Size

India’s size is not just a number on a map — it is the reason the country holds such striking physical variety. Because the landmass is so large, you can find snow-covered peaks in one part and hot desert sands in another, all within the same nation. This size has shaped the country’s geography, its climate, and even its historical isolation.

The physical diversity that comes with this size is easy to see. In the north stand lofty mountains; large rivers like the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Krishna, Godavari and Kaveri flow across the land; the northeast and south India are covered with green forested hills; and the vast sandy stretch of Marusthali (the Thar desert) lies in the west. A single country, yet the landscape changes completely from region to region.

This large size also makes India a distinct geographic entity. Bounded by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindukush and Sulaiman ranges in the northwest, the Purvachal hills in the northeast, and the Indian Ocean in the south, India forms what is known as the Indian subcontinent. This subcontinent includes not just India but also Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The mountains that ring the subcontinent have played a major role in its history. The Himalayas, along with the other ranges, acted as a formidable physical barrier in the past. Crossing them was difficult — only a few mountain passes allowed entry, such as the Khyber, the Bolan, the Shipkila, the Nathula and the Bomdila. Because of this barrier, the subcontinent developed a unique regional identity of its own, relatively cut off from the rest of Asia.

You can appreciate this diversity by tracing journeys on a physical map. Travelling from Kashmir in the north to Kanniyakumari in the south, or from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to Imphal in Manipur, you would pass through vastly different landforms — mountains, plains, plateaus, hills and deserts.

The peninsular part of India extends southward into the Indian Ocean. This extension gives the country a long coastline: 6,100 km along the mainland, and 7,517 km when you include the island groups as well. These islands are the Andaman and Nicobar group in the Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea. …