Physiography, climate, drainage and natural vegetation of India
Key facts
- India's area is 32,87,263 sq km, and its six broad physiographic units are the northern and north-eastern mountains, northern plain, peninsular platea...
- The Western Ghats or Sahyadri escarpment run about 1,500 km from the Tapti River to Kanyakumari and are higher and more continuous than the discontinu...
- India's revised coastline is 11,098.81 km; the western coast is narrow, while the eastern coast is broader and deltaic.
Key Points at a Glance
- 1
India's area is 32,87,263 sq km, and its six broad physiographic units are the northern and north-eastern mountains, northern plain, peninsular plateau, Indian desert, coastal plains and islands.
- 2
The Himalayan sequence is Himadri, Himachal and Shiwalik from the inner snowy axis to the outer foothill belt.
- 3
The Northern Plain is read through the Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar and Khadar sequence, from foothill gravel to newer floodplain alluvium.
- 4
The Peninsular Plateau includes the Central Highlands and Deccan Plateau, with old rocks, black-soil tracts and rift-valley drainage.
- 5
The Western Ghats or Sahyadri escarpment run about 1,500 km from the Tapti River to Kanyakumari and are higher and more continuous than the discontinuous Eastern Ghats.
- 6
The Thar Desert of western Rajasthan shows hot aridity, dunes, sparse vegetation, ephemeral streams, Luni drainage and inland basins.
- 7
India's revised coastline is 11,098.81 km; the western coast is narrow, while the eastern coast is broader and deltaic.
- 8
Andaman-Nicobar is linked with submarine mountain and volcanic elements, while Lakshadweep is coral-based.
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Macro Physiographic Frame
India's relief is not one uniform surface across its 32,87,263 sq km area. Its main physiographic divisions are mountains, the northern alluvial plain, the peninsular plateau, the Indian desert, coastal plains and islands. Each unit has a different rock base, slope, drainage pattern, soil association and resource frame. For objective questions, the important skill is to connect a landform name with its process: mountains give relief and sediment, plains store alluvium, plateaus expose old resistant rocks, deserts show wind action and water deficit, coasts show marine influence, and islands preserve submarine, volcanic or coral origins.
The northern and north-eastern mountains are young, high and tectonically active. The Indo-Ganga-Brahmaputra plain is a deep alluvial trough filled by river sediments. The peninsular block is older, harder and more stable. Rajasthan gives a compact map example: the Aravalli old fold mountain system, Thar Desert, Luni drainage and more river-linked eastern tracts lie close enough to show relief contrast within one state.
Remember this core point: physiography explains why rivers, soils, vegetation and settlements vary sharply from one part of India to another.
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