GKpedia-2 : India (Geography)

Does history lead to geography or geography leads to history? I often ask students this question in class when I talk about the history of English language.A pointer to a few events will make answering this question slightly easier:

• Why was UP (before it split into UP and Uttaranchal) the most populous state in India? [because the Ganga flows maximum through UP;man settled where there was water;Egyptian civilzation across the Nile,Indus Valley civilisation across the Indus and so on...]
• Why is agriculture the chief occupation in Punjab? [because it is a land of five rivers]
• People's culture is influenced largely by the geography of the place they live in

I guess now it is quite clear that Geography leads to History.
Hence to understand the other aspects about India we need to understand its geography first.

Geographical or Physical features of India

Area : total (land/water)
Land boundaries : Pakistan,China,Bhutan,Bangladesh,Burma and Nepal
Terrain : upland plain (Deccan plateau) in South ,flat to rolling plain along the Ganges,deserts in West and Himalayas in North
Natural resources : coal,iron ore,manganese,mica,bauxite,natural gas,diamonds,limestone (remember as many as you can)
Oceans and Sea : peninsula : the Arabian Sea in West, the Indian ocean in South and the Bay of Bengal in East

Rivers : Major rivers
The Ganga : The Ganges and its tributaries like Yamuna, Son, Gandak, Budhi Gandak and Saraswati have been left out of the list which actually formulates the biggest cultivable plains of north and eastern India, known as the Gangetic plains. Ganga starts from Gangotri glaciers in the Himalayas and flows from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and then enters West Bengal and Bangladesh. It ultimately ends in the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh, where it is known as Padma.
Indus river system : The Indus river and its 5 tributaries the Beas,the Chenab,the Sutlej,the Ravi and the Jhelum form the Indus river system and flow predominantly through Punjab giving Punjab its name (punj = five + abb =water)
The Brahmaputra river system : The Brahmaputra originates in the Mansarovar lake, also the source of the Indus and the Sutlej. It is slightly longer than the Indus, but most of its course lies outside India.In India, it flows through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and is joined by several tributaries
The Narmada river system : The Narmada is a river in central India.It forms the traditional boundary between North India and South India
The Tapi river system : The Taapi is a river of central India
The Godavari river system : The river with second longest course within India
The Krishna river system : The Krishna is one of the longest rivers of India .It originates at Mahabaleswar in Maharashtra and meets the sea in the Bay of Bengal
The Kaveri river system : The Kaveri (also spelled Cauvery or Kavery) is one of the great rivers of India and is considered sacred by the Hindus.this is the holy river of south indians.
The Mahanadi river system

Forest and wild life cover : Kaziranga National Park (WHS) : Located in Assam, this is one of the last areas in northern India undisturbed by man. The largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses in the world inhabits Kaziranga Park.
Keoladeo National Park (WHS) : This park was once a duck hunting reserve of the Maharajas. Today it is one of the major wintering areas for large numbers of aquatic birds from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China, and Siberia. Some 364 species of birds, including the rare Siberian crane, have been recorded in the Park.
Sundarbans National Park (WHS): The mouths of the Ganges form the world's largest delta, and part of this vast mangrove swamp, some 100 km south of Calcutta, is a 2585-sq-km wildlife reserve. Part of Project Tiger, Sundarbans has one of the largest tiger populations of any of India's parks.
Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks (WHS): Strong winds, daily drizzle, and regular heavy snowfall have created a unique climate and hence a distinctive flora and fauna in this largely inaccessible region. Notable fauna inclue the musk deer, leopard, Himalayan black bear and the snow partridge.

If you think I have missed out any information regarding the physical features or characteristics of India please post them in the comments section of this post.

Physical map of India