Chapter 1 - Physical features
Though India is a vast country covering 3.28million sq. kms, it is a well-knit political entity. This is the largest democracy in the world.
Being situated north of the equator, India belongs to the Northern Hemisphere. The Tropic of cancer (23°30'N) divides the country into almost two equal parts. While the southern half coinciding with peninsular, India lies in the tropical zone, the northern half, somewhat continental in nature belongs to the subtropical zone.
India is favorably situated on the world's highways of trade and commerce both to the east and to the west. The oceanic routes serving east and South- East Asia and Australia pass through the India Ocean. India is connected with Europe, North America and South America through - the Suez Canal and the Cape of Good Hope.
The India subcontinent - The countries that from the India subcontinent today are Pakistan in northwest, India at the core, Nepal in the north, Bhutan in the north- east and Bangladesh in the east.
The area where what the Himalaya stand today together with the Northern Plains of India was occupied by a sea, called ` Tethys'. It was sandwiched between the two giant landmasses - 'the Angaraland' in the north and 'the Gondwanaland' in the south. For million of years denudation of these two landmasses resulted in disposition of silt into the Tethys. The lateral compressional force acting from two opposite directions made the sea not only shrink further but also buckle up forming a cain of islands to begin with and over millions of years into the mighty folded mountains such as the Himalayas of today.
As the Himalaya began to gain in height, the rivers and other agents of denudation become increasingly active in eroding them and caring huge amount of silt to deposit in ever shirking Tethys. The result has been what we call the Northern Plains or the Indo- Gangetic plains lying in India and Pakistan.
Major Physiographic Division - Indian subcontinent consists of three structural components:
1) the Great Mountain Wall of the North
2) the Northern Plains and
3) the Great Peninsular Plateau.
The Great Mountain Wall of the North - In the Central Asia lies the Pamir knot, which is often called "the roof of the world". From this knot run several mountain ranges. One of them is Kunlun. Another range, i.e. Karakoram enters into Kashmir. They are lofty mountains containing K₂, the second highest mountain peak of the world.
To the south of the Karakoram lie two parallel ranges known as the Ladakh and the Zaskar ranges.
The Himalayas extend from the Indus to Brahmaputra in the east. They are young fold mountains. The Mount Everest or Sagarmatha(as known in nepal), the highest peak in the world is 8848 metres high. It is located in Nepal, in the northernmost range of the Himalayas, which is the loftiest and is known as the Great Himalayas or the Himadari.
To the south of the Great Himalaya lies the Middle or lesser Himalaya called the Himachal. The southern most ranges of the Himalayas is known as Outer Himalayas or the Shiwalik ranges.
Several big rivers originate from the Himalayas. They flow into the Northern Plains and empty themselves either into the Arabian Sea or into the Bay of Bengal.
The Brahamputra river marks the eastern most geographical limit of the Himalayas. Mountains along the eastern boundary of India are called Purvanchal.
The Northern Plains - The northern Plains of India are made up of the fine silt called alluvium brought down by rivers from the Himalayas in the north and the peninsulas plateau in the south. Such a plain is called an alluvial plain. The Northern plain is divided into two river systems - the Indus in the wet and the Ganga - Brahamputra in the east.

Large part on the Indus basin is located in India ( Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab ). The Ganga has two main headwaters in the Himalayas:(1) the Bhagirathi and (2) the Alaknanda. The Brahmaputra originates in Tibet near the source of the Indus and the Satluj. It flows parallel to the Himalayan mountains in Tibet, where it is known as Tsangpo. The Ganga -Brahmaputra Delta is the largest and the fastest growing delta of the world. Besides being well-watered, is also the most fertile.
The Great Peninsular Plateau - It is the oldest structure of the Indian subcontinent The northern part of the peninsular block is called the Central Highlands. It is made of hard igneous and metamorphic rocks. The Deccan plateau extends form the Vidhyas to the southern tip of the peninsula. This triangular plateau is at its widest in the north. Towards the west, the plateau has still much steeper edge, formed by the Western Ghats . They run from north to south. The north- west part of the Deccan Plateau is made up of igneous rocks of volcanic origin. While all the major rivers of peninsulas block flow into the Bay of Bengal, Narmada and Tapi are the only two rivers flowing in the opposite direction to fall into the Arabian Sea.
The Deccan plateau has a coastal strip in the east and the west: The western coastal plain extends from Gujrat to Kerala. The coastal strip along the Arabian Sea in the west is known as Konkan in the north and Malabar in the south.
The Indian Islands - Lakshadweep Islands lying opposite to the coast of Kerala are small but numerous and product of a very quiet work of the short - lived microscopic species- the coral polyps. They flowrish only in shallow warm waters. The Andaman Nicobar Islands are more numerous and bigger in size. They are located on a submerged hilly range in the Bay of Bengal. Some of them are of volcanic origin.

Chapter - 2 Climate
India has diverse climatic conditions with sharp variations in temperature and precipitation from place to place and season to season. Many of the factors and phenomena governing the climate of India transgress its four walls namely,
1) situation
2) relief
3) surface winds and
4) upper air circulation
The Locational and Relief Factors - Situated between 8° N and 37° N latitudes, India is divided in almost two equal parts by the Tropic of Cancer. India is flanked by the Indian ocean in the south and girdled by a high and continuous mountain wall in the north, which lends it a broad common climatic framework. Also the deep arms of the Indian Ocean, namely the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal exert moderating influence on much of the Indian subcontinent. They also act as a storehouse of badly needed moisture to this landmass.
The mighty Himalayas along with its extensions act as an effective climatic divide. The mountain chain provides a shield to protect the subcontinent from the cold and chilly northern winds, which originate near the Arctic circle and blows across central and eastern Asia. Thus, it gives northern India a tropical climate i.e., relatively high temperatures throughout the year and predominantly dry winters.
The surface winds and Air Circulation - India lies in the area of land bearing winds originating from the subtropical high pressure belts and but for the phenomenon of the monsoons, it would have been an arid land or a desert.

The subtropical high-pressure belts of the Northern Hemisphere gives rise to permanent winds, They blow towards the equatorial low-pressure belt. While moving towards the south they deflect towards the right i.e. to their west. As a result they blow from north - east to south - west and are known as north - east trade winds. India lies in this belt.
The air pressure does increase by piling of air descending from above. But it is also a function of air temperature. The land and water bodies do not get heated alike. In summer the land gets more heated than the seas. Hence a low pressure develops over the interior of the land masses. This phenomenon is basically responsible for the reversal of wind direction giving rise to south - west monsoons.
Air currents differ from winds as they are at a very high elevation from the earth's surface. The climate of India is also affected by the movement of jet streams. A jet stream is a fast flowing wind bowing in a narrow zone in the upper atmosphere. A westerly jet stream in lower stratosphere is placed north of the Himalayas in the winter season. In june it moves northwards to place itself north of the Tien Shan in Central Asia. An easterly jet stream develops at about 25° N . Low pressure and jet streams are responsible for the sudden onthreak of the monsoon in northern India. Cooling effect of the easterly jet - stream causes rain from maritime clouds already hovering over this part. The unstable equatorial oceanic air is able to form cumulonimbus cloud up to an elevation of 9 to 15 km high up into the sky which explains the occurrence of and great advancement of monsoons all over India in just eight to ten days.
The mechanism of monsoons - The word monsoon, is derived from an Arabic word ` mausim" which literally means season. The monsoon winds, after crossing the equator in the Indian Ocean, take a southwesterly trades, a planetary system of winds. The dry and hot land - bearing trades are thus completely replaced by sea - bearing winds full of moisture. According to the meteorologist's definition, the monsoon is a complete replacement of the dry hot air by the equatorial maritime air upto and altitude of three to five kilometres over the land and water surface.
By and large, the phenomenon of the monsoons is confined to the tropical lands lying between 20° N and 20°S. But in the Indian subcontinent it is greatly influenced by the Himalayan range bringing the whole subcontinent under the sway of these moist equatorial winds for the season ranging between two to five months. It accounts for 75 to 90 percent of the annual rainfall just from June to September.
Whenever surface pressure is high in the subtropical refine of the Pacific Ocean in the northern hemisphere, the pressure over the southern part of the Indian Ocean tends to below and voce versa. This causes shifting of winds across the equator in different seasons. This is known as the equator and the intensity of winds affects the monsoon.
Cycle of seasons - The climatic conditions of India can best be described in terms of an annual cycle of season. Four main seasons are,
1) Cold Weather
2) Hot Weather
3) Advancing Monsoon
4) Retreating Monsoon.
The cold weather - December, January and February are the winter months almost all over the country. During this season high pressure prevails over the Northern Plains and north - east trade winds prevail over the country. They blow form the land to the sea over most part of the country and hence, the dry season.
This weather at intervals gets disturbed by shallow cyclonic depressions. Also known as western disturbance, they originate over the east Mediterranean Sea and travel eastward across west Asia before they reach the northwestern parts of India. These cause in their make light rainfall which although meagre is highly beneficial to the rabi crops especially the wheat.
The Hot Weather - From March to May the belt of great heat shifts from south to north owing to the apparent northward movement of the sun. Towards the end of May an elongated low pressure area is developed called the monsoon low pressure trough, which extends from Thar Desert in the north - west to Patna and Chotanagpur plateau in the east - southeast. Circulation of air begins to set in around this trough.

Advancing Monsoon - The four months namely June, July, August and September form the core of the rainy season almost all over the country. The south - east trade winds, coming from the Indian Ocean, cross the equator and enter the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian sea, only to be caught up in the air circulation over India. Passing over the equatorial warm currents they bring with them abundance moisture. They follow a south-westerly direction after crossing the equator and are thus known as south - west monsoon.
As the monsoon winds approach the land, their direction is modified the relief and thermal low pressure over north - west India. The Indian Peninsula divides the monsoon into the Arabian Sea branch and the Bay of Bengal branch.
The Arabian Sea branch is obstructed by The Western Ghats. The windward side of the sahyadris receives very heavy rains. Crossing the Ghats they overrun the Deccan Plateau and Madhya Pardesh. Another part of the Arabian Sea launch strikes the samashtra peninsula and the Kuch. It then passes over west Rajasthan and along the Araviles, causing only a scanty rainfall.
The Bay of Bengal Branch is naturally directed towards the coast of Myanmar and part of the south - east Bangladesh. But the Arakan Hills along the coast of Myanmar are good enough to deflect a big chunk of this branch, enabling it to enter the Indian subcontinent. The monsoon, therefore, enter west Bengal and Bangladesh from south and south - east instead of the southwesterly direction.
Retreating Monsoon - The months of October and November form a period of transition and are known for the retreating monsoon. The monsoon low-pressure trough become weaker and is gradually replaced by high pressure. The low pressure conditions which once prevailed over north - western India gets transferred to the center of Bay of Bengal by early November. This period is associated with occurance of cyclonic depression,'s which originate over the Andaman sea.

Chapter - 3 - The Flora, Fauna and the Soils

All over India, the original natural vegetation cover consisted of forest, grassland and scrub. It is estimated that our country possesses about 49,000 different species of plants.
Vegetation Regions - Barring the Himalayan region, the country is divided into four major vegetation regions. They are as follows:
1) the tropical rain - forest
2) The tropical deciduous forest
3) The thorn forest and scrubs, and
4) The tidal forest.

1) The Tropical Rain-forest - Trees in these forest do not have a distinct season of shedding leaves, as the region is warms and wet throughout the year. They are evergreen. They are best where rainfall is more than 200 cms with short dry season. Such areas are thus confined to the rainy slopes of the Western Ghats, plains of west Bengal and Orissa and North - eastern India. Some of the commercially useful trees found in these forests are ebony, mahogany and rosewood.
2) The Tropical Deciduous forests - These are also called the monsoon forests par excellence because they form the natural cover almost all over India particularly between regions of 200 and 75 cms. of rainfall subdivided into two they are (1) Moist, and (2) dry deciduous. The former is found on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. Teak is an important specie of this region. The moist deciduous are also found in the northeastern part of the peninsula i.e., around Chotanagpur plateau covering east Madhya Pradesh, South Bihar and West Orissa. They are also common along the Shiwaliks in the north. Sal is the most important tree of the dry deciduous type. They are also called deciduous because they shed leaves for about six to eight weeks in summer.
3)The Thorn and Scrub Forests - These are confined to areas with rainfall under 75 cms. It spreads over northwestern part of the country from saurashtra in the south to Punjab plains in the north. In the east it stretches from northern Madhya Pradesh ( mainly Malwa Plateau to south-west Uttar Pradesh covering Bundelkhand plateau. ) Kikar, Babul , Khair, Date palms are some of the useful trees. These forests gradually fade away into scrubs and thorny brushes.
Tidal forests - The tidal area along the coasts and rivers is covered with mangrove trees that can survive in both fresh and salt water. Sandal is a well - known mangrove tree. It is after this tree that the name Sundarban has been given to the forested part of Ganga - Brahmaputra delta.
Altitudinal Zones of Vegetation in Mountainous Regions - Altitude is an important consideration in the distribution of vegetation in mountainous region because temperature decreases with increasing altitude. The Shivaliks, the foothills of the Himalayas, are clothed with tropical moist deciduous flora with Sal being the most important specie. Bamboo trees are also common. It is then succeeded by wet hill forests between 1,000 to 2,000 metres above sea level. Evergreen broad leave oaks, chestnut and apples are common trees. Further up i.e., between 1,600 and 3,300 meters above sea level, pine, cedar, silver fir and spruce are some of the important species. These are the well - known coniferous forests of the temperate region. They yield place to alpineforests generally at 3,600 meters above sea level. They consist of silver firs, pine, birches and jumpers. Alpine forest gives way to alpine grassland through shrubs and scrubs.
Soil Resources - Soil is derived from parent rock material thorough the process of break up, wear and tear. Various forces of nature such as changing temperature, running water and wind etc. contributes in the evolution of soil.

Types of soil - Soils in India are generally devided into 4 broad types. They are (1) alluvial, (2) regur (3) red & (4) literate

(1) Alluvial soil - This is the most widespread and covers 40 percent of the land area. Almost the entire northern plains are made up of them. They have been brought down and deposited by the three Himalayans rivers - Satluj, Ganga and Brahmaputra and their tributaries. These soils consist of varying proportions of sand, silt and clay. Alluvial soils as a whole are very fertile and contain adequate amounts of potash, phosphoric acid and lime. But they are deficient in organic and nitrogenous content.
(2) Regur soil - They are black in color and are also known as black soil. They are ideal for growing cotton. They are most typical of the Deccan trap (Basalt) region spread over north - west Deccan plateau and are made up of lava flows. Black soil is known for there capacity to hold moisture. In addition, they are rich in soil nutrients, such as calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, potash and lime. But are poor in phosphoric content.
(3) Red soil - They have developed from old crystalline rocks under moderate to heavy rainfall conditions. They cover the eastern part of the peninsular block. They are deficient in phosphoric acid, organic matter and nitrogenous material.
(4) Lutetium soil - The laterite soil is a result of intense leaching owing to heavy tropical rains. They are usually found capping the flat uplands and are spread in western coastal region receiving very heavy rainfall. These soils are invariably poor and support only pastures and scrub forests.
(5) Desert soil and Mountain soil - The arid sandy soils include wind - borne loess. With irrigation facilities they can yield good harvest. The mountain soil includes peat, meadow, forest and hill soils. The forest soil can be described as soils in the making.

Chapter - 4 Land Use and Water Resources

Land Use Pattern of India - Nearly 51% of the total area, on an average are cultivated annually. The fallow lands are marginal lands & are kept so to restore their fertility. The area classified as cultivable waste has remained stationary at 6.4 percent for several decades. The land under permanent pastures is miserably low and indicates tremendous population pressure on our land. The forested land in India is far below the scientific form. For a self contained economy and proper ecological balance, at least a third of the total land area must be kept under forests and natural vegetation. In India it is as low as 19.4 %. A large part of the land, which is not utilized at the moment, is classified as wasteland. This includes the arid, rocky and sandy deserts.
Water Resources - An important use of water in India is for irrigation. Through water we have not only been able to extend the area under cultivation but also raise agricultural productivity. Being a monsoon land, the bulk of rainfall is confirmed to a brief period of three to four months. But the sibdirtribution of rainfall is abundant only in the northern and coastal plains.
Multi - Purpose River Valley Projects - In a multi - purpose river valley projects quite a few objectives are realized simultaneously. A huge single dam or a series of small dams are build on a rive and its tributaries. In the first place these man-made lakes help in impounding huge amounts of rainwater. To that extent they help in controlling floods and protecting soils. The same water comes handy in irrigating farms in command areas during the dry season. The catchment areas of these dams are now systematically afforested. This helps to preserve " wild Land " and natural ecosystem.
It is high time that we now restore ecological balance in the hilly catchment areas of our life - giving rivers. The stored water in the hilly and mountainous track generally provides high head and even is dry seasons. When made to fall from a high head helps in generating power. This is known as hydel power or hydro-electricity..
Multi - purpose river valley projects often provide for inland navigation through main rivers and canals and provide ideal conditions for development of fisheries.

Damodar Valley Project set an example towards managing water resources on scientific lines. It flows from Chotanagpur in South Bihar to West Bengal and was called 'the River of sorrow' owing to floods caused. The project consists of a series of small dams on the tributaries of Damodar. There are few hydelpower stations too: A navigable canal has also been developed.

The Bhakra Nangal Project is an example of water management on scientific lines on the largest scale. It is the highest gravity dam in the world and is located in the seismic zone and the hills that act as huge natural wall for storing water.

Indira Gandhi (Rajasthan Canal) Project is an ambitious scheme to bring new area under cultivation. The water of the river Beas and Ravi had to be diverted to Satluj.

The Kosi Project in Bihar has been able to control floods brought by the river Kosi, Known as the river of sorrow for north Bihar.

The Hirakud dam in Orissa is the longest dam in the world, which besides supplying water for irrigation, controls the flood in the Mahanandi delta.

The Tungabhadra Project serves Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The Nagarjunasagar Project is built on the river Krishna in Andhra Pradesh.
The Chambal Project helps irrigate parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Its main purpose is soil conservation in the Chambal basin.
India stands fifth in the world in potential waterpower resources. But inspite of advantages like annual rainfall etc. hydel - power resources has not been sufficiently tapped.