Geography of India

 

Geography of India

 

 

 

 

 

5. INDIA – LOCATION & SIZE

• The mainland of India, extends from Kashmir in the north to Kanniyakumari in the south and Arunachal Pradesh in the east to Gujarat in the west.
• India’s territorial limit further extends towards the sea upto 12 nautical miles (about 21.9 km) from the coast.
• India’s southern boundary extends upto 6°45' N latitude in the Bay of Bengal.
• The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of India are roughly about 30 degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

INDIA – LOCATION

 

• The actual distance measured from north to south extremity is 3,214 km, and that from east to west is only 2,933 km.
• The southern part of the country lies within the tropics and the northern part lies in the sub-tropical zone or the warm temperate zone.
• This location is responsible for large variations in land forms, climate, soil types and natural vegetation in the country.

INDIA – LOCATION

• India extends from 8° 4' north to 37° 6' north latitude and 68° 7' east to 97° 25' east longitude.  Its latitudinal and longitudinal extent is about thirty degrees.
• Away from the main land of India, the southern most point of the country in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Pygmalion Point or Indira Point is located at 6° 45' north latitude.
•  Its north-south extent from Indira Col in Kashmir to Kanniyakumari is 3,214 km

 

 

 

• Its east-west width from the Rann of Kachachh to Arunachal Pradesh is 2,933 km .
•  The longitudinal difference between Saurashtra in the west and Arunachal Pradesh in the east is about 30
• The earth moves around its axis through 360 in 24 hours. Thus, a difference of 1 degree longitude will make a difference of 4 minutes in time. Therefore the difference of local time between Saurashtra and Arunachal Pradesh is 30 x 4= 120 minutes or 2 hours.
• Since Arunachal Pradesh is towards the east, it will have sunrise about two hours before the sunrise at Saurashtra.
• Thus, the sun is quite high in the sky at Arunachal Pradesh while Saurashtra still waits for the first ray of the sun.

 

 

 

 

INDIA – LOCATION

• This difference in time might create confusion in air and rail timings and so many other things across the two states.
•  To avoid this confusion, 82°30′ East longitude is taken as the Standard Time Meridian of India and its local time is taken a standard throughout the country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

INDIA

• With an area of 32,87,263 sq km India is the seventh largest country of the world.
• After Russia, Canada, U.S.A., China, Brazil, and Australia.
• India accounts for about 24 per cent of the total surface area of the world.
• India is nearly twenty times as large as Great Britain, the country which ruled us for about two centuries.
• The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of the country dividing it into two latitudinal halves being about 15 degree from either end.