India is situated north of the Equator, extending from 8°4' North latitude (mainland) to 37°6' North latitude, and from 68°7' East longitude to 97°25' East longitude. It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total area of 3,287,263 square kilometers (1,269,219 square miles). India stretches 3,214 km (1,997 miles) from north to south and 2,933 km (1,822 miles) from east to west. It has a land frontier of 15,200 km (9,445 miles) and a coastline of 7,516.6 km (4,671 miles).
To the south, India extends into and is bounded by the Indian Ocean—specifically, by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Laccadive Sea to the southwest, the Bay of Bengal to the east, and the main Indian Ocean to the south. The Palk Strait and the Gulf of Munnar separate India from Sri Lanka, which lies directly to its southeast; the Maldives are situated across the 'Eight Degree Channel,' approximately 125 kilometers (78 miles) south of India's Lakshadweep islands. India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands, located approximately 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) southeast of the mainland, share maritime boundaries with Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia. The southernmost tip of the Indian mainland (8°4′38″N, 77°31′56″E) is located just south of Kanyakumari, while India's southernmost point is 'Indira Point,' situated on Great Nicobar Island. The northernmost point under Indian administration is 'Indira Col,' located on the Siachen Glacier. India's territorial waters extend up to a distance of 12 nautical miles (13.8 miles; 22.2 km) into the sea from the coastline. India possesses the 18th-largest 'Exclusive Economic Zone' (EEZ), covering an area of 2,305,143 square kilometers (890,021 square miles).
India's northern borders are primarily defined by the Himalayan mountain range, where the country's boundaries meet those of China, Bhutan, and Nepal. Its western border with Pakistan traverses the Karakoram and Western Himalayan ranges, the Punjab Plains, the Thar Desert, and the marshy regions of the Ran of Kutch. In the far northeast, the Chin Hills and Kachin Hills—densely forested mountainous regions—separate India from Myanmar. To the east, its border with Bangladesh is largely defined by the Khasi and Mizo Hills, as well as the watershed region of the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
The Ganges is the longest river originating within India. The Ganges-Brahmaputra river system encompasses the majority of northern, central, and eastern India, while the Deccan Plateau extends across most of southern India. Located in the Indian state of Sikkim, Kanchenjunga—standing at an elevation of 8,586 meters (28,169 feet)—is India's highest point and the third-highest peak in the world. India exhibits a wide diversity of climates across its expanse, ranging from an equatorial climate in the far south to alpine and tundra climates in the upper reaches of the Himalayas. Geologically, India is situated on the 'Indian Plate,' which forms the northern segment of the 'Indo-Australian Plate.'
Geological Evolution
India is situated entirely on the Indian Plate, a major tectonic plate. It formed when it separated from the ancient supercontinent of Gondwanaland (an ancient landmass that comprised the southern portion of the supercontinent Pangea). The Indo-Australian Plate is subdivided into the Indian and Australian plates. Approximately 90 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period, the Indian Plate began drifting northward at a speed of about 15 cm per year (6 inches per year). Approximately 50 to 55 million years ago—during the Eocene epoch of the Cenozoic Era—after traversing a distance of 2,000 to 3,000 km (1,243 to 1,864 miles), the plate collided with Asia; it had moved faster than any other known plate. In 2007, German geologists discovered that the Indian Plate was able to move so rapidly because it is only half as thick as the other plates that originally constituted Gondwanaland. The collision with the Eurasian Plate along the modern boundary between India and Nepal created an orogenic belt, leading to the formation of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. As of 2009, the Indian Plate continues to drift northeastward at a speed of 5 cm per year (2 inches per year), while the Eurasian Plate is moving northward at a rate of only 2 cm per year (0.8 inches per year). Consequently, India is referred to as the "fastest continent." This movement is causing deformation in the Eurasian Plate, while the Indian Plate is experiencing compression at a rate of 4 cm per year (1.6 inches per year).
Political Geography
India is divided into 28 states (which are further subdivided into districts) and 8 Union Territories, including the National Capital Territory (i.e., Delhi). The total length of India's borders is 15,200 km (9,400 miles).
Its borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh were demarcated according to the Radcliffe Line, which was established during the Partition of India in 1947. Its western border with Pakistan extends for 3,323 km (2,065 miles); it bisects the Punjab region and passes through the edges of the Thar Desert and the Ran of Kutch. This border traverses the Indian states and Union Territories of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. Both countries have established a 'Line of Control' (LoC), which serves as an informal boundary between the Indian-administered and Pakistan-administered parts of the Kashmir region. India lays claim to the entire former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir; this includes territories currently administered by Pakistan and China, which India regards as 'illegally occupied territories.'
India's border with Bangladesh is 4,096.70 km (2,545.57 miles) long. West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram are the states that share borders with Bangladesh. Prior to 2015, there were 92 Bangladeshi enclaves (encircled territories) situated within Indian territory, and 106 Indian enclaves situated within Bangladeshi territory. To simplify the border, these enclaves were eventually exchanged. Following this exchange, India ceded approximately 40 square kilometers (9,900 acres) of land to Bangladesh. The 'Line of Actual Control' (LAC) serves as the effective boundary between India and the 'People's Republic of China.' It extends for 4,057 km, passing through the Indian states and Union Territories of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. India's border with Burma (Myanmar) stretches for 1,643 km (1,021 miles); it runs along the eastern frontiers of India's northeastern states—Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram. Situated amidst the Himalayan mountain range, India's border with Bhutan is 699 km (434 miles) long. Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh are the states that share a border with Bhutan. The border with Nepal extends for 1,751 km (1,088 miles) along the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim are the states that share a border with Nepal. The Siliguri Corridor—which has become quite narrow due to its proximity to the borders of Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh—connects Peninsular India to the northeastern states.
Geographical Region
Regions
India can be divided into six geographical regions. They are as follows:
Northern Mountains: The Himalayas
Peninsular Plateau: This includes mountain ranges (the Aravalli, Vindhya chill, and Sat Pura ranges), Ghats (the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats), and plateaus (the Mulwa Plateau, Chhota Nagpur Plateau, Southern Granulite Region, Deccan Plateau, and Kutch-Kathiawar Plateau).
Indo-Gangetic Plain or Northern Plains
Thar Desert
Coastal Plains: The fold mountains of the Eastern Ghats and the fold mountains of the Western Ghats
Islands: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep Islands.
The Himalayas
An arc of mountains—comprising the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, and the Pat kai ranges—delineates the northern boundaries of the Indian subcontinent. These mountain ranges were formed by the continuous collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. These ranges harbor some of the world's highest peaks, serving as a barrier against cold polar winds. They also facilitate the advancement of monsoon winds, which, in turn, influence India's climate. Rivers originating from these mountains flow through the fertile Indo-Gangetic Plain. These mountains form a boundary between two biogeographical realms: the temperate Palearctic realm, which covers most of Eurasia, and the tropical and subtropical Indomalaya realm, which encompasses South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia.
Within India, the Himalayas stretch from Ladakh in the north to the state of Arunachal Pradesh in the east. Several Himalayan peaks in India rise to heights exceeding 7,000 meters (23,000 feet), including Kanchenjunga (8,598 meters / 28,209 feet) on the Sikkim-Nepal border and Nanda Devi (7,816 meters / 25,643 feet) in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand. The snow line varies from 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) in Sikkim to approximately 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) in Ladakh. The Himalayas act as a barrier against the extremely cold katabatic winds blowing southward from Central Asia. Consequently, northern India remains warm—or merely mildly cool—during the winter months; in the summer, this same phenomenon renders India relatively warm.
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