India has several physical features including mountains, rivers, plains, plateaus, and coastal areas. The Himalayas in the north contain India's highest peak Kanchenjunga. Major rivers include the Ganges and Yamuna in the north and the Krishna in the south. Large plains include the Indo-Gangetic Plain in the north and the Eastern Coastal Plains. Plateaus include the Deccan Plateau in central India and the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the east. Coastal areas border the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. Islands include the Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
13. INDO-GANGETIC PLAIN
The northern Plains also known as the Indo – Gangetic
Plain and the North Indian River Plain is a large and fertile
plain encompassing most of northern and eastern India,
the most populous parts of Pakistan, parts of
southern Nepal and virtually all of Bangladesh. The region
is named after the Indus and the Ganges, the twin river
systems that drain it.
The plain's population density is very high due to the
fertile soil for farming.
The plains support one of the most populous areas
on Earth, being home to nearly 1 billion people (or around
1/7 of the world's population) on 700,000 km² (270,000
mile²).
15. DECCAN PLATEAU
The DeccanPlateau is a large plateauin India, making up most of the
southernpart of the country. It rises a hundred meters high in the
north, and more thana kilometer high in the south, forming a raised
triangle withinthe familiar downward-pointing triangle of the Indian
subcontinent's coastline. It is located betweentwo mountain ranges:
the Western Ghats formits western boundary, and the EasternGhats
its easternboundary. Eachrises fromtheir respective nearby coastal
plains and nearly meet at the southerntipof India. It is separatedfrom
theGangetic plain to thenorthby the Satpuraand Vindhya Ranges,
whichformits northern boundary.
16. CHOTA NAGPUR PLATEAU
The ChotaNagpur Plateau is a plateauin easternIndia, whichcovers
much of Jharkhandstate as well as adjacent parts of Orissa, West
Bengal, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. TheIndo-Gangeticplain lies to the
northand east of the plateau, and the basin of the Mahanadi River lies
to thesouth. The total area of the Chota Plateauis approximately
65,000 square kilometers (25,000 sq mi). The Chota Nagpur Plateau is
a continental plateau - an extensive areaof land thrust abovethe
general land. The plateauhas been formedby continental uplift from
forces acting deep inside the earth.
18. COSTAL AREAS
The Eastern Coastal Plain is a wide stretch of land
lying between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of
Bengal. It stretches from Tamil Nadu in the south
to West Bengal in the east. The Western Coastal
Plain is a narrow strip of land sandwiched between
the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, ranging
from 50 to 100 km (31 to 62 mi) in width.
19. ISLANDS
The Lakshadweepand the Andamanand Nicobar Islands are India's
two major island formations and are classifiedas union territories.
The Lakshadweep Islands lie 200 to 300 km (120 to 190 mi) off the
coast of Kerala in the ArabianSea withan area of 32 km2 (12 sq mi).
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are locatedbetween 6° and 14°
northlatitude and 92° and 94° east longitude.