India, with an area of 3287590 sq. km of the seventh state of the earth, extends in an east-west direction from the 68th 97. Until the east longitude over 3000 kilometers rounds. From north to south, between 8 and the 37th Degrees North latitude, the extension is about 3.200 kilometers. India borders six countries: Pakistan (2,912 kilometers), China (Tibet, 3380 kilometers), Nepal (1,690 kilometers), Bhutan (605 kilometers), Myanmar (1,463 kilometers) and Bangladesh (4,053 kilometers). The total border length is 14,103 km. As the Northern part of the disputed Kashmir since 1949 under Pakistani control, India has no common border with Afghanistan more. The coast of the country is approximately 7.000 kilometers long.

The natural border to the north and northwest, the Himalayas, the tallest mountains in the world, the extreme northwest of the Indus from the high Karakoram separated. South of the Himalayas include the widths, power levels of the fertile Ganges and Brahmaputra river in. Northwest India, including the Brahmaputra-level, connects only a narrow corridor between Nepal and Bangladesh and. Bhutan with the rest of the country. The Northeast region is represented by the up to 3800 meters high Patkai or Purvachalgebirge Myanmar and that of almost 2000 meters high Khasigebirge of Bangladesh shielded.

In the west, the country of the Ganges flow in the Thar desert on the east and south by Aravalligebirge limited. The south lie the marshes of the Rann of Kachchh and Kathiawar peninsula.

The highlands of Dekkan takes the largest part of the wedge-shaped in the Indian Ocean, the Indian Peninsula lent one. The Vindhya and the Satpuragebirge shield the Dekkan of the swing plane in northern AB. In the West, he of the up to 2700 meters high Westghats, in the east of the shallower Ostghats limited. Both mountain ranges meet in the south, where the Cape Peninsula Spitz Komorin together. The fallen Westghats Steep to Konkan and Malabar Coast along the Arabian Sea from. The Ostghats go in the wider coastal plains on the eastern Bay of Bengal on.

For India also carries three belong to the Indian subcontinent offshore island groups. Some 300 kilometers of the western Malabar Coast, the coral atolls of Lakshadweep, the island groups of Lakkadiven and includes Amindiven and the Minicoy island. Southeast of the peninsula from 1000 to 1600 kilometers from the Indian mainland, extend the Andaman and Nicobar.

India is the highest point is Mount with 8598 meters above sea level, located in the far west of Sikkim in the immediate vicinity of the border to Nepal rises. Entirely on Indian territory, the highest mountain is the Nanda Devi meters with 7822nd The deepest point is two meters below sea-lying Kuttanad Šenk on the Malabar Coast.

Rivers and Lakes

All major rivers of India originate in one of the three main watersheds of the subcontinent: in the Himalayas, in the Central Indian Vindhya and Satpura mountains or in the Westghats.

India's longest and undoubtedly the most important river is the Ganges (Ganga), which originates in the Himalayas. Its longest tributary, the Yamuna and the Gumti, the Chambal is a tributary of the Yamuna. The Brahmaputra, which flows through the country in the northeast, unites with the Ganges and is prior to the estuary in the Bay of Bengal a huge delta, which India but only in the western part. The major part of the ongoing delta is located on the territory of a neighboring country Bangladesh. Almost a third of India's land belongs to the catchment of the Ganges and Brahmaputra.

In the far north, though, the Indus in the northwest-southeast direction of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The highlands of Dekkan used by several major rivers drained. The Narmada and Tapti flow into the Arabian Sea, while Godavari, Krishna, Mahanadi and Kaveri Bay of Bengal to the flow.

Despite its size, India has only a few large natural lakes. There were irrigation and power generation purposes in the whole country some huge reservoirs created. The largest are the Hirakud Dam (746 km 2) in Orissa, the Gandhi-Reservoir (648 km 2) in Madhya Pradesh and-Govind Ballabh Pant-Reservoir (465 km 2) on the border between Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Geology

The theory of continental drift is estimated that India until the late Jurassic to Southern continent Gondwana belonged. Only in the Cretaceous period tore it from the mainland of Antarctica plaice and drifted into geological extremely short 50 million years across the entire Tethys Ocean to the south of the Eurasian plate. The juxtaposition of the two continents depending on the source was about 43-64 million years at the beginning of the Paläogens. In the resulting joint "crumple zone" of these crustal movements were the Himalayas and adjacent mountain systems postponed (Auffaltung the former continental margins) and the highlands of Tibet raised.

Although individual crustal sections have been welded together to move the Indian plate to the north today, so that the Himalayas by a few millimeters per year highlights - as well as other mountain folds of the earth, of which he is one of the youngest. The upstream river levels, it is created by sediment deposits in the Pleistocene.

Considerably more diverse are the rock formations of the Dekkan. The majority of proterozoische take formations in the south and east, in the Cretaceous volcanic emerged Dekkan-Trapp in the West and Northwest and unshaped Kraton in the northeast and north, which is one of the oldest parts of the earth belong.

Climate

With the exception of the mountainous regions is in northern and central India mainly continental subtropical climate, the south and in coastal areas on the other hand, a more maritime tropical climate. To join in the north during the year partly to considerable temperature fluctuations. While in the northern lowlands in December and January only 10 to 15 degrees Celsius prevail, in the hottest period April-June maximum temperatures of 40 to about 50 degrees Celsius is possible. In the south, on the other hand, it is hot all year, but constant.

The rainfall situation in the whole country will be significantly influenced by the Indian monsoon. The southwest or summer monsoon sets in most parts of the country in June and will vary depending on the region by September or October fruitful precipitation. Due to the very different topography, the rainfall distribution, however, highly uneven. The strongest downpours are on the west coast, in the Westghats, on the slopes of the Himalayas and settled in Northeast India. On the other hand, it is the driest in the Thar. Coming from Central Asia, the Northeast and winter monsoon winds from October to June bring little moisture, so in most places 80 to about 90 percent of total annual rainfall in the summer months. Only the south-east is also during the northeast monsoon rains, because the air currents over the Bay of Bengal absorb moisture.