely central highlands and the deccan plateau.
(a) Central highland consists of Malwa plateau and Chota Nagpur plateau.
(b) Deccan Plateau is a triangular landmass lies to the south of Narmada River. The Western and the Eastern ghats mark the western and eastern edges of the Deccan plateau respectively.
The Indian Desert
- The Indian desert lies towards the western margins of the Aravali Hills.
- It is an undulating sandy plain covered with sand dunes.
- It has arid climate with low vegetation.
The Coastal plains
- The peninsular plateau is flanked by stretch of narrow coastal strips, running along the Arabian sea on the west and The Bay of Bengal on the east.
- The western coast consists of three sections, the northern part is called Konkan (Mumbai-Goa).
- The central part is called Kannad plain.
- The southern part is called Malabar coast.
- The Eastern coast consist of the northern Circar in the north and the southern coast is called Coromandel coast.
The Islands
- The county has two groups of islands, the Lakshadweep Islands and The Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- The Lakshadweep islands group lying close to the Malabar coast of Kerela (Arabian sea). This group of islands is composed of small coral islands.
- The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the elongated chain of islands located in the Bay of Bengal extending from north to south. The Andaman in the north and the Nicobar in the south.
