What is Indian subcontinent?
[[File:Indian Subcontinent (orthographic projection).svg|thumb|right|250px|The Indian subcontinent]] [[File:India 71-0 Ma.gif|thumb|The 6,000 km plus journey of the India landmass (Indian Plate) before its collision with Asia (Eurasian Plate) about 40 to 50 million years ago]] The '''Indian subcontinent''' is a term mainly used for the geographic region which includes: [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[Republic of India]], [[Maldives]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Sri Lanka]]. It is north of the [[Indian Ocean]]. It is south of the [[Himalayas]], one of the world's largest ranges of tall mountains.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-11-22|title=Indian subcontinent {{!}} Map, Countries, Population, & History {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Indian-subcontinent|access-date=2023-12-05|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> The subcontinent was once part of [[Gondwana]], the ancient southern [[supercontinent]]. Geologically, the origin of the [[Himalayas]] is the impact of the Indian [[tectonic plate]] travelling northward at 15&nbsp;cm per year to slowly squeeze the Eurasian continent, about 40-50 million years ago.<ref name=Kind>{{Cite web | last = Kind, Rainer 2007 | title = The fastest continent: India's truncated lithospheric roots | publisher = Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres | url = http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-10/haog-tfc101507.php | access-date = 2013-08-08 | archive-date = 2019-06-18 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190618124156/https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-10/haog-tfc101507.php | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>Levin, Harold 2006. ''The Earth through time''. 8th ed, Wiley, p189 and following. {{ISBN|0-471-69743-5}}</ref> The formation of the Himalayan arc resulted in the rock of the seabeds of that time being uplifted into mountains. An often-cited fact used to illustrate this process is that the summit of Mount Everest is made of [[ocean|marine]] [[limestone]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://geology.about.com/library/bl/peaks/blev