Our Country - India

India: An Overview

• India is the seventh largest country in the world in terms of area.
• India is the second most populous country in the world.
• According to the 2011 census, the population of India is more than 1.2 billion.

Locational Setting of India

• India is located in the northern hemisphere.
• From south to north, the main land of India extends between 8°4' N and 37°6' N. From west to east, the main land of India extends between 68°7' E and 97°35' E.

Indian Standard Time

• The longitudinal extent of India is 29° which is huge. Hence, there could be wide differences in local timings.
• Due to great longitudinal extent, the sun rises about two hours earlier in Arunachal Pradesh than in Gujarat.

→ To keep things simple, the local time has been fixed as per the longitude 82°30' E. This longitude is called the Standard Meridian of India.

India’s Neighbours

• Afghanistan and Pakistan are towards west of India. China, Nepal and Bhutan are towards north of India.
• Bangladesh and Myanmar are towards east of India.

→ Sri Lanka is separated by India by the Pak Straits.

Political and Administrative Divisions

• India has been divided into 29 states.
• Rajasthan is the largest state and Goa is the smallest state.
• There are 7 union territories in India.
• All the states are further divided into smaller administrative units; called districts.
• Delhi is the National Capital of India.

Physical Divisions

• India is a diverse country; in terms of physical features. It can be divided into following physical divisions:

→ The Himalayan Mountains

→ The Northern Plains

→ The Great Indian Desert

→ The Deccan Plateau

→ Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats

The Himalayan Mountains

• The Himalayan Mountains are in the north of the Indian subcontinent.
• The Himalayan Mountains are divided into three parallel ranges: the Great Himalaya or Himadri, the Middle Himalaya or Himachal, and the Shivalik.

→ The Great Himalaya: This is the northernmost range. The highest peaks of the world are located in this range.

→ The Middle Himalaya: This range is towards south of the Great Himalayas. Many popular hill stations are in this range.

→ The Shivalik: This is the southernmost range. The elevation in this range is low compared to in the other two ranges.

The Northern Plains

• The Northern Plains lie to the south of the Himalayas.
• These plains are formed by the rivers: the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra and their tributaries.
• The lands are highly fertile in this region. Hence, this region has very high population density.

The Great Indian Desert

• The Great Indian Desert lies in the western part of India.
• This is a dry, hot and sandy stretch of land.
• There is very little vegetation in this region. This is also called the Thar Desert.

The Deccan Plateau

• The Deccan Plateau lies towards south of the Northern Plains.
• This is triangular in shape.
• There are many hill ranges and valleys in this region, e.g. Aravali hills, the Vindhyas and the Satpuras.
• The Deccan Plateau is rich in minerals.
• Narmada and Tapi are important rivers which flow through the Deccan Plateau. These rivers flow towards west and drain into the Arabian Sea.

→ The Western Ghats mark the western boundary of the Deccan Plateau, while the Eastern Ghats mark the eastern boundary.

→ The Western Ghats are almost continuous but the Eastern Ghats are broken and uneven.

The Coastal Plains

• The Coastal Plains lie to the west of the Western Ghats and to the east of the Eastern Ghats.
• The western coastal plains are very narrow.
• The eastern coastal plains are much broader.
• The rivers Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri flow in this region. These are east-flowing rivers and drain into the Bay of Bengal. These rivers have formed deltas at their mouth.

→ These deltas are highly fertile.

→ Delta is a landform which is formed at the mouth of a river.

→ The place where a river meets an ocean is called the mouth of the river.

The Islands

• Lakshadweep Islands and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also part of India.
• The Lakshadweep Islands are in the Arabian Sea and are coral islands.

→ A coral island is formed by corals and other organic materials.

• The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are in the Bay of Bengal.

MCQs – India: Location and Physical Features

1. Himalaya means the abode of?

(a) Snow

(b) Milk

(c) Water

(d) Gas

► (a) Snow

2. India can be divided into how many natural regions.

(a) 7

(b) 4

(c) 5

(d) 6

► (d) 6

3. India is located in which continent?

(a) Europe

(b) Africa

(c) Asia

(d) Australia

► (c) Asia

4. Towards the south of the India is

(a) Pacific Ocean

(b) Arctic Ocean

(c) Atlantic Ocean

(d) Indian Ocean

► (d) Indian Ocean

5. The northern most limit of India is

(a) 73º2 N

(b) 37º 6' N

(c) 45º4 N

(d) 67º3 N

► (b) 37º 6' N

6. They __________ are rich in minerals like coal and iron-ore

(a) Plains

(b) Rivers

(c) Mountains

(d) Plateau

► (d) Plateau

7. Which of the following is not the sea which surrounds the India Peninsula

(a) Pacific Ocean

(b) Indian Ocean

(c) Arabian sea

(d) Bay of Bengal

► (a) Pacific Ocean

8. Which is the eastern most state of India

(a) Mizoram

(b) Tripura

(c) Arunachal Pradesh

(d) Nagaland

► (c) Arunachal Pradesh

9. Peninsular plateau is

(a) Triangular in shape

(b) Circular shape

(c) Square in shape

(d) Rectangular in shape

► (a) Triangular in shape

10. Which is the highest Himalayan peak in India

(a) K2

(b) Mount Everest

(c) Kanchenjunga

(d) Kilimanjaro

► (c) Kanchenjunga

11. The river which is called the Ganga of the south

(a) Krishna

(b) Tapi

(c) Narmada

(d) Godavari

► (d) Godavari

12. The greatest Himalayas are also known as

(a) Himari

(b) Himar

(c) Himad

(d) Himadri

► (d) Himadri

13. Which of the following states does not common boundaries with Pakistan

(a) Punjab

(b) Gujarat

(c) Haryana

(d) Rajasthan

► (c) Haryana

14. Which of the following country is smaller than India in terms of area?

(a) Canada

(b) Australia

(c) Argentina

(d) Russia

► (c) Argentina

15. Which is the standard meridian of India?

(a) 82 x 1 / 2° W

(b) 82 x 1 / 2° N

(c) 82 x 1 / 2° E

(d) 82 x 1 / 2° S

► (c) 82 x 1 / 2° E

16. India is located in which hemisphere?

(a) Southern-Eastern Hemisphere

(b) Northern-Eastern Hemisphere

(c) Southern Hemisphere

(d) West-North Hemisphere

► (b) Northern-Eastern Hemisphere

17. Which of the following States is a member of the ' Seven Sisters '

(a) West Bengal

(b) Orissa

(c) Tripura

(d) Bihar

► (c) Tripura

18. The Thar desert lies west of the

(a) Punjab

(b) Deccan Plateau

(c) Aravallis

(d) Himalayas

► (c) Aravallis