SOCIAL SCIENCE PROJECT

PHYSICAL
FEATURES OF
INDIA
TOPIC

SUBMITTED TO:

SUBMITTED BY:

MRS. REENA

VIBHU DHANDA
IX A
22

INTRODUCTION
INDIA is a vast country with varied landforms.
Our country has practically all major physical
features of the earth i.e. MOUNTAINS,
PLAINS, DESERTS, PLATEAUS AND
ISLANDS. India is a large landmass formed
during different geological periods which has
influenced her relief to its present form.
The movement of the plates results in building
of stresses within the plates and the
continental rocks above, leading to folding,
faulting and volcanic activity.

Image showing

CLASSIFICATION OF PLATE
MOVEMENTS

Broadly, these plate movements are classified into three

types.
They are;
CONVERGENT BOUNDARY
While some plates come towards each other and they form
convergent boundary.
DIVERGENT BOUNDARY
Some plates move away from each other and form
divergent boundary.
TRANSFORM BOUNDARY
In the event of two plates coming together they may either
collie and crumble or one may slide under the other. At
times they may also move horizontally past each other and
form transform boundary.

Types Of Tectonic Plates

According to the theory of tectonic plates the crust

of the earth has been formed out of some minor
plates and seven major plates. The moments of the
plates results in building up of stresses within the
plates and continental rocks above, leading to
folding, faulting, and volcanic activity. Broadly
these plate movements are classified into three
types. While some plates come towards each other
and form convergent boundary. Some plates
move away from each other and form divergent
boundary. In the event of two plates coming
together they may either collide and crumble, or one
plate may slide under the other. At times they may
also move horizontally past each other and form
transform boundary.

Some more information

The oldest landmass, (the Peninsula part), was a part of Gondwana

land. The Gondwana land included India, Australia, South Africa
and South America as one single landmass. The convectional
currents split the crust into a number of pieces, thus leading to the
drifting of the Indo-Australian plate.The northward drift resulted in
the collision of the plate with the much larger Eurasian plate. Due
to this collision , the sedimentary rocks which were accumulated in
the geosyncline known as the Tethys were folded to for, the
mountain system of western Asia and Himalayas. The Himalayan
uplift out of the Tethys sea and subsidence of peninsular of the
northern flank of the peninsular plateau resulted in the formation
of a large basin. In due course of time this depression gradually
got filled with deposition of sediments by the rivers flowing from
the mountains in the north and the peninsular plateau in the
south. A flat land of extensive alluvial deposits led to the formation
of the northern plains of India. The land of India displays great
physical variations. Geologically, the Peninsular plateau
constitutes one of the ancient landmasses on the earth surface.
The northern plains are formed of alluvial deposits. The peninsular
plateau is composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks with
gently rising hills and wide valleys.

THE HIMALAYAN
MOUNTAINS

The Himalayan Mountains ranges contain

several high peaks. Mount Everest is the
highest peak in the world. The Himalayan
Mountains stretch in a long curve form
Jammu and Kashmir in the west to
Arunanchal Pradesh in the east. Their
length is about 2000 kilometers and width
between 230 and 400 kilometers. The
Himalayas act as a natural barrier to the
North. These mountain ranges run in a
west-east direction from the Indus to the
Brahmputra.

THE HIMALAYAN RANGES

The Himalaya consists of three parallel ranges in its longitudinal

extent. A no. of valleys lie between these ranges. The northern
most range is known as the Greater or Inner Himalayas or the
Himadri. These ranges are the most continuous with average
height of 6000 meters.
The range lying to the south of the Himdari forms the most
rugged mountain system and is called Himachal or Lesser
Himalaya. The ranges are mainly composed of highly compressed
and altered rocks. These ranges are 3700 to 4500 meters high
and 50 kms wide. They have the Pir Panjal, Dhaula Dhar,
Mahabharata ranges and Kashmir, Kangra, Kullu valleys.
The outermost range of the Himalayas is called Shiwaliks. They
extend over a width of 10-50 kms and are 900-1100 meters high.
These ranges are composed of unconsolidated sediments brought
down by rivers from the main Himalayan ranges locate farther
north. The longitudinal valley lying between lesser Himalayas and
the shiwaliks are known as Duns. The Bhramaputra marks the
eastern most boundary of the Himalayas.

SOME HIGHEST PEAKS OF

HIMALAYAS
PEAKS

COUNTRY

HT. IN meters

Mt. Everest

Nepal

8848

Kanchenjunga

India

8598

Makalu

Nepal

8841

Dhaulagiri

Nepal

8172

Nanga Parbat

India

8126

Annapurna

Nepal

8078

Nanda devi

India

7817

kamet

India

7756

Namcha barwa

India

7756

Gurla mandhata

Nepal

7728

THE NORTHERN PLAINS

The northern plain has been formed by the
interplay of the three major river systems,
namely The Indus, The Ganga, The
Bhramaputra along with their tributaries. This
plain is formed of alluvial soil. The deposition of
alluvium in the vast basin lying at the foothills of
the Himalayas over millions of years, formed this
fertile plain. It spreads over an area of 7 lakh sq
km. The plain being about 2400km long and 240
to 320 km broad is a densely populated
physiographic division. The rivers in their lower
course split into numerous channels due to the
deposition of silt. These channels are known as
DISTRIBUTERIES.

THE NORTHERN PLAIN

The Northern Plain is broadly divided into

three types. The Western part of the
Northern Plain is referred to as the
Punjab Plains. Formed by the INDUS
and its tributaries, the larger part of this
plain lies in Pakistan. The ganga plain
extends between Ghaggar and Teesta
rivers. It is spread over the states of north
India, Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar, partly
jharkhand and West Bengal to its east,
particularly in Assam lies the Bhramaputra
plain.

THE PENINSULAR
PLATEAU
The Peninsular Plateau is a tableland composed of the old
crystalline, igneous and metamorphic rocks. It was
formed due to the breaking and drifting of the Gondwanaland and
thus, making it a part of the oldest landmass. The plateau has
broad and shallow valleys and rounded hills. This plateau consists
of two broad divisions, namely, the Central Highlands and the
Deccan Plateau. The Vindhyan ranges are located at south and
Aravali range on northeast of Central Highland. The eastward
extensions of this plateau are locally called Bundelkhand and
Baghelkhand. The Deccan Plateau is a
triangular landmass that lies to the south of the river Narmada.
The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats mark the western and
eastern boundary of Deccan Plateau respectively. Western Ghats lie
parallel to western coast and are shorter. They are continuous and
can be crossed only by passes. The Western Ghats are higher than
Eastern Ghats. The Eastern Ghats are discontinuous and can be
crossed by rivers. They lie parallel to eastern coast and are longer
.The Peninsular Plateau has some black soil areas called Deccan
Trap. This is of volcanic origin and thus the rocks are igneous.

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. This region receives very low
rainfall below 150 mm per year. It has arid
climate with low vegetation cover. Streams
appear during rainy season. Luni is the
only big river. Crescent shaped dunes
(Barchans) are mostly found on Indo-Pak
boundary.

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 is narrow and located between Western Ghats
and the Arabian Sea, is a narrow plain. It consists of
three sections. The northern part is called Konkan
(Mumbai-Goa), the central stretch is called the
Kannad plain while the southern stretch is referred to
as the Malabar coast. The plains along the Bay of
Bengal are wide and levelled In the northern parts , it
is reffered to as the northern Circar, while the
Southern part is known as the Coromandel Coast.
Large rivers such as the Mahanadi< the Godavari, the
Krishna and the Kaveri have formed extensive delta
on this coast. Lake Chiilika is an important feature
along the eastern coast.

THE ISLANDS

The Lashadweep islands group lying close to the Malabar Coast of

Kerala. This group of islands is composed of small coral islands.
Earlier, they were known as LACCADIVE, MINICOY and AMINDIVE.
In 1973 these were named as Lakshadweep. It covers small area
of 32 sq km. Kavarati island is the administrative headquarters of
Lakshadweep. This island group has great diversity of flora and
fauna. The Pitti island which is inhabitated has a bird sanctuary.
The elongated chain of islands located in the Bay of Bengal
extending from north to south are called Andaman and Nicobar
islands. They are bigger in size and are more numerous and
scattered. The entire group of islands is divided into two broad
categories. The Andaman in the North and the Nicobar in the
South. It is believed that these islands are an elevated portion of
summer in mountains. These island groups are of strategic
importance for the country. These is great diversity of flora and
fauna in these islands too. These islands lie close top equator and
experience equatorial climate and has thick forest cover.

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