Chapter Overview

Physiography (भू-आकृति विज्ञान) is the study of a land’s relief: its mountains, plains, plateaus, coasts and islands. India’s relief explains almost everything else in Indian geography: where the monsoon rains fall, why rivers flow where they do, where minerals lie, where people crowd and where they do not. That is why this is the first chapter of Geography and why examiners return to it every year.

For a Chhattisgarh aspirant there is a bonus: the state is crossed by both the Tropic of Cancer and the Standard Meridian, and it sits entirely on the Peninsular plateau. Learn this chapter well and the state’s own geography falls into place.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

State India’s latitude-longitude extent, area and rank, and list the states on the Tropic of Cancer and the Standard Meridian
Name India’s neighbours in order of border length and the channels that separate its islands
Describe the Himalaya’s three parallel ranges, regional divisions, peaks and passes
Explain the Bhabar–Terai–Bhangar–Khadar belts and the doabs of the Northern Plains
Divide the Peninsular plateau and compare the Western and Eastern Ghats
Compare the two coastal plains and the two island groups
Place Chhattisgarh’s pats, plain and Bastar plateau within India’s physiographic frame

Prerequisites

Latitude, longitude and time (1° of longitude = 4 minutes)
Basic plate tectonics: fold mountains form where plates converge

Learning Path

Follow the topics in this order:

graph TD
    A["1. Location and Extent
coordinates, IST, Tropic,
neighbours, coastline"] --> B["2. The Himalayas
ranges, divisions,
peaks, passes"]
    B --> C["3. Northern Plains
Bhabar to Khadar,
doabs, Thar"]
    C --> D["4. Peninsular Plateau
Central Highlands, Deccan,
Ghats, Chhattisgarh"]
    D --> E["5. Coastal Plains and Islands
two coasts, lagoons,
Andaman, Lakshadweep"]
    E --> F["6. Quick Revision"]
    F --> G["Next chapter:
Drainage System of India"]

Topics in This Chapter

#	Topic	What it covers
1	Location and Extent	8°4′–37°6′ N, 68°7′–97°25′ E; area and rank; 82°30′ E and IST; Tropic of Cancer states; neighbours and border lengths; channels; the 2025 coastline revision
2	The Himalayas	Origin; Trans-Himalaya, Himadri, Himachal, Shiwalik; regional divisions by rivers; Purvanchal; peaks; passes; significance and hazards
3	The Northern Plains (and the Indian Desert)	Formation; Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar, Khadar; Punjab doabs; Ganga and Brahmaputra plains; Majuli; the Thar
4	The Peninsular Plateau	Central Highlands, Deccan, Meghalaya plateau; Western vs Eastern Ghats; peaks; Chhattisgarh’s place on the plateau
5	Coastal Plains and Islands	Konkan to Malabar, Utkal to Coromandel; lagoons and lakes; Andaman and Nicobar; Lakshadweep
—	Quick Revision	Every number, name and pair on one page

Where It Is Asked

Paper	What to expect
Prelims P-I (Part 1, India GS)	Fact-based MCQs: Tropic of Cancer and Standard Meridian states, border lengths, peaks and passes, the order of ranges and coasts, Bhabar/Terai/Bhangar/Khadar, lakes and lagoons, island facts. Statement-based and match-the-following formats are common
Mains P-V (GS-III), Geography of India	Short answers (“distinguish Western and Eastern Ghats”, “Bhangar vs Khadar”) and longer answers on the significance of the Himalaya, the productivity of the Northern Plains, the mineral wealth of the plateau, and coastal hazards and ports

Exam focus

High-yield: the eight Tropic of Cancer states and five Standard Meridian states (Chhattisgarh is on both); Bangladesh longest border; Kanchenjunga vs Nanda Devi; Kumaon = Satluj–Kali; Khadar more fertile than Bhangar; Western Ghats continuous; Barren Island active volcano.
Common mistakes: putting Odisha on the Tropic of Cancer; calling the Shiwalik the oldest range; treating the Khasi hills as Himalayan; calling Lakshadweep volcanic.
Chhattisgarh angle for Mains: the state lies on the Peninsular plateau (Baghelkhand, Chotanagpur, Maikal, Dandakaranya units); its coal and iron ore are plateau resources; the Mahanadi ends in the Odisha delta; exports move through Visakhapatnam and Paradip.

Quick Reference: India’s Physiographic Divisions

Division	Key facts
Himalayan mountains	Young fold mountains; Trans-Himalaya, Himadri (about 6,000 m), Himachal, Shiwalik (youngest); Kanchenjunga 8,586 m
Northern Plains	About 7 lakh km² of alluvium; Bhabar → Terai → Bhangar → Khadar; Punjab, Ganga, Brahmaputra plains
Peninsular Plateau	Oldest, stable Gondwana block; about 16 lakh km²; slopes west to east; Anamudi 2,695 m
Indian Desert	West of the Aravalli; Marusthali; barchans; Luni river
Coastal Plains	West: narrow, submergent, estuaries. East: wide, emergent, deltas
Islands	Andaman and Nicobar: 836 islands, tectonic. Lakshadweep: 36 islands, coral

Start Learning

Begin with the first topic:

→ India: Location and Extent