Physical Geography of South Asia
Honors Humanities
Introduction
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka are all considered part of the Indian Subcontinent, a major subdivision of a continent, with Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan on the fringe. All of these countries are developing (remember the characteristics of developing countries?). India itself has the second highest population in the world right behind China, but India is expected to surpass China soon because China has instituted the “one child” policy. The physical geography of this region is very complex with many landforms and climate types.
Three Dominant River Systems
There are three dominant river systems on the Indian subcontinent; all of them find their source in the Himalayas:
· Indus (west—in Pakistan)
· Ganges (in north/central India)
· Brahmaputra (east and northeast India and Bangladesh)
Four Major Landform Regions
q Mountain Region
The Mountainous region of South Asia centers around the Himalayas and Hindu Kush in the northern region of the Subcontinent. The Himalayas are the most famous landform in India, Nepal and Bhutan. The Hindu Kush is located in Afghanistan. These mountains were formed by tectonic activity millions of years ago. Mt. Everest and K2 are the two highest peaks in the world, exceeding 20,000 feet. These mountains are a major barrier to movement of air masses north and south. However, mountain passes such as the Khyber Pass in the Hindu Kush allow movement of people and cultural ideas. The region has limited population density where most of the population lives in mountain valleys. Climate varies with altitude.
q Plains Region
This region is the core of the subcontinent and is where the greatest population concentration is located. It is made up of the plains of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra rivers located in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Known as the Indo-Gangetic Plain it is the economic heart of the subcontinent and the center of the historic civilizations that dominated the region. The climates are dry in the west and tropical in the east. The soil is fertile and the land is generally flat making it a major agricultural region.
q Plateau Region
The Plateau region is dominated by the Deccan Plateau, which means “south” in Sanskrit. It is located south of the Indo-Gangetic plain and occupies most of the Indian peninsula. With an elevation of about 1,000-1,500 feet, the Deccan Plateau is an uplifted area that is dissected by rivers. The rivers break the plateau into hills, plateaus, ravines. In the center it has fertile soil that is good for cotton production. To the west and east, the Deccan Plateau is framed by mountains called Ghats (the word means “hills”) that separate it from the plains of the coasts. To the north the plateau is framed by the Vindhya Mountains.
q Coastal Plains Region
The Indian subcontinent is framed by coastal plains to the east and west of the ghats. The coastal plain on the southwest coast is called the Malabar Coast and has thick rainforest vegetation and a humid subtropical climate with plenty of rain. This coastal plain is highly fertile making it a productive farming area. The Coromandel Coast is a coastal plain located on the southeastern coast of the subcontinent between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal.
Climates of South Asia
q Highland Climate: north (in the Himalayas) climate varies with altitude.
q The Monsoon
The dominant climatic force of the subcontinent is the monsoon, a wind that changes directions with the seasons. The monsoons have the greatest influence on the northern and eastern parts of the subcontinent. In WINTER the winds blow from the north to south (from the Asian landmass) where the moisture is blocked by the mountains creating a DRY SEASON and drought. In the SUMMER the wind blows from south to north (from the Indian Ocean) causing a WET SEASON where the region receives drenching rainfall. Summer monsoons are the basis for agriculture in much of the subcontinent except in Pakistan where water comes from irrigating the Indus River. If the monsoon doesn’t come or comes too late, it is catastrophic for agriculture and people—FAMINE usually results. Reliance on the monsoons gives South Asians a fatalistic attitude—they feel that they don’t have control over their lives so they must accept their lot in life.
q Semiarid and Tropical wet/dry Climate
Found on the Deccan Plateau this climate provides enough rainfall for Tropical grasslands to grow. This climate, however, is plagued by inadequate summer moisture. The Western Ghats block rainfall from the interior of the Deccan Plateau resulting in a hot and dry climate.
q Arid and Semiarid Climate
The dry, arid and semiarid climates are found in the western part of the subcontinent in northwestern India, Pakistan (in the Great Indian or Thar Desert) and Afghanistan.