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India:
Landforms and Resources
South Asia:
Mountains and Plateaus
• The most noticeable terrain feature of the subcontinent is the Himalaya Mountains.
• The Himalayas were formed about 50 million years ago.
• Back when Pangaea broke apart, India would charging to the north and rammed into Asia.
• Where India hits Asia, the Indian plate subductsbeneath the Eurasian plate, but the crust is forced upwards, producing the Himalayas, the world’s tallest mountain chain.
• In fact, the Himalayas are still growing at about 5 mm per year because the Indian plate is pushing in at about 67 mm per year.
• The Himalayas, of course, are where Mt. Everest is.
It’s 29,035 feet high –that’s 5.5 miles.
• Hindu Kush Mountains
• Along the western end of the Himalayas. Provide a barrier between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• Khyber Pass is here which is a traditional route of invasion for everybody from Alexander the Great to the British.
• At its narrowest, it’s just 15 yards wide.
• Other mountain ranges:
• Vindhya
• Western and Eastern Ghats
• The arid Deccan Plateau lies in the middle. It’s arid because the mountains block moisture.
Rivers, Deltas, and Plains
• South Asia has three main rivers: the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra.
Indus
Brahmaputra
Ganges
• The rivers carry a great deal of alluvial soil (silt) that gets deposited on the alluvial plains and makes for an exceptionally fertile area.
• These plains support a massive population. Most of India’s 1 billion people live around here.