Geography of India
The geography of India is diverse, with landscape ranging from snow-capped mountain ranges to deserts, plains, rainforests, hills, and plateaus.
India comprises most of the Indian subcontinent situated on the Indian Plate, the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate. Having a coastline of over 7,000 kilometers (4,350 mi), most of India lies on a peninsula in Southern Asia that protrudes into the Indian Ocean. India is bounded in the southwest by the Arabian Sea and in the east and southeast by the Bay of Bengal.
India has the second largest population on earth, just behind China. It represents just over 15% of the world's population. Its geographic size is 1.2 million square miles.
India is basically a peninsula, with the Arabian Sea on the west, the Bay of Bengal on the east, and the Indian Ocean to the south. The Himalayan Mountains separate India from much of the rest of Asia and China. The Himalayas have many of the tallest mountains in the world. The tallest mountain in India is the Kanchenjunga at 28, 208 feet.
Just south of the Himalayas is the Indo-Gangetic Plain which lies between the Indus and Ganges rivers. On the north-western end of India is the Thar desert. Most of southern India is the Deccan Plateau, which is mostly rolling hills with many rivers. The plateau is separated from the northern plain by the Vindhya mountains. The Eastern and Western Ghats are coastal mountains on either side of the plateau.
India is bordered by the People's Republic of China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, and Pakistan. Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia are island nations to the south of India. Politically, India is divided into 28 states, and seven federally administered union territories. The political divisions generally follow linguistic and ethnic boundaries rather than geographic transitions.
The geography of India is diverse, with landscape ranging from snow-capped mountain ranges to deserts, plains, rainforests, hills, and plateaus.
India comprises most of the Indian subcontinent situated on the Indian Plate, the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate. Having a coastline of over 7,000 kilometers (4,350 mi), most of India lies on a peninsula in Southern Asia that protrudes into the Indian Ocean. India is bounded in the southwest by the Arabian Sea and in the east and southeast by the Bay of Bengal.
India has the second largest population on earth, just behind China. It represents just over 15% of the world's population. Its geographic size is 1.2 million square miles.
India is basically a peninsula, with the Arabian Sea on the west, the Bay of Bengal on the east, and the Indian Ocean to the south. The Himalayan Mountains separate India from much of the rest of Asia and China. The Himalayas have many of the tallest mountains in the world. The tallest mountain in India is the Kanchenjunga at 28, 208 feet.
Just south of the Himalayas is the Indo-Gangetic Plain which lies between the Indus and Ganges rivers. On the north-western end of India is the Thar desert. Most of southern India is the Deccan Plateau, which is mostly rolling hills with many rivers. The plateau is separated from the northern plain by the Vindhya mountains. The Eastern and Western Ghats are coastal mountains on either side of the plateau.
India is bordered by the People's Republic of China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, and Pakistan. Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia are island nations to the south of India. Politically, India is divided into 28 states, and seven federally administered union territories. The political divisions generally follow linguistic and ethnic boundaries rather than geographic transitions.