Indian Geography Notes

I was learning about Geography of India and found that a lot of books are written and a lot of articles are already available on internet.
If you are looking for notes on Indian geography for quick revision, its difficult to find a book or reliable source on internet. So I started preparing notes for quick revision.
Now I have decided to share these Indian Geography Notes with all my friends, especially you. These notes will help you to know your country better and also gain some general knowledge about different parts of the country.
I hope that everyone will find these notes about India's geography equally interesting and informative. Once you read these notes, don't forget to test your knowledge using Indian Geography Quiz.
  • The total area of India in around 32.8 lakh sq. km. It is the seventh largest country in the world. The first six countries are - Russia, Canada, China, United States, Brazil and Australia.
  • With a total population of 122 crores (1.22 Billion), India is home to one in every six persons on the earth.
  • India shares its borders with seven countries - Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan. The total length of border with these countris is 15107 KM. The longest border is with Bangladesh, which is 4097 KM approximately.
  • India can be divided into six natural geographical regions:
    1. The Great Himalayas
    2. Indo Gangetic Plains or Northern Plains
    3. Thar Desert
    4. The Peninsular Plateau
    5. The Coastal Plains
    6. The Island Group
  • K2 (Godwin Austin) is the highest mountain peak of India and second highest mountain in the world. Its elevation above sea level is 8611 meters. Note that it is situated in PoK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) region.
  • Kanchenjunga is the highest mountain peak situated in India. At an elevation of 8586 meters, it is the third highest mountain peak in the world. It is situated in Sikkim state of India.
  • The total coastline of India is around 7500 KM. The length of coastline of mainland India (i.e. excluding the islands like Andaman & Nikobar, Lakshdweep) is approximately 6100 KM.
  • The soils of the country are broadly divided into these four categories - Alluvial Soils, Regur or Black Soils, Red Soils and Laterite Soils.
  • The cultivated land is almost 43% of the total area of India.
  • Ganga is the longest river of India, having a length of 2525 kilometers. It source is Gangotri glacier and it empties into Bay of Bengal at Sunderban Delta (or Ganga Delta) in Bangladesh.
  • India is situated in Northern hemisphere and its latitude extends from 8°4' north to 37°6' north.
  • The longitudinal position of India is between 68°7' east and 97°25' east.
  • It is bounded by three oceans - Indian Ocean in the south, Arabian Sea in the west and Bay of Bengal in the east.
  • Uttar Pradesh state has border with maximum number of other Indian states. It has 8 states and 1 UT as its neighbour - Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi (UT).
  • India is divided into 29 states and 7 UTs (Union Territory).
  • Indira Sagar Lake is the largest lake in India. This lake is formed by Indira Sagar Dam built on the Narmada river and is situated in Madhya Pradesh.
  • Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state of India, having a population of almost 20 crore.
  • It terms of area, Rajasthan is the largest state of India. Most of the area is covered by Thar desert, so the population density in Rajasthan is low.
  • Arunachal Pradesh is the state having border with maximum number of countries. It shares its boundry with three nations - China, Bangladesh and Mayanmar.
  • The state of Gujarat has the largest coastline. The length of Gujarat's coastline is 1915 Km. It is almost 1/3rd of the total coastline of mainland India.
  • The only state of India where Saffron is produced is Jammu & Kashmir.
  • Sambhar Salt Lake, located near Ajmer city of Rajasthan, is the largest inland saline water lake. A large quantity of salt is produced from this lake.
  • Sunderbans is the region having largest mangrove forests area in the world. It is part of the Sunderban Delta near the Bay of Bengal, formed by confluence of four major rivers of Indian sub-continent Ganges, Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna.
  • The forest cover in India is around 22%. Madhya Pradesh, having total forest area above 77,000 square kilometres, is the state having largest forest cover. In terms of percentage, Mizoram is the state having largest forest cover where forest area is almost 89% of the total area of the state.
  • Kaziranga National Park in Assam is famous for its one-horned Rhinoceroses. It is home to 2/3 of world's total population of these animals and is a world heritage site.
  • The national symbols of India are:
    • National Animal - TIGER
    • National Tree - BANYAN TREE
    • National Bird - PEACOCK
    • National Flower - LOTUS