PHYSIOGRAPHY OF INDIA
- Physiography‘ of an area is the outcome of structure, process and the stage of development.
- The north has a vast expanse of rugged topography consisting of a series of mountain ranges with varied peaks, beautiful valleys and deep gorges.
- The south consists of stable tableland with highly dissected plateaus, denuded rocks and developed series of scarps.
- In between these two lies the vast north Indian plain. Based on these macro variations, India can be divided into the following
physiographic divisions:
(1) The Northern and Northeastern Mountains
(2) The Northern Plain
(3) The Peninsular Plateau
(4) The Indian Desert
(5) The Coastal Plains
(6) The Islands.
The North and Northeastern Mountains
- The North and Northeastern Mountains consist of the Himalayas and the Northeastern hills.
- The Himalayas consist of a series of parallel mountain ranges.
- Some of the important ranges are the Greater Himalayan range, which includes the Great Himalayas and the Trans-Himalayan range, the Middle Himalayas and the Shiwalik.
- The general orientation of these ranges is from northwest to the southeast the direction in the northwestern part of India.
- The Himalayas in the Darjiling and Sikkim regions lie in an east-west direction, while in Arunachal Pradesh they are from southwest to the northwest direction.
- In Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, they are in the north-south direction.
- The approximate length of the Great Himalayan range, also known as the central axial range, is 2,500 km from east to west, and their width varies between 160-400 km from north to south.
- The Himalayas stand almost like a strong and long wall between the Indian subcontinent and the Central and East Asian countries.
- The Himalayas are not only the physical barrier, they are also a climatic, drainage and cultural divide.
- The Himalayas can be divided into the following sub-divisions:
- Kashmir or Northwestern Himalayas
- Himachal and Uttaranchal Himalayas
- Darjiling and Sikkim Himalayas
- Arunachal Himalayas
- Eastern Hills and Mountains.
1. Kashmir or Northwestern Himalayas
- It comprise a series of ranges such as the Karakoram, Ladakh, Zaskar and Pir Panjal.
- The northeastern part of the Kashmir Himalayasis a cold desert, which lies between the Greater Himalayas and the Karakoram ranges.
- Between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range, lies the world-famous Valley of Kashmir and the famous Dal Lake.
- Important glaciers of South Asia such as the Baltoro and Siachen are also found in this region.
- TheKashmirHimalayas are also famous for Karewa formations, which are useful for the cultivation of Zafran, a local variety of saffron.
- Some of the important passes of the region areZoji La on the Great
The Himalayas,Banihal on the Pir Panjal, Photu La on the Zaskar and Khardung La on the Ladakh range. - Some of the important fresh lakes such as Dal and Wular and saltwater lakes such as Pangong Tso and Tso Moriri are also in this region.
- This region is drained by the river Indus and its tributaries such as the Jhelum and the Chenab.
- Jhelum in the valley of Kashmir is still in its youth stage and yet forms meander – a typical feature associated with the mature stage in the evolution of fluvial landform
2.Himachal and Uttaranchal Himalayas
- The Himachal and Uttarakhand Himalayas lies approximately between the Ravi in the west and the Kali (a tributary Ghaghra) in the east.
- The Drained by two major river systems of India, i.e. the Indus and the Ganga.
- Tributaries of the Indus include the river Ravi, the Beas and the Satluj, and the tributaries of Ganga flowing through this region include the Yamuna and the Ghaghara.
- The northernmost part of the Himachal.
- The Himalayas is an extension of the Ladakh cold desert, which lies in the Spiti subdivision of district Lahul and Spiti.
- All three ranges of Himalayas are prominent in this section also.
- These are the Great Himalayan range, the lesser Himalayas (which is locally known as Dhaoladhar in Himachal Pradesh and Nagtibhain Uttarakhand) and the Shiwalik range from the North to the South.
- The two distinguishing features of this region from the point of view of physiography is the Shiwalik‘ and Dun formations‘.
- Some important duns located in this region are the Chandigarh-Kalka dun, Nalagarh dun, Dehradun, Harike dun and the Kota dun, etc.
- Dehra Dun is the largest of all the duns with an approximate length of 35- 45 km and a width of 22-25 km.
- In the Great Himalayan range, the valleys are mostly inhabited by the Bhotia‘s.
- These are nomadic groups who migrate to Bugyals‘ (the summer
grasslands in the higher reaches) during summer months and return to the valleys during winters. - The famous Valley of flowers is also situated in this region. The places of pilgrimage such as the Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib are also situated in this part. The region is also known to have five famous Prayags
The Shiwalik
- The word Shivalik has its origin in the geological formation found in and around a place called Sivawala near Dehra Dun which was once a headquarter of the Imperial Survey and which subsequently established its permanent headquarters at Dehra Dun.
- In Kashmir Valley, the meanders in Jhelumriver are caused by the local base the level provided by the erstwhile larger lake of which the present Dal Lake is a small part.
3.The Darjiling and Sikkim Himalayas
- Bordered by Nepal Himalayas in the west and Bhutan Himalayas in the east.
- It is relatively small but is the most significant part of the Himalayas.
- Known for its fast-flowing rivers such as Tista,
- It is a region of high mountain peaks like Kanchenjunga (Kanchengiri), and deep valleys.
- The higher reaches of this region are inhabited by Lepchatribes while the the southern part, particularly the Darjiling
- The Himalayas, has a mixed population of Nepalis, Bengalis and tribals from central India.
- The British, taking advantage of the physical conditions such as moderate slope, thick soil cover with high organic content, well-distributed rainfall throughout the year and mild winters, introduced tea plantations in this region.
- absence of the Shiwalik formations.
- In place of theShiwaliks here, the duar formations‘ are important, which have also been used for the development of tea gardens.
iv. The Arunachal Himalayas - Extend from the east of the Bhutan Himalayas up to the Diphu pass in the east.
- The general direction of the mountain range is from southwest to
northeast. - Some of theimportant mountain peaks of the region areKangtu and Namcha Barwa.
- These ranges are dissected by fast-flowing rivers from the north to the south, forming deep gorges.
- The Bhramaputa flows through a deep gorge after crossing Namcha Barwa.
- Some of the important rivers are the Kameng the Subansiri,
the Dihang, the Dibang and theLohit. - These are perennial with the high rate of fall, thus, having the highest hydro-electric power potential in the country.
- An important aspect of the Arunachal Himalayas is the numerous
ethnic tribal community inhabiting in these areas. - Some of the prominent ones from west to east are the Monpa, Daffla, Abor, Mishmi, Nishi and the Nagas. Most of these communities practise Jhumming.
- It is also known as shifting or slash and burn cultivation.
- This region is rich in biodiversity which has been preserved by the
indigenous communities. - Due to rugged topography, the inter-valley transportation linkages
are nominal. - Hence, most of the interactions are carried through the duar region along the Arunachal-Assam border.
5.The Eastern Hills and Mountains
- Part of the Himalayan mountain system having their general alignment from the north to the south direction.
- They are known by different local names.
- In the north, they are known as Patkai Bum, Naga hills, the Manipur hills and in the south as Mizo or Lushai hills.
- These are low hills, inhabited by numerous tribal groups practising Jhum cultivation.
- The Barak is an important river in Manipur and Mizoram.
- The physiography of Manipur is unique by the presence of a large lake known as Loktak‘ lake at the centre, surrounded by mountains from all sides.
- Mizoram which is also known as the Molassis basin‘ which is made up of soft unconsolidated deposits.
- Most of the rivers in Nagaland form the tributary of the Brahmaputra.
- While two rivers of Mizoram and Manipur are the tributaries of the Barak river, which in turn is the tributary of Meghna;
- The rivers in the eastern part of Manipur are the tributaries of Chindwin, which in turn is a tributary of the Irrawady of Myanmar.
The Northern Plains
- Formed by the alluvial deposits brought by the rivers – the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
- Extend approximately 3,200 km from the east to the west.
- The average width of these plains varies between 150-300 km.
- maximum depth of alluvium deposits varies between 1,000-2,000m.
- From the north to the south, these can be divided into three major
zones: the Bhabar, the Tarai and the alluvial plains. - The alluvial plains can be further divided into the Khadar and the
Bhangar. - Bhabar is a narrow belt ranging between 8-10 km parallel to the
Shiwalik foothills at the break-up of the slope. - As a result of this, the streams and rivers coming from the mountains deposit heavy materials of rocks and boulders, and at times, disappear in this zone.
- South of the Bhabar is the Tarai belt, with an approximate width of 10- 20 km where most of the streams and rivers re-emerge without having any properly demarcated channel, thereby, creating marshy and swampy conditions are known as the Tarai.
- This has a luxurious growth of natural vegetation and houses varied wildlife.
- The south of Tarai is a belt consisting of old and new alluvial
deposits are known as the Bhangar and Khadar respectively. - These plains have characteristic features of the mature stage of fluvial erosional and depositional landforms such as sand bars, meanders, oxbow lakes and braided channels.
- The Brahmaputra plains are known for their riverine islands and
sand bars. - Most of these areas are subjected to periodic floods and shifting river courses forming braided streams.
- Themouthsofthesemightyrivers also form some of the largest deltas of the world, for example, the famous Sunderbans delta.
- These river valley plains have a fertile alluvial soil cover which
supports a variety of crops like wheat, rice, sugarcane and jute, and hence, supports a large population.
The Peninsular Plateau
- Rising from the height of 150m above the river plains up to an elevation of 600-900m is the irregular triangle known as the Peninsular plateau.
- Delhiridge in the northwest,(extension of Aravalis), the Rajmahal Hills in the east, Gir range in the west and the Cardamom Hills in the south constitute the outer extent of the Peninsular plateau.
- However, an extension of this is also seen in the northeast, in the form of Shillong and Karbi-Anglong plateau.
- Peninsular India is made up of a series of peatland plateaus such as the Hazaribagh plateau, the Palamu plateau, the Ranchi plateau, the Malwa plateau, the Coimbatore plateau and the Karnataka plateau, etc.
- This is one of the oldest and the most stable landmass of India.
- The general elevation of the plateau is from the west to the east, which is also proved by the pattern of the flow of rivers.
- Some of the important physiographic features of this region are tors, block mountains, rift valleys, spurs, bare rocky structures, series of hummocky hills and wall-like quartzite dykes offering natural sites for water storage.
- The western and northwestern part of the plateau has an emphatic presence of black soil.
- This Peninsular plateau has undergone recurrent phases of upliftment and submergence accompanied by crustal faulting and fractures. (The Bhima fault needs special mention, because of its recurrent seismic activities).
- These spatial variations have brought in elements of diversity in the relief of the Peninsular plateau.
- The northwestern part of the plateau has a complex relief of ravines and gorges.
- The ravines of Chambal, Bhind and Morena are some of the well-known examples. On the basis of the prominent relief features, the Peninsular plateau can be divided into three broad groups:
- (i) The Deccan Plateau
- (ii) The Central Highlands
- (iii) The Northeastern Plateau.
The Deccan Plateau
- This is bordered by the Western Ghats in the west, the Eastern Ghats in the east and the Satpura, Maikal range and Mahadeo hills in the north. The Western Ghats are locally known by different names such as Sahyadri in Maharashtra, Nilgiri hills in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and Anaimalai hills and Cardamom hills in Kerala.
- The Western Ghats are comparatively higher in elevation and more continuous than the Eastern Ghats.
- Their average elevation is about 1,500 m with the height increasing from north to south. Anaimudi‘ (2,695 m), the highest peak of Peninsular the plateau is located on the Anaimalai hillsoftheWesternGhatsfollowedby Dodabetta (2,637 m) on the Nilgiri hills.
- Most of the Peninsular rivers have their origin in the Western Ghats.
- The Eastern Ghats comprising the discontinuous and low hills are highly eroded by the rivers such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, the Kaveri, etc.
- Some of the important ranges include the Javadi hills, the Palconda range, the Nallamala hills, the Mahendragiri hills, etc.
- The Eastern and the WesternGhatsmeet each other at the Nilgiri hills.
The Central Highlands
- They are bounded to the west by the Aravali range.
- The Satpura range is formed by a series of scarped plateaus on the south, generally at an elevationvaryingbetween600-900mabove the mean sea level.
- This forms the northernmost boundary of the Deccan plateau. It is a classic example of the relict mountains which are highly denuded and form discontinuous ranges.
- The extension of the Peninsular plateau can be seen as far Jaisalmer in the West, where it has been covered by the longitudinal sand ridges and crescent-shaped sand dunes called barchans.
- This region has undergone metamorphic processes in its geological history, which can be corroborated by the presence of metamorphic rocks such as marble, slate, gneiss, etc.
The Northeastern Plateau
- In fact, it is an extension of the main Peninsular plateau.
- It is believed that due to the force exerted by the northeastward movement of the Indian plate at the time of the Himalayanorigin, a huge fault was created between the Rajmahal hills and the Meghalaya plateau.
- Later, this depression got filled up by the deposition activity of the numerous rivers. Today, the Meghalaya and Karbi Anglongplateau stand detached from the main peninsular Block.
- The Meghalaya plateau is further sub-divided into three: (i) The Garo Hills; (ii) The Khasi Hills; (iii) The Jaintia Hills, named after the tribal groups inhabiting this region.
- An extension of this is also seen in the Karbi Anglong hills of Assam. Similar to the Chota Nagpur plateau, the Meghalaya plateau is also rich in mineral resources like coal, iron ore, sillimanite, limestone and uranium.
- This area receives maximum rainfall from the southwest monsoon. As a result, the Meghalayaplateau has a highly eroded surface.
- Cherrapunji displays a bare rocky surface devoid of any permanent vegetation cover.
The Indian Desert
- To the northwest of the Aravali hills lies the Great Indian desert.
- It is a land of undulating topography dotted with longitudinal dunes and barchans.
- Thisregionreceiveslowrainfall below 150 mm per year; hence, it has an arid climate with low vegetation cover.
- It is because of these characteristic features that this is also known as Marusthali.
- The Luni river flowing in the southern part of the desert is of some
significance. - Low precipitation and high evaporation make it a water-deficit region.
- There are some streams which disappear after flowing for some distance and present a typical case of inland drainage by joining a lake orplaya.
- The lakes and the playas have brackish water which is the main source of obtaining salt.
The Coastal Plains
- On the basis of the location and active geomorphological processes, it can be broadly divided into two:
- (i) the western coastal plains;
- (ii) the eastern coastal plains.
- The western coastal plains are an example of the submerged coastal plain.
- It is believed that the city of Dwaraka which was once a part of the Indian mainland situated along the west coast is submerged underwater. Because of this submergence, it is a narrow belt and provides natural conditions for the development of ports and harbours. Kandla, Mazagaon, JLN port Navha Sheva, Marmagao, Mangalore, Cochin, etc. are some of the important natural ports located along the west coast.
- western coast may be divided into following divisions –1- the
Kachchh and Kathiawar coast in Gujarat, 2- Konkan coast in Maharashtra, 3- Goan coast and Malabar coast in Karnataka and Kerala respectively. - The rivers flowing through this coastal plain do not form any delta.
- The Malabar coast has got certain distinguishing features in the form of Kayals‘ (backwaters), which are used for fishing, inland navigation and also due to its special attraction for tourists. Every year the famous Nehru Trophy Vallamkali (boat race) is held in Punnamada Kayal in Kerala.
- The eastern coastal plains broader and is an example of an emergent coast.
- There are well- developed deltas here, formed by the rivers flowing eastward into the Bay of Bengal.
- These include the deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri.
- Because of its emergent nature, it has less number of ports and harbours. (The continental shelf extends up to 500 km into the sea, which makes it difficult for the development of good ports and harbours.
The Islands
- There are two major island groups in India – one in the Bay of Bengal and the other in the Arabian Sea.
The Bay of Bengal island groups consists of about 572 islands/islets. - These are situated roughly between 6°N-14°N and 92°E -94°E.
- The two principal groups of islets include Ritchie‘s archipelago and the Labrynth island. The entire group of island is divided into two broad categories – the Andaman in the north and the Nicobar in the south.
- They are separated by a water body which is called the Ten degree
channel here islands are an elevated portion of submarine mountains. - However, some smaller islands are volcanic in origin. The Barren island, the only an active volcano in India is also situated in the Nicobar Islands.
- The coastal line has some coral deposits and beautiful beaches. These islands receive convectional rainfall and have an equatorial type of vegetation.
- The islands of the Arabian sea include Lakshadweep and Minicoy.
- These are scattered between 8°N-12°N and 71°E -74°E longitude.
- These islands are located at a distance of280 km-480 km off Kerala the coast is built of coral deposits.
- There are approximately 36 islands of which 11 are inhabited.
- Minicoy is the largest island with an area of 453 sq. km.
- The entire group of islands is broadly divided by the Eleventh-degree channel, north of which is the Amini Island and to the south of the Canannore Island.
- The Islands of this archipelago have storm beaches consisting of
unconsolidated pebbles, shingles, cobbles and boulders on the eastern seaboard
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