Geographical facts of India to boost your general knowledge

Geography of India

This post on geographical facts of India is a part of basic geographical facts which can increase your general knowledge and help in competitive exams as well. With no further ado, here we go

India's Geographical Location

India lies in the Asian continent and Northern Hemisphere between parallels of latitude 80 4’ and 370 6’ North and between the meridians of longitude 6807’ and 97025’ East. In the west, India shares its boundary with Pakistan In the South, Sri Lanka is India’s neighboring country In the north, Nepal and China are the neighboring countries. In the east, Bangladesh and Myanmar are the two major countries which surround India. In south-east of India, there is the Bay of Bengal, in south-west, it is the Arabian Sea and in South, it is the Indian Ocean and in the north, it is surrounded by the Himalayan range of mountains.

Important dimensions of India

1. India covers 2.4 percent of the Earth’s surface. 2. Total land area of India is 32,87,263 sq.km 3. Distance from east to west is 2,933 km 4. Distance from north to south is 3,214 km 5. The total length of the coastline of the mainland, Lakshadweep islands and Andaman and Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km. The coastline of the only mainland is about 6300 km

The important Geographical Structures of India

Major rivers of India

The longest Indian river is Ganga, its length is 2,640 km. The other major rivers of India are Indus (has five major tributaries: Sutlej, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi and Beas), Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna, Narmada, Tapti, Cauvery, Damodar, Mahanadi, and Periyar. The world’s largest delta is Sundarbans in West Bengal, is made by the Brahmaputra and the Ganga.

Mountains

They are Himalayas (highest mountains in the world and one of the youngest mountain ranges), Vindhya, Satpura, Sahyadri, Aravallis (one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world). Patkai (Purvanchal or Eastern mountains), and the Eastern Ghats.

Soil

The following table shows various types soils and related information [table id=19 /]

Agriculture

Agriculture in India: More than 50 percent of the area of the country is under the cultivation and about 64% of the Indian population is engaged in agriculture. There are two major crop seasons in India, viz, Rabi and Kharif

Rabi

It is sown in October or December and harvested in April or May. Major crops are barley, wheat, peas, gram, and mustard.

Kharif

It is sown in June, or July and harvested in September or October. Major crops are baja, cotton, jowar, rice and jute. Some interesting facts about Indian agriculture 1. Green Revolution was launched in India in 1967-68 for improving agricultural productivity. 2. Operation Flood was initiated in 1970 and mainly aimed at improving the milk production in India. 3. Yellow Revolution for improving oil seed production. 4. Blue Revolution for fisheries.

Forests

India has about 2% of the world’s area under forest cover. About 21% India is covered by forest. The target as per the national forest policy is to cover 33% of the area by forests. Important National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries: [table id=20 /] How'd you like this post, please share your thoughts in comments.