IX Geography Ch-1 India – Size and Location

 

IX Geography Ch-1

India – Size and Location

Location of India

 

*  India is a vast country. It lies entirely on the north of the equator.  India is a southward extension of the Asian continent.

*  The  main  land  extends  between  latitudes  8°4'N  and  37°6'N  and  longitudes  68°7'E  and  97°25'E. The  latitudinal  and  longitudinal  extent  of  the  mainland  is  about  30°longitudes.

*  The Tropic of Cancer (23° 30'N) divides the country into almost two equal parts.

 *Andaman and Nicobar Islands are situated towards the Southeast of the Indian mainland in the Bay of Bengal .

* Lakshadweep Islands are situated towards the Southwest of the Indian mainland in the Arabian Sea.

*Cape comorin is the southernmost tip of the main land of India , Indra point is the southernmost point of India. It submerged under the sea water in 2004 during the Tsunami. The entire landmass was erased from the map of India.

Size of India

 

 *The land mass of India has an area of 3.28 million square km. India’s total area accounts  for about 2.4 per cent of the total geographical area of the world.

*India  is  the  seventh  largest  country  of  the  world.  India has a  land  boundary  of  about  15,200 km and the total length of the coastline of the mainland including Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep is 7,516.6 km.

Russia,  Canada,  China,  USA,  Brazil, Australia are larger than India.

* India  is  bounded  by  the  young  fold  mountains  in  the northwest,  north  and  north  east.

22 degree North latitude in South, Indian peninsula narrows and extends towards the Indian Ocean, dividing it into two seas – Arabian Sea in the West and Bay of Bengal in the East.

*The north south distance in Kilometers is 3214 and the east west distance is 2933 km.

 

                                                             

Questions

1. The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of India is 30 degrees. But the north south distance  is larger than the east west distance. Why?

2.What is latitude? What is the latitudinal extent of India?

3. Name the southernmost point of Indian Union. It is visible today?

4. Write a note on the location and size of India.

Effects of latitudes

Latitudinal extent (Effects )

 

Latitudes influence the climate of India as well as the duration of day and night

 

* Due to the vast latitudinal extent of India, the difference between the duration of  day and night is hardly felt at Kanyakumari because it  is  located  near  to  the  equator. 

Therefore  it  experiences  direct  sunrays  for nearly  6  to  8  months  continuously.

Delhi  is  located  far  away  from  the  equator (sub tropical zone )  So  the difference of day and night is longer

*Places near the Equator experience almost equal duration of day and night as the Sun shines overhead throughout the year.

* Going  away  from  Equator  towards  the  Poles,  the  durations  of  day  and  night  go  on  differing.

*The tropic of Cancer divides the country almost into tropical and sub-tropical  zone

 

Geographical Importance of India

(Influence of Geographical location )

 

The  Indian  landmass  has  a  central  location  between  the  East  and  the  West  Asia.  India  is  a  southward extension of the Asian Continent.

The trans-Indian Ocean routes which connect  the countries of Europe in the west and the countries of East Asia provide a strategic central location to India. India occupies the most eminent position within the Indian subcontinent

 

1. Relations: 

The global position of India is advantageous for the establishment of relation with other countries. India is located more or less at the centre of four continents viz. Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia.

The Indian Ocean connects India with other parts of the world through waterways. India developed good relations with the S.E.asian countries which shares land and sea borders with India.

 

2. Control over the Indian Ocean: 

India lies at the head of the Indian Ocean. Such situation of India has contributed towards the control over the Indian Ocean.

The long coastline of the country in the Indian Ocean gives it an eminent position which justifies the name of the ocean. 

3. Climate:

 The geographical location also influences the climate of the country. The presence of the Himalayas in the north checks the inward flow of the south-west Monsoon to make rain. Obstructing the passage of cold wind the Himalayas reduce the severity of winter.

4. Oceanic Trade and Commerce: On the south, the peninsular India is bounded by the Indian Ocean. This opening in the Seas offers India to use ocean routes and to promote trade and commerce.

5. Defense: The location of Himalayas, the Indian Desert and the Indian Ocean are important for the defense of India. They help to strong the Indian Military and Navy.

Central location of India in Indian ocean makes it the natural naval power

 

 

Indian Ocean

Indian ocean is named after India because

1.no other country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has.

2. The Deccan Peninsula in the Indian Ocean helps to establish close contacts from the western coastal plains and the eastern coastal plains.

3. The Indian landmass has the central location between the East and the West Asia. The Trans Indian Ocean routes connect the countries of Europe in the west and the countries of East Asia.

 Thus India has eminent position  in the Indian Ocean which justifies the naming of an ocean after it.

 

India’s Neighbours

 

The land  boundary  of  India  is  protected  by  mountain  ranges,  giving  India  a  safer  location  with  respect  to  its  neighbours. India occupies the most eminent position within the Indian subcontinent and has strong geographical  and  historical  links  with  its  neighbours.

*India has an important position in South Asia and has 29 States and 7 Union Territories.

India shares its boundaries with Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan.

*In the Northwest: Pakistan and Afghanistan

In the North: China, Nepal and Bhutan

In the East: Myanmar and Bangladesh

Down South: Sri Lanka and Maldives

*The two water bodies that separate Sri Lanka from India are :

(i)The Palk Strait and

(ii)The Gulf of Mannar.

*Bangladesh shares the longest boundary with India which is 4053 km long.

*The southern neighbours across the sea consist of the two island countries, namely Maldives and Sri Lanka.

 

Indian states and neighboring countries.

 

(i)  Pakistan : Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

(ii)  China :Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

(iii)  Myanmar :Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram.

(iv)  Bangladesh :Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura.

 

 

Questions

1.Why is the difference between the durations of day and night hardly felt at Kanyakumari but not so in Kashmir?

2.How many states form the Union of India? Write a note on the smallest and the largest Indian states.

3.Describe  briefly  the  geographic location  of  India  in  Asia.  What is the  significance  of India’s  geographic location?

4.Which  are  the  countries  with  which  India  shares  land  boundaries?  Write  a  short  note  about  India’s position among its neighbours.  

                                                                                                                                               

Longitudinal extent (Effect)

 

Due to the vast latitudinal extent of India there are differences in local time at different places.

 

Local Time

*The time taken according to the overhead position of the Sun in a particular place is known as the local time of that place.

*It differs by 4 minutes with every one degree longitude.

*The places located on the same longitude have the same time and places located at different longitudes, in the same country, have different times.

 

Standard Time

*The Time which is fixed on the basis of particular longitude in a country is called

Standard Time

*The standard meridian of India is 82  ° E longitude

*The time on 82  ° E longitude which is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of G.M.T. is called I.S.T. (Indian Standard Time)

 

 

Indian Time zone

*The local time difference arises because the sunrise is earlier in the east than in the west.

*Arunachal Pradesh lies on the eastern most tip of the country and Gujarat lies on the western most tip. Due to the   longitudinal  extent  of  the  mainland  is  about  30°.

* From Gujarat to Arunachal  Pradesh  there  is  a  time  lag  of  two  hours.

Calculation

From Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat there are 30 longitudes (68°7´E to 97°25´E)

Time taken by light to cross a longitude = 4 min

Time taken by light to cross 30 longitudes = 4X30= 120 min or 2 hours.

 

*Hence, we can say that the time difference of 2 hours exists from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat.

* Hence to  avoid  confusion,  the  time  along the mid point of the two places i.e. 82°30'E  longitude, passing through Mirzapur (in  Uttar Pradesh) is taken as the Standard Meridian for the whole country.

This is done  to maintain uniformity of time in the whole country .

Subcontinent

A big geographical unit which stands out distinctively from the rest of the continent is called a sub-continent.

*India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Srilanka and Maldives forms the Indian subcontinent 

.

 

India is called a subcontinent because of the following reasons :

(i) It is a distinct geographic unit separated from the Asian continent by the majestic

Himalayas and its extensions.

(ii) It has its own culture as distinct from the rest of Asia.

(iii) The climate of Indian subcontinent is characterised by monsoon type of climate.

 

Questions

1. The sun rises two hours earlier in Arunachal Pradesh as compared to Gujarat in the west but the watches show the same time. How does this happen?

2.The central location of India at the head of the Indian Ocean is considered of great significance. Why?

3. Difference between the local time and standard time.

4. Define the term sub-continent. Why is India called a subcontinent                                                                                                                                                       

The Suez Canal started functioning in 1869.

 

Benefits to India:

(i)  It reduced the distance between India and Europe by 7, 000 km.

(ii)  The canal is the boom for trade as it had reduced the transportation cost and

number of days  involved.

 

Benefits of Indian coastline

 

*The Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, extensions of the Indian Ocean, lie to the west and

east of Indian Peninsula, and the Indian Ocean lies to its south.

 

*The total length of the coastline of the mainland of India including Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep is 7516.6 km.

 

*The long coastline of India has helped in maritime trade since ages. The central location of

India at the head of Indian Ocean has provided it a strategic location along the trans-Indian

Ocean routes.

 

* India is able to establish close contact with West Asia, Africa and Europe from

western coast and with Southeast and East Asia from the eastern coast.

 

*The long coastline has also played a major role in influencing the climate of India. It provides opportunities for fishing and extraction of petroleum. It serves as a natural boundary protecting India.

 

land routes vs oceanic routes

(India’s cultural contact with the outside world.)

 

1.The various passes across the mountains in the north have provided passages to the travelers

 when the oceans restricted such an interaction for a long time.

 

2. These routes have contributed in the exchange of ideas and commodities in the

ancient times like the ideas of the Upnishads, Ramayana, The Indian numerals and

the decimal system.

The spices, muslin and many other merchandise were taken from India to different countries

through land routes .

 

3. Also, the influence of Greek sculpture, and the architectural styles of domes and

minarets can be seen in the different parts of our country.

Therefore, we can say that the land routes of India with other countries are older

than her maritime routes.

 

Questions

 

1.Give a brief account of India’s cultural contactwith the outside world.

2.How have the ancient and much older lands routes contributed to exchange of ideas

and goods ? Explain.

OR How did India’s land and maritime contacts with the world  contribute to its trade and  culture? Explain

3. How have mountain passes been helpful to India since historic times?

4. How has the long coastline been beneficial to India?

5. The Tropic of Cancer passes half-way through the country. What does this imply?