India: Geography#
Location | Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan |
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Geographic Coordinates | 20 00 N, 77 00 E 20.0,77.0 |
Area | total: 3,287,263 sq km land: 2,973,193 sq km water: 314,070 sq km We are unable to verify those figures from Factbook, since the 6 main sources we used for checking give different figures as follows: Factbook: 3287263 DBpedia: 3287262 Geoname: 3287590 Infoplease: 3287590 Britannica: 3166414 Wolfram: 3287000 Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
Land boundaries | total: 13,888 km border countries: Bangladesh 4,142 km, Bhutan 659 km, Burma 1,468 km, China 2,659 km, Nepal 1,770 km, Pakistan 3,190 km |
Coastline | 7,000 km |
Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Kanchenjunga 8,598 m |
Highest Mountains | Due to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Kangchenjunga 8586 m; Kangchenjunga West 8505 m; Kangchenjunga South 8494 m; Kangchenjunga Central 8482 m; Distaghil Sar 7885 m According to Geonames: Nanda Devi 7816 m; Kamet 7756 m; Saser Kangri 7672 m; Kabru 7412 m; Badrinath 7138 m Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org Important Mountains |
Terrain | upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north |
Natural Hazards | droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes volcanism: Barren Island (elev. 354 m) in the Andaman Sea has been active in recent years |
Natural Resource | coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, rare earth elements, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone, arable land |
Land Use | arable land: 47.87% permanent crops: 3.74% other: 48.39% (2011) |
Climate | varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north |
Irrigated Land | 663,340 sq km (2008) |
Renewable Water Resources | 1,911 cu km (2011) |
Environment_CurrentIssues | deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Large Cities | Due to difference in city rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Mumbai; Delhi; Bengaluru; Chennai; Kolkata According to Geonames: Mumbai; Delhi; Bangalore; Kolkata; Chennai Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org Important Cities |
Geography-note | dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes; Kanchenjunga, third tallest mountain in the world, lies on the border with Nepal |