Geography of India

The geography of India is varied, ranging from mountain ranges with eternal snow, to deserts, rain forests, Plains, hills and plateaus.

Temple on an island off the coast of Cape Comorin to Kanyakumari, the southern tip of mainland India.India lies to the North of the Equator between 8 ° 4 ' and 37 ° 6 ' North latitudeand 68 ° 7 ' and 97 ° 25 ' East longitude. It is the seventh largest country in the world with a total area of 3.287.263 km². The country has a diameter of 3214 km from North to South and 2993 km and from East to west. The total land boundaries of India and the amounts 14.103 km coastline is 7517 km.

India is the largest country on the Indian Subcontinent, the part of Asia South of the Himalayas. Geologically, this is a part of the Indian plate, which moves to the North, against the Asian Plate on. by this continent collision are the Himalayas formed. Most of India and the Indian Subcontinent is a point-shaped peninsula that juts into the Indian Ocean : the Indian Peninsula.

India has a 2912 km long border with Pakistan in the Northwest. In the North, the country has a 3380 km long border with China, 605 km border with Bhutan and 1690 km border with Nepal. In the East it has a 1463 km long border with Myanmar and a 4053 km long border with Bangladesh. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are island States South of India. Sri Lanka is separated from India by the Palk Strait close Strait and the Gulf of Mannar. Together with Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal is classified in India South Asia .

In the South India is surrounded by the Indian Ocean. This consists of the Arabian Sea in the West and the Bay of Bengal in the East. The island groups of theAndaman and Nicobar Islands off the coast of Myanmar, which the division between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea forms, belong to India. Cape Comorinin Tamil Nadu is the southernmost point of mainland India. The southernmost point of the whole of India is Indira Point in the Nicobar Islands. The India's territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from the coast.



Content
[hide] *1 political classification and limits  ==Political classification and limits[ Edit] == Administrative and political terms, India is in 28 States, six federally administered Union territories and national capital territory divided. This format is generally based on linguistic and ethnic boundaries, and not on natural boundaries. The States have their own elected Parliament, with a Government, Chief Minister and a Governor. The territories by the Federal Government have a designated driver or Lieutenant-Governor.
 * 2 physical geography
 * 2.1 the Himalayas
 * 2.2 Indo-Gangetic plain
 * 2.2.1 the Vindhyas and each rise from their respective
 * 2.2.2 Aravalli hills
 * 2.2.3 Western Ghats
 * Eastern Ghats 2.2.4
 * 2.3 Indo-Gangetic plain
 * 2.4 thar desert
 * 2.5 Highlands
 * 2.6 East Coast
 * West Coast 2.7
 * 2.8 Islands
 * 3 Rivers
 * 4 Water surfaces
 * 5 wet areas
 * 5.1 the Sundarbans
 * 5.2 Rann of Kutch
 * 6 Climate
 * 7 Geology
 * 7.1 plate tectonics
 * 7.2 Formations
 * 8 see also

Parts of the State of Jammu and Kashmir are claimed by China, India and Pakistan. However, India controls a large part of the area, including the Kashmir Valley, the area around the city of Jammu and the Highlands ofLadakh. Pakistan has the mountain area around Gilgit (Gilgit-Baltistan) and a narrow strip of land west of the Kashmir Valley ("Azad Kashmir") in hands. China controls Aksai Chin, an inhospitable area northeast of present-day Ladakh. The State of Arunachal Pradesh is claimed by China, but largely fully under the control of India. On some other places exist between India and China also frozen border conflicts. The Indian-Chinese border is strictly enforced and is only a few places for local traders opened. With Pakistan the situation is not much better and is even completely closed the border with Myanmar. Only with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh is the border traffic normalized. ==Physical geography[ Edit] == India is divided into seven physiographic areas. These are:

===The Himalayas<span class="mw-editsection" len="339" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Schematic map of mountains and other physico-geographical units in India<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Indian Subcontinent is bounded on the North by the mighty mountain ranges of the Greater Himalayas, which in addition to the actual Himalaya Karakoram and the Hindu Kush, and mountain ranges in the Northeast such as the mountain ranges —and the Patkai . These mountains were formed by the continental collision of India on Asia from about 15 million years ago. The clash is still going on and the peaks of the Himalayas every year a few mm higher. The actual Himalayan begins in the West at the Gorge of the Indus (in Pakistan) and forms a convex arc about 2500 km long southward to the Gorge of the Siang (Brahmaputra) in the East. The Karakoram lie parallel to the Himalayas in the Northwest. Only the eastern end of this mountain range falls under Indian authority. North of the Himalayas, theTibetan Plateauinhospitable. In the East, the Himalayan Hengduan Shanin the, which runs from North to South and forms the border with Southwest China. The Patkaigebergte and the mountain ranges — are an offshoot of the Hengduan Shan, who as a westward convex bow the boundary between the Indian Subcontinent and Burma (that is reckoned to Southeast Asia ) forms.
 * 1) The greater Himalayas in the North
 * 2) The fertile Indo-Gangetic plain, this is the largest country in the North of India.
 * 3) The thar desert in the far West, against the Pakistan border.
 * 4) The Central Highlands, including the Deccan Plateau, form the largest part of central India and parts of South India.
 * 5) The East Coast with the Eastern Ghats
 * 6) The west coast with the Western Ghats
 * 7) The island groups in the ocean, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Himalayas is characterized by North-South through a series of parallel ridges, which run up in height. Between these ridges are lower zones of elongated valleys, which "duns" or "be called doons". This is reflected in place names as Dehradun. The first back from the Siwaliksexists in India. It is the first prelude from the plains of the North, but this "hills" (hills) come nowhere above 2000 m. North of which lies a higher series mountain ridges, such as the Pir Panjal and Dhauladhar, which contains peaks up to 5000 m altitude. The headquarters, the Great Himalayas, is behind it. In the extreme north west of India these two ridges separated by the broad Kashmir Valley. Still further north is a slightly lower series ridges, which is called the Transhimalaya .

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Indian part of the Himalayas in Nepal is separated into its eastern part in by the States of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh and a western part in Jammu and Kashmir, the Federal States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In most places is the Large Himalayan border with Tibet. The Ladakh region in the far North West is an exception and falls into the Transhimalaya and Karakoram.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The central part of the Himalayas, with Mount Everest, is out of Indian territory. India's highest peak is the Kangchenjunga (8586 m) on the border between Sikkimand Nepal. India also makes claim to the higher K2 in the Karakoram, which, however, on the de facto border between Pakistan and China.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The rivers that originate in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau provide water for the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. The mountains are also the border between the two largest biogeographic ecozones: the temperatePalearctic ecozone and the Indomaleisisch area. Historically, these have served as a barrier against invaders. ===Indo-Gangetic Plain<span class="mw-editsection" len="344" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Indo-Gangetic plain is located directly south of the Himalayas. The area has an area of 700,000 square miles (0.78 km2), are significant parts in Pakistan and Bangladesh. This lowland consists of the River Plains of the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and their tributaries. There are several millions of cities in the area and the total population is nearly 1 billion, about one-seventh of the world population.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Of the Indus is only a small part of the upper reaches are on Indian territory (in Ladakh), but the five main tributaries the Beas, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Sutlej and the Jhelum flows all in South West through the Indian States of Punjab and Haryana to Pakistan. The coil surface of these five rivers is the Punjab (Sanskrit for "five waters") and is divided into an Indian and Pakistani part. Between the Punjab and the Indian capital Delhi is a plateau that forms the watershed between the Indus and Ganges.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The river system of the Ganges and Brahmaputra has with 1,100,000 km² the largest catchment area of India. The River Ganges has its origins in the Gangotri glacier in Uttarakhand and flows South-East through the central part of the plain, that is called Hindustan and roughly corresponds to the State of Uttar Pradesh. Further to the East flows the Ganges by Bihar and West Bengal to Bangladesh. Of the most important tributaries of the Ganges, the most out of the Indian and Nepalese Himalayas in the North. An exception is the Chambal, a tributary which rises in the Vindhya range to the South and flows mostly eastward.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Brahmaputra has its origins in Tibet and flows in a south-westerly direction through the easternmost part of the Indo-Gangetic plain, which consists of the relatively narrow valley of Assam. This Valley is surrounded by the Himalayas in the North, the Patkaigebergte in the East and the upland Plateau of Shillong in the South. In Bangladesh, the Ganges and Brahmaputra delta through a huge together, into the Bay of Bengal. About two-thirds of this delta is in Bangladesh. The Indian part of the delta, in West Bengal, includes the millions of Kolkatacity. The mangrove area of the mouths of the Ganges is known as the Sundarbans . It is a swamp area with thousands of river walk, Islands and creeks. ====The Vindhyas and each rise from their respective<span class="mw-editsection" len="353" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==== The Vindhya Range<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Vindhya range stretches over a length of about a thousand kilometres, mainly in the State of Madhya Pradesh. This old eroded mountains, together with the parallel South is located to the East of each rise from their respective and the Chota Nagpurplateau, the natural border between the Indo-Gangetic plain of Northern India and the Deccan Plateau on the Indian peninsula. The Vindhya-and each rise from their respective are separated by the Valley of the river Narmada. ====Aravalli Hills<span class="mw-editsection" len="342" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==== <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Aravalli range is the oldest mountains of India and runs over a length of 500 km from northeast to Southwest by Rajasthan State in Western India. The northern part of the range continues as isolated hills and rocky ridges with an area to the State of Haryana, near Delhi. The highest mountain in Aravalli Hills is the Abumountain with an elevation of 1722 m. Aravalli Hills is the eroded remnant of a very old pleated mountain system, of which the tops ever possessed eternal snow.The mountains came up in the Precambrian, during what the orogeny of Aravali-Delhi is called. ====Western Ghats<span class="mw-editsection" len="336" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==== <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Western Ghats runs on the west side of the Deccan Plateau and separates this Highlands of a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats start near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra and runs approximately 1600 km to the South by beyond Kerala, and ends at the place Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, the southern tip of mainland India. The average height of the Western Ghats is about 1200 ft<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-APMN_1-0" len="176" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[1] . ====Eastern Ghats<span class="mw-editsection" len="336" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==== <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Eastern Ghats is a discontinuous mountain range that is eroded and cut through by the four major rivers of southern India: Godavari, Mahanadi, the Krishna and Kaveri. This mountain chain runs parallel to the Bay of Bengal, from West Bengal in the North to in Tamil Nadu in the South, East of the Nilgiri, where it meets the Western Ghats. The Eastern Ghats are not as high as the Western Ghats, but still there are some peaks above 1,000 meters come true. ===Indo-Gangetic Plain<span class="mw-editsection" len="344" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Schematic map of the Indo-Gangetic plain<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Indo-Gangetic plain is a very large plain where the rivers and many tributaries of the Indus, Ganges and the Brahmaputra walk. This plain lies to a large extent parallel to the South of the Himalayas and is set in India in the States of Punjab, Haryana, parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, a part of Assam and adjoining parts of other States. The plain has an area of around 700,000 km².

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Indo-Gangetic plain is the world's most extensive surface to continuous alluvial sediments. The plain is one of the most intensive agricultural used areas of the world. The crops that are grown here are mainly rice and corn, which to be cultivated. The surface is flat and has few forests, making it suitable for irrigation, using channels.

<p lang="en" len="79" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Indo-Gangetic plain is also one of the most densely populated areas in the world. ===Thar Desert<span class="mw-editsection" len="339" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Jaisalmer in the thar desert<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The thar desert, also known as the great Indian desert is a hot desert that stretches over a significant part of the West of India. The desert stretches across four States in India: Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat, and covers an area of more than 200,000 km². 61% of this is in Rajasthan.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In the southwest of the desert, towards the Arabian Sea, lies the Rann of Kutch, an inhospitable salt flats and seasonal marshes. ===Highlands<span class="mw-editsection" len="337" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">India has three major Highlands and plateaus: the plateau of Malwa in the West, the Deccan Plateau, which covers most of the Indian Peninsula, and the Chota Nagpur plateau in Jharkhand in the East and around.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Deccan Plateau is a large triangular plateau, bounded by the Vindhya and each rise from their respective in the North, the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats in the East and West respectively. The Highlands has a total land area of about 1.9 million km². It has essentially a quite flat and wavy terrain and the altitude varies from hundred meters in the North to thousand meters in the South.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Chota Nagpur is a plateau in eastern India, which covers most of the State Jharkhand and adjacent parts of Orissa, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. The total area of Chota Nagpur is approximately 65,000 km². The forested plateau is a haven for Tigers and elephants. Chota Nagpur is known for its large stocks of coal and ores. ===East Coast<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The eastern coastal plain is a wide piece of land between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. It stretches from Tamil Nadu in the South to in West Bengal in the North. Deltas of many great Indian rivers are an important part of this area. The Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna and Kaveri ensure the drainage of this coastal plain. The East Coast receives the Northeast and the Southwest monsoon and has an average annual rainfall of between 1000 mm and 3000 mm.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The coastal plain has a width of between one hundred and one hundred and thirty kilometers and is divided into several areas, such as the delta of the Mahanadi, the southern area of Andhra Pradesh, the deltas of the Krishna and the Godavari, the coast at Kanyakumari and the Coromandel Coast. ===West Coast<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === The west coast at Goa<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The western coastal plain is a narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. The coastal strip begins in Gujarat in the North and passes through the States of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. The west coast has a width of between fifty and one hundred kilometers.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The relatively short rivers and multiple inland waterways watering the area. The rivers, which originate in the Western Ghats are fast flowing and contain water throughout the year. Because the fast flowing rivers on the coast have, instead of deltas, estuaries formed. The most important rivers are the Taptiand Narmada,Mandovi, the Zuari River.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The west coast is divided into three areas. The northern part in Maharashtra and Goa is known as the coast of Konkan, the central part in Karnataka as the coast ofKanara and the southern part in and around Kerala as the coast of Malabar. ===Islands<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">India has two major possessions off the coast: the Lakshadweepand the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Both island groups are controlled by the Federal Government as Union territories of India.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Lakshadweep are two-to three hundred kilometres from the coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea. The Islands consist of twelve coral atolls, three reefs and five banks. Ten of these islands are inhabited.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are an island chain in the Bay of Bengal between the coasts of Myanmar and Sumatra. The Islands are about 950 km from Calcutta. The Union territory consists of two island groups, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands in the North to the South. The Andaman Islands consist of 204 Islands over a total length of 352 km and the northernmost island is 193 km south of Cape Negrais in Myanmar. The Nicobar Islands consist of 22 Islands and the southernmost island is located about 200 km north of Aceh on Sumatra. ==Rivers<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Map of the rivers and lakes in India<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">All major rivers of India have their origin on one of the three main watersheds. These are:

<p lang="en" len="122" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Twelve of India's rivers are classified as large, with a total catchment area of more than 2.528.000 km².
 * 1) the Himalayas and the Karakoram
 * 2) the Vindhya- and each rise from their respective
 * 3) the Western Ghats

<p lang="en" len="662" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Westward flowing rivers that originate on this watershed are the Narmada and the Tapti, which outflows in the Arabian Sea .

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In the Western Ghats have all the rivers of the Deccan Plateau their origin. These include the Godavari, the Krishna, the Kaveriand all of which are in the Bay of Bengal outflows. ==Water Surfaces<span class="mw-editsection" len="344" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The main waves are the Gulf of Cambay, Gulf of Kutch and the Gulf of Mannar. Straits are the Palk Strait, which separates India and Sri Lanka, the Ten degree channel, that the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands , and separates the Eight degree channel, which the Minicoy Island of Lakshadweep separates from the rest of the.

<p lang="en" len="1566" style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Important capes are Cape Comorin in Tamil Nadu, the southern tip of mainland India, Indira Point on great Nicobar, the southernmost point of India, the whole Cape Calimereand Adams bridge, both in in Tamil Nadu.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The largest seas are the Arabian Sea in the West and the Bay of Bengal in the South, both of which are a part of the Indian Ocean, and the rest of the Indian Ocean in the South. Smaller seas include the Laccadive sea and the Andaman Sea.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Important Lakes are the Chilkameer, in Orissa, Kolleru Lake in Andhra Pradesh, Loktak Lake in Manipur, the Dal Lake in Jammu and Kashmir, the Salt Lake Sambhar in Rajasthan 's and the Vembanad Lake in thebackwaters of Kerala. ==Wet areas<span class="mw-editsection" len="341" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Wet areas occur everywhere in India for; of cold to dry; of those in Ladakh to that in the wet and humid climate in the Indian peninsula. This wet areas are directly or indirectly linked to the rivers. The Government of India has 22 of these areas classified as protected. To the protected areas include the tropical mangroves on the Indian peninsula and the wadden sea salt in Western India.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Mangroves along the coast of India come for, in sheltered estuaries, inland waterways, creeks, salt marshes and mudflats. The mangrove area is spread over an area of 6740 km², which is seven percent of the world's total mangrove surface. Most of the identified as protected wet areas are part of nature reserves and national parks. ===The Sundarbans<span class="mw-editsection" len="340" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === River delta of the Ganges (between Bangladeshand India)<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The delta area of the Sundarbans are the largest mangrove forest in the world. It is located west of the mouth of the Ganges and is spread across West Bengal andBangladesh. The part of the part of India and Bangladesh are separately on the UNESCO 's World Heritage listed, even though they belong to the same nature reserve. The Sundarbans are intersected by a complex network of tidal waters, mudflats and small islands of salt mangrove forests.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The area is known for its diverse fauna. The best known of these is the Bengal tiger, but also many kinds of birds, axisherten, crocodiles and snakes populate the area. ===Rann of Kutch<span class="mw-editsection" len="341" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Satellite image of the Rann of Kutch area. The Rann of Kutch is in light blue<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Rann of Kutch is a seasonal salt flats and marsh area in the extreme southwest of the thar desert, in the State of Gujarat . The name "Rann" comes from theHindiword "ran", meaning "salt marsh" means. The Rann of Kutch comprises some 26,000 square kilometers. The area was once a large shallow inlet of the Arabian Sea. Until a persistent tectonic uplift ended the connection with the sea, was there a more created. Later dried the area on and it became a large salt flats.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In India's summer monsoon, the flat desert of salty clay and mud filled with stagnant water, which is a nesting area for some of the biggest swarms ordinary and small Flamingo. ==Climate<span class="mw-editsection" len="334" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Map of the climatic zones in India<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The climate in India is very diverse, related to the large scale and variety of the geography. It is difficult to make an overall picture of the climate in India. According to the Köppen climate classification is India from seven different types of climates. These are a desert climate (BWh), steppe climate (BSh), moderate china climate(Cwb), high mountain climate (EH or H), hot china climate (Cwa) or temperate savanna climate, tropical savanna climate (Aw) and a tropical monsoon climate (Am).However, many areas also have vastly different local climates.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">India has four seasons: winter (January and February), summer (March to may), a monsoon season (June to september) and the period following the monsoon season (October to december).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The greater Himalayas acts as a virtually impenetrable barrier against the monsoon winds from the South. The northern slopes receive virtually no rain, while the southern slopes belong to the wettest places on Earth. The Himalayas also keeps the cold winds coming from Central Asia, whereby the North of India remains relatively warm during the winter. In the summer the same given sure India, compared to its latitude, relatively hot.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In the summer the daytime temperatures above 40 degrees out. The coastal regions are less hot, with temperatures above 30 degrees come true, combined with high humidity. In the thar desert temperatures above the forty-five degrees come true.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The summer is followed by a southwest monsoon, covering most of India by rain provides. The rain bearing clouds are attracted by the low pressure above the thar desert arises. The official date of the beginning of monsoon season is June 1, when the monsoon reached the coast of Kerala . The southwest monsoon splits into two branches: those of the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. When it receives the bulk of India at the beginning of July is precipitation of the monsoon. The monsoon withdraws from northern India back in August and in October from Kerala. The short period after the withdrawal of the monsoon is characterized by calm weather.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">By november the winter begins to do gradually made its appearance in the northern areas. Winter begins in the North in november and late december in the South.The winters on the peninsula have mild to warm days and cool nights. Further north, the temperatures are lower. The temperatures in some parts of the Indian Plains can then at night under the freezing point come true. ==Geology<span class="mw-editsection" len="335" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == Geological areas in India<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">India has a varied geology which all geological eras will go through. The geology of India is classified on the basis of the time of Genesis. ===Plate Tectonics<span class="mw-editsection" len="342" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Indian craton was once part of the supercontinent Pangaea. At that time was the southwest coast stuck to Madagascar and southern Africa, and the East coast of Australia. 160 million years ago during the Jurassic period, riftvorming made sure that the Pangaea broke into two supercontinents Gondwana and Laurasia in the South in the North to form. The Indian craton remained attached to Gondwana to this supercontinent in the Chalk, some 125 million years ago, began to fall apart.From that moment began the Indian plate to the North, toward the Eurasian plate, sliding, with a pace, that as the fastest movement of every known plate is seen.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">About 90 million years ago, Madagascar of the Indian plate separated. The Indian plate collided against the Eurasian plate about 50 million years ago. This gave rise to the Himalaya and adjacent mountains, resulting from convergence and deformation of the two plates. The continuous plate tectonic movements make the Himalayas annually with an inch increases. ===Formations<span class="mw-editsection" len="336" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p lang="en" len="850" style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Precambrian formations of Kadapa and Vindhyan are located throughout the Eastern and Southern States and a small part also on Western and central India.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Paleozoic formations from the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian can be found in the Western Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The Mesozoic Deccan Traps can be seen in most of the North of the Deccan Plateau. The Deccan Traps is a volcanic area, probably created as a result of a mantle plume or hotspot. The soil is black in colour and conducive to agriculture. Formations from the Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic and Jurassic are seen in the Western Himalayas. That of the Jura also in Rajasthan.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Tertiary remnants can be seen in Manipur, Nagaland, parts of Arunachal Pradesh and along the foot of the Himalayas. Chalk formations can be seen in the Vindhya range, in the central part of India, and in parts on the Indo-Gangetic plain.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Eocene formations are also seen in the Western Himalayas and in Assam. Oligocene formations can be seen in Kutch and Assam.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Pleistocene formations can be seen throughout central India. It is rich in Brown coal, iron ore, manganese and aluminum. The Andomanen Islands are of volcanic origin.