2. Physical Formation of India

Earth of the distant past was a very different planet than the one we know today. Over these long years, it has undergone many changes brought about primarily by the endogenic and exogenic forces. We have already studied about the movement of Indian plate which started its northward journey about 200 million years ago. This northward movement of the Indian plate is still continuing and it has significant consequences on the physical environment of the Indian subcontinent. Here, we will study about geological structure of India. The geological regions of India are broadly divided into three parts - (i) The Peninsular Block; (ii) The Himalayas; and (iii) Indo-Ganga-Brahmaputra Plain.

2.1. The Peninsular Block Figure 4 – Peninsular block 2.2. The Himalayas Figure 5 – Plate tectonics and evolution of Himalayas Figure 6 – Himalaya’s syntaxes at NP (Nanga Parbat) and NB (Namcha Barwa)Figure 7 – The great plains of India Figure 8 – Physiographic division of India Figure 9 – Himalayas and Northeastern Hills Figure 10 - Cross sectional view of Himalayan system Figure 11 – Himalayan – Longitudinal Divisions 3.1.2. Himachal and Uttrakhand Himalayas 3.1.3. Darjiling and Sikkim Himalayas 3.1.4. Arunachal Himalayas 3.1.5. Eastern Hills and Mountains or Purvanchal 3.2. The Northern Plains Figure 12 – Shifting course of river Kosi in last 250 years 3.2.3. Bhangar Plains 3.2.4. Khadar Plains 3.2.5. The Delta Plains Figure 13 – Different section of northern plains of India 3.2.6. The Plains of Rajasthan 3.2.7. The Punjab Haryana Plains 3.2.8. The Ganga Plains 3.2.9. The Brahmaputra Plain 3.3. The Peninsular Plateau Figure 14 – Peninsular India: Relief 3.3.3. The North-Eastern Plateau 3.4. The Indian Desert 3.5. The Coastal Plains 3.5.1. Western Coastal Plains 3.5.2. Eastern Coastal Plains 3.6. The Islands 3.6.1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands (a) – Andaman and Nicobar Islands (b) Lakshadweep Islands