Indian Geographical Facts All in One

Geography Facts about India
Following are the Geography Facts about India.

India Political MapLocation

•The Union of India is the seventh largest country in the world covering an area of 32,87,590 square kilometers and it is an important country of south Asia.
•South Asia has a total area of about 4.488 million sq. km out of which India has the largest area (3.287 sq. km). It occupies 73.2 % of total area.
•It is 4 times largest than Pakistan which is second largest in South Asia. India is 12 times largest that UK and 8 times largest than Japan.
•The mainland stretches from latitude 8o4' north to 37o6' north and from longitude 68o7' east to 97o25' east of Greenwhich. The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the country is almost same in degrees i.e. about 30 degrees.
•The southernmost point in Indian Territory, (in Great Nicobar Islands) is the Indira Point (6o45’ ), while Kanyakumari, also known as Cape Comorin, is the southernmost point of Indian mainland. The country thus lies wholly in the northern and eastern hemispheres.
•The 82o30' E longitude is taken as Standard Time Meridian of India, as it passes through the middle of India (from Naini, near Allahabad.) Hence Naini, Near Allahabad is the Standard Time of India.
•The country is of a vast size and measures about 3,214 kilometers from north to south and about 2,933 kilometers from west to east.
•Indian Standard Time:- GMT +05:30
•Telephone Country Code:- +91
•Coastline:- 7,516.6 km encompassing the mainland, Lakshadweep Islands, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

India Geological Era

India has its own geological eras and periods. The standard geological eras are
1.The Pre-Cambrian (over 570 million years old)
2.The Paleozoic (245-570 million years old)
3.The Mesozoic (66-245 million years old)
4.The Cenozoic (66 million years old to the present)
The Indian Geological eras are 1.The Archean or Early Pre-Cambrian
2.The Purana or Late Pre Cambrian
3.The Dravidian (400-570 million years old)
4.The Aryan (400 million years old to the present)
The Pre Cambrian derives its names from Wales in the United Kingdom. The periods got their names from places where rock formations of that period were formed. The Pre-Cambrians do not contain fossils of plants and animals. The Paleozoic have the fossils of very early lives, the Mesozoic have middle lives and the Cenozoic recent lives.

Major Geological Formations of India

Indian Era Standard Geological Eras and Periods Duration of Period (in million years) Age from beginning (in million years) Major Formation in Peninsula Major Formations in Extra Peninsula
Aryan Cenozoic
 Quaternary
 (Recent Pleistocene) Tertiary
 (Pliocene Miocene)
 Eocene
 Mesozoic
 Cretaceous
 Jurassic Triassic Less than 2 2 or 3 Newer Alluvial deserts, laterites Formation of Ganga Plains
Dravidain Paleozoic
 Permian
 Carboniferous
 Devonian Silurian
 Ordovician 64 - Tertiary Coastal Deposits Formation of Himalayas
Purana Pre-Cambrian
 Late Pre-Cambrian - 570

India Area and Boundaries

Following are the India Area and Boundaries details :-
•India stretches 3,214 km from N to S & 2933 km from E to W.
•Area:- 32,87,263 sq. km. Accounts for 2.4 % of total world area and 16 % of the population
•Mainland India has a coastline of 6,100 km. Including the Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar, the coastline measures about 7516. km
•In India, total land mass is 1.Plains : - 43.3 %
2.Plateaus :- 27.7 %
3.Hills :- 18.6 %
4.Mountains:- 10.7 %
•In the south, on the eastern side, the Gulf of Mannar & the Palk Strait separate India from Sri Lanka
•Total land neighbours of India are 7 . These are 1.Pakistan
2.Afghanistan
3.China
4.Nepal
5.Sri Lanka
6.Bhutan
7.Bangladesh and
8.Myanmar
•India’s Islands include the Andaman & Nicobar Islands in Bay of Bangal & Lakshadweep, Minocy & Amindive Islands in the Arabian Sea
Facts about Position of States of India
•Uttar Pradesh border maximum number of states:- 8 (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar)

•Tropic of Cancer passes through 8 (Eight) states:- Gujara, Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.

•India standard Meridian (82030’ E meridian) passes through UP, MP, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
Indian States on International boundaries
Bordering Pakistan Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujrat
Bordering China Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh
Bordering Nepal Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal
Bordering Bangladesh West Bengal, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Asom
Bordering Bhutan West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Asom
Bordering Myanmar Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram
Bordering Afghanistan Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan-Occupied Area).

Important Rivers of India

Following are the important rivers of India

Name	Origin From	Fall into	Length (km)
Ganges	Combined Sources	Bay of Bengal	2525
Satluj	Mansarovar Rakas Lakes	Chenab	1050
Indus	Near Mansarovar Lake	Arabian Sea	2880
Ravi	Kullu Hills near Rohtang Pass	Chenab	720
Beas	Near Rohtang Pass	Satluj	470
Jhelum	Verinag in Kashmir	Chenab	725
Yamuna	Yamunotri	Ganga	1375
Chambal	M.P.	Yamuna	1050
Ghagra	Matsatung Glacier	Ganga	1080
Kosi	Near Gosain Dham Park	Ganga	730
Betwa	Vindhyanchal	Yamuna	480
Son	Amarkantak	Ganga	780
Brahmaputra	Near Mansarovar Lake	Bay of Bengal	2900
Narmada	Amarkantak	Gulf of Khambat	1057
Tapti	Betul Distt. Of MP	Gulf of Khambat	724
Mahanadi	Raipur Distt. In Chattisgarh	Bay of Bengal	858
Luni	Aravallis	Rann of kuchchh	450
Ghaggar	Himalayas	Near Fatehabad	494
Sabarmati	Aravallis	Gulf of Khambat	416
Krishna	Western ghats	Bay of Bengal	1327
Godavari	Nasik distt. In Maharashtra	Bay of Bengal	1465
Cauvery	Brahmagir Range of Western Ghats	Bay of Bengal	805
Tungabhadra	Western Ghats	Krishna River	640

 

Important National Highways

NH Name	Route	Distance
NH-1	Jalandhar – Uri	663
NH-1A	New Delhi-Ambala-Jalandhar-Amritsar	456
NH-2	Delhi-Mathura-Agra-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi-Kolkata	1465
NH-3	Agra-Gwalior-Nasik-Mumbai	1161
NH-4	Thane and Chennai via Pune and Belgaun	1235
NH-5	Kolkata - Chennai	1533
NH-6	Kolkata – Dhule	1949
NH-7	Varanasi – Kanyakumari	2369
NH-8	Delhi-Mumbai-(vai Jaipur, Baroda and Ahmedabad)	1428
NH-9	Mumbai-Vijaywada	841
NH-10	Delhi-Fazilka	403
NH-11	Agra- Bikaner	582
NH-12	Jabalpur-Jaipur	890
NH-13	Sholapur-Mangalore	691
NH-15	Pathankot-Samakhiali	1526
NH-17	Panvel-Edapally	1269
NH-22	Ambala-Shipkitr	459
NH-28	Lucknow-Barauni	570
NH-31	Barhi-Guwahati	1125
NH-37	Panchratna (near Goalpara) – Saiknoaghat	680
NH-44	Shillong-Sabroom	630
NH-49	Cochin-Dhanshkodi	440
NH-52	Baihata-Junction NH-47 (near Saikhoaghat)	850
NH-65	Ambala-Pali	690
NH-75	Gwalior-Ranchi	955
NH-76	Pindwara-Allahabad	1007
NH-78	Katni-Gumla	559
NH-86	Kanpur-Dewas	674
NH-91	Ghaziabad-Kanpur	405
NH-150	Aizawl-Kohima	700
NH-200	Raipur-Chandikhal	740
NH-205	Ananthapur-Chennai	442
NH-209	Dindigul-Bengaluru	456
NH-211	Solapur-Dhule	400
NH-217	Raipur-Gopalpur	508
NH-220	Kollam (Quilon)-Teui	265

Major Ports in India

Following are the major Ports in India.

Western Coast : : Eastern Coast
Kandla (child of partition) : :Kolkata-Haldia (riverine port)
Mumbai (busiest and biggest): : Paradip (exports raw iron to Japan)
Jawahar Lal Nehru (fastest growing) : : Vishakjapatnam (deepest port)
Marmugao (naval base also) : : Chennai (oldest and artifical)
Mangalore (exports Kudremukh iron-ore): : Ennore (most modern-in private hands)
Cochin (natural Harbour) : : Tuticorin (southernmost )

Few Facts about some port:- Among major ports, Mumbai is the biggest. Kandla is a tidal port. Marmugao enjoys the second position by value of the tonnage of the bulk of which is export of Iron core. Vishakhapatnam is the deepest land-locked and protected port. Chennai has an artificial harbour, Kolkata is a riverine port, Haldia has a fully equipped containerised berth.
Shipping:- Overseas shipping has an extremely important role to play in India’s international trade. The country has the largest merchant shipping fleet among developing countries and ranks 17th in the world in shipping tonnage. There were 102 shipping companies in country operating as on 31 March 2000, includes shipping corporation of India, a public sector undertaking.

Important River Valley Projects in India

Following are the important river valley projects in India
Bhakra Nangal Project On Sutlej in Punjab. Highest in India.Ht. 226m. Reservoir is called Gobind Sagar Lake.
Mandi Project On Beas in HP
Chambal Valley Project On Chambal in MP & Rajasthan, 3 dams are there:- Gandhi Sagar Dam, Rana Pratap Sagar Dam and Jawahar Sagar Dam
Damodar Valley Project On Damodar in Bihar, Based on Tennessee Valley Project USA
Hirakud Project On Mahanadi in Orrisa, World’s Longest Dam: 4801m
Rihand Project On Son in Mirzapur, Reservoir is called Gobind Vallabh Pant reservoir.
Kosi Project On Kosi in N.Bihar
Mayurkashi Project On Mayurkashi in West Bengal
Kakrapara Project On Tapi in Gujrat
Nizamsagar Project On Manjra in Andhra Pradesh
Nagarjuna Sagar Project On Krishna in Andhra Pradesh
Tugabhadra Project On Tugabhadra in Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka
Shivasamudram Project On Cauvery in Karnataka. It is the older river valley project in India.
Tata Hydel Scheme On Bhima in Maharashtra
Sharavathi Hydel Project On Jog Falls in Karnataka
Kundah & Periyar Project In Tamil Nadu
Farakka Project On Ganga in WB. Apart from power and irrigation it helps to remove silt for easy navigation.
Ukai Project On Tapti in Gujarat
Mahi Project On Mahi in Gujarat
Salal Project On Chenab in J&K
Mata Tila Multipurpose Project On Betwa in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
Thein Project On Ravi, Punjab.
Pong Dam On Beas, Punjab
Tehri Dam On Bhgirathi, Uttarakhand
Sardar Sarovar Project On Narmada, Gujarat/MP.

Indian Towns On Rivers

Town :: River
Allahabad : : At the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna
Patna : : Ganga
Varansi : : Ganga
Kanpur : : Ganga
Haridwar : : Ganga
Badrinath : : Alaknanda
Agra : : Yamuna
Delhi : : Yamuna
Mathura : : Yamuna
Ferozpur : : Satluj
Ludhiana : : Satluj
Srinagar : : Jhelum
Lucknow : : Gomti
Jaunpur : : Gomti
Ayodhya : : Saryu
Bareillly : : Ram ganga
Ahmedabad : : Sabarmati
Kota : : Chambal
Jabalpur : : Narmada
Panji : : Mandavi
Ujjain : : Kashipra
Surat : : Tapti
Jamshedpur : : Swarnarekha
Dibrugarh : : Brahmaputra
Guwahati : : Brahmaputra
Kolkata : : Hooghly
Sambalpur : : Mahanadi
Cuttack : : Mahanadi
Serirangapatnam : : Cauvery
Hyderabad : : Musi
Nasik : : Godavari
Vijayawada : : Krishna
Curnool : : Tungabhadra
Tiruchirapalli : : Cauvery
Cuttack : :Mahanadi

Nick Name of Indian Places

Nick Name : : Place
Golden City : : Amritsar
Manchester of India : : Ahmedabad
City of seven islands : : Mumbai
Sorrow of Bengal : : Damoda river
Sorrow of Bihar : : Kosi River
Blue Mountains : : Nilgiri
Queen of Arabian Sea : : Kochi
Space City : : Bengaluru
Garden City of India : : Bengaluru
Silicon valley of India : : Bengaluru
Electronic City of India : : Bengaluru
Pink City : : Jaipur
Gateway of India : : Mumbai
Twin City Hyderabad : : Sikandarabad
City of festivals : : Mudurai
Deccan Queen : : Pune
City of Buildings : : Kolkata
Dakshin Ganga : : Godavari
Old Ganga : : Godavari
Egg bowls of Asia : : Andhra Pradesh
Soya region : : Madhya Pradesh
Manchester of the South : : Coimbator
City of Nawabs : : Lucknow
Venice of the east : : Kochi
Queen of the Mountains : : Mussoorie (Uttarkhand)
Sacred river: : Ganga
Hollywood of India : : Mumbai
City of Castles : : Kolkata
State of five rivers : : Punjab
City of weavers : : Panipat
City of lakes : : Srinagar
Steel city of India : : Jamshedpur (called Tatanagar)
City of Temples : : Varanasi
Manchester of the north : : Kanpur
City of Rallies : : New Delhi
Heaven of India : : Jammu & Kashmir
Boston of India : : Ahmedabad
Garden of spices of India : : Kerala
Switzerland of India : : Kashmir
Abode of the God : : Prayag (Allahabad)
Pittsburg of India : : Jamshedpur

Ocean

•India lies midway between the Far East and the Middle East. The trans-Indian Ocean routes connecting the industrially developed countries of Europe in the west and the underdeveloped countries of east Asia pass close by. India being centrally located in South Asia, she enjoys an advantageous-position for doing trade with Australia and the countries of Africa, the Middle East and the Far East. Thus, India dominates the Indian Ocean and commands an important strategic position. Her land frontier is 15,200 kilometers long. Her northern borderland, being mountainous, is very difficult to cross and it offers very few transport facilities for trade with the arid, almost barren and very sparsely populated regions of Central Asia. India has a coastline of 6,100 kilometers in the main land and she depends on the Indian Ocean for bulk of her foreign trade. The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep group of Islands and Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands is 7,519.5 km.

India Facts

Territorial Sea 12 nm (nautical miles)
Contiguous Zone 24 nm
Exclusive economic Zone 200 nm
Continental Shelf 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Longest River Ganga
Largest Lake Lake Chilka
Highest Point Mt. K2 (8611 m)
Highest Point of Himalaya Kanchan Junga (8,598 m)
Lowest Point Kuttanad (-2.2 m)
Northernmost Point Siachen Glacier near Karakoram
Southernmost Point Indira Point, Great Nicobar, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Southernmost Point of India (Mainland) Cape Comorin (Kanya Kumari)
Westernmost Point West of Ghuar Mota, Gujarat
Easternmost Point Kibithu, Arunachal Pradesh
Highest Altitude Kanchenjunga, Sikkim
Lowest Altitude Kuttanad (Kerala)
Physical Boundaries :- The sub-continent is isolated in a remarkable way from the rest of Asia, making it a geographical unit. For example, barring the plateau of Baluchistan the two great ranges, namely, the Sulaiman and the Kirthar, cut it off from the west. Along the North the great mountains wall formed by the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and the Himalayas, cut it off the countries that lie beyond as the mountains are very high and difficult to cross. Similarly, the Southward offshoots of the Eastern Himalayas separate it from Burma.
The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the country is almost the same in degrees i.e. about 30 degrees. But in kilometers, the north-south distance (about 3,200 km) is more than that of the east-west.
The Himalayas and other lofty mountains- Muztagh Ata, Aghil Kunlun Mountains to the north of Kashmir and south eastern portion of Zaskar mountains to east of Himachal Pradesh - from India's northern boundary, except in the Nepal region. She is adjoined in the north by China, Nepal and Bhutan. A series of mountain ranges in the east separate India from Burma. Also, in the east, lies Bangladesh bounded by Indian States of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. In the north-west, Afghanistan and Pakistan border on India. The Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait separate India from Srilanka.
Locational Advantage:- India is a unique country as it is easily accessible to other parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and Americas. Its cultural influences have crossed its border from time immemorial and reached far off lands. It acts as a bridge head between developed and developing countries of the world and between the East and the West. India's strength lies in its geography as much as in its culture. Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, distance between India and Europe has been reduced by 7000 kms. India enjoys a favourable ocean routes from East and South-East Asia and Australia to Africa and Europe pass through Indian Ocean. India is connected with the Cape of Good Hope and the Suez Canal. India can also reach Canada and the USA through the Strait of Malacca after crossing the Pacific Ocean.