India – Size and Location
Location:- Mainland Extends between Latitudes 8°4’N and 37°6’N & Longitudes 68°7’E and 97°25’E.
Lakshadweep Island:- In Arabian sea
Andaman and Nicobar:- In bay of bengal
Southernmost Point Of Indian Union:- Indira Point (6°45’38” N, 93°48’85” E)
Size :-
- Landmass of India= 3.28 million km^2.
- 4% of the total geographical area of the world .
- India is the 7th largest country in the world.
- Land boundary:- 15,200km
- Length of the Coastline of the Mainland including Andeman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep= 7,516.6km
- From 22° Latitudes it begins to taper and extends towards the Indian Ocean.
Standard meridian of India:- 82°30’E passing through Mirzapur (UP) is taken as the Standard time for whole country.
India:- Southward extension of Asian continent.
Trans Indian Ocean Routes:- Connect the countries of Europe in the west and the countries of East Asia, provide a strategic central location to India.
Note:- no other country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has and indeed,it is India’s eminent position in the Indian Ocean, which justifies the naming of an Ocean after it.
Since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, India’s distance from Europe has been reduced by 7,000 km.
7 largest Countries of the World :-
- Russia — 17.09mn km^2
- Canada — 9.98mn km^2
- USA— 9.83 mn km^2
- China — 9.60 mn km^2
- Brazil— 8.51 mn km^2
- Australia — 7.69 mn km^2
- India — 3.28 mn km^2
India occupies an important strategic position in South Asia. India has 28 states and Eight Union Territories.
India shares its land boundaries with:-
- Pakistan:- 3,323 km
- Afghanistan:- 106 km
- China (Tibet):- 3,488 km
- Nepal :- 1,751 km
- Bhutan :- 578 km
- Myanmar :- 1643 km
- Bangladesh :- 4,096 km
👉Our southern neighbours across the sea consist of the two island countries, namely Sri Lanka and Maldives.
👉Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar, while Maldives Islands are situated to the south of the Lakshadweep Islands.
Why is the difference between the durations of day and night hardly felt at Kanyakumari but not so in Kashmir?
Ans:- Kashmir is located far from the Equator therefore the difference in day and night is more than as compared to Kanyakumari.
Standard Meridian Passes Through :- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh
Tropic of cancer passes through:- Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,West Bengal, Tripura, Mizoram
Smallest State:- Goa
Largest State:– Rajasthan
👉The states which do not have an international border or lie on the coast:- Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,Delhi , Haryana and Telangana
Common Frontiers with:-
Pakistan:- Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh
China :- Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh
Myanmar:- Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram
Bangladesh:- Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Mizoram