Himalayan River Systems The Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra comprise the Himalayan river systems. The Himalayan Rivers existed even before the formation of Himalayas i.e. before the collision of Indian Plate with the Eurasian plate. {Antecedent Drainage} They were flowing into the Tethys Sea. These … [Read more...]

Contribution of Water by Various Rivers River % Contribution of water Brahmaputra ~ 40 Ganga ~ 25 Godavari ~ 6.4 Mahanadi ~ 3.5 Krishna ~ 3.4 Narmada ~ 2.9 Rest ~ 20 Classification of Drainage Systems of India Drainage Systems Based on the Size of the … [Read more...]

Drainage basin Other terms that are used to describe drainage basins are catchment, catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin, and water basin. The drainage basin includes both the streams and rivers and the land surface. The drainage basin acts as a funnel by collecting all the water … [Read more...]

Indian Islands The major islands groups of India are Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago (A chain of islands similar in origin) in Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep islands in Arabian Sea. Andaman and Nicobar Islands were formed due to collision between Indian Plate and Burma Minor Plate [part of Eurasian … [Read more...]

Coastline of India (Indian Coastline) India has a coastline of 7516.6 Km [6100 km of mainland coastline + coastline of 1197 Indian islands] touching 13 States and Union Territories (UTs). The straight and regular coastline of India is the result of faulting of the Gondwanaland during the Cretaceous period. … [Read more...]

Hill Ranges of the Peninsular Plateau Most of the hills in the peninsular region are of the relict type (residual hills). They are the remnants of the hills and horsts formed many million years ago (horst: uplifted block; graben: subsided block). The plateaus of the Peninsular region are separated from one … [Read more...]

Peninsular Plateau Features of the Peninsular Plateau Roughly triangular in shape with its base coinciding with the southern edge of the great plain of North India. Apex of the triangular plateau is at Kanniyakumari. It covers a total area of about 16 lakh sq km (India as a whole is 32 lakh sq km). The … [Read more...]

Regional Divisions of the Indo-Gangetic-Brahmaputra Plains [Great Plains] Sindh Plain Rajasthan Plain. Punjab Plain. Ganga Plain. Brahmaputra Plain. Ganga – Brahmaputra Delta Sindh Plain [Pakistan] Mainly formed of Bhangar Plains. Dhors: Long narrow depressions which are the remnants of … [Read more...]

Formation of Indo – Gangetic – Brahmaputra Plain The formation of Indo-Gangetic plain is closely related to the formation of Himalayas. Formation of Indo – Gangetic – Brahmaputra trough The rivers which were previously flowing into Tethys sea (Before Indian Plate collided with Eurasian Plate – … [Read more...]

Major Passes in India and Indian Sub-continent Major Passes of the Himalayas Most of the passes remain closed in winter (Nov – Apr) due to heavy snow fall. Passes of the Western Himalayas Jammu and Kashmir NAME SIGNIFICANCE (CONNECTS) COMMENTS Mintaka … [Read more...]

Important Valleys in Himalayas The most important valleys in the Himalayan region are the valley of Kashmir and the Karewas (), the Kangra and Kulu valley in Himachal Pradesh; the Dun valley (Doon valley, Dehradun valley); the Bhagirathi valley (near Gangotri) and the Mandakini valley (near Kedarnath) in … [Read more...]

Himalayas – Regional Divisions Punjab Himalayas Between the Indus and the Satluj rivers [560 km long]. All the major rivers of Indus river system flow through Punjab Himalayas. A large portion of Punjab Himalayas is in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Hence they are also called the Kashmir and … [Read more...]

Major Physical Divisions of India The Himalayas (young fold mountains), Indo-Gangetic Plain (monotonous topography – featureless topography), The Peninsular Plateau (one of the most stable landmasses; one of the oldest plateaus of the world), Coastal Plains (Sediments due to fluvial action). The Indian … [Read more...]

Rock System Based on Geological History Of India The Archaean Rock System. The Purana Rock System. The Dravidian Rock System. The Aryan Rock System. Archaean Rock System (Pre-Cambrian Rocks) Rocks formed prior to the Cambrian system. The Archaean rock system includes: Archaean Gneisses … [Read more...]

India As A Geographical Unit East-West Extent of Main Land India (Including Pak occupied Kashmir-POK): 68° 7' east to 97° 25' east longitude South-North Extent of Main Land India: 8° 4' north to 37° 6' north latitude Locational Extent: 8° 4' N to 37° 6' N latitude and 68° 7' E to 97° … [Read more...]