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It is a marshy land wide spread in the regions of excess dampness, thick forests, rich wild life etc. It is found to the south of Bhabar with wide marshy tract, where streams reappear to the surface.

The peninsular plateau (16 lakh sq.km) is the oldest and largest physical division of India.

The highest peak of Peninsular plateau is Anaimudi (2695m) situated in Annamalai hills of Kerala.

Anai Mudi (2,695m) in Annamalai hills of Kerala is the highest peak in south India.

The major regional divisions of Himalayas are: 

1. Punjab Himalayas (Sindhu-Sutlej) 

2. Kumaon Himalayas (Sutlej-Kali) 

3. Nepal Himalayas (Kali-Tista) 

4. Assam Himalayas (Tista-Brahmaputra)

K2 or Mount Godwin (8611 m) is the highest peak of India or Second highest peak of the world.

The Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats meet in Nilgiri Hills

Karakoram range, Ladakh range and Zaskar range.

Ganga River is called National River. 

The Deccan plateau lies between the Western and Eastern Ghats of South India.

The Sutlej, Ravi, Jhelum, Chenab and the Beas are the major tributaries of Indus river.

In the lower course of the river, due to gentle slope, the velocity of the river decreases and it involves into depositional work leading to the formation of rivierine islands. For example, Majuli in the Brahmaputra.

Damodar River is called Sorrow of West Bengal.

Sambhar Lake is the salt water lake in the Thar Desert. 

Wulur lake is the largest freshwater lake in India. 

Pulicat Lake (TN), Kolleru (AP) Chilka (Orissa) are the important back water lakes of India. 

Most of the Himalayan Rivers originate from the glaciers and they get water from the rainfall as well as from the glaciers.

Devaprayag . 

Because of hard rock bed and lack of silt and sand in their courses. They do not form meanders.

The distribution of rainfall in India is highly uneven and seasonal. The Himalayan rivers are perennial while the peninsular rivers are seasonal. During rainy season, much of the water is lost in floods and wasteful flow into the sea. But in other seasons there is scarcity of water. Even in India some parts gets more rainfall and some other parts get very low rainfall. The problems of floods and drought can be minimized through the interriver linkages or through national water grid, under which water from one river basin can be transferred to another river basin for optimum utilization. ’ 

The distribution of rainfall in India is highly uneven and seasonal. The Himalayan rivers are perennial while the peninsular rivers are seasonal. During rainy season, much of the water is lost in floods and wasteful flow into the sea. But in other seasons there is scarcity of water.

Even in India some parts get more rainfall and some other parts get very low rainfall. Consequently there are floods in one region and drought and famine in other regions in the country. The problems of floods and drought can be minimized through the inter-river linkages or through national water grid, under which water from one river basin can be transferred to another river basin for optimum utilization.

The inter-link would consist of two parts, a northern Himalayan River Development component and a southern peninsular river development component. The northern component would consist of series of dams built along the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers in India, for the purposes of storage, canals would be built to transfer surplus water from the astern tributaries of the Ganga to the west. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries would be linked with the Ganga and the Ganga with the Mahanadi river. This part of the project would provide additional irrigation and generate electricity.

Bhangar Plains: It is an Old Alluvium. It contains the Kankar nodules with calcium carbonates and it is less fertile. 

Khadar Plains: It is a new alluvium. It does not contain the kankar nodules and it is very fertile.

The pattern of the seasonal flow of water in a river is called its regime. It is the variability in its discharge throughout the course of a year in response to precipitation, temperature and drainage basin characteristics. The pattern of flow of water in the Himalayan river is different fro the peninsular river due to difference in climate. The Himalayan Rivers are perennial and the regime of the peninsular rivers is seasonal as they are dependent on monsoon rains.

Water dispute means any dispute or difference between two or more state governments with respect to the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or in, any inter State River or river valley. Water, being the most precious resource is required for domestic, irrigation and industrial purposes. Most of the Indian rivers flow across more than one state. Each of the state of the river tries to obtain the maximum quantity of water. This has resulted in many water disputes in the country. 

In the recent years the rivers flowing across more than two countries are also creating trouble between the neighbouring countries. At present river water dispute has become a global phenomenon. In the developing countries like India the inter-state dispute must be resolved quickly so that water resources could be utilized and harnesses properly for basic need and economic development. One of the measures could be to declare all the major rivers as national property and national schemes under Central assistance should be launched for the development of total command area of the concerned states. 

Interlinking of Rivers are played a significant role to solve the water dispute. The distribution of rainfall in India is highly uneven and seasonal. The problems of floods and drought can be minimized through the inter-river linkages or through national water grid, under which water from one river basin can be transferred to another river basin for optimum utilization.

The important inter-linking projects proposed are: 

1. The Ganga-Kaveri link canal connecting the basins of the son, Narmada, Tapti, Godavari, Krishna and Pennar. 

2. The Brahmaputra- Ganga link canal passing through Bangladesh. 

3. The Narmada canal passing through Gujarat and Rajasthan. 

4. The link canals between the rivers of the Western Ghats towards the east. 

5. The canal from the Chambal to central Rajasthan.

Dal Lake, Bhimtal, Nainiral, Loktak and barapani.

Amritsar located on the water divide between the Indus and Ganga river systems. 

The Lakshadweep islands are formed by corals.

India has a total of 247 islands. Of these 204 are in the Bay of Bengal and the remaining 43 are in the Arabian Sea. The islands of the Bay of Bengal are called Andaman and Nicobar islands, which are largely tectonic and volcanic in origin. In Andaman there are four groups of islands – North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman and Little Andaman, Port Blair the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Group Island is situated in South Andaman islands. Barren and Narcondam are famous volcanic islands in this group.

Nicobar are three groups of islands – Car Nicobar, Little Nicobar and Great Nicobar. The Andaman and Nicobar islands have warm tropical climate and receive heavy rainfall during monsoon seasons and they have thick forest and rich wildlife.

The islands of the Arabian Sea are called Lakshadweep Islands. These islands are very close top Kerala. These are coral in origin and are surrounded by fringing reefs. Kavarati is the capital of Lakshadweep islands. Minicoy and Amnidivi are the important groups in Lakshadweep.

Indian Desert: It lies to the west of the Aravallis. This desert is formed by the work of wind and climatic extremities. The total area of the desert is around 1, 75,000 sq.km. Rajasthan, parts of Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana come under Thar Desert.

The desert proper or central region of the desert is called ‘Marustali’. The atmospheric condition I the desert is extreme. During summer temperature exceeds 50° C and in winter it comes down to 10° C and below. Ganganagar of Rajasthan has recorded more than 54° C of temperature. The rainfall in the desert is very low. Roylee, a place in North Rajasthan, recorded the lowest rainfall in the country (8cm per year). Indian desert comprises mainly of sand dunes. There are a few salt lakes in the desert like Sambhar, Tal, Katu and it has thin 

The Luni is the important river among of the Great Indian Desert. 

Mahanadi river is called‘sarrow river of Orissa’.

• It lies towards the western margins of the Aravalli hills. 
• It is an undulating sandy plain covered with sand dunes. 
• This region receives very low rainfall below 150 mm per year. 
• It has arid climate with a low vegetation cover. 
• Streams appear during the rainy season. 
• Luni is the only river in this region 
• The Barchans cover larger areas but longitudinal dunes become more prominent near the Indo-Pakistan border.

The Great Indian Desert is located at the Western part of the Aravali Range.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are formed with volcanic activities.

The Chotanagpur plateau is called‘Ruhr of India’.

Mahendragiri in Orissa (1501m.) is the highest peak of Eastern Ghats.

In the Siwaliks many flat bottomed valleys are there, they are known as duns. The important duns are Dehradun, Kotadun, and Patili, Chaukambadun in Uttaranchal and Udampur and Kotli in Jammu and Kashmir.

The central plateaus are Malwa plateau, Bundhel Khand plateau, Bhagelkhand, ChotaNagpur and Ranchi plateau. 

The Himalayas are also classified into Regional and Longitudinal divisions. They are: 

The Kashmir Himalayas The Himachal Himalayas The Kumaun Himalayas The Central or Sikkim Himalayas The Eastern Himalayas.

a. The Kashmir Himalayas: They are spread over in Jammu and Kashmir for about 700 sq km. The important parallel ranges in the Kashmir Himalaya are Karakoram, Ladak, Zaskar and Pirpanjal. They are characterized by high snow covered peaks, largest number of glaciers, deep valleys and High Mountain passes. The north-eastern part of the Kashmir Himalayas is a cold region and it lies between the Grater Himalayas and the Karakorum ranges. A special feature of the Kashmir valley is the Karewas. The important mountain passes are Banihal, zojila, Chang-la, Khardung-la etc. 

b. The Himachal Himalayas: It is found in Himachal Pradesh and parts of Punjab, comprising of all the three ranges. The beautiful valleys of Kullu, Kangra, Lahul and Spiti known for orchards and scenic beauty are found here. Shipkila, Rohtang, bara- lacha la are the famous mountain passes and Kullu manali, shimla, Dalhousie, Chama etc.

c. The Kumaun Himalayas: This section extends from Sutlej to kali river valleys and has distance of 320 kms. The pilgrimage centers like Badrinath and Gangothri are located in this section of Himalayas.

d. The Central or Sikkim Himalayas: This section extends from kali to Tista and has a distance of about 800 kms. It is also called as Nepal Himalaya. Mount Everest is located in this 3 sectino of Himalaya. This section is further divided for the study into Sikkim, Darjeeling and Bhutan Himalayas.

e. The Eastern Himalayas: This range extends from Tista to Brahmaputra valley covering the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The width is about 730 kms Naga and Patkaibhum hills are located in this section. This region is very important for tea cultivation.

The Central or Sikkim Himalayas.

India is characterized by great diversity in its physical features. On the basis of physiography, the country is divided in to four major physical divisions. They are:

1. The Northern Mountains 

2. The Northern Plains 

3. The Peninsular Plateau 

4. The Coastal Plains and Islands

The Himalayas: This is loftiest and snow covered mountains in the world. The area occupied by the Himalayas was earlier a part of ‘Tethys Sea’. The formation of this mountain is by tectonic forces of Gondawana land Angara land masses. It is situated to the north of the Indus and Ganga and the Brahmaputra plains.. The slopes of the Himalayas are gentle towards the north and steep towards south.

The Himalayas have distinct characteristics of high relief, snow covered peaks, complex geographical structures, parallel separated by deep valleys and rich temperate vegetation.The Himalayas are classified into three parallel ranges based on altitude and latitude.

The Great Himalayas or Himadri The lesser Himalayas or Himachal The Outer Himalayas or Siwaliks.

a. The Great Himalayas or Himadri: These are the inner most loftiest and continuous ranges of mountains. The average height of the Great Himalayas is 6200 m and the width varies between 120 and 190 km. The important peaks of great Himalayas in India are, Kanchenjunga-8598m in Sikkim, Nanga Prabat-8126m, Nandadevi, Badrinath, Karmet, Trishuletc.

b. The lesser Himalayas or Himachal: These ranges are also known as Inner Himalayas or Himachal ranges. It is situated between great Himalayas inn the north and Outer Himalayas or Siwaliks in the south. Its average height is around 1500-4500m and the width is about 60 to 80 km. These are very rugged and complex ranges due to erosion by rivers. The important ranges in Lesser Himalayas are Pirpanjal, Dhaul Dhar and nag- tiba etc. The important Hill stations are Shimla, Musooire, Ranikeht, Nainital, Almora, Chakrata, Darjeeling etc. Kulu valley, Kangra valley, Spiti valley are the famous valleys of Himachal.

c. The Outer Himalayas or Siwaliks: These are the outer most ranges situated to the south of Lesser Himalayas, known as Siwaliks. The Siwaliks extend from Jammu & Kashmir in the North West to Arunachal Pradesh in east. The average height of this range is around 600-1500m and its width varies between 15-5Qklm. The siwaliks are formed from the sediments brought down by the rivers of lesser, and Greater Himalayas.

There are flat floored structure valleys between Siwaliks and Lesser Himalayas, Known as Siwaliks. The Siwaliks extend from Jammu&Kashmir in the North West to Arunchal Pradesh in east.

Dehradun is largest Dun of India.

Siwahk are called as outer Himalayas.

Karakorum range is called backbone of Asia.

The Yamuna is the longest (1380) and largest tributary of the Ganga.

The region or plain lying between two rivers. Ex: Ganga and Yamuna river is called as Do-ab region.

Godavari is the longest (1465km) and largest river of South India

Siachen (70Km) is the longest and largest glacier of India.

Narmada river.

The first hydro electric project of Asia was started on the river Kaveri in 1902 at Shivanasamudra (Shimsa). 

Kaveri (Cauvery-805 Km)