Page 160 - SST Class 06

THE LAND ries. The length of our land borders with neigh-

Our country covers an area of 3.28 million sq. bouring countries is as under.
km. It is the seventh largest country in the world.
Name of Length of the
It accounts for about 2.4 percent of the world’s
the country Border (in km)
total geographic area. A little over 80 percent of
the land is inhabited by the people, their agricul- Bangladesh 4,096.7
tural fields, roads, buildings or grazing ground. China 3,488
Indian Ocean greatly contributes to shaping of its
Pakistan 3,323
climate. There is a great variety in both natural
and man-made features of our land. We have Nepal 1,751
almost all the climatic regions of the world. So, Myanmar 1,643
here is a great variety of flora and fauna. The Bhutan 699
man-made features like dress, culture, languages Afghanistan 106
and religions have also a great variety seen
nowhere else in the world. To cap it all India is While India shares its land boundary with all
the second most populous country (the first being these countries, none of them have common
China) in the world. boundary between themselves. In the South is
The southern part of the land is called peninsula. the Indian Ocean; the nearest neighbouring
A peninsula is a land form that is surrounded by countries together have formed an association
water on three sides and one side connected to called South Asian Association for Regional Co-
the mainland. operation (SAARC). India has good relations
with all its neighbours including Pakistan and
Locational Setting
China.
India is geographically located at 28° 36.8' N and
77° 12.5' E in the northern hemisphere of the Political and Administrative Divisions
globe. India got its independence in 1947. The land-
India is located in south Asia and is bordered by mass of India is divided into 28 states and
other countries like Pakistan in the west, China and 9 Union Territories. The Andaman and Nicobar
Nepal in the north to north eastern part, Bhutan in Islands are in the Bay of Bengal. The
the north east and Myanmar in the west. Lakshadweeep Islands, on the coast of Kerala,
are in the Arabian sea. In terms of Geographic
Stretched over an area of 3, 287, 263 sq. km.,
area Rajasthan is the largest state and Goa is the
the peninsular India is world’s 7th largest country.
3214 kms of the mainland between the farthest smallest state.
latitudes is covered by north India to south India, Physical Divisions
whereas, 2933 kms of the farthest longitudes is A country is often divided into certain continuous
covered from eastern to western India. This vast geographic parts having common relief features.
area of 1, 269, 219 sq miles make the country The common relied features are like mountains,
highly prominent on the maps of the world. plateaus, plains, deserts, etc.

NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES The five broad physical divisions of India are the
India has 15,106.7 km of land border and a following :
coastline of 7,516.6 km including island territo- 1. The Northern Mountains

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