Geography of India Main Idea *Indian civilizations developed first developed on the Indus River. Landforms and Rivers India is huge. In fact, it is so big
that many geographers call it a subcontinent. A subcontinent is a large landmass that is smaller than a continent. Subcontinents are usually separated from the rest of their continents by physical features. If you look at the map on the next page, for
example, you can see that mountains largely separate India from the rest of Asia. Among the mountains of northern India are the Himalayas, the highest mountains in
the world. To the west are the Hindu Kush. Though these mountains made it hard to enter India, invaders have historically found a few paths through them.
To the west of the Himalayas is a vast desert. Much of the rest of India is covered by fertile plains and rugged plateaus. Several major rivers ow out of the Himalayas. The valley of one of them, the Indus, was the location of Indias first civilization. The Indus is located in present
day Pakistan, west of India. When heavy snows in the Himalayas melted, the Indus ooded. As in Mesopotamia and Egypt, the ooding left behind a layer of fertile silt. The silt created ideal farmland for early settlers. Climate Most of India has a hot and humid climate. This
climate is heavily inuenced by Indias monsoons , seasonal wind patterns that cause wet and dry seasons. In the summer, monsoon winds blow into India from the Indian Ocean, bringing heavy rains that can cause
terrible oods. Some parts of India receive as much as 100 or even 200 inches of rain during this time. In the winter, winds blow down from the mountains. This forces moisture out of India and creates warm, dry
winters. Indias Geography Notes 1. Subcontinent 2. A large landmass that is smaller than a continent 3. Mountains 4. Himalayas
5. Hindu Kush 6. Vast Desert a. Fertile plains b. Rugged plateaus 7. Indus, fertile silt 8. Hot and humid, monsoons
9. Seasonal wind patterns that cause wet and dry seasons 10. Heavy rains, terrible oods 11. Mountains, warm, dry
