Land, rivers and climate
AI-drafted · awaiting admin review
India stretches from the snows of the Himalaya to the tropical seas of the south. It has six broad physical regions, great river systems and a climate shaped by the monsoon.
Physical regions
- The Himalayan mountains in the north, with the world's highest peaks and glaciers that feed the great rivers.
- The Northern Plains of the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra, among the most fertile lands on Earth.
- The Peninsular Plateau (Deccan), bordered by the Western and Eastern Ghats.
- The Thar (Great Indian) Desert in the north-west.
- The coastal plains along the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
- The island groups: Andaman & Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.
Rivers
- Himalayan rivers flow all year round: the Ganga and Yamuna, the Brahmaputra, and the Indus with its tributaries Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Satluj.
- Peninsular rivers depend on rain: the Godavari (the longest of them), Krishna, Kaveri and Mahanadi flow east. The Narmada and Tapi flow west.
Climate
- The south-west monsoon (June–September) brings most of India's rain. Mawsynram and Sohra (Cherrapunji) in Meghalaya are among the wettest places on Earth, while Dras in Ladakh is among the coldest inhabited places.
- The Tropic of Cancer passes through eight States: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.
Land borders (Ministry of Home Affairs)
- Bangladesh 4,096.7 km · China 3,488 km · Pakistan 3,323 km · Nepal 1,751 km · Myanmar 1,643 km · Bhutan 699 km · Afghanistan 106 km. Total 15,106.7 km.
Living wealth
- India has four of the world's 36 biodiversity hotspots: the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, and Sundaland (Nicobar Islands).
- About three-quarters of the world's wild tigers live in India (3,682 estimated in 2022). Gir in Gujarat is the only home of the Asiatic lion. Kaziranga holds the largest population of the one-horned rhinoceros.