Major Physiographic Divisions | GK Olympiad for Class 6 PDF Download

The landmass of India can be divided into following major physiographic divisions. The Himalayan Mountain, Northern plain, Peninsular plateau, Indian desert, Coastal plains, The islands.

1. The Himalayan Mountains

• The Himalayas are the youngest mountains in the world.
• They are structurally-folded mountains, form an arc of about 2,400 km long from west to east. The width varies from 400 km in Kashmir to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh.

2. The Great or inner Himalayas

• It is known as ‘Himadri’.
• Average height of peaks here is 6,000 meters.

3. The Lesser Himalayas or Himachal

• This lies in south of the Great Himalayas and north of Shiwalik with altitude varying from 3,700 m to 4,500 m.
• Average width of this range is 60-80 km.

4. The Shiwaliks or the Outer Himalayas

• It is an outermost range and is also known as lesser Himalayas.
• The altitude varies between 900-1100 km and the width varies between 10-50 km in this range.

5. The Northern Plains

• The northern plains of India is formed by three river systems, viz., the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries.
• The total area of the northern plain is about 7 lakh square kilometer.

6. The coastal Plains

• Towards the west and east of Peninsular stretches, narrow coastal strips are situated.
• They run along the Arabian Sea in west and along the Bay of Bengal in east.
• The western coast lies between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea.

7. The islands

• The Lakshadweep Islands are in the Arabian Sea. Its area is 32 sq km. This group of islands is rich in terms of biodiversity. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands can be divided into two groups. The Andaman is in the north and the Nicobar is in the south.

Major Mountain Peaks

Important Rivers of India