Geography of India
India is bordered by Pakistan, the People’s Republic of China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan[1]. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are island nations to the south of India. Politically, India is divided into 28 states, six federally administered union territories and a national capital territory. The political divisions generally follow linguistic and ethnic boundaries rather than geographic transitions.
Location and extent
India lies to the north of the equator between 8 degree 4 minutes and 37 degree 6 minutes north latitude and 68 degrees 7 minutes and 97 degrees 25 minutes east longitude. It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total land area of 3,287,263 km² (1,269,219 square miles). India measures 3,214 km (1,997 miles) from north to south and 2,933 km (1,822 miles) from east to west. It has a land frontier of 15,200 km (9,445 miles) and a coastline of 7,516.5 km (4,670.5 miles). The Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea are parts of India.
India is bounded on the southwest by the Arabian Sea and on the southeast by the Bay of Bengal. On the north, northeast, and northwest are the Himalayas. Kanyakumari constitutes the southern tip of the Indian peninsula, which narrows before ending in the Indian Ocean.
See also: Extreme points of India
Political geography
India is divided into 28 states (which are further subdivided into districts), six union territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. States have their own elected government, while Union Territories are governed by an administrator appointed by the union government.
States:
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttaranchal
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
Union Territories:
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Chandigarh
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Daman and Diu
Lakshadweep
Pondicherry
National Capital Territory:
The state of Jammu and Kashmir is claimed by India but disputed by Pakistan and China, who administer parts of the territory. The state of Arunachal Pradesh is claimed by China but administered by India.
Geographical regions
India is divided into seven geographic regions. They are
The northern mountains including the Himalayas and the northeast mountain ranges.
Indo-Gangetic plains
Thar Desert
Central Highlands and Deccan Plateau
East Coast
West Coast
Bordering seas and islands