SSC CGL Geography · Indian Geography — Physical Features
Mountains, Plateaus and Plains of India
The Himalayas and their divisions, the hills of the North-East and the two Ghats, the peninsular plateau and the northern plains, and India's size, borders and island channels.
Why this matters
Thirty-one questions in the bank: 13 from the 2023 shifts, 13 from the 2024 shifts and five from the 2025 shifts, and 24 of them EASY. Most ask which range a hill belongs to, so learning the hills by range (Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, Meghalaya, Purvanchal) answers most of them.
Concept 1 of 3: The Himalayas and the north-eastern hills
Definition
The Himalayas:
- They stretch from the Indus (west) to the Brahmaputra (east), and shield India from cold winds from Central Asia.
- Divisions by river: Punjab Himalaya (Indus to Sutlej), Kumaon Himalaya (Sutlej to Kali), Nepal Himalaya (Kali to Teesta), Assam Himalaya (Teesta to Dihang).
- Kanchenjunga, India's highest peak, is in the Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas.
- Duns are long valleys between the Lesser Himalayas and the Shiwaliks; Dehra Dun is the largest.
The North-East:
- Purvanchal: the Patkai Bum, Naga, Manipur and Mizo hills. (The Pir Panjal is in Jammu and Kashmir, not Purvanchal.) Japfu peak is in Nagaland.
- Meghalaya plateau: the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills. Mawsynram, on the southern Khasi hills, gets the highest average rainfall in the world.
Practise this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Indian Geography — Physical Features · Mountains, Plateaus and Plains of India
Pir Panjal is not Purvanchal
Concept 2 of 3: The peninsular plateau, the Ghats and the plains
Definition
The Ghats:
- Western Ghats: the Anaimalai hills (with Anamudi), the Nilgiris and the Cardamom hills. UNESCO listed them in 2012: they shape the monsoon and are a world biodiversity hotspot.
- Eastern Ghats: the Shevaroy hills near Salem (Tamil Nadu), with Yercaud.
- Ooty, in the Nilgiris, gets no snow; Himalayan hill stations do.
The plateau:
- Its features include tors, spurs, block mountains and rift valleys.
- The Central Highlands extend east as Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand, and further east as the Chota Nagpur plateau, which the Damodar drains.
- The Deccan lava plateau is covered with fertile black soil.
The plains: the Northern Plains were built by the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra, and their alluvium makes them among the most fertile land in India. In the Thar, crescent dunes called barchans lie around Jaisalmer.
Practise this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Indian Geography — Physical Features · Mountains, Plateaus and Plains of India
Chota Nagpur is not drained by the Chambal
Concept 3 of 3: Size, borders and island channels
Definition
The facts:
- India covers about 2.4% of the world's area and is the seventh largest country.
- Bhutan borders Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, not Meghalaya.
- The Ten Degree Channel separates the Andaman from the Nicobar islands; the Nine Degree Channel lies in Lakshadweep.
- The Gulf of Mannar lies between India's south-eastern tip and the west coast of Sri Lanka.
- Of Puducherry's four parts, Karaikal lies nearest Sri Lanka. New Moore Island lay near Bangladesh.
- Mizoram is called the molasses basin, for its soft, loose deposits.
Practise this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 3 · Indian Geography — Physical Features · Mountains, Plateaus and Plains of India
The Gulf of Mannar faces Sri Lanka's west coast
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
Watch out for (3)
- Pir Panjal is not Purvanchal→ The Himalayas and the north-eastern hills
- Chota Nagpur is not drained by the Chambal→ The peninsular plateau, the Ghats and the plains
- The Gulf of Mannar faces Sri Lanka's west coast→ Size, borders and island channels
Test yourself on Indian Geography — Physical Features
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.