CLASS 9 Ch- 2 Physical Features of India India has practically all major physical features of the earth i.e. mountains, plains, deserts, plateaus and islands. India is a large landmass formed during different geological periods which has influenced its relief. Besides geological formations, a number of processes such as weathering, erosion and deposition have created and modified the relief its present form. The movement of the plates results in the building up of stresses within the plates and the continental rocks above, leading to folding, faulting and volcanic activity. Broadly, these plate movements are classified into three types. Convergence : While some plates come towards each other and form convergent boundary. Divergence : Some plates move away from each other and form divergent boundary. Transform : In the event of two plates coming together they may either collide and crumble, or one may slide under the other. At times, they may also move horizontally past each other and form transform boundary. The physical features of India can be grouped under the following physiographic divisions :- (i) The Himalayan Mountains (ii) The Northern Plains (iii) The Peninsular Plateau (iv) The Indian Desert (v) The Coastal Plains (vi) The Islands Formation of Himalayas The oldest landmass, (the Peninsula part), was a part of the Gondwana land. The Gondwanaland included India, Australia, South Africa and South America as one single land mass. The convectional currents split the crust into a number of pieces, thus leading to the drifting of the Indo-Australian plate after being separated from the Gondwana land, towards north. The northward drift resulted in the collision of the plate with the much larger Eurasian Plate. Due to this collision, the sedimentary rocks which were accumulated in the geosynclines known as the Tethys were folded to form the mountain system of western Asia and Himalaya.
CLASS 9 Ch- 2 Physical Features of India India has practically all major physical features of the earth i.e. mountains, plains, deserts, plateaus and islands. India is a large landmass formed during different geological periods which has influenced its relief. Besides geological formations, a number of processes such as weathering, erosion and deposition have created and modified the relief its present form. The movement of the plates results in the building up of stresses within the plates and the continental rocks above, leading to folding, faulting and volcanic activity. Broadly, these plate movements are classified into three types. Convergence : While some plates come towards each other and form convergent boundary. Divergence : Some plates move away from each other and form divergent boundary. Transform : In the event of two plates coming together they may either collide and crumble, or one may slide under the other. At times, they may also move horizontally past each other and form transform boundary. The physical features of India can be grouped under the following physiographic divisions :- (i) The Himalayan Mountains (ii) The Northern Plains (iii) The Peninsular Plateau (iv) The Indian Desert (v) The Coastal Plains (vi) The Islands Formation of Himalayas The oldest landmass, (the Peninsula part), was a part of the Gondwana land. The Gondwanaland included India, Australia, South Africa and South America as one single land mass. The convectional currents split the crust into a number of pieces, thus leading to the drifting of the Indo-Australian plate after being separated from the Gondwana land, towards north. The northward drift resulted in the collision of the plate with the much larger Eurasian Plate. Due to this collision, the sedimentary rocks which were accumulated in the geosynclines known as the Tethys were folded to form the mountain system of western Asia and Himalaya.
physical-features-of-india-notes.docx