Question

Describe the location and extent of the Northern plains of India.

Answer 1

Hint: The northern plains are located in the northern part of India, extending across the northern states till the far western borders of India.

Complete Step by Step answer: The northern plains of India are located towards the north of the tropic of Cancer and are mainly drained by the Ganga and the Yamuna rivers. These plains extend from the state of Haryana, including Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand to West Bengal. The total extent from west to east is about 3200 kilometers and is one of the most fertile regions of India. The major rivers in the northern plains are Ganga, Yamuna, Chambal, Betwa, Son, Ken, Ghahghra, Gandak, Kosi and Hoogley. These rivers originate either in the Himalayas or from the lakes in the Vindhyachal Range of mountains. However, the river Hoogly is a distributary of the river Ganga and is formed in the state of West Bengal. Sometimes, the northern plains are also used to describe the Brahmaputra river basin, which forms a fertile region in the northeastern states of India, particularly Assam along with the rivers of Subansiri, Dhansiri, Barak, etc.

Note: The northern plains do not include the region of Indus river basin, which includes the states of Punjab, Jammu and Himachal Pradesh as it is drained by the rivers Sutlej, Jhelum, Chenab, Beas and Ravi. These rivers flow through valleys in most of the territory of India and the plain area lies in Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan.