Geographical Diversity of India

India’s five broad regions (the Himalayas, the Ganga–Indus plains, the Thar Desert, the peninsula and the islands) and how people live in each.

Key ideas

• India is called a subcontinent: a large, distinct region with its neighbours, but still part of Asia.
• The Himalayas have three ranges, Himadri, Himachal and Shivalik, and their snowmelt feeds great rivers, so they are the Water Tower of Asia.
• Ladakh is a cold desert: very cold and with very little rain.
• In the Thar Desert people collect and store rainwater in taankas and kunds.
• The Western Ghats are taller and unbroken along the west coast; the Eastern Ghats are lower and broken.
• Most peninsular rivers flow east and form deltas; the Narmada and Tapti flow west and form estuaries.
• The islands include the coral islands of Lakshadweep and Barren Island, home to India’s only active volcano.
• People adapt: kath-kuni houses of stone and wood in the western Himalayas stay warm and stand mild earthquakes.

Remember

Watch out

• Mixing up the Himalayan ranges: Himadri is the highest, Shivalik the lowest and outermost.
• Saying the Narmada forms a delta: it flows west and forms an estuary.
• Thinking every desert is hot: Ladakh is a cold desert.

Worked example