Himalayan mountains, Northern Plains Peninsular Platue Islans Coastal Plains

2. Physiographic Divisions of India
On the basis of Physiographic features India can be divided
into four (4) major divisions. They are:
1. The Northern Mountains
2. The Northern Great Plains
3. The Peninsular Plateau
4. The Coastal Plains and Islands

4. 1. The Northern Mountains

5. • The Northern Mountains comprise of the Himalayas which are a group
of young fold mountains.
• They extend as a continuous chain along the northern boundary of
India.
• They are the Highest mountain ranges in the world.
• They have highest peaks , deep valleys and gorges, glaciers, passes etc.
1. The Northern Mountains

6. In India The Northern
Mountains extend from
the Indus Gorge in the
west to the Brahmaputra
gorge in the East for 2400
KMs.
1. The Northern Mountains

7. • The width varies from 240 to 320 Kms.
• They broader in West and narrower in the east.
• They cover an area of about 5 lakh square KM
• Generally these mountains have steep slopes towards India (South) and gentle
slopes towards Tibet (North)
1. The Northern Mountains

8. • The Northern
mountains consists of
3 parallel ranges:
1. Greater Himalayas
2. Lesser Himalayas
3. Siwalik Hills
1. The Northern Mountains

9. They are the inner most, continuous and highest ranges .
The average height of this range is 6100 meters.
These ranges have many high peaks , of which Mount Everest(8848 meters) is the highest
peak in the world.
The other peaks are:
• Kanchanajunga (8559 meter)
• Makulu (8481 meters)
• Dhaulgiri ( 8172 meters)
• Manaslu (8156 meters)
• Nandadevi etc
As greater Himalayas are covered with snow through out the year, these ranges are called
“Himadri”
I. Greater Himalayas/Himadri

11. Greater Himalayas are the home of many glaciers, such as Gangotri and Yamunotri
glaciers
There are many Passes, such as Burzil pass, Lozi la Pass, Shipkila Pass.
The mountains laying to the north west of the Himadri are called Trans Himalayas.
They comprise of Karakoram range, where the highest peak K2 or Mount Godwin
Austin is located. It is the highest peak of India.
I. Greater Himalayas cont…

12. II. Lesser Himalayas/ Himachal
• These ranges are located to the south of the greater Himalayas.
• Lesser Himalayas are also known as “Himachal”
• Lesser Himalayas are 60 to 80 Kms wide and 1500 to 4500 meters high
• Lesser Himalayas Eastern part is covered with forest
• There are many parallel ranges in the lesser Himalayas such as :The Pir
Panjal,The Dhaula Dhar,The Naga Tribe,The Mussorie ,The Mahabharat And the
Darjeeeling ranges
Lesser Himalayas contains many valleys such as :Kashmir Valley,Kangra Valley,Kulu
Valley Etc.
These are also noted for hill stations such as shimla , Ranikhet, Mussorie, Nainital
and Darjeeling.

14. III. The Shiwalik Hills
• They are the outer most range or Foot Hills located to the south of the
main Himalayas.
• Therefore they are also known as “Outer Himalaya.
• They are the lowest range of the Himalayas, with a height of 600 to
1500 meters and width varying from 15 to 150 Kms.
• They extend Jammu in the west to Arunachal Pardesh in the east.
• They have flat bottom, structured valleys, which are known as
Doons,Such as Dehradoon.

16. • I. Fill in the blanks with suitable answers:
1. The greater Himalayas also known as ________
Exercises

17. • I. Fill in the blanks with suitable answers:
1. The greater Himalayas also known as ________
Answer: Himadri
Exercises

18. • I. Fill in the blanks with suitable answers:
2. The Lesser Himalayas are also known as _____
Exercises

19. • I. Fill in the blanks with suitable answers:
2. The Lesser Himalayas are also known as _____
Answer: Himachal
Exercises

20. • II. Discuss in groups answer the following
questions:
• 2. Write Briefly about Shiwalik Hills.
Exercises

21. • II. Discuss in groups answer the following questions:
• 2. Write Briefly about Shiwalik Hills.
• Answer:
• They are the outer most range or Foot Hills located to the south of the main
Himalayas.
• Therefore they are also known as “Outer Himalaya.
• They are the lowest range of the Himalayas, with a height of 600 to 1500
meters and width varying from 15 to 150 Kms.
• They extend Jammu in the west to Arunachal Pardesh in the east.
• They have flat bottom, structured valleys, which are known as Doons,Such as
Dehradoon.
Exercises

22. II. Discuss in groups answer the following questions:
1. Which are the main Physiographic divisions of India.
Exercises

23. II. Discuss in groups answer the following questions:
1. Which are the main Physiographic divisions of India.
Answer: On the basis of Physiographic features India can be divided into
four (4) major divisions. They are:
1. The Northern Mountains
2. The Northern Great Plains
3. The Peninsular Plateau
4. The Coastal Plains and Islands
Exercises

24. III. Activities
1. Draw the Outline map of India and show the
major Physical divisions of India.
Exercises

26. 2. The Northern Great Plains