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PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISION OF INDIA
| Mountains | |
| The Peninsular Mountains : classified as follows | |
| the western Ghats | run along the west coast from south of the Tapti river valley to Kanyakumari; Deccan trap constitutes the northern portion of the Ghats; Southern part : composed of Archean gneisses, Schists and Charnockites Anai Muddi in the Anaimalai Hills 2,695 m (8,842 ft) in Kerala is the highest peak in the Western Ghats. |
| the Eastern Ghats | irregular hill ranges stretches from northern Orissa to the Kerala and Tamil Nadu across coastal Andhra; Highest Peak at 1680m in Vishakhapatnam dist( Andhra) |
| The meeting point of the western and Eastern Ghats in the Nilgiri Hills has the highest point at Doda Betta Peak. | |
| The Vindhya Range | Running from Sasaram(Bihar) in the east to Jobat(Gujarat) in the west separates northern India from the southern mainland They are believed to have been formed by the wastes created by the weathering of the ancient Aravali mountains.[ |
| The Satpura range | extends from Narmada valley(N) to the Tapti valley (S) ; It is triangular in shape, with its apex at Ratnapur highest point : Dhupgarh near Pachmarhi(M.P.) |
| The Aravalis | the oldest mountain range in India; most ancient fold mountain ranges ; separates the semi desert and fertile regions of Rajasthan highest point: Gurushikhar peak of Abu hills |
| The Northern Mountains : stretches across northern India from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh( abt 2400km); the world’s youngest fold mountain ,achieve greatest heights in eastern Nepal | |
| the outer Himalayas ( the siwaliks ) | composed of tertiary sediments; emerged as most recent phase in Himalaya OROGENY |
| the outer Himalayas ARE SEPERATED FROM THE LESSER Himalayas by Duns ( valleys resulting from draining away of the temporary lakes formed by ridges when these obstructed the course of rivers | |
| the lesser/outer Himalayas ( the himachal) | the ranges include the 400km Pir Panjal range, the longest range of the Himalayas |
| the greater Himalayas ( the himadri) | the innermost Himalayan Range is the world’s highest and most continuous of Himalayan ranges ; Himadri’s highest peak include world’s highest peak- Mt Everest |
| the trans Himalayan zone | include imp ranges such as Zaskar Range and the Great Karakoram Range :extends 2wards south-east to form the Kailash Range; highest peak K2 longest glacier : Siachen ( Nubra Valley – 72 km ) |
| the Peninsular Plateau : largest and oldest of all the physiographic division ; north- east limit: Aravali Range ‘ northern extreme – Bundelkhand and western and eastern ends : Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats resp. | |
| the central plateaus | the upland of Central India with river Ganga (N) , Vindhya and Satpura ranges (S)Kaimur-Maikal Range (E) and Aravalis and Kutch to (W) comprise Mewar,Malwa(in M.P. formed of lava ) and Vindhya Plateaus |
| the eastern Plateaus | diversified to topography ; low lying Mahanandi basin to undulating plateatus of the Bhaghelkhand , Chhota Nagpur and Dandakaranya Meghalaya Plateau : beyond lava ridden Rajhmahal Hills |
| The Kathiawar and Kutch Plateaus | joined to the Peninsular Plateaus by Gujrat’s plain; Deccan lava make up this region while Kutch – tertiary rocks |
| The Deccan plateaus | occupy land between the Western and Eastern Ghats and south of Mahadeo ,Maikal and Satpura ranges ; comprise the Maharashtra Plateau(basalt) ‘Karnataka and Telangana plateaus ( Archaean gneisses) India’s largest plateaus |
| the great plains : lies between the Himalayas and the peninsular Plateau , alluvial in nature | |
| the Punjab Haryana plains | Comprise the Bist Doab (betn Sutlej &Beas Rivers); Upper Bari Doab ( betn Beas and Ravi Rivers) and south- east Malwa Plain. |
| the Rajasthan plains | comprise the marusthali of Thar and nearly Bagar areas Luni river : flowing 2wards south-east ,only river in region Rajasthan desert : sloping 2wards 2 direction – Indus valley in Pak ( W-wards ) and Ran of Kutch (S-wards) |
| the Ganga Plains | spreading across the states of Uttar Pradesh ,West Bengal &Bihar divided into : Ganga –Yamuna Doab , Rohilkhand Plain ,Avadh plain ( U.P.),Bihar Plain and Bengal Plain Ganga Delta : constitutes the Ben gal basin , covered with tidal forests ( the Sunderbans) |
| the Brahmaputra Plains | formed by deposit carried by Brahmaputra River , moist soil conditions |
| the Coastal plains : 4500 –km long coastline , Arabian Sea (W) , the Bay of Bengal (E)&Indian ocean (S) runs from Rann of Kutch (W) to the delta of the Ganga- Brahmaputra (E) | |
| the east coastal plains | extend betn the source of Subarnarekha and Kanyakumari ; contain deltas of almost all rivers ( except Tapti and Narmada ) ; include Tamil Nadu plains, Andhra Plain and Utkal Plain |
| the West coastal plains | run from Rann of Kutch to Kanyakumari; sandy plains |
| Islands : has a no. of islands (247) ; Bay of Bengal ( 204) & Arabian Sea (43) The Andaman and Nicobar Islands: in the Bay of Bengal, represent elevated potions of submarine mountains. Mount Harriet (460m): in South Andaman Islands is the highest point. The Nicobar group contains 19 Islands. The Great Nicobar – largest island in group Islands in Arabian Sea : coral origin & surrounded by fringing reefs e.g. Lakshadweep islands Author--Nisha Dolas | |
