India - Location, Relief and Drainage

Objectives

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- To understand the strategic importance of Indias absolute and relative location in the world - To know the distinct characteristics of major physiographic divisions of India - To compare the regions of Great Indian plains - To understand the drainage system of India - To differentiate the Himalayan and peninsular rivers

Summary

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- India has been physiographically divided into five divisions. They are Northern Mountains, Northern Great Plains, Th e Plateau region, Coastal Plains and Islands. - Northern Mountains are classifi ed into three divisions as Trans-Himalayas, Himalayas and Eastern Himalayas. - Northern Great Plains are divided into four as Rajasthan Plains, PunjabHaryana Plains, Gangetic Plains and Brahmaputra Plains. - The Plateau region of India has two divisions namely the Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau. - Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep are the two major island groups of India. - The Drainage System of India is classifi ed into the north Indian (Himalayan) and Peninsular rivers. - Th e Indus River system, the Ganga River system and the Brahmaputra River system have made the agricultural lands of north India as fertile land. - Th ese rivers are perennial in nature. - Narmada, Tapti, Mahi and Sabarmathi rivers confl uence with the Arabian Sea. - Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery are the major east fl owing rivers and drain into Bay of Bengal.