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Glossary Terms
| Term (EN) | Definition | Exam Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Himadri | Highest, innermost Himalayan range; avg 6,000 m; perpetually snow-covered | Himalayan divisions |
| Himachal | Middle Himalayan range; 3,700–4,500 m; hill stations, coniferous forests | Himalayan divisions |
| Shiwalik | Outermost, youngest Himalayan range; 600–1,500 m; formed from eroded debris | PYQ 2021 formation |
| Dun | Longitudinal valley between Shiwaliks and Himachal; e.g., Dehra Dun | Geography 2-mark |
| Bhabar | Porous gravel belt at Himalayan foothills; rivers disappear underground | Indo-Gangetic zones |
| Terai | Swampy belt south of Bhabar; rivers re-emerge; dense forests; tiger reserves | Indo-Gangetic zones |
| Bangar | Older, elevated alluvial terrace with calcareous Kankar nodules | PYQ 2013 — 5 marks |
| Khadar | Fresh alluvial floodplain renewed annually; most fertile agricultural land | PYQ 2013 — 5 marks |
| Kankar | Calcareous (calcium carbonate) nodules found in Bangar soil | Soil geography |
| Gondwana | Ancient southern supercontinent; peninsular India is a fragment of it | Peninsular origin |
| Deccan Trap | Vast basaltic lava formation (~5 lakh sq km); formed 65–60 Ma; yields black cotton soil | Peninsular geology |
| Anamudi | Highest peak south of Himalayas (2,695 m); Kerala; Anaimalai Hills | PYQ-relevant peak |
| Kangchenjunga | India's highest peak (8,586 m); Sikkim-Nepal border; 3rd highest globally | 2-mark geography |
| Nathu La | Himalayan pass in Sikkim (4,310 m); India-Tibet trade route reopened 2006 | PYQ 2023 map |
| Pal Ghat | Lowest gap (150 m) in Western Ghats; Kerala; NH 544; railway link | PYQ 2023 map |
| Barren Island | India's only active volcano; in Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Island geography |
| Indira Point | India's southernmost point (6°45'N); Great Nicobar; submerged in 2004 Tsunami | 2-mark |
| Barchan | Crescent-shaped sand dune formed in desert by constant wind direction | Thar Desert |
| Kayal | Backwater lagoon of Kerala's Malabar Coast; Vembanad Lake is largest | Coastal geography |
| Rain Shadow | Area receiving low rainfall on leeward side of a mountain range | Western Ghats effect |
| Fold Mountain | Mountain formed by compression and folding of rock layers (e.g., Himalayas) | Mountain classification |
| Doab | Land between two rivers (e.g., Ganga-Yamuna Doab) in Indo-Gangetic Plain | Regional geography |
| Regur | Black cotton soil from Deccan basalt weathering; self-ploughing capacity | Soil/Peninsular |
| Escarpment | Steep face of a plateau; Western Ghats have steep western escarpment | Western Ghats |
| Chilika Lake | Asia's largest brackish water lagoon (1,100 sq km); Odisha; Mahanadi coast | Coastal geography |
Sources: Survey of India; NCERT Class 11 Fundamentals of Physical Geography; NCERT India — Physical Environment; RPSC Mains Previous Year Questions 2013–2023; RPSC 2026 Official Syllabus.