| Geography
In Central
India, the Vindhya ranges separate the Deccan
Peninsula from the northern plains. On the east
coast of the country is the Bay of Bengal, while
on the west coast is the Arabian Sea. The southern-most
tip of the country projects into the Indian
Ocean.
Apart
from the mountains, plains and the seas, India
has just about every geographical feature as
well. In the West of the country lies the Thar
desert in Rajasthan. A little south of it are
the unique marshlands of Kutch, while on the
east where the Ganges drains out into the sea
is the world' s largest delta and a unique mangrove
forest. Indian islands include the Andaman and
Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal and the
Lakshadweep Islands in the Indian ocean. These
unique features mean that the country has a
wide variety of flora, fauna and a climate that
ranges from tropical to arctic.
India's
puzzleboard of 29 states
holds virtually every kind of landscape imaginable.
An abundance of mountain ranges and national
parks provide ample opportunity for eco-tourism
and trekking, and
its sheer size promises something for everyone.
From its northernmost point on the Chinese border,
India extends a good 2000 miles (3200 km) to
its southern tip, where the island nation of
Sri Lanka seems to be squeezed out of India
like a great tear, the synapse forming the Gulf
of Mannar. India's northern border is dominated
mostly by Nepal and the Himalayas, the world's
highest mountain chain. Following the sweeping
mountains to the northeast, its borders narrow
to a small channel that passes between Nepal,
Tibet, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, then spreads
out again to meet Burma in area called the "eastern
triangle." Apart from the Arabian sea,
its western border is defined exclusively by
Pakistan.
India
can be organized along the compass points. North
India, shaped like a throat and two lungs,
is the country's largest region. It begins with
the panhandle of Jammu
and Kashmir, a dynamic area with terrain
varying from arid mountains in the far north
to the lake country and forests near Sringar
and Jammu. Falling south along the Indus river
valley, the North becomes flatter and more hospitable,
widening into the fertile plains of Punjab to
the west and the Himalayan foothills of Uttar
Pradesh and the Ganges river valley to the East.
Cramped between these two states is the capital
city, Delhi. The southwestern extremity of the
North is the large state of Rajastan, whose
principal features are the Thar Desert and the
stunning "pink city" of Jaipur. To
the southeast is southern Uttar Pradesh and
Agra, home of the famous Taj Mahal.
West
India contains
the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, and
part of the massive, central state of Madhya
Pradesh. The west coast extends from the Gujarat
peninsula down to Goa, and it is lined with
some of India's best beaches. The land along
the coast is typically lush, with rainforests
reaching southward from Bombay all the way to
into Goa. A long mountain chain, the Western
Ghats, separates the verdant coast from the
Vindya mountains and the dry Deccan plateau
further inland.
Home
of the sacred Ganges river and the majority
of Himalayan foothills, East
India begins with the states of Madhya
Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, which comprise the westernmost
part of the region. East India also contains
an area known as the eastern triangle, which
is entirely distinct. This is the last gulp
of land that extends beyond Bangladesh, culminating
in the Naga Hills along the Burmese border.
India
reaches its peninsular tip with South
India, which begins with the Deccan in
the north and ends with Cape Comorin, where
Hindus believe that bathing in the waters of
the three oceans will wash away their sins.
The states in South India are Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, a favorite
leisure destination. The southeast coast, mirroring
the west, also rests snugly beneath a mountain
range---the Eastern Ghats. |
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