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Quick recap: the physiography of India on one page
All four parts condensed for quick revision: the Himalaya and the north-eastern hills; the Northern Plains and the Thar; the Peninsular Plateau and the two Ghats; and the coastal plains and the island groups.
Geographers sort India's landforms into six major units: the Himalaya, the Northern Plains, the Peninsular Plateau, the Indian Desert, the coastal plains and the islands. The key to all of them is age. The Peninsula is the oldest and most stable land, a fragment of Gondwana; the Himalaya are young fold mountains, still rising as the Indian plate pushes into Eurasia; and the plains between them are the youngest of all, built of river alluvium laid down in the trough in front of the mountains. The coasts and islands sit at the edges, shaped by the sea, by the rivers that reach it and, in the Andamans, by the same collision that raised the Himalaya.
| Division | Age and make-up | Key features to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Himalaya | Young fold mountains, still rising | Shiwalik, Himachal, Himadri, Trans-Himalaya; duns; passes; Purvanchal |
| Northern Plains | Youngest; river alluvium in a foredeep | Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar, Khadar; doabs; Sundarbans; Majuli |
| Peninsular Plateau | Oldest; Gondwana block, tilted west to east | Central Highlands, Deccan Traps, Meghalaya plateau, Western and Eastern Ghats |
| Indian Desert | Sand over older rock, west of the Aravalli | Dunes and barchans, Luni, Sambhar, Rann of Kachchh |
| Coastal plains | Recent marine and river deposits | West: narrow, estuaries, backwaters; East: broad, deltas, lagoons |
| Islands | Andamans: drowned fold range; Lakshadweep: coral | Barren Island, Ten Degree Channel, Indira Point; atolls, Minicoy |
Part 1, the Himalaya: from the plains northward come the Shiwalik (outermost, loose river deposits, with duns such as Dehra Dun behind it), the Lesser Himalaya or Himachal (Pir Panjal, Dhauladhar, hill stations, the Kashmir and Kullu valleys), the Greater Himalaya or Himadri (the highest, with Kangchenjunga and Nanda Devi), and beyond it the Trans-Himalaya (Karakoram with K2, Ladakh, Zaskar). Taking big rivers as the boundaries, the range is split from west to east into the Punjab, Kumaon, Nepal and Assam Himalaya. Passes such as Zoji La, Rohtang (Atal Tunnel, 2020), Shipki La and Nathu La cross it, and the Purvanchal hills (Patkai, Naga, Mizo) bend south along the Myanmar border. The range blocks cold winds, wrings rain from the monsoon and feeds snow-fed rivers.
Part 2, the Northern Plains and the Thar: the plains fill a foredeep south of the Himalaya with sediment from the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra. Moving south from the foothills you cross the Bhabar, a pebbly strip that swallows streams, then the swampy Terai where they surface again, and then the main plain, made of Bhangar, the old alluvium dotted with kankar, and Khadar, the fresh alluvium of the floodplains. Regionally there are the Punjab plains with their doabs, the Ganga plains down to the Sundarbans delta, and the Brahmaputra valley with Majuli. West of the Aravalli lies the Thar, with dunes, the Luni as its only large river and salt lakes such as Sambhar, ending in the salt marsh of the Rann of Kachchh.
Part 3, the Peninsular Plateau: an ancient block of Gondwana that cracked rather than folded, tilted from west to east, so most rivers flow to the Bay of Bengal while the Narmada and Tapi run west through rift valleys. North of the Narmada lie the Central Highlands: the worn Aravalli (Guru Shikhar), Malwa, the Vindhya, Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand and the mineral-rich Chota Nagpur plateau. South of it the Deccan plateau is capped by the lava of the Deccan Traps; the Meghalaya plateau is a detached piece. The Western Ghats form an unbroken, lofty wall that takes heavy rain and holds Anamudi, the Peninsula's top peak; the Eastern Ghats are lower and cut into pieces, and the two ranges join in the Nilgiris.
Part 4, the coasts and islands: the coastline measured 11,098.81 km in the 2024-25 re-measurement (earlier 7,516.6 km), and Gujarat has the longest among the states. The western plain is narrow and submerged, with Kachchh-Kathiawar, Konkan, Kanara and Malabar, an estuary at the Narmada and Tapi mouths, natural harbours and the Kerala backwaters. The eastern plain is broad and emergent, with the Northern Circars and Coromandel, a delta for each of the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri, and the Chilika and Pulicat lagoons. The Andaman and Nicobar chain is an extension of Myanmar's Arakan Yoma and holds Barren Island, the one volcano in India that is still active, while Lakshadweep is made up of coral atolls. Together the six divisions supply water, food, minerals, ports and sea space.
Exam traps
- Order from the plains northward: Shiwalik, Himachal, Himadri, Trans-Himalaya. The duns, such as Dehra Dun, sit in the gap between the Shiwalik and the Himachal.
- Bhabar swallows the streams; the Terai is where they surface again. Bhangar is the OLDER alluvium; Khadar the NEWER floodplain alluvium.
- North to south: Vindhya, Narmada, Satpura, Tapi. The Narmada and Tapi flow west through rift valleys and form estuaries; the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri flow east and form deltas.
- The top of peninsular India is Anamudi; Doddabetta the highest of the Nilgiris; Guru Shikhar the highest point of the Aravalli.
- The Northern Circars and the Coromandel coast are on the EAST coast; Konkan, Kanara and Malabar on the WEST.
- Chilika is India's largest brackish-water lagoon, Pulicat the second; Kolleru is a freshwater lake between the Godavari and Krishna deltas.
- Barren Island is India's only active volcano (Andaman Sea). Ten Degree Channel: Andamans from Nicobars; Eight Degree Channel: Minicoy from the Maldives.
- The Meghalaya plateau is a detached part of the Peninsula, not of the Himalaya; the Andaman and Nicobar Islands continue the Arakan Yoma, not the Peninsula.
Recap
- Six divisions; the Peninsula is oldest, the Himalaya young and rising, the plains youngest.
- Himalaya: Shiwalik, Himachal, Himadri, Trans-Himalaya; Punjab, Kumaon, Nepal and Assam Himalaya; Purvanchal hills.
- Passes: Zoji La, Banihal, Rohtang (Atal Tunnel 2020), Shipki La, Lipulekh, Nathu La, Bomdi La.
- Plains: Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar, Khadar; Punjab doabs, Ganga plains, Brahmaputra valley with Majuli.
- Thar: west of the Aravalli; dunes, Luni, Sambhar; Rann of Kachchh.
- Plateau: Gondwana block tilted east; Central Highlands, Deccan Traps, Meghalaya plateau; Narmada and Tapi in rift valleys.
- Ghats: Western continuous and high (Anamudi), Eastern broken and low; meet in the Nilgiris.
- Coasts: west narrow with estuaries and backwaters; east broad with deltas and lagoons; coastline 11,098.81 km (2024-25).
- Islands: Andamans (Arakan Yoma, Barren Island, Indira Point); Lakshadweep (coral atolls, Kavaratti, Minicoy).
Practice questions
Q1. Which one of the following is the correct sequence of Himalayan ranges from south to north?
- Himadri, Himachal, Shiwalik, Trans-Himalaya
- Shiwalik, Himachal, Himadri, Trans-Himalaya
- Shiwalik, Himadri, Himachal, Trans-Himalaya
- Himachal, Shiwalik, Himadri, Trans-Himalaya
Show answer
Answer: B. Shiwalik, Himachal, Himadri, Trans-Himalaya
From the plains the Shiwalik comes first, then the Himachal (Lesser Himalaya), then the Himadri (Greater Himalaya) and beyond it the Trans-Himalaya. The first option starts with the highest range; the third swaps Himachal and Himadri; the fourth puts the Himachal outside the Shiwalik.
Q2. Consider the following statements:
1. The Atal Tunnel was built under the Rohtang Pass.
2. Nathu La lies on the India-China border in Sikkim.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: C. Both 1 and 2
Both are correct: the Atal Tunnel (opened in 2020) runs beneath the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh, and Nathu La is a Sikkim pass on the border with Tibet (China). '1 only' and '2 only' each reject a true statement; 'Neither' rejects both.
Q3. In the Northern Plains, the strip of land in which streams that went underground come back to the surface and make the ground swampy is called
- Bhabar
- Terai
- Bhangar
- Khadar
Show answer
Answer: B. Terai
Streams re-emerge in the Terai. In the Bhabar, at the foot of the hills, they sink into porous pebbles; Bhangar is the older alluvium above flood level; Khadar is the newer alluvium of the floodplains.
Q4. Which of the following rivers flow westward into the Arabian Sea through rift valleys?
1. Narmada
2. Tapi
3. Mahanadi
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- 1 only
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: B. 1 and 2 only
The Narmada and the Tapi flow west through rift valleys and end in estuaries. The Mahanadi flows east to the Bay of Bengal and forms a delta, so any option including 3 is wrong, and '1 only' leaves out the Tapi.
Q5. Consider the following statements:
1. The Western Ghats are more continuous and generally higher than the Eastern Ghats.
2. The Meghalaya plateau is geologically a part of the Himalaya.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: A. 1 only
Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the Meghalaya plateau is a detached part of the Peninsular Plateau. So '2 only' and 'Both' are wrong, and 'Neither' rejects a true statement.
Q6. The Northern Circars are located along the coast of
- Gujarat
- Maharashtra and Goa
- Andhra Pradesh and Odisha
- Kerala
Show answer
Answer: C. Andhra Pradesh and Odisha
The Northern Circars are the northern part of the eastern coastal plain, between the Mahanadi and the Krishna, in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Gujarat has the Kachchh-Kathiawar coast, Maharashtra and Goa the Konkan coast, and Kerala the Malabar coast, all on the west.
Q7. Which one of the following separates the island of Minicoy from the Maldives?
- Ten Degree Channel
- Nine Degree Channel
- Eight Degree Channel
- Palk Strait
Show answer
Answer: C. Eight Degree Channel
The Eight Degree Channel separates Minicoy from the Maldives. The Ten Degree Channel separates the Andamans from the Nicobars, the Nine Degree Channel separates Minicoy from the rest of Lakshadweep, and the Palk Strait lies between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
Q8. Consider the following statements:
1. The Luni ends in the Rann of Kachchh.
2. Sambhar is a freshwater lake in the Thar.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: A. 1 only
Statement 1 is correct: the Luni, the only large river of the Thar, ends in the Rann of Kachchh. Statement 2 is wrong: Sambhar is a salt lake. So '2 only' and 'Both' are wrong, and 'Neither' rejects a true statement.
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- Geological Survey of India, Ministry of Mines: geology of India, the Gondwana deposits, the Deccan Traps, the Himalaya and the Andaman-Nicobar arc — https://www.gsi.gov.in
- Survey of India, Department of Science and Technology: physical map of India, heights of peaks, the coastal plains and the island groups — https://surveyofindia.gov.in
- Press Information Bureau and Border Roads Organisation, Ministry of Defence: the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang (October 2020) and Himalayan passes — https://pib.gov.in
- ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur: the Thar desert, its sand dunes, the Luni basin and the salt lakes — https://cazri.icar.gov.in
- India Meteorological Department, Ministry of Earth Sciences: the Himalaya as a climatic barrier, orographic rain on the Western Ghats and the north-east monsoon over Tamil Nadu — https://mausam.imd.gov.in
- Ministry of Home Affairs, Annual Report 2024-25, and Press Information Bureau: revised length of India's coastline (11,098.81 km, earlier 7,516.6 km) — https://www.mha.gov.in
- Andaman and Nicobar Administration and Union Territory of Lakshadweep Administration: geography of the island groups, Barren Island, the Ten, Nine and Eight Degree Channels — https://andaman.gov.in