MAIN REGIONS OF INDIA

Regions of India 1) Blue: Eastern India; 2) Brownish orange: Northern India; 3) Yellow: Central India with the Ganges Plains; 4) Red: Northeastern India, 5) Green: Western India, with the Thar Desert ; 6) Purple: Southern India

There are three main broad regions of India: 1) the Himalayas in the north; 2) the broad and flat alluvial Ganges River plain to the south of the the Himalayas; and 3) Peninsula, or South India, which juts into the Indian Ocean, creating the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. There are also small island chains offshore. Geologically the the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas— are grouped together and collectively known as North India. These and other portions of India can be classified into diverse physiological regions that include highlands, plains, deserts, and river valleys. The country’s lowest elevation is zero meters at the Indian Ocean, and the highest is 8,598 meters at Kanchenjunga, which is the third highest mountain in the world and located in the Himalayas. [Source: Library of Congress *]

The Himalayas (and the nations of Nepal and Bhutan) form India's northern frontier with China. Pakistan borders India to the west and Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) to the east. Although both were formerly part of the British Indian Empire, India and Pakistan became separate countries in 1947 and East Pakistan became independent Bangladesh in 1971. The boundaries of the Indian polity are not fully demarcated because of regional ethnic and political disputes and are the source of occasional tensions. *

On the basis of its physiography, India is divided into ten regions: the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the northern mountains of the Himalayas, the Central Highlands, the Deccan or Peninsular Plateau, the East Coast (Coromandel Coast in the south), the West Coast (Konkan, Kankara, and Malabar coasts), the Great Indian Desert (a geographic feature known as the Thar Desert in Pakistan) and the Rann of Kutch, the valley of the Brahmaputra in Assam, the northeastern hill ranges surrounding the Assam Valley, and the islands of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. *

Gangetic Plain

The Gangetic (or Indo-Gangetic) Plain begins at the foot of the Himalayans and extending from Assam and the Bay of Bengal on the east into Pakistan and to the Arabian Sea on the west. Covering some 776,996 square kilometers (300,000 square miles), it extends roughly 2,414 kilometers (1,500 miles) from east to west. The entire region is very fertile and very densely populated and contains much of India's arable land.. [Source: Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Physical Geography, Gale Group, Inc., 2003]

Gangetic alluvial plain embraces the Aravalli Range, a rugged mountain range that extends from the Gujarat border in the southwest to the outskirts of Delhi in the northeast. To the west, the plain is limited by the Thar (Great Indian) Desert in Rajasthan, which merges with the swampy Rann of Kachchh to the south. To the south, the plain is bordered by the Yamuna and Ganges rivers, where the broken hills of the Chambal, Betwa and Son rivers rise to the Malwa plateau in the west and the Chota Nagpur plateau in the east. [Source: Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., Columbia University Press]

drainage basins of the Ganges (yellow), Brahmaputra (violet), and Meghna (green)

The Gangetic Plain was once a gulf between the peninsula and the Himalayas, and is the result of continual alluvial deposits carried by the Indus and Ganges river systems. Over the ages, the trough has become so filled with sediment that it appears as a level plain. Between Delhi and the Bay of Bengal, around 1,528 kilometers (950 miles) to the east, the elevation drops by only around 201 meters (660 feet). [Source: Geo-Data: The World Geographical Encyclopedia, Gale Group Inc., 2003]

In social and economic terms, the Indo-Gangetic Plain is the most important region of India. The plain is a great alluvial crescent stretching from the Indus River system in Pakistan to the Punjab Plain (in both Pakistan and India) and the Haryana Plain to the delta of the Ganges (or Ganga) in Bangladesh (where it is called the Padma). Topographically the plain is homogeneous, with only floodplain bluffs and other related features of river erosion and changes in river channels forming important natural features. [Source: Library of Congress *]

The middle Ganges extends from the Yamuna River in the west to the state of West Bengal in the east. The lower Ganges and the Assam Valley are more lush and verdant than the middle Ganges. The lower Ganges is centered in West Bengal from which it flows into Bangladesh and, after joining the Jamuna (as the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra are known in Bangladesh), forms the delta of the Ganges. The Brahmaputra (meaning son of Brahma) rises in Tibet (China's Xizang Autonomous Region) as the Yarlung Zangbo River, flows through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and then crosses into Bangladesh. Average annual rainfall increases moving west to east from approximately 600 millimeters in the Punjab Plain to 1,500 millimeters around the lower Ganges and Brahmaputra.

Parts of the Gangetic Plain

Two narrow terrain belts, collectively known as the Terai, constitute the northern boundary of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Where the foothills of the Himalayas encounter the plain, small hills known locally as ghar (meaning house in Hindi) have been formed by coarse sands and pebbles deposited by mountain streams. Groundwater from these areas flows on the surface where the plains begin and converts large areas along the rivers into swamps. The southern boundary of the plain begins along the edge of the Great Indian Desert in the state of Rajasthan and continues east along the base of the hills of the Central Highlands to the Bay of Bengal.

The hills, varying in elevation from 300 to 1,200 meters (1,000 and 4,000 feet), lie on a general east-west axis. The Central Highlands are divided into northern and southern parts. The northern part is centered on the Aravalli Range of eastern Rajasthan. In the northern part of the state of Madhya Pradesh, the Malwa Plateau comprises the southern part of the Central Highlands and merges with the Vindhya Range to the south. The main rivers that flow through the southern part of the plain — the Narmada, the Tapti, and the Mahanadi — delineate North India from South India. [Source: Library of Congress *]

Some geographers subdivide the Indo-Gangetic Plain into three parts: the Indus Valley (mostly in Pakistan), the Punjab (divided between India and Pakistan) and Haryana plains, and the middle and lower Ganges. These regional distinctions are based primarily on the availability of water. By another definition, the Indo-Gangetic Plain is divided into two drainage basins by the Delhi Ridge; the western part consists of the Punjab Plain and the Haryana Plain, and the eastern part consists of the Ganges-Brahmaputra drainage systems.

This divide is only 300 meters (1000 feet) above sea level, contributing to the perception that the Indo-Gangetic Plain appears to be continuous between the two drainage basins. The Punjab Plain is centered in the land between five rivers: the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas, and the Sutlej. (The name Punjab comes from the Sanskrit pancha ab , meaning five waters or rivers.) *

Both the Punjab and Haryana plains are irrigated with water from the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers. The irrigation projects emanating from these rivers have led to a decrease in the flow of water reaching the lower drainage areas in the state of Punjab in India and the Indus Valley in Pakistan. The benefits that increased irrigation has brought to farmers in the state of Haryana are controversial in light of the effects that irrigation has had on agricultural life in the Punjab areas of both India and Pakistan. *

The Himalayas

The Himalayas as most everyone knows are the highest mountains in the world, with 30 peaks over 24,000 feet. The highest mountains in Europe, North and South America barely top 20,000 feet. The word Himalaya is Sanskrit for "abode of the snow" and a Himal is a massif of mountains. Technically Himalaya is the plural of Himal and there should be no such word as Himalayas.

The Himalayas stretch for 1,500 miles from eastern Tibet and China to a point where India, Pakistan, China and Afghanistan all come together. They extend along the northern frontiers of Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma. Lesser ranges jut southward from the main body of the Himalayas at both the eastern and western ends. The mountain kingdoms of Sikkim, Bhutan and Nepal are all contained within the range.

NASA exaggeration of the Himalayas

The southern side of the Himalayas are like a huge climatic wall. During the summer monsoon winds push massive rain clouds against the mountains squeezing out rain onto some of the wettest places on earth. On the leeward, rain-blocked side of the range, on the Tibetan plateau, are some of the driest and most barren places on the planet.

The Himalaya-Karakoram range contains nine of the world’s top ten highest peaks and 96 of the world's 109 peaks over 24,000 feet. If the Karakorum, Pamir, Tian Shan and Hindu Kush ranges and Tibet — -which are extensions of the Himalayas into Pakistan, China, Afghanistan and Central Asia — -are including in the Himalayas then the 66 highest mountains in the world are in the Himalayas. The 67th highest is Aconcagua in Argentina and Chile

Several of the greatest rivers in the world — -the Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Yangtze and Yellow rivers — -originate in either the Himalayas or the Tibetan plateau. Some people live in valleys nestled between Himalayan ridges but few people actually live on the slopes of the mountains.

See Separate Article: HIMALAYAS: HISTORY, GEOLOGY AND HIGH PEAKS factsanddetails.com

Himalayas in India

The Greater Himalayas embarace some of the world's tallest mountains. Most peaks over 6,096 meters (20,000 feet). India's highest mountain — the five-peaked Kanchenjunga (8,595 meters/28,208 feet) is here on on the border between Nepal and India. Other great peaks include Kamet (7,756 meters, 25,447 feet) and Nanda Devi (7,817 meters, 25,645 feet), which is north of New Delhi and west of Nepal. [Source: Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Physical Geography, Gale Group, Inc., 2003]

The southern slopes of each of the Himalayan ranges are too steep to accumulate snow or support much tree life; the northern slopes generally are forested below the snow line. Between the ranges are extensive high plateaus, deep gorges, and fertile valleys, such as the vales of Kashmir and Kulu. The Himalayas serve a very important purpose. They provide a physical screen within which the monsoon system operates and are the source of the great river systems that water the alluvial plains below. As a result of erosion, the rivers coming from the mountains carry vast quantities of silt that enrich the plains. [Source: Library of Congress *]

Nanda Devi

The area of northeastern India adjacent to Burma and Bangladesh consists of numerous hill tracts, averaging between 1,000 and 2,000 meters in elevation, that are not associated with the eastern part of the Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh. The Naga Hills, rising to heights of more than 3,000 meters, form the watershed between India and Burma. The Mizo Hills are the southern part of the northeastern ranges in India. The Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia hills are centered in the state of Meghalaya and, isolated from the northeastern ranges, divide the Assam Valley from Bangladesh to the south and west. *

The highest settlement in world, 19,650-foot-high Basasi, is located on the Indian-Tibetan border. It is only 9,384 feet lower than Mount Everest. According to the World Wildlife Fun (WWF), India has 5,243 glaciers that cover 37,958 square kilometers and have an ice volume of 143 square kilometers.

Highest mountains in the world in the Himalayas in India:
3) Kanchenjunga — India-Nepal — 28,169 feet (8,586 meters)
24) Kamet — India-Tibet: 25,446 feet (7,756 meters)
20) Nanda Devi — 25,663 feet (7,824 meters)
50) Mana — 23,860 feet (7,273 meters)
55) Badrinath — 23,420 feet (7,138 meters)
60) Pauhunri — India-China: 23,385 feet (7,128 meters)
61) Trisul — 23,360 feet (7,120 meters)
65) Trisuli — 23,210 feet (7,074 meters)
66) Dunagiri — 23,184 feet (7,066 meters)

Highest mountains in the world in the Himalayas in Kashmir:
40) Sia Kangri — 24,350 feet (7,422 meters)
36) Skyang Kangri — 24,750 feet (7,544 meters)
48) Baltoro Kangri — 23,990 feet (7,312 meters)
56) Nunkun — 23,410 feet (7,135 meters)

Peninsular (Southern) India

The southern half of India is a largely upland area positioned on a triangular peninsula that is 2,090 kilometers (1,300 miles) wide at the north and comes together ) at its southern tip of Kanniyakumri (Cape Comorin). The Peninsula proper is an old, geologically stable region with an average elevation between 300 and 1,800 meters (985 to 5,900 feet) .

The Vindhya Range constitutes the main dividing line between the geological regions of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Peninsula. This range lies north of the Narmada River, and when viewed from there, it is possible to discern the prominent escarpments that rise between 800 and 1,400 meters (2,625 to 4,595 feet). The Vindhya Range defines the north-central and northwestern boundary of the Peninsula, and the Chota Nagpur Plateau of southern Bihar forms the northeastern boundary. The uplifting of the plateau of the central Peninsula and its eastward tilt formed the Western Ghats, a line of hills running from the Tapti River south to the tip of the Peninsula. The Eastern Ghats mark the eastern end of the plateau; they begin in the hills of the Mahanadi River basin and converge with the Western Ghats at the Peninsula's southern tip. [Source: Library of Congress *]

The interior of the Peninsula, south of the Narmada River, often termed the Deccan Plateau or simply the Deccan (from the Sanskrit daksina , meaning south), is a series of plateaus topped by rolling hills and intersected by many rivers. The plateau averages roughly 300 to 750 meters (985 to 2,460 feet) in elevation. Its major rivers — the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Kaveri — rise in the Western Ghats and flow eastward into the Bay of Bengal. *

The coastal plain borders the plateau. On the northwestern side, it is characterized by tidal marshes, drowned valleys, and estuaries; and in the south by lagoons, marshes, and beach ridges. Coastal plains on the eastern side are wider than those in the west; they are focused on large river deltas that serve as the centers of human settlement. *

Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau is a large triangular plateau in southern and central India that covers more than 500,000 square kilometers (about 193,000 square miles). Its name comes from the Sanskrit word dakshina, meaning "south." The plateau is one of India's oldest geological regions and is known for its volcanic origin, mineral resources, extensive river systems, and agricultural importance. [Source: Wikipedia]

The plateau is bounded by the Vindhya and Satpura ranges in the north, the Western Ghats in the west, and the Eastern Ghats in the east. It extends across several Indian states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. The average elevation is about 600 meters (2,000 feet) above sea level, and the land generally slopes from west to east.

The Narmada River, which flows south of the Vindhya Hills, marks the start of the Deccan Plateau. This triangular plateau, carved by the Eastern and Western Ghats mountains, is drained by the Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri rivers. They break through the Eastern Ghats, flowing east into the Bay of Bengal and forming broad deltas along the expansive Coromandel Coast. Further north, the Mahanadi River also drains into the Bay of Bengal. The much narrower western coast of the Indian peninsula, comprising mainly the Malabar Coast and the fertile Gujarat plain, curves around the Gulf of Khambat in the north to the Kathiawar and Kachchh peninsulas. The coastal plains of peninsular India have a tropical, humid climate. [Source: Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., Columbia University Press]

Characteristics of the Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau was formed by massive volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. Much of its surface consists of layers of solidified basaltic lava known as the Deccan Traps. These lava flows created a distinctive step-like landscape with broad, flat-topped areas and horizontal rock formations.

The region has a tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. The Western Ghats block much of the moisture carried by monsoon winds, creating a rain-shadow effect that makes much of the plateau drier than India's coastal regions. Several major rivers, including the Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri (Cauvery), originate in the Western Ghats and flow eastward across the plateau before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

Weathering of the volcanic basalt has produced fertile black soils, often called black cotton soils, which are well suited for crops such as cotton, sugarcane, and oilseeds. The plateau is also rich in minerals, including coal, iron ore, mica, and bauxite, making it an important center of mining and industry.

Throughout history, the Deccan Plateau was the heartland of several major Indian kingdoms and empires, including the Satavahanas, Chalukyas, and the Vijayanagara Empire. The region contains many important cultural and historical sites, including the UNESCO-listed Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, and the temple monuments of Hampi.

Islands of India

India's offshore islands account for only a small fraction of the country's total land area and are grouped into two main island systems: the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea. Together, these islands form important parts of India's territory despite their relatively small size and populations. [Source: Library of Congress, Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Physical Geography, Gale Group, Inc., 2003]

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been formed as part of an underwater mountain chain that extends from Southeast Asia into the Bay of Bengal. The Andamans form a generally north-south chain some 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) east of the city of Chennai. The Nicobar chain of fewer and smaller islands stretches south-southeast from the Andamans and is separated from them by the Ten Degree Channel. The overall length of the Andaman-Nicobar group is about 804 kilometers (500 miles). The combined land area of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is approximately 8,287 square kilometers (3,200 square miles). The islands are sparsely populated compared with mainland India. [Source: Geo-Data: The World Geographical Encyclopedia, Gale Group Inc., 2003]

The northernmost Andaman islands lie about 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) southeast of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). The island chain extends for about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from north to south. The Andaman Islands consist of more than 200 islands and islets and are characterized by hilly terrain, narrow valleys, and dense forests. Although located in the tropics, the climate is moderated by surrounding seas. Rainfall varies across the islands but is generally abundant. South of the Andaman Islands are the Nicobar Islands, which comprise 19 major islands. Some islands are low-lying and covered with coral formations, while others have hilly interiors. The Nicobar Islands have a near-equatorial climate with high temperatures, high humidity, and heavy rainfall throughout much of the year.

Lakshadweep is a union territory located in the Arabian Sea off India's southwestern coast. The island group includes the Amindivi, Laccadive, and Minicoy islands. The islands are scattered across an area of approximately 77,000 square kilometers (29,700 square miles) of sea, although their total land area is only about 50 square kilometers (19 square miles). Most of the islands are small, low-lying coral atolls and reefs.

Only a portion of the Lakshadweep islands are inhabited. The coral-based soils support limited agriculture, and population density is high on many inhabited islands. The islands are vulnerable to coastal erosion, storms, and rising sea levels because of their low elevations above sea level. Despite their small land area, Lakshadweep's surrounding waters are important for fishing, marine biodiversity, and India's maritime territory.

Deserts in India

South of the state of Punjab and extending southwest along the Pakistani border is the sparsely populated Thar Desert. This desert covers most of the state of Rajasthan, and 3,000 square kilometers (1,158 square miles) of its terrain of sand dunes and flat thorn scrub is protected as the Thar Desert National Park. There are no significant rivers flowing through the desert to compensate for the lack of rainfall, but the Indira Gandhi Canal carries water from the Punjab region in the north. The Thar Desert contains large deposits of white marble, which has been used in many notable buildings in India. There are also significant deposits of limestone, gypsum, lignite, fuller's earth and salt. [Source: Geo-Data: The World Geographical Encyclopedia, Gale Group Inc., 2003).

The Thar Desert is also known the Great Indian Desert. It is a large, arid region that covers about 200,000 square kilometers (77,220 square miles) of the northwestern Indian subcontinent, with about two-thirds of the desert located in India (primarily in Rajasthan) and the remaining one-third extending into Pakistan.The term "Thar" is the conventional proper name derived from local terms for sand ridges, while "Great Indian Desert" is simply a descriptive English label.

The Thar desert averages 83 people per square kilometers— ten times more than most deserts. Historically, this region of India has the country's highest mortality rate. To get the most out of the land crops are raised on the desert. Near Bikaner 80 percent of the sand dunes are now cultivated.

Beginning at the equator, rainy tropical hot air rises and sheds its moisture as it cools. The cooled air begins to subside and warm up again between 15 degrees and 30 degrees latitude. The subsiding air is too dry for clouds an rain to form. This sub tropical high-pressure belt parches the Sahara through the Middle East in the northern latitudes and the arid sands of the Kalahari and Namib Deserts of Africa as well as the deserts of Peru, Chile, and Australia's barren outback in the southern latitudes. [Source: Rick Gore, National Geographic, November 1979]

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 3: South Asia,” edited by Paul Hockings, 1992, National Geographic, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India,, CIA World Factbook, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Encyclopedia.com, Library of Congress, Live Science, The Conversation, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Google AI, Wikipedia, The Guardian and various websites, books and other publications.

Last updated June 2026