India is the largest country in South Asia. A subcontinent is a large landmass that is distinct from but connected to a larger landmass. Over 1 billion people live in India. The Himalayas mountain range serves as the border between the Indian subcontinent and China. The Hindu Kush mountains lie at the west end of the Himalayas. An archipelago is a group of islands. An atoll is a low-lying ring-shaped coral reef surrounding a lagoon.

1. South Asia:
Landforms and Resources
Indian Awesomeness

2. South Asia:

3. Mountains and Plateaus
• The most noticeable
terrain feature of the
subcontinent is the
Himalayan Mountains.

4. • That’s one reason it’s sometimes called the subcontinent,
because it’s like a continent in itself.
• When India hits Asia, the Indian plate subducts beneath the
Eurasian plate, but the crust is forced upwards, producing the
Himalayas, the world’s tallest mountain chain.
• In fact, the Himalayas are still growing at about 5 mm per
year because the Indian plate is pushing in at about 67 mm
per year.
Himilayas
Indian Plate

7. • The Himalayas, of course, are where Mt. Everest is.
It’s 29,035 feet high –
that’s 5.5 miles.

9. • Hindu Kush Mountains
• Along the western end of the Himalayas. Provide a
barrier between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

10. Former Taliban and
Osama bin Laden used
the Hindu Kush
mountains as hiding
places.

11. • Khyber Pass is
here which is a
traditional route
of invasion for
everybody from
Alexander the
Great to the
British.
• At its
narrowest, it’s
just 15 yards
wide.

12. Khyber Pass, looking from Afghanistan to Pakistan

13. • The rivers carry a great deal of alluvial soil (silt) that
gets deposited on the alluvial plains and makes for an
exceptionally fertile area.
• These plains support a massive population. Most of
India’s 1 billion people live around here.

14. Population Density
United States
 281,422,000 people  1,002,142,000 people
 3,787,319 square miles  1,195,063 square miles
 74.3 ppl/ sq mile  839 ppl/ sq mile

15. Offshore Islands
• Sri Lanka
• Quite tropical, with a mountain chain in the center
and rivers flowing from them.
• Sri Lanka is its own country and not part of India.

17. • The Maldives
• A collection of 1,200 islands that make up an
archipelago (a collection of islands).
• The islands are actually the tops of volcanoes
surrounded by coral to make up smaller atolls.
• They’re short too. The highest point of the island
country is 7.5 feet above sea level.
• The total land area is only 115 square miles, but has
400 miles of coastline.
• Of the 1,200 islands, only about 200 are inhabited.

19. • A better look at the atolls (low-lying tops of
submerged volcanoes, surrounded by coral reefs and
shallow lagoons).

23. Natural Resources
• There’s a lot that’s dependent on water and soil.
• Those rivers and their soil provide for a lot of
irrigation and rich farmland.
• That makes for a lot of agriculture as well as river-
based products like fish in addition to sea fishing.
• The navigable rivers and the coastlines are good for
transportation.

24. • Forests
• The timber industry is big.
• Rain forests produce teak, bamboo, and
sandalwood.
• Highland forests produce pine, fir, and others.
• Deforestation is a big problem, however.

25. • Minerals
• Coal, iron, uranium, diamonds, rubies, sapphires.

26. Chapter 24, sec. 1 questions
1. Name the largest country in South Asia.
2. What is a subcontinent?
3. How many people live in India?
4. Name the mountain range that serves as the
border between the Indian subcontinent and
China.
5. Name the mountains that lie at the west end of
the Himalayas.
6. What is an archipelago?
7. What is an atoll?