How Many Physical Divisions are There in India

Introduction

India is one of the oldest countries, with diverse cultures, and various civilizations and traditions. From the Northern Himalayas to the Southern Seasides. It is widely divided into various physical divisions and subdivisions. It has the holy river The Brahmaputra in the east, and the Thar Desert in the west, which is also India's largest desert. India is a diverse country, physically as well as culturally. It is typically divided into Six Physical divisions, based on the physical characteristics of India, namely:

1. Northern Plains

2. Coastal Plains

3. Northern & North-Eastern Mountains

4. Islands

5. Peninsular Plateau

6. Indian Desert

Main Content

India mainly lies in the Northern region of the Indian Plate. Its continental crust creates the major physical divisions of the Indian subcontinent. It has main six major physical divisions, as described below:

1. Northern Plains

The Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Indus rivers brought Alluvial deposits that structured them. The Northern Plains span 3200 km, in Indian Physiography, from east to west. Alluvium deposits can be discovered up to two thousand kilometers below the surface. Bhangar and Khadar are their two divisions. The Himalayas are the mountains in the Northern plains, and these mountains lie between the Brahmaputra and the Indus rivers known as the Himalayas regions.

2. Coastal Plains

Coastal Plains lie in the Southern part of India, below the Tropic of Cancer. The Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, both are parallel to the Indian Coastal Plains. It is detached between the Eastern and Western Coastal Plains, based on their active geomorphic and location process. The Eastern Coastal Plains include various deltas between Kaveri, Godavari, Krishna, and Mahanadi rivers, accompanied by the Bay of Bengal.

The Western Coastal Plains expands its range from ‘Rann of Kachchh’ to ‘Kanyakumari’. It has mainly four divisions that include Goan Coast in Karnataka, Konkan Coast in Maharashtra, Malabar Coast in Kerala, and Kathiawar & Kachchh Coast in Gujarat. The Deccan Plateau is confined by the coastal plains on both the sides. In the north, the western coastal plains are the widest.

3. Northern & North-Eastern Mountains

The mighty Himalayas usually range from Northwest to Southwest. The orientation from North-South, the Himalayas can be encountered in Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram. The Himalayas region is subdivided into Darjeeling & Sikkim Himalayas, Kashmir Himalayas, Arunachal Himalayas, Himachal & Uttaranchal Himalayas, and Eastern Hills & Mountains.

4. Islands

The physical region of India includes two glaring Island groups. They are in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. In the Bay of Bengal, there are 204 islands located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands group. The Minicoy and the Lakshadweep Islands are located in the Arabian Sea. The Arabian Sea is on the Western Coast and the Bay of Bengal is on the Eastern Coast of India.

5. Peninsular Plateau

The Peninsular Plateau lies at the southern part of the North Indian plain. It is made up of Metamorphic and Igneous rocks. It’s the oldest land in India, and hills can be seen in this same region. Further, the Peninsular Plateau is subdivided into the Deccan Plateau, the Northeastern Plateau, and the Central Highlands of India.

6. Indian Desert

The Thar Desert is also called the Great Indian Desert. It is also the largest desert in India. It lies in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It has formed a natural boundary between Pakistan and India, with about 200,000 km2 of the area covered. It is the seventeenth largest desert in the world. India has about 85% area of the Thar Desert, and the rest area lies in Pakistan.

Conclusion

The physiography of India majorly consists of five divisions Northern Plains, Coastal Plains, Northern and North Eastern Mountains, Island groups, and the Peninsular Plateau. The Indian desert is the sixth sub-division, but it covers only 4.56% area of India’s subdivision.

The Deccan Plateau of the Peninsular Plateau is the largest physical subdivision of India, and Northern Plains are the youngest. The Peninsular Plateau is a portion of the Gondwana land, which has already drifted away. India is a large country, which consists of various physical sub-divisions, and it helps in keeping the natural balance of climatic and monsoon conditions.