Topology and Physiography of India 

Location 

India ,a part of Asian continent,located in Nothern Hemisphere of the globe,from 8 degree 4 minutes N to 37 degree 6 minutes N Latitude and from 68 degree 7 minutes E to 97 degree 25 minutes E Longitude .
It is the seventh largest country in the world ,accounts 2.40 percent of the earth's total surface .

Area and dimensions

The total area 3,287,263 sq km.
Distance from North to South  3,214 km.
Distance from East to West 2,933 km .
Total length of coastline 7,516.60 Km.
The largest coastline is in Gujrat;second largest coastline is in Andhra Pradesh.
Total length of land frontier 15,200 km.
India accounts for 2.40 per cent of the worlds total surface and 16.70 per cent of the world's total population .

Boundaries and points 

East - Myanmar(Burma) and Bangladesh.
West- Pakistan,Afghanistan and Arabian sea .
North -The Himalyas ,Nepal,Bhutan and China .
South- Sri Lanka and Indian Ocean .Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait seperates India from Shri Lanka .
The southernmost point of the Indian Territory is Indira Point (in Nicobar Island:6.74 degree N 93.84 degree ).
Islands of India :

Andman and Nicobar in Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep ,Minicoy and Amindive Islands in Arabian Sea .

Physical Presence or Physiography 

The main land is broadly divided into

1) The mountains
2)The Plains
3)The plateau
4)The dsert
5)The islands

The mountains extend for more than 2,400 km.

1)Himalyas
2)Peninsular mountains

The Himalyas

The Himalyas border India on the north,north west and the north east .It comprises three parallel ranges -

The Himadri(the Great Himalayas or Higher Himalayas );

It is the Nothernmost ,longest and the most continuous zone in the Himalayas .The average altitude of the zone varies from 4,800 m to 6,000 m.It rises to its maximum height in Nepal containing 9 of the 14 highest  peaks on the Earth .It contains Mountain Everest (8,848 m)in Nepal,Mount Godwin Austen or K2 (8,611 m),Kanchenjunga(8,586 m),Mount Makalu(8,485 m),Mount Dhaulagiri(8,172) etc .
The Himachal (the Lesser Himalayas or the Lower Himalayas ): It lies between the Himadri region in the north and the Shivaliks to the south ,so the Himachal region forms the middle section of the Himalayan mountain chain and this region has an average altitude of 3,700-4,500 m.This region contains the passes and glaciers and as many as 110 mountains in the Himalyas rising to heights up to 7,300 m or more above sea level.The important range includes Dhauladhar ,Pir Panjal and Nag Tibba .The important hill stations includes Shimla, Chail, Ranikhet, Chakrata, Mussoorie, Nainital, Darjelling .
The Shivaliks (the outer Himalayas or the Sub -Himalayas ): It forms the southern most zone of the Himalayas .The shivaliks are also the lowest and the narrowest range in the entire Himalayas and this region has an average elevation of about 900-1200 m.The name Shivalik is a  Sanskrit word literally meaning 'Belonging to the Lord Shiva'  .The important ranges include Karakoram,Zanskar,Patkai,Garo,Lushai,etc.

The Peninsular mountains -

The Aravalis (Rajesthan )- The oldest mountain range in the world .The highest peak is Guru Shikhar ,where Mount abu(1,722) is situated .
The Vindhya Mountains -It seperates the Indo Gangetic plains from the Deccan Plateau .
The Satpura Range-It lies between river Narmada and Tapti.The highest peak is Dhoopgarh(1,350) near Panchmarhi.
The Western Ghats or Sahyadris- The average height is 915-1,220 m and length is 1,600km.The southern part is seperated from the main Sahyadri Range by Palghat Gap(link between Tamilnadu and Kerela).Other passes are Thalghat(connects Nasik to Mumbai)and Bhorghat(connects Pune to Mumbai ) .
The Eastern Ghats -The average height is about 610 m.It lies in the eastern coast from the boundary of the eastern coastal plains.The highest peak is Mahendra Giri(1,501 m).
The Nilgiris or the Blue Mountains - It is the junction between the eastern and the western ghats .The two highest peaks are are Doddabetta and Mukurti.
The highest peak in peninsular India is Anaimudi(2,895 m) in Anaimalai Hills.

Glaciers of India -

A Glacier is a large,slow moving mass if ice formed from compact layers of snow .Presently glaciers cover nearly 15 million square km or about 10 per cent of land surface and contain 2.15 percent of all water on Earth,Ninety-six per cent of all glacial ice on this planet is in Antarctica(84.50 percent) and Greenland(12 per cent),both of which are nearly covered by glciers .Australia is the only continent lacking glaciers.
There are mailny two types of glaciers
a)Alpine glaciers,which are highland glaciers that flow slowly down a valley in a mountaneous region,such as a river of ice,and
b)Continental glaciers and ice sheets,which can cover larger areas.

Some of the major glaciers are

Siachin Glacier is the largest glacier out side the polar regions and largest in the Himalayas -Karakoram range.
Gangotri Glacier is located in Uttarkashi district ,Uttarakhand
The Rathong galcier is an important glacier situated in Sikkim .

The Plains -

These are formed by the valleys of the Ganga,Yamuna,Brahmaputra,Indus,Godavari,Kaveri etc .It consists of four divisions-

1)Bhabhar lies along the foothills of outer Himalayas or Shivaliks.It is highly fertile .
2)Tarai re emergence of streams and it is the zone of excessive dampness.
3)Bhanger has older alluvium deposited by the flow of rivers .
4)Khadar i sthe new alluvium soil and forms the flood plains along the river banks.

The Great Nothern Plain is formed by the deposits of three major rivers-Indus ,Ganga and Brahmaputra and their tributaries .Its average width is 150-300km.

Punjab Haryana Plains -This plain in Haryana is formed by the Yamuna river .The punjab plains is made up of Doabs(land between two rivers ),formed by the river beas,Ravi,Chenab,Jhelum and Indus.

Gangetic plains -This forms the largest part of the nothern plains covering Uttar Pradesh,Bihar and West Bengal.These are formed by the Ganga and its tributaries .
Upper Ganga Plain is formed by Ganga and its tributaries Yamuna ,the Gomati and the Ghaghara rivers .
Middle Ganga plain is formed by the Ghaghara,the Gandak and the Kosi rivers .
The delta occupies most of the lower Ganga plain.The Ganga is divided into several channels n this region .A large part of thsi delta is covered by tidal forest ,also called the Sundarbans .

Brahmputra Plains - These plains are formed by the deposits of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries .This plain is also known as Assam Valley.

The west coastal plain - Extends from Kanyakumari to Surat .The Nothern part of the Western coastal plain is known as Konkan and the southern part of it known as Malabar Coast .

The East Coastal plain - extends from the West Bengal-Odisha border to Kanyakumari.These are much wider than the west coastal plain .
Most of it is formed by the deltas of river Mahanadi,Godavari,Krishna and Cauvery.The eastern coastal plain is also called the Coromandal coast .

The Plateau

The plateau is a large ,flat area of the land that is higher than the surrounding land.It lies on the south of the Indo-Gangetic plains,flanked  by the sea on three sides .
Important plateaus :

The Malwa plateau -It is a region in west-central nothern India,and has volcanic origin .The average elevation of the plateau is 500 m.

The Deccan Plateau- It is also known as the Peninsular Plateau or the great pennsular plateau ,is located between three mountain ranges and extends over eight Indian states .The Peninsular Plateau is flanked on side by the Eastern Ghats where the average elevation is about 610 m and on the other by the Western Ghats where it is generally from 915-1220 m .It is the largest plateau in India ,made up of lava that flowed from fissure erruptions .It lies to the south of Indo gangetic plain.

Chhota Nagpur Plateau -It lies in eastern India.It is made up of three smaller plateaus:  Ranchi,Hazaribagh and Kodarma .Ranchi plateau is the largest among these three with an average elevation of 700m.Total area of Chhota Nagpur is approximately 65,000 sq km.

The Desert

The desert region lies in the western and nothern part of India .It can be divided into two parts :

The Great Desert: Thisdesert region extends from rann of Kachchh ,beyond the Luni river northwards .The great Indian desert is world's seventh largest and also Asia's third largest desert .It lies mostly in the state of Rajasthan .
The little destert .These extended from the Luni river,between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur upto north west.It is seasonally marshy saline clay desert located in the Thar desert biogeographic province in the state of Gujrat .

Islands of India

India's terretorial limits include 248 islands .
There are two groups of islands .

a) Andman and Nicobar Group :

The Andmans comprise o group of 204 islands at the nothern cluster (largest is the middle Andman )and the Nicobar comprises islands at the southern cluster (Great Nicobar is the largest one ).The highest peak in north Andman is Saddle Peak(737m).Most of the islands are volcanic in nature .

b) Lakshadweep

It is a group of 27 coral islands in Arabian sea ,comprising the Lakshadweep Island ,300 km west of Kerela .

10 degree channel seperates Andman from Nicobar
The Duncan Strait seperates south Andman and little Andman
9 degree channel seperates Kavaratti from Minicoy Island
8 degree channel seperates Minicoy Island from Maldives