Indian Geography

 

INDIA

 

1. In the north, it is bound by the lofty Himalayas.

2. The Arabian Sea in the west

3. The Bay of Bengal in the east and the Indian Ocean in the south

4. The north-south extent from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is about 3,200 km.

5. And the east-west extent from Arunachal Pradesh to Kutch is about 2,900 km.

 

LOCATIONAL SETTING

 

1. India is located in the northern hemisphere

2. The Tropic of Cancer (23°30 ' N) passes almost halfway through the country

3. From south to north, India extends between 8°4' N and37°6' N latitudes.

4. From west to east, India extends between 68°7 ' E and97°25 'E longitudes. 

5. The southernmost point of the Indian Union– ‘Indira Point’ got submerged under the sea water in 2004 during the Tsunami.

 

SIZE

 

1. An area of 3.28 million square km.

2. India’s total area accounts for about 2.4 per cent of the total geographical area of the world.

3. India is the seventh largest country of the world.

4. India has a land boundary of about 15,200 km

5. The total length of the coast line of the mainland including Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep is 7,516.6 km.

6. India is bounded by the young fold mountains in the northwest, north and north east.

7. From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh there is a time lag of two hours.

8. Hence, time along the Standard Meridian of India (82°30'E) passing through Mirzapur (in Uttar Pradesh) is taken as the standard time for the whole country.

9. Rajasthan is the largest state

10. Goa is the smallest state in terms of area.

11. No other country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has and indeed, it is India’s eminent position in the Indian Ocean which justifies the naming of an Ocean after it.

12. Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance from Europe has been reduced by 7,000 km.