Physiography

The map is a full physical relief map of India, framed by a graticule that runs from 68°E to 96°E longitude and 8°N to 36°N latitude. The entire landmass is coloured according to elevation, using a shaded legend with four bands: 0–300 m, 300–600 m, 600–900 m, and above 900 m. This immediately lets you read the broad threefold physiographic structure of the country — the low, flat northern plains and coastal strips in the lightest shade; the medium-elevation peninsular plateau in the middle tones; and the high Himalayas in the darkest shade.

The map marks eight major peaks with point symbols: K2, Nanda Devi, Dhaula Giri, Anna Purna, Mt Everest, Kanchenjunga, Makalu, and Namcha Barwa. These are not scattered randomly — they trace the arc of the Himalaya from the northwest (K2) through the central massifs (Nanda Devi, Dhaula Giri, Anna Purna, Mt Everest, Makalu, Kanchenjunga) to the eastern syntaxis (Namcha Barwa). The mountain ranges themselves are labelled directly on the map: Karakoram, Zaskar, Shiwalik, Himalaya, Aravalli, Vindhya, Satpura, Ajanta, Western Ghats, and Eastern Ghats. Notice how the Himalaya label sits behind the Shiwalik and Zaskar, showing the parallel ranges of the young fold mountains, while the Aravalli, Vindhya, and Satpura run across the peninsular block, and the Western and Eastern Ghats flank the two coasts.

Major rivers are drawn across the map, though the description does not name them individually. Their courses, however, reinforce the drainage divide: the Himalayan rivers flow south out of the high mountains into the plains, while the peninsular rivers follow the slope of the plateau. The map also carries six numbered circular markers (1 to 6), each pointing to a specific physiographic division discussed in the text — the Northern Plain, the Peninsular Plateau region, the Indian Desert, and the other major divisions. These markers are the pedagogical core of the map: they tie the visual relief to the chapter's classification of India's physical units. …