Geological Structure of India and Physical Features

Indian Geological Struture

India is the 2nd largest country in terms of population (1st-China)
There are 28 states and 7 union territories in India.
India is situated between 8°4´ to 37°6´ north latitude and between 68°7´ to 97°25´ east longitudes in the south-eastern part of northern hemisphere.
82½° east longitude passes through the Mirzapur, UP, almost the mid of India and hence it is considered as the standard Meridian of India.
The standard time of India is 5hrs 30mins ahead of that at the Greenwich.
The tropic of cancer also divides India into two equal parts. The states through which tropic of cancer passes are- Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, & Mizoram.
Length of India’s mainland from north to south is 3,214km and that from east to west is 2,933km.
The geographical area of India is 32, 87,263km2, which is about 2.4% of the total geographical area of the world.
On the basis of the geographical area, India ranks 7th after Russia, China, USA, Brazil and Australia.

The land frontiers of India are 15,200km and the length of the coastline of the mainland is 6,100km. The total coastlines including the coastlines of Islands are 7515.5km.
Indira point is the southernmost point of India and is located in the great Nicobar Island. Its oldest name was Pygmalion point.

Indira kale is the northern most point located in Jammu-Kashmir.
Sarkrik point is the western most point, is located in Gujarat and Walangoo is the eastern most point, is located in Arunachal Pradesh.
Between Lakshadweep and Minicoy Island is the 9˚ channel, and between Maldives ad Minicoy is the 8˚ channel situated.
The 10˚ channel separates the Andaman from the Nicobar.
Between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka is Palk Strait situated.
Between south Andaman and little Andaman is Duncan pass situated.
Between south-eastern Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka is Manner Strait situated.

The immediate neighbors of India are Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The states of India forming borders with Pakistan are – Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The only state of India touching the border with Afghanistan is Jammu & Kashmir.
The Indian states forming the common frontiers with china are – Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
The boarders of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram touch the frontiers of Myanmar in the north-east.
The Indian states along the Indo-Bangladesh border are Mizoram, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and West Bengal.

Himalaya forms the natural and political boundaries of India. The formation of Himalaya is best explained by the plate tectonic theory of Harry Hess.
Aravalli range is relict of very ancient mountain range. It extends from Gujarat to Delhi in the form of broken hill ranges.
The highest peak of Aravalli is Gurushikhar in Mt. Abu.
Mahi and Luni originate from here. Luni ends within land so it is called the river of Ephemeral.
Vindhya and Satpura are very old and highly denuded hill ranges.
Vindhya Range is situated to the south of Malwa plateau and separates north India from South India.
The Satpura range in India is a block mountain between two rift valleys (Narmada and Tapi).
The highest point of Maikala range is Amarkantaka. It is the point of origin of Narmada and Son rivers.
To the east of Maikal are the hills of chhotanagpur and Rajmahal hills.
Moreover, Garo, Khasi and Janintia hills of Meghalaya are also a part of the southern peninsula.
Chhotanagpur plateau region is known as ‘Rhur of India’.
To the north of the Western Ghats are situated the Gir hills in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
The Western Ghats is also known as Sahyadri.
The range starts near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, south of the Tapti River, and runs approximately 1,600 km (990 mi) through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala ending at Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of India.

The highest point of Northern Sahyadri is Kalsubai and Mahabaleshwar is the other important peak.
Krishna River originates from Mahabaleshwar.
The highest peak of Nilgiri is Dodabeta, the Annamalai hills are located south to the Nilgiri, whose highest point is Anaimudi, which is also the highest peak in southern India.
The Palni and Cardamom hills are situated near Anaimudi.
To the east and west of the peninsular plateau two narrow strips of plain lands are found, which are respectively called Eastern Coastal plain and western coastal plain.
The western coastal plain extends from Gujarat to Kanyakumari.
The plain from Gujarat to Goa is called Konkan Coast.
The region from Goa to Mangalore in Karnataka is called Kannada Coast and the coastal plain from Mangalore to Kanyakumari coast is called Coromandal Coast.