Question

What are the main physical divisions of India?

Answer 1

Hint: India is mainly divided into 5 physical divisions, such as the northern mountainous region, north Indian plain, peninsular plateau, islands, and the coastal plain.

Complete answer:
India lies largely on the northern portion of the Indo-Australian Plate, also known as the Indian Plate, whose continental crust forms the major physical divisions of the Indian subcontinent. India is therefore divided broadly into five physical units. They are:
1. The Great Mountains of the north
2. The north Indian plain
3. The Peninsular Plateau
4. The coastal plains
5. The Islands
1. The great mountains of the North: Starting from the Pamir Plateau in the west to the Indo-Myanmar border in the east, a chain of mountains stretch uninterruptedly for about 3,600 km in the shape of an arc. The mountains which extend between the Pamir plateau and the Indus River in Kashmir are known to be as the Karakoram. The Karakoram contains a few of the world’s largest mountain glaciers, for example, Baltoro and the Siachen. The world’s second-highest peak K2 (Godwin Austin) belongs to this mountain range. The mountains between the Indus and the Brahmaputra Rivers are called the Himalayas. The Himalayas consist of three parallel ranges called the Himadri, Himachal, and Shivalik. Some narrow valleys called ‘duns’ are found in this part. The northernmost range of the Himalaya is known as the Himadri, Mt. Everest (8,848m) in Nepal is the world’s highest peak which belongs to this range.

2. The north Indian plain: To the south of the mountains of the north, there is a vast plain that extends over 2500km approximately from the Sutlej in the west to the Brahmaputra in the east. It is made up of the alluvium shed by the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries.

3. The Peninsular Plateau: To the south of the north Indian plain, the peninsular plateau lays. It is formed by igneous and metamorphic rocks. It is the oldest land in India. Hills (heights with lesser altitudes and rounded tops) are seen in this region. The peninsular plateau is subdivided into the central highlands of India and the Deccan plateau.

4. The Coastal plains: The Deccan plateau is bounded by coastal plains on both sides. The western coastal plain is widest in the north. It is gradually narrowed down towards the south. The coast lying to the south of Gujarat is known as the Konkan. The south-western part of the coast is known as the Malabar. The eastern coastal plain is comparatively more leveled than the western coast. The northern part of the coast is commonly known as northern Circar and the southern part is the Coromandel coast.

5. The Islands: To the west of the coast of Kerala, there exists a cluster of small islands. They are collectively known as the Lakshadweep. A bigger cluster known as the Andaman and Nicobar islands is located in the Bay of Bengal.

Note: India is majorly subdivided into five physical regions, namely, the northern mountainous region, north Indian plain, peninsular plateau, islands, and the coastal plain.