India:

Landforms and Resources

South Asia:

Mountains and Plateaus

• The most noticeable terrain feature of the subcontinent is the Himalaya Mountains.

• The Himalayas were formed about 50 million years ago.

• Back when Pangaea broke apart, India would charging to the north and rammed into Asia.

• Where India hits Asia, the Indian plate subductsbeneath the Eurasian plate, but the crust is forced upwards, producing the Himalayas, the world’s tallest mountain chain.

• In fact, the Himalayas are still growing at about 5 mm per year because the Indian plate is pushing in at about 67 mm per year.

• The Himalayas, of course, are where Mt. Everest is.

It’s 29,035 feet high –that’s 5.5 miles.

• Hindu Kush Mountains

• Along the western end of the Himalayas. Provide a barrier between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

• Khyber Pass is here which is a traditional route of invasion for everybody from Alexander the Great to the British.

• At its narrowest, it’s just 15 yards wide.

• Other mountain ranges:

• Vindhya

• Western and Eastern Ghats

• The arid Deccan Plateau lies in the middle. It’s arid because the mountains block moisture.

Rivers, Deltas, and Plains

• South Asia has three main rivers: the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra.

Indus

Brahmaputra

Ganges

• The rivers carry a great deal of alluvial soil (silt) that gets deposited on the alluvial plains and makes for an exceptionally fertile area.

• These plains support a massive population. Most of India’s 1 billion people live around here.