Key facts

  • India's six macro physiographic units are the northern and north-eastern mountains, northern plain, peninsular plateau, Indian desert, coastal plains...
  • The Himalayan longitudinal belts are arranged from inner to outer as Himadri, Himachal and Shiwalik.
  • The Northern Plain is understood through the Bhabar-Terai-Bhangar-Khadar sequence from foothill gravel to active floodplain alluvium.
  • The Peninsular Plateau includes the Central Highlands north of the Narmada and the Deccan Plateau to the south.
  • The Western Ghats are higher and more continuous than the Eastern Ghats, creating a stronger rainfall and watershed barrier.

Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    India's six macro physiographic units are the northern and north-eastern mountains, northern plain, peninsular plateau, Indian desert, coastal plains and islands.

  2. 2

    The Himalayan longitudinal belts are arranged from inner to outer as Himadri, Himachal and Shiwalik.

  3. 3

    The Northern Plain is understood through the Bhabar-Terai-Bhangar-Khadar sequence from foothill gravel to active floodplain alluvium.

  4. 4

    The Peninsular Plateau includes the Central Highlands north of the Narmada and the Deccan Plateau to the south.

  5. 5

    The Western Ghats are higher and more continuous than the Eastern Ghats, creating a stronger rainfall and watershed barrier.

  6. 6

    The Indian Desert west of the Aravalli shows hot aridity, dunes, ephemeral drainage, playas, brackish lakes and the Luni drainage spine.

  7. 7

    Andaman-Nicobar is linked with submarine mountain and volcanic elements, while Lakshadweep is coral-based.

  8. 8

    Natural vegetation follows relief and moisture: sparse desert cover, severe cold-desert vegetation limits, wet windward Ghats, marshy Terai and coral-linked island settings must not be mixed.

SENIOR COMPUTER INSTRUCTOR study hubView study packs

India's Physiographic Frame

India's physiography is a broad division of landforms according to relief, structure, rock age, slope, drainage and resource base. The main exam list has six units: northern and north-eastern mountains, northern plain, peninsular plateau, Indian desert, coastal plains and islands. This list is useful because each unit carries a different combination of relief, climate, soil, drainage and vegetation.

The Census of India's 1991 Regional Divisions of India cartographic analysis used five physio-geographical factors: physiography, geological structure, forest coverage, climatic conditions and soils. This is a useful reminder for objective questions: physiography is not only a map of heights. It also links landform, climate, soils, drainage and vegetation.

Remember the contrast: the Himalaya is young, high and tectonically active; the Peninsular block is older, harder and more stable; and the Indo-Ganga-Brahmaputra plain is a deep alluvial trough filled by river sediments.

Open the complete note

This public page shows the first available section. The study pack opens the complete topic with all revision material.

7 more sections in the complete note

Open study pack